A - LOOOOOO - HA!

I just had the most lovely picnic with my son and his friends from preschool. While enjoying the sunny, warm weather after months of rain, the moms had a great time chatting while the kids played around on the grass. Amidst many topics, vacation was one of them. It was an important one and probably something a lot of moms and caretakers like to discuss, organize, fantasize, and somehow put to fruition with children in mind.

I have a lot of friends who are Hawaiian from my work in the theater. And so, rather than going in chronological order in my blog, I am going to blog about what is necessary. The topic for now is our Hawaiian trip with our children.

We went last December because we really wanted to see the whales. This time I was not alone and had my husband to help with the travel. Makes life a lot easier and there are still "things" that need to be organized It was high season for Hawaii, but a great place to check for affordable pricing is Travel Zoo. We did it all on a budget.

1. Airline Tickets: We were able to get a great deal with Hawaiian Air. They were having such amazing specials! How do I know? I subscribe to Travelocity via email and when I see a special, I immediately check to see if the airline website has a better price. Sometimes the prices are better and sometimes they are not. This time, Travelocity had the better price. So, with that we had an 8 day stay flying on Hawaiian Air and staying at the Sheraton Keauhou.

2. Research: Before I purchase anything, I do my research on the airline and hotel accomodations. It helps to read reviews as well. You find me opening up several tabs so I can compare Travelocity with Expedia and Orbitz. However, the reviews on these sites gives me a great opportunity to see what I am in for. Please do your research!

3. Airline: Hawaiian Air was fantastic! When travelling with children, airline comfort and ease is so important. The airline is similar to Virgin America where everything you purchase is via credit card. They don't accept cash so it's important to know this because you don't want hungry children and no easy access to your credit card. The monitors on the back of every seat was nice for the kids. Knowing what to bring on the flight for the kids is critical to make a long trip less stressful (previous blog).

4. Hotel: The Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa was excellent. The beds were comfortable. We did not have a view of the ocean, but we thought our view from our lanai was beautiful with the lush trees and to the left was the Bay. There was daycare onsite, the swimming pool had a large lava tube and other swimming areas and sprinklers for the little itty bitties, free pool toy rentals, the restaurant was delicious and had a great kid's menu with special discounted pricing (kids eat free with adult meal), family movie nights with popcorn and drinks under the beautiful Hawaiian sky and finally a great place where just below the hotel you can look over the edge of the Bay and see the Manta Rays get fed. The Resort puts the lights on in the water and when the Manta Rays see the plankton, the action begins. You will find a lot of other divers from the boats swimming with the Manta Rays. It's very exciting and the kids absolutely loved it! Finally, the rooms had mini refrigerators. I know this is really important for families as snacks are a staple for those moments when the children get hungry. This was a big plus to the resort.

5. Car Rentals: Our car rental was suppose to occur right after we arrived; however, the rental company ran out of cars on the Kona side and so they had to get some from the Hilo side (long drive). So, they were kind to bring us to our hotel and stated they would call us as soon as they had a car available. Here's a side tip: Don't get all upset because you didn't get your rental car when you thought you were going to get it! Don't raise a stink! I could see they were doing their best to get cars to people. Some people were on such a tight schedule that the were "freaking out"! Remember people, you're in Hawaii and it's Hawaiian time...no worries. It'll all come to play. Sure enough, the next morning while we were relaxing by the pool after breakfast, the rental called and stated they were driving our car to us at that moment and to meet them at the front of the hotel in 45 minutes. Perfect, eh? We knew we wanted to rent a car because we had plans to drive to the Hilo side and visit Volcano National Park so we found that the Sheraton only charged their guests $10/night for parking which is very affordable compared to the other resorts. Sheraton really keeps the ohana in mind.

6. Snorkel gear rental: My husband and I have been to Hawaii a few times and we have always rented from Snorkel Bob's. We like them, there are a lot of them, it's easy and quick. They also had gear that fit kids. Price? $9/week. We put them in the trunk of the rental car and whenever we stopped at a beach, we all had our gear ready to go and head out to snorkel.

