Well, well, it has been a while since I last blogged. A part of the reason was that my husband has been able to come home every 6 weeks so my boys and I haven't had to travel as much this time around......until now.
My husband's job has brought us here to NYC for the whole summer!! What a great time and great experience for my boys. The last time we were here (my last blog of NYC) a lot of my pictures were locked up in my SD card from my camera and therefore, I didn't have any photos to post. Not this time!!! I made sure of it.
Let's talk about getting here first because I think all caretakers want to know the ins and outs of travelling with children. My boys are older now and can carry a lot of things on their own; however, guidance is still at hand. Because we were not vacationing for only 2 weeks or less, I had to really plan how to pack. We are here for 2 mos. I made sure we had enough clothes for at least 1 week. The good thing about the summer months are that the clothes are lighter. We were blessed in that my sister lives in Edgewater, N.J. and so it was great when she offered her place for us to stay. That saved a lot of money. Also, it was great for her to spend time with her nephews. If we didn't have anyone here, we would have rented an apt for the 2 mos only because with children, a kitchen is a good thing. They are hungry at all times of the day when they are playing hard outside.
First things first! With all the new regulations, how do I make sure I don't go over on the weight of the suitcases and get penalized by having to pay more. My girlfriend's suitcase (who was heading to NYC as well separate from us) was overweight and she had to pay $85.00. I decided I would ship shoes and any books that my kids were reading and/or working on. With only a $35.00 UPS shipping charge, we were good to go. I only packed some walking shoes. I did make sure that my box went out 1 week prior to our departure.
Both boys have backpacks and we filled those with non-liquid snacks, DS player (great for those long 2 hour waits), a book, and sketch pads with pencils. Oh yes, they had headphones. I love the ones from Sony because they fit children's heads and they were only $10 @ Target. They also fit into the planes earphone jacks. Perfect, eh?
We flew out of SFO and the beauty of flying Continental which has been merged with United is that SFO is United's hub. This is a good thing because they have great places to eat after the security check. Yes, they are pricey, but at least there are a lot more things available to you when you're in a pinch. Also, SFO has water bottle refilling stations. My children carried their empty Sigg bottles and we filled them up with water after security rather than paying $5 for a bottle of water. This is a great idea for SFO!!!!!
Continental is our favorite when we fly into Newark, NJ. Why???? Well, Newark Airport is Continental's hub and so once again, lots of restaurants and stores when you're in a pinch.
Another important point, since my kids are staying here until 3 days prior to when school starts, I am keeping them on a West Coast time schedule. Not so tough since my husband doesn't get home till later anyways, but something to think about to avoid the jetlag back home.
