ScoutDown

I’m opening a new blog called CN Reviews.  We will be blogging about various topics related to China, including travel, entrepreneurship, the blogosphere, and the emerging generation of Chinese born in the 70s and 80s.  It is not a Kango sponsored project. Some of the topics we’ve already covered include microblogging in China, Web 2.0 social applications in China, and the top bloggers in China today.  The rest of the blogging activity continues on at the Kango blog.  Enjoy!

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Hi everyone. I’ve been working on a new company, called Kango. Kango, Inc. is working on some new ideas around travel planning, and because of my personal stake in traveling with my family, we are going to be focusing on making this a great product for family travel and kid-friendly vacations.

As part of this, I’ll be blogging on the Kango blog.

We’ve already put some useful content on Kango. For example, we’ve identified the best beaches in Florida, Hawaii, and California. We’ve also highlighted the best family beaches also in Florida, Hawaii, and California. Right now, we are planning a family vacation with my brother’s family (5 yr old, 1 yr old) , my youngest brother who doesn’t have a family, and my parents. We are interested in going to Hawaii or Mexico during the Christmas to New Year break. The challenge is finding something that is affordable and a good deal during that time. Based on the Kango.com reviews of beaches, I’m leaning toward Poipu Beach in Kauai or maybe Hapuna Beach on the Big Island. Then we would find a resort convenient to those beaches. The biggest issue is just the cost of traveling at that time of year. Anyway, come on over to the new blog and thanks again for visiting Scoutdown!

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Scoutdown here. Have been really swamped at work. We came back from the Bahamas a few weeks back. It was a good family trip, but frankly I didn’t get enough time away from the kids! I want to provide a more full report on what we did, where to go, where to stay, what to do, etc.

I also got really obsessive about (a) packing and (b) surviving a long plane trip with a long layover. My biggest tip for surviving a 6 hour layover at MIA is to buy a 1 day pass to the American Airlines Admiral’s Club near Gate 35. They have a kids room with 3 computers, 1 TV showing cartoons, and a sitting area for the parents. It was the best $75 we could have spent to keep the 2 kids happy during that 6 hour layover. And not that many parents knew about it since it was hidden in the back!

Here’s some advice I had found on the Web about flying on planes with children of various ages (here, here, here, and here)

• Get to the airport early (common sense, but hard for us to remember!)
• Talk about the trip in advance to your child. (I have already been doing this with my 5 year old, repurposing his bedtime story to our trip to the Bahamas)
• Make pit stops early and often.
• Bring extra diapers and wipes, more than you think you need. Be prepared for flight delays and cancellations!
• Bring an extra change of clothes for the children…and also for the parents (this is a good tip we have not done before but wish we had!)
• For older kids, turn them into “travel reporters.” I love this idea. This means - disposable camera, notebook.
• SCOUTDOWN TIP: Use an umbrella stroller and bring some bungee cords. We have traveled with a 2001 Maclaren Techno XT umbrella stroller and it has been great. In fact, we bring and can even strap (with a little bit of forcing) our Britax Roundabout carseat into the stroller.

Many of the suggestions I found (e.g. get to the airport early) seem obvious, but are sometimes harder to do than one would think.

OK I’ll get around to the trip report. I have specific family friendly ideas about Freeport/Lucaya. We were generally pleased with the Sheraton Our Lucaya Resort and I’ll post some pictures of that too…

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T- 2 days to our flight to the Bahamas for our family vacation and destination wedding all rolled into one. Between now and then, I have a Board meeting at work to prep for, a party at our home for our church group, and still need to shop for my clothes for the wedding. I have a familiar feeling…the pre-vacation high stress buildup before I can bliss out on the beach some time Sunday…

Yikes, we haven’t packed yet. OK, I’m finding some good packing lists out there. Here’s one from About.com.

Packing List

Money, documents
- credit and debit cards
- picture id
- passport or other id if needed. Note: going to the Caribbean requires a passport for everyone, even small children. So no more hunting around for ID for the kid because you just have to get a passport!