7. Grocery/snacks: We found the closest WalMart and stocked up on little snacks (drinking water, crackers, etc). I am not sure if the Longs' in Hawaii have been converted to CVS or not, but we loved the one on Oahu at the Ala Moana Mall so we looked for one near the Sheraton on the Big I. Sure enough, we found one and they have some great Hawaiian snacks i.e. Lihi Mui powder (dip your gummy worms in it..yum!), hurricane popcorn, etc. We also found them at WalMart as well, but it was a further drive to the WalMart. We took the free shuttle from the Resort to the little "mall" where Long's and L&L's BBQ were located along with some other great restaurants.

8. Snorkeling: One of our kids favorite beaches was also one of the most popular. I could see why because the break was really far out and therefore, the water was very calm. Kahaluu Beach is the beach where you will find a lot of children. We all went snorkeling there and the kids were able to see another world underwater. Also, we saw honu! Yes, the turtles are an endangered species so you can't touch them, but our kids floated in awe and sat in awe as the honu climbed near the shore to feed on the algae (see if you can find the turtle in the first picture). Because there are more people at this beach than others, the shore was a bit beat up due to constant wear. However, it was a nice place for families (showers, snack truck, BBQ's). I think it was about a mile from our resort. The Keiki pools was another place we were going to go, but a local told us that it was even more crowded than Kahaluu and she suggested another area. We had to hike a little to it, but it was worth it. I don't know the name, but it's near the old Kona airport. When we arrived there on another day, there was no one there. The kids had the whole place to themselves. What a retreat!



9. Dolphin swims: We went with Sunlight On Water for our dolphin swim excursion. You start early in the morning (around 7am) and you are done by about 1pm. They were so kid-oriented! Their philosophy was to educate the children and let them experience the dolphins so they learn about conservation. This was really a different philosophy from other excursions. Some other excursions wouldn't allow kids or highly discouraged them. Not Sunlight On Water, they talked with the children about the dolphins, what to do when they saw them, how to swim with them, and the boat had a hot shower, restroom (which did not consist of a bucket), and food for everyone on the boat.
**seasickness tip: our youngest gets motion sick really easy, so our pediatrician suggested children's bonine and to administer it the night before and then one in the morning after a light breakfast. It worked like a charm!

10. Luaus: We went the the luau that was at our resort (Firenesia by Island Breeze). It looked like it was rated #2 after the one at the Fairmont (The Orchid...or something like that). What I saw as the difference in price (significant difference) was just the food. My husband and I had gone to a lot of luaus whether they were for tourists or for locals. However, we wanted our kids to enjoy a great show. The food was wonderful. They had the staple i.e. Kalua pork, rice, poi, salad, but also some other favs that my kids enjoyed like the choices in soup, bread, desserts, etc. One thing that we did pay a little extra on was the preferred seating. Our kids are, well, kids. They aren't tall enough to be looking over or at someone's head. The preferred seating got us seats up in the front, juice or soda for the kids and grown-up juice for the adults. We were served our drinks rather than having to stand in line for the drinks. It was really lovely and let's just say a lot less stressful. The kids loved the show and the food. At the end of the luau, no worries about carrying tired children from car to room because it was at our Resort. A quick jaunt back to our rooms and the boys were snoozing from a full day. Now that is the most satisfying feeling for all parents.

For those of you looking for great eats throughout the state of Hawaii, check out my girlfriend's website My Aloha Vibe

More to come! About Volcano National Park.

Pack it Up!

As I had mentioned in my previous post, I have been on the road travelling whilst on a Broadway Tour and learned a few things. Most important for me was how to pack compactly and still have everything I need to fit into 2 suitcases.

I figured I'd just transfer my past experiences with my child. Again, I typically don't have my husband around to help me since he is always at the city before me working. In 2003, my son was only 18 mos. and I had to figure out how to keep things light since I was by myself traveling with him.

My List of Thoughts go like this:

1. Is there a washer/dryer available? This will dictate how much clothes to bring.
2. What is the weather like at our destination city?
3. How do I pack my suitcases so that everything will fit and not be deemed "heavy item"?
   
4. How much can I really carry myself with my child onto the plane?
5. What do I need to keep my child interested while waiting and flying?

I will tackle these questions first.

Is there a washer/dryer available? This will dictate how much clothes to bring.

