You’re stuck on a long flight with a crying baby or toddler, and a stressed out mom (or dad). It’s so loud. It’s so obnoxious. What can the childless person do to have a better flight?
I’m a mom, so I’m here to plead the case FOR traveling families, while also asking for compassion from the childless stranger. I can also assure you that the mom, dad, and screaming child are having a far worse day than you are. Yes, really.
You want to travel and you want to take the kids. But just how do you get a US passport for kids?
Getting a passport was something I avoided for a long time, because I am a procrastinator. Also, before the late 2000s, Americans didn’t need to them to visit Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. I visited Grand Cayman without a passport in 2004. Passports are required to go outside the US nowadays. So, if you and your kids don’t have one, today is a great day to get yours!
Here are step-by-step instructions for Americans to apply for a passport for your child or children.
The deal to fly to Phoenix was SO good. I was so excited. I requested the time off work and purchased the tickets. I was going to be visiting my friend in Arizona in January! January! I’d been waiting a long time to go somewhere warm in the middle of winter and I hadn’t seen my friend in a few years. Phoenix was the perfect choice. Warm weather, here I come!
Going away for a weekend with your kids? Me, too! Here’s my detailed, tongue-in-cheek guide for how to pack when traveling with kids! Especially if you’re a disorganized mom like me. This is the reality of packing with little kids around: the guide on how not to pack for a weekend away with kids.
Enjoy!
Sometimes, you go somewhere and it turns out to be so wonderful that you want to share it with everyone you know. Our stay at the the Captain Bell House Bed and Breakfast in Vermilion, Ohio was one of those times!
We had wanted to go up to Michigan for a week. However, some circumstances forced us to wait. Except, I didn’t want to forgo vacation entirely. I had to get out of town!
I also had to have a beach!
“We have to go back. I forgot something,” I said, as we were pulling out of our driveway, toward Vermilion.
To his credit, my husband didn’t sigh or roll his eyes. He just turned the car around. Our destination was a small town on Lake Erie, only about 2 hours away from us and an hour from Cleveland . Vermilion, Ohio is a great little place . In fact, the town motto is “A Small Town on a Great Lake” and it’s true! It’s small, quaint, and adorable. Oh, there’s also a beach!
A beach vacation in Ohio?!
Yep!
After I finished writing my post about diving with stingrays in Stingray City, Grand Cayman, I wondered if it was ethical. After all, you are feeding wild animals and it isn’t just you. It’s half the people you are diving with (one container of squid per two buddies) and all of the other people visiting Stingray City that day… and that year… and so forth.
Is it ethical to dive with stingrays at Stingray City?
After zoning out a little during the pre-dive instructions given at Stingray City in Grand Cayman Island, my dive buddy took the squid for feeding the rays, at my insistence. I was a little nervous and respectful of these majestic creatures, so I decided I wouldn’t touch them. You aren’t supposed to touch ocean creatures while diving anyway. It’s one of the first things you learn in scuba diving certification class and it’s drilled into your brain.