Happy Halloween Trunki fans!!

I illegally stole this from Trunki's facebook page (sorry Rob!) but Happy Halloween everyone! Maya is dressing up as Tinkerbell and I've been told Im dressing up as a "fashion girl."

Doesn't Trixie look cute?!!! If you have a Facebook account you can become a fan of Trunki to get all the lastest and greatest Trunki news and updates. Oh yeah, and cute little pictures like this one! Frieda, Towgo, and Terrance are dressed up for Halloween too! So sign yourself up and add them by visiting the Trunki product site: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trunki/33565445854


I hope everyone has a great night trick-or-treating!

The International Friends Club

One of the coolest things about traveling for us is definitely meeting new people and keeping in touch with them. Take our friend Bill for instance. Bill left today to go back to England after spending ten days with us. It was a great visit and we got to do all kinds of cool things that we normally dont think to do like go to the new Air and Space museum and chilling out at a winery. We actually met Bill a few years ago through his friend Robin who is the son of Ollie and Lynn, the couple we met in Italy 5 years ago. Did ya follow that?! Anyway, since meeting Bill we've gone on a few trips with him and gotten together with him when we've gone to England along with a whole slew of other English friends. It's really awesome to have this whole other place in the world that has a whole group of people that I honestly consider family. At least once on our visits there we have a huge dinner out somewhere where there's like 15 of us. It's just so much fun and has created so many memories. Everyone there is such a joy to be around, including Bill. The man did my dishes every night after dinner for pete's sake! Oh and he loves sci-fi/fantasy stuff too so he's extra awesome in my book lol.

Then there's our good friends in Spain who hosted us for a week last summer Xavier and Lourdes. We met them in Argentina at La Bombanera stadium about 3 years ago. They are just some of the nicest people I know. I think Xavi is quite possibly the happiest man on Earth. I dont think I've ever seen him not smiling. Lourdes is great too and now they are the parents of a beautiful little girl. I can't wait to see them again and introduce Maya to their daughter.

When Josh was in Peru a few weeks ago, he met a Brazilian couple that he's kept in contact with that we may go visit. We also have a friend with family in India and she's been telling us we're welcome to come out sometime. The list just keeps growing! It's so much fun though. Honestly staying with someone in their home in a foreign country is just the best. The experience is completely different and it's so much more fun. So, go on a trip and get yourself some new friends!

Me and Mr. Mouse

Well the countdown has begun to our big vacation in Orlando. If you've been reading this blog for a while you may know of my disdain for the mouse. I know, I know, my daughter loves it so that should be enough. I just can't get past the $25 mouse ears and $10 hot dogs. OK, maybe the hot dogs aren't that much but the mouse ears are!

I have to admit, though, Epcot looks pretty cool. I mean really who doesn't love seeing a mariachi band and then walking a few minutes to chomp down on Chinese food. It looks like they've also got a lot of cool stuff about energy and natural resources conservation which we're trying to teach Maya about. She already gets onto me when I leave the faucet on because I once told her about how there are people in other countries that don't have access to clean water. "Mommy, your wasting water for the people in Egypt!" Oh dear!

I'm definitely looking forward to dorking out at the Kennedy Space Center. There's a tour you can take there that lets you go out to the Saturn launch pads. I gets the shakes just thinking about it! Oh yes and the lunch with an astronaut, and seeing the Titan missles, ooh and maybe we can catch a glimpse of Atlantis! OK I'm way too excited now.

Oh yes and there's always the being lazy at the resort. MMM lazy. I so rarely get to be lazy just like all the other moms out there. There is no lazy time when you're a mom. Something ALWAYS needs to be done. Hmmmm I feel a spa treatment coming on. I'll get the cucumber slices.

Rethink that luggage tag

I have a subscription to Real Simple magaizine which I luuuuuurrrrrvvvvv with all my heart. If you dont have a subscription to it get one! Seriously it's awesome. But, I digress. Anyway, today I was drooling over this month's issue when I came across a little teaser telling me to check out the section on their website for travel. So, being the dutiful read that I am, I did and I picked up two very valuable tips that I had never thought of (among other things).

Tip 1. Call ahead to order room service

I can't count the number of times I've arrived at a hotel late at night "hangry" (yes hangry...that would be the raving lunatic stage when I get so hungry Im angry). Seriously, Im like the Incredible Hulk when it comes to food. I keep telling my husband "Don't make me hungry. You won't like me when I'm hungry" right before my skin turns green and I destroy the nearest physical object. Apparently you can call ahead to your hotel and order room service to be delivered to your room once you arrive. Not all hotels do it so be sure to call before you leave on your trip to make sure they do but holy fagioli, who knew?!

Tip 2. Be smart with your luggage tag

I, like everyone else, just slapped my address and phone number on my luggage tags thinking "Great, now if my bag gets lost they'll know where to send it!" According to Real Simple this is a no no and I agree with them. Putting your full name on your luggage 1. is a big neon sign saying "Hey this person isnt at home, go steal their stuff" and 2. can identify you as a female making it more likely that unsavory types would pick your bag to rifle through. Hey, it happens. Also, for contact information it's much better to list your hotel's address and a number you can be reached at while you are gone as opposed to your home address and home phone number. I mean, really, what are those going to do for you anyway? You're not there!