Yes, we have access to a washer/dryer which meant I could bring less clothes since I could clean them easily. If I did not have access, I would have packed more.

What is the weather like at our destination city?

We were going to be in Boston for over 3 mos beginning in June. This meant hot, humid weather according to my research and speaking to people in Boston (I had called a friend who lived there and then spoke to our landlords as well for the weather scoop). What I do enjoy about warmer weather is that it doesn't require as much clothes. However, my son would easily dirty his shirts with food, drinks, mud, etc so I still had to have changes of clothes for him. But, the material for summer clothing is thinner.

How do I pack my suitcases so that everything will fit and not be deemed "heavy item"?

While I was on the road by myself, I would try to figure out ways where I could pack without having to iron everything. What worked best for me was rolling my clothing. Some experts believe that rolling with paper (like how they use tissue paper at the Dept. Stores) helps decrease wrinkled clothing. In all honesty, who had time to do all of that. I'm not Martha Stewart and don't really feel the need to have to do that. So, I just rolled my clothes and it worked nicely. It also seemed to save space. This worked out with my packing my clothes and my son's in our 1 suitcase. Yup, I did it all in one large suitcase.

The items that took up a lot of room were shoes. Not my child's, but mine. With the amount of time we were going to be there, I had to have the sneakers, sandals, dress shoes for various outfits and occasions. I used plastic grocery bags to wrap my shoes and packed them strategically. Since then, my girlfriend has made me shoe bags for each shoe. I love this because I can separate the shoes and know which belongs to the other pair (fabric) and yet pack them in those various "cracks" between clothes.

Other bulky items were my toiletries. We weren't staying in a hotel and so I needed to make sure we had our shampoos, lotions, etc. This is where I used the ziplock bags (see previous post) to insure I wasn't going to have any leaking shampoo on our clothes. It worked beautifully! The trick is to not overstuff the ziplock bags. If you overstuff them, they get too bulky and tough to strategically place between clothes and shoes.

I typically packed my shoes first and then put the clothes around it. However, I found that if I packed the clothes first then I can squeeze the shoes between various clothing items. This just lessened the one blob of bulk that took up room which I needed for other things.

How much can I really carry myself with my child onto the plane?

I used my backpack which freed up my arms. I had the carseat for my child's seat. I had a stroller that helped in carrying things to the gate. I also had one carry-on to go below my child's seat in front of him. I tested it out myself and it worked. I would recommend doing a mock run of what you would be carrying yourself from the curb to the airline desk for check-in and from there to security and then gate.

The stroller I used was MacLaren's Volo. It was light and folded up quickly with one hand and one foot. I could break that stroller down in 2 seconds flat right before I entered the plane.

My carseat was FAA approved and I purchased a carrier for it. It had a shoulder strap which I sometimes used on my shoulder, but I typically hung it onto the stroller. I have seen some nowadays with wheels. I love how things evolve in such a short time. Beware***if your child gets up off the stroller, the stroller will tip so be careful.

My carry-on I could put on my shoulder or hang it on the stroller as well. Again, beware if your child gets off the stroller...physics will come into play.

What do I need to keep my child interested while waiting and flying?

My carry-on had a lot of compartments...a lot like my backpack. Those small side pockets are critical for me. Why? Well, as I approached the airline counter for check-in, they would ask for id and all. Here's my lesson. I initially had it in my backpack which meant I had to take the backpack off my back, turn it around, and look for my wallet. So, now my hands are all tied up and I didn't have my had on the stroller. Call me paranoid, but I had to have at least one hand on the stroller my child was sitting in. The carry-on with those side pockets helped because all I had to do was unzip, pull out my information, stick the boarding passes in the same pocket, and zip up....all with one hand. No need to shift and prop one knee up, etc.