- health insurance documents
- travel insurance documents
- vaccination documents, if needed
-membership cards: AAA; Disney Club; etc.

- airplane tickets or confirmation number
- car reservation number
- coupons for hotels, car rental, etc.
- directions to hotel(s)
- itinerary
- address book

For planes and cars
- fun stuff for kids

- snacks and drinks
- any medication that might be needed.

- lip balm, skin lotion– planes are dry!
Toiletries and health items
-tooth paste, toothbrushes, dental floss, in a ziploc bag
- shampoo, conditioner, gel, etc.
- shaving gear
- contact lenses paraphernalia
- glasses
- skin creams, makeup
- nail clippers
- tweezers
- ear plugs
- foot powder
- lip balm
- ear plugs
- sleep aids
- bandaids
- moleskin for blisters, elastic tape, scissors
- children’s medicine for fever, colds, etc.
-allergy kit, if needed
-feminine hygiene products
-prescription medicines
-birth control
-vitamins
Beachgear
-swimsuits (two per person)
-sandals
-aqua shoes
- goggles, face masks, snorkels
- waterproof disposable camera
- sunhats
-sunglasses
- lip balm with sunscreen
Outdoors gear
- insect repellant
-afterbite, for insect bites
- good shoes for hiking
- layers of clothes, especially fleece
- socks that will “wick” (draw moisture away from the skin)
-blister kit: i.e. moleskin, elastic tape, scissors, bandaids
- wool hat and gloves if the weather is chilly
-rain gear

Theme park gear
- blister kit (as above)
- good footwear. Some people recommend socks and sneakers, but in hot Orlando we wear sandals, period.
- sunhats, sunscreens, lip balm
- bandana, to soak with water for a cool-down
-frozen juice packs, if you have a fridge
- water bottle
- water spritzer/fan gadgets– usually available at Orlando Walmarts for $5; or buy the expensive theme park versions.
-umbrella or poncho, if thunderstorms are expected
- camera, film, camcorder, etc.
- lots of snacks
Baby Gear
- diapers, including lots for the plane trip in case you miss a connection
- diaper rash cream
- changing pad
- ziploc bag for soiled clothes
- baby wipes
- receiving blankets (lightweight and soft)
- waterproof sheet
- car seat
- stroller
- backpack
- front-style baby carriers
-lots of clothes, even for the plane ride, and a change of clothes for yourself on the plane, just in case.
-formula, juice
- bottles, nipples, bottle caps
- sippy cup
- snacks
- pacifiers if needed
- bibs
- baby food, spoons, bowl with lid
- lots of amusements

technology
-cell phone (could work as a travel alarm too)
-cell phone charger
-digital camera
-camera and lots of film
-batteries for camera(s)
-digital recorder/camcorder, and batteries
- “personal radios”: two-way walkie-talkies
miscellaneous
- notebook/journal
- guidebooks– We bought Frommer’s Bahamas and Lonely Planet Bahamas.
- maps
-nightlight
-travel alarm clock
-calculator for foreign currency
-ziploc bags that actually zip: for toiletries, crayons, wet swimsuits…
-plastic food containers: pack with snacks to eat on the plane; later, bring to restaurants for those occasions when your kids won’t eat their food (but will be hungry 15 minutes later…)
-cereal! Save money and, more important, TIME, by having breakfast in your room. Powdered milk can be used in a pinch. Bring plastic spoons.
- wet wipes
-special wet-wipes for removing stains from clothes.

As for clothes: “traveling light” is great advice; I just don’t find it applies to travel with kids. You’re already carrying so much stuff, why scrimp on clothes? I prefer to bring enough that I never have to waste time doing laundry. But the choice is yours!

Tips: very useful for boys are pants that become shorts when the bottom parts zips off. Anyway these are my big boy’s favorites.