For more tips from the good people at Real Simple, check out their Travel Advice section

Oh and P.S. yes, I know I havent posted in 20 days. Im preparing for my wet noodle lashing now. :(

World's Scariest Runways!

I had a good chuckle when I saw World's Scariest Runways on Travel & Leisure's website today. Maya's favorite part of plane rides is "blast off" better known as take-off. She also likes landings though those are my least favorite. Im always reminded of the joke some comedian did that goes something like this

Guy 1: Hey! If one of the engines go out where do you think the plane will take us?!

Guy 2: All the way to the scene of the crash

*Badoom-chhhh*

I've had a few white knuckle landings in my day but these all take the cake. Even funnier is that one of our local airports, Reagan National Airport, which we use regularly, is listed. Oops lol. Actually, landing at Reagan at night is truly one of the most beautiful sights you will ever see. You zoom along the Potomac banking left and right, all while looking out the window at the beautifully lit downtown area. Most of the other runways, though, look terrifying. Like the one in Lesotho where you have to fly off a cliff and pull up until you start flying. Talk about buckling your seat belts. And remind me never to go to any beaches close to Princess Juliana International Airport on St. Maarten because the only thing worse than a cloud blocking the sun is a giant four-engine jet airplane...

If you want to see pictures from the other hair raising runways check out Travel and Leisure's slideshow

Baggage Claim

So one of my guilty pleasures is luggage stores. Yes...I'm that lame. I don't know if you've ever been to a luggage store or not, but I feel sorry for the weary traveler who walks into one. There's usually easily over 100 different options and not all luggage is made alike in quality or purpose. Then there's all the various things that go in the luggage. Oh and don't forget the 200 different kinds of carry-on bags.

Josh and I put quite a bit of thought into our last luggage purchase. We got the Heys 4 wheel 360 Spinner set made of lightweight carbon-fiber laced plastic. WHEW! Honestly, if Trunki made a grown up version of Trixie, I would have bought that. Sadly, I had to settle for adult luggage. But the Trunki is a good example of buying luggage that serves many purposes. It's hard-sided making it a good option for kids as they really could care less about how much wear and tear their luggage gets. It's relatively light weight and Towgo has more than one way of holding the bag. The inside is somewhat compartmentalized allowing you to open it without stuff getting everywhere. Finally, there is, of course, the fact that kids can ride on it which makes it fun for them and gives them something to do.

With the exception of riding on your luggage, these are all the kinds of things you should look for in your own luggage. Hard sided vs. soft sided is a bit of personal preference but if you travel a lot, I'd recommend a flexible hard-sided bag. They're like a Timex. They take a licking and keep on ticking. You'll also want to have more than one way to carry your bag. Our Heys luggage has 3 handles and I use all of them. And, again for our frequent flyers, lightweight luggage is a must especially now that they are cracking down on bag weights and increasing fees. The biggest mistake you can make is assuming that any old suitcase will meet your needs. That's the surest way to drop a wad of money on something you'll end up hating. Take some time to think about how you'll use it, where you're going to take it, what you're going to put in it, and how long you want it to last. If you do that, you're sure to find luggage that will last you a while.

Think Before You Pack

This week's theme is Packing! Since I didnt get a chance to make my video last week about packing your carry on I thought I would dedicated this week's posts to packing bags of all sizes! I may not be able to get a video done and I'm without a regular camera this week because Josh is in Peru but I'll try to paint pictures with my words :D.

Today we're going to talk a bit about packing and how to plan for packing. Yes, I said plan for packing. There's a lot to consider when you're going on a trip, especially if you're taking small ones along. It's easy enough for you to make it without your favorite shirt, but that might be a devastating blow to a child. OK maybe not devastating, but enough to make the little ones unhappy and no one wants that.

When you're thinking of wardrobe choices keep in mind that taking coordinating separates with maybe one or two pairs of shoes (and this applies to children as well) really is the essential thing. So for a 10 day trip you can take say 4 shirts in the same color range and 3 pairs of pants, also in that color range. Then take two pairs of shoes that will look good with all of those items and that's all you really need. Unless you're going someplace where you're going to sweat more than Elvis giving a concert in the 70s all of your items can be worn more than once. The caveat to this kind of planning is that kids get their clothing dirty much faster than adults do. Maya, as with many other kids, loves to wear her meals. In this case, you may want to take a few extra outfits just to cover your bases.

Other things to consider when you are planning your clothing choices is not only the temperature but also the elevation of your destination and whether or not you'll be someplace windy. I dont know how many times Ive been caught freezing my behind off because I didnt bring a sweater with me on a day when we ended up going up in the mountains or on a cruise with the wind whipping around me. When you pack your day pack you may want to take a quick glance at the things you know you will be doing or the things you are considering doing so you can be sure to get everything in.