The main question is what to bring. I was able to bring liquids back then so my child's drinks were in a reusable cup that had a tight lid on it. However, to be safe, I had the drinks in a ziplock bag to avoid spillage onto other items in my carry-on. Snacks, snacks, snacks are crucial. I used my "tupperware" for those snacks. Remember, when a young child is hungry they don't understand, "just wait a minute", they want it now. I also had my child's old toys that he hadn't played with in a while and I wrapped them in wrapping paper. This was my first time flying with a child and I didn't know how long his attention span was. I had about one wrapped toy per hour. It seemed to suffice. In addition to all of this, the lovely portable DVD player and headphones (Sony makes great ones that fit kids). I had enough DVD's to last the time when we arrived for departure to final destination. I have to say this was my biggest life-saver. I wasn't sure if I was going to need it, but packed it anyways just in case. I only had to use it for an hour out of the 7 hours we were travelling form doorstep to doorstep. There was a moment when my son was getting tired and nothing was appeasing him. Out came the DVD and the zzzzz's followed. I also had his favorite books. All of this went under the seat in front of us for easy access. The overhead bin would have been too much.

My backpack had its typical paraphernalia for a first time mom. I had diapers, wipes, blankie, favorite stuffed toy, wallet, first aid kit (travel size), travel size photo album (my son loved looking at pictures of people he knew), vaseline, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, etc. I put in anything I felt I anticipated needing.

Was it all a success? Well, other than learning about the wallet in the backpack and my son getting knocked in the head by a guitar case at the airport's baggage claim, it went pretty smoothly. Did I use everything I packed? No, but I was sure happy to have it as a just in case. It made my travels a lot less stressful knowing I was armed with "stuff" to keep myself and my son happy.

One final story: The flight attendants kept telling me I couldn't bring the carseat onto the plane and so I had to show them it was an FAA approved carseat. I think they thought that bag was just a big bag and not a carseat. But, what was most appalling was that none of these flight attendants lifted one finger to help me carry something to our seats. They saw I had a little one and was carrying quite a lot. The ones that helped.................other moms. Thank you to those mom's that helped us get seated because they understood. I won't mention the airline and I did complain, but nothing happened. Well, I don't know if anything changed. I never flew that airline again.

Now go travel with your kids. It can be done!

A Long Time Ago in a Faraway Galaxy

Once upon a time.......a long time ago, I used to tour with a Broadway National Tour. I lived out of 2 suitcases and a box for my kitchen utensils. Life was simple because I had to live simply. I realized that everything I had in "storage" really wasn't necessary.

Then came love, marriage, and children. Life was not to be so simple anymore. My husband still to this day works for various Broadway shows and therefore, we travel a lot. Well, he travels to work and I meet him there with our children. Hence, learning how to travel with children by myself was developed. Fortunately, experiences from living on the road helped.

Boston 2003:
We went to Boston, MA. for over 3 mos while my husband worked there. This was my first experience travelling by air with my oldest son who was 18 mos. at the time. And, this was where my research began.

• I wanted to find a place to live that was not a hotel room and not break our budget.
• The area needed to be close enough for my husband to commute and yet in a kid-friendly neighborhood.
• Where was the closest grocery store considering we had no car?
• What areas would be fun to visit for an 18 mo. old?
• The toughest part.....finding a way to pack efficiently and for an 18 mo. old 5 hour plane ride.
  

I will be diving into all the cities that we have travelled to and how we did it. Things have changed regarding security at airports and we have adapted.

Most necessary item to help pack - Ziplock bags. I know, I know....they aren't environmental AND I do reuse them and wash them out, etc. I just hadn't found anything at that time to keep those bottles or juicy fruits from leaking into my backpack (I will mention something about this product) and either ruining the clothes I packed or other things in my backpack.

The ziplock bags are amazing in keeping the wet in and not spilling into your suitcase. I used ziplock bags for bottles of shampoo/conditioner, filled baby bottles, hairspray, gels, just about anything liquid so I needn't worry about my other things.

• Make sure you label the ziplock bags so you can reuse them. Sometimes you will have to wash and dry them. Other times you won't. They definitely saved me a lot of grief when opening my suitcases to find I didn't have to do a pile laundry right away because something leaked during the flight.
• For dry items, there are now these great cloth snack bags that can be purchased. They are great for sandwiches, cereal, etc and great for our environment. I haven't seen an eco-friendly waterproof bag yet.
  
• Suggestions: I have heard that you can make your own waterproof snackbags (they sew the ziplock bags onto fabric, but I do prefer being able to see what is inside quickly so I can sort when I unpack or scrambling through my backpack for something for my son to nibble on ) It seems like a great idea and you still have to wash them if you want to reuse them. They are just prettier. However, pretty is last on my list when I'm travelling with children and my version of sewing requires duct tape minus the needle and thread.
• Backpacks are the best. I acquiesced to the backpack after having my first child. The ones I saw were not chic and didn't have all the compartments that I wanted. But again, need I digress? I had a child and needed both arms available either for stroller, carry on, car seat, and/or all. The one I used was by Eagle Creek, but I haven't seen them around for awhile. There were several compartments and even a compartment where I could store the cushioned changing pad which was in the area right up against my back...made it quite comfy for me as well as my child. I liked Eagle Creek because it lasted me through my second child. In fact, I think it's still good (after 8 years of abuse). I just don't need all those compartments anymore.
  

More to come. I hope you all can travel with ease as I share with you my lessons learned. Now go take the kids somewhere!

We the People............think School House Rocks

What a whirlwind this holiday has been for us. As you know, my husband is on the road with a B'way Tour and so it brought us to Chicago for Thanksgiving (previous posts). The Christmas holiday was in D.C. I literally had 10 days to unpack, launder the clothes, X'mas shop (thank goodness for online shopping), pack up and go.

Did I get X'mas cards out? Nope. This is a first for me. I decided that I don't have to kill myself if I skip one season. Not only was I busy, but I came down with a horrible cough/cold that has lasted for a month now. Yup, still coughing, but not as much and feeling better. Needless to say, my entries in D.C. sacrificed due to lack of sleep and illness. sigh.

Things are looking up and so onward to my blog about D.C. First and foremost, the airline. We took Virgin America. Why? Prices were incredibly good. They were quite pleasant. Their website markets how they have a lot of amenities for the flier, but don't think they are for free. Everything has a price. They were running a special so it was nice to get free wifi, but movies were $8, video games $3(?), there was satellite tv for free, meals ranged from $8 - $10. Luckily, I had poked around the website long enough to see these prices and headed straight out the door to Trader Joe's.

I love Trader Joe's. It has been my staple since my college days in L.A. However, since my boys have nut allergies, my visits to Trader Joe's has been cut down by about 50% due to their products being "shared on equipment that has been in contact with nuts, tree nuts, etc." But, I love their ready-made lunches. So, I bought some for myself and tried to find the ones that my kids would eat. There wasn't much for them, so I made them their meals in our 5 hour long flight. Food, snacks, games (yes, the DS does come in handy) all contribute to a worry-free, tantrum-free flight.

We arrived in D.C. and I ordered car service again since we arrived in Dulles Airport which is about 45 minutes away from Downtown D.C. It would have been the same price for a taxi. The Townecars are so much more comfortable and the service is amazing which takes the stress off of me trying to move 3 large suitcases with 2 little ones beside me. I figured I had saved money on the flight by not ordering anything. So, this is some advice......it's well worth it!

We stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott. It's one of our most favorite places to stay besides Embassy Suites. These two places are the best places to stay when you have a family. They offer a full complimentary breakfast everyday of the week and 3 nights out of the 7 you receive a full complimentary dinner. The employees are as nice as can be and they all love children. It just can't be beat. They had an indoor swimming pool which I knew would come in handy to burn off energy when needed. During the first large snow storm, the city had shut down as well as the airports. People were stuck trying to get home for the holidays. I felt so bad for some guests who were stuck there for over 3 days. The storm hit on the night where there was no dinner served and because there weren't any restaurants opened (due to storm), the manager at this Residence Inn had dinner served so the guests could eat. He also lowered the rates for those that were stuck there longer than expected. Now that's what I call service!

I will continue this post as I must attend to the little darlings now.

We Are Family!!!

Can I just say that "Miss Saigon" had one of the best cast EVER?!!!! Anywhere I go, I can always call, email, or post on FB and get responses where we all get together and have a fabulous time catching up and just seeing where we all are these days!

Today was no exception. The boys and I met up with Joe Foronda, MoonHi Hansen, and Keith Byron Kirk at the Corner Bakery here in Chicago. MoonHi is here visiting her parents. She grew up here and went to college here, but lives in L.A. as a video editor. Keith is working on his Ph.D. at NorthWestern Univ. and is doing great!!! Joe lives here with his kids, who are all grown up now, and is still one amazing actor and musician. The boys are always impressed with the amount of people we know when we travel to various cities. Since Greg was working the show, we caught up till he met up with us after the matinee. Then Bob Billig and Steve Landau came by to say hello as they were done (conductor and assistant) with the show as well. They work on the same show as Greg. It still amazes me how we all just get right back to where we left off and catch each other up. It has been 10 years since the 2nd Nat'l closed and about 9 yrs. since the B'way show closed. If you have done "Miss Saigon" with either Nat'l tour or B'way, you are considered family. Also meeting up with us later was Mike Flanigan and Melinda Chua. We had the best time!!! Thanks goodness for friends and "family".

By this point, our boys were beyond themselves (we were there for 4 hours). They were given M&M cookies and hot cocoa and they were zinging from their seats by the time we were ready to leave. The sugar or something must have hit. It was wild!! So, off Greg and I went to feed them. We took the subway back to our place and stopped into Giordano's Pizza. It truly is the best Chicago pizza!!! We had a lot to eat and they eventually calmed down. Now, Greg and I had some "drinks" that seemed to help the zaniness of our boys. LOL!!!

Great night and more tomorrow as we head to the Field Museum.

Favorite Things

It's been quite festive here in Chicago. Yesterday, we stayed in all day except my jaunt out to the grocery store. Geoffrey has been coughing so we decided to keep him inside for the day and rest. Fortunately for us, he had homework to do since he took some days out of school to visit here. Nonetheless, this is the time of year where I make my favorites and they have become my boys' favorites. They love my peppermint hot cocoa! So, starting from here till X'mas, they get a cup of their favorite hot cocoa for the day. It's fun!

Our other favorite when we are here is Garrett's popcorn. Their Chicago mix is perfect for my boys. Geoffrey loves the caramel crisp and Seb loves the cheese popcorn. It's really delicious and of course, a line to get our bag of popcorn. We've been here at least 4 times now and it has never failed us. Yum!!! My college roommate once asked me about "that" popcorn place I was raving about since she was taking her family to Chicago. She came telling me it was definitely worth the wait in line. In her words, "the best popcorn, EVER!"

The boys had a chance to see "Young Frankenstein, The Musical". It's nice to have my boys old enough to sit through a show. They had a really good time and all the "other R-rated" jokes flew over their heads. Thank goodness! Thank you to Judy, the company mgr., for getting us the best seats in the house. It was my third time seeing it and Mel Brooks is brilliant. He still amazes me. His humour is amazingly smart! The boys had a chance to see Bob conducting in the orchestra pit. They had a good time watching everything go on. Fun day for all!

Sunday at the Park

Today, we took it easy. It takes a couple of days for the boys to adjust and just wind down from seeing their dad. Yesterday was also a busy day.

We didn't do much today other than head to the grocery store. One of my favorites here is Potash Bros. market. It was fun to walk in the brisk weather and enjoy the city life. I love to walk and cities provide the best walking for me. I think the kids are getting used to it. Sebastian will get a little tired on occasion and so we'll stop at a park or something to rest his tootsies and then within 5 minutes he'll tell me he's ready to walk again.

This time we stopped at the park that I know of near the Chicago Fire Dept. It's right next to the Water Tower Place and has its jungle gym for the boys to climb and run. Last time we were here, we were staying at the Seneca Hotel (a great hotel with kitchen and separate bedroom) and found this park for Geoffrey to play. It was on the way to the theater and so we would always stop here for him play. Sebastian was too little then, but not this time. The boys had a blast. This time we're only a block north of the Seneca in a quaint little corporate apt. called 900 DeWitt place. We played at this park before grocery shopping and after. My boys have a pretty easy time making new friends at new places so all the kids were playing tag. Very cute and very fun for them.

That is all we did today and it was enough. Tomorrow Greg is off and it'll be a busy day for us. The kids will get a chance to see the show Wed (matinee) which they are excited about. It's great that they are old enough to sit through a show and enjoy it. Geoffrey enjoys the sets moving off and on and Sebastian will love the dancing and music.