- bring lots of t-shirts including a few oldies that can be thrown away
- even in a hot climate, bring a jacket or sweater: air-conditioned restaurants can get cold.
Anyway, great tips from About.com and I am just going to print this post up and start this this, the mother of all packing lists.

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After investigating activities that require us to leave the kids behind, the key issue is child care. We didn’t pick the resort, but turns out it is in the the Top 10 Best Caribbean Resorts for Families, according to Child.com. So here are the options that were outlined by the Sheraton call center (at 1-877-OUR-LUCAYA) by a fairly knowledgeable sales rep:

Daytime

• Age 3-12 - 9:00 am - 6:00 pm - Camp Lucaya, FREE, available without reservation. A locked child care facility with 4-5 caregivers on staff at all times
• Age 0-3 - 9:00 am - 6:00 pm - two half day periods. Babies from 0-1 can only stay for 1 of the 2 shifts. This seems like a good policy. (not sure if this is FREE or not)

Evening

• 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: evening group program, for $25 including dinner. This seems like a great deal! But can infants really participate in this program? Need to validate.
• 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: in room care. $15 for 1 child and $20 for 2 child. The rep was not sure if this was per hour or for the whole night! I suspect it is a per hour charge.

It is ridiculously hard to find this info on the internet, and the reps don’t always have the information on their screen. But its critical for our activity planning to know we have some child care coverage!

I will correct and validate this when I find out more (probably when we get there at this point). We are too crazy dealing with getting out the door at this point, wrapping up things at work, trying to pack. get organized. It is the storm before the calm…welcome to family travel…

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We had a great Mother’s Day painting pottery at our local ceramics shop Art N Fun in Los Altos, CA., where we live. The idea was to do a handprint and footprint for the kids as a gift. I decided that it was far more fun to go do the projects with my wife there rather than try to surprise her with the completed projects. This was a great call as it took 2 of us to try to force the little guy into stamping his paint soaked hand onto the plate.

Then I got home and realized that we have not actually reserved any activities for the Bahamas! Hiho, hiho, a trip plannin’ we go…

I think these are the 2 longest lead items that we have to deal with:

1. Swimming with the Dolphins (what i want to do):

The Dolphin Close Encounter is $75 for adults, and $37.50 for kids 4-12. You only get about 5 min in the water with the dolphins. The Open Ocean Dolphin Encounter is $199 for adults and kids under 16 not allowed, but you get 25-30 min in the water with the dolphins.

Link to site: UNEXCO Website

2. Horseback riding on the beach (what my wife wants to do):

Link: Pinetree Stables

This is $75/person and no kids under 8 allowed.

Anyway, Camp Lucaya at the Sheraton has all day programs for my older son, but not for the 10 month old. So now we are having to plan ahead for baby sitting for some critical hours. I’ll be calling the hotel because I can’t find any information I trust on nanny services in Freeport on the Web so far.

More trip planning:

Here’s my Yahoo! Trip Plan for the other stuff we bookmarked.

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We took our older son to Italy when he was 6 months old. But I have forgotten everything we packed. So here is some information on packing. Started with a packing list from BabyCenter and some advice from Silent I on baby.

Here’s our list so far for baby on the plane:

1. Proof of age! He is a lap baby for this trip and we have almost gotten in trouble by not remembering to bring his ID!
2. Diapers, lots of them, in case we get delayed
3. Wipes, lots of them
4. Disposable changing pads (nice tip from Glennia)
5. Ziploc bags for blowout situations and dirty clothes
6. Change of clothes for mommy, change of clothes for daddy
7. Diaper rash cream
8. Medkit: Tylenol, Benedryl, nose suction thing, saline drops)
9. Tissues
10. Change of clothes
11. Washable bibs (we have comfortable cotton bibs but need to get some that have vinyl on the front)
12. Sun hat
13. Formula. (This time we can leave the breast pump behind)
14. Bottles, dishwashing detergent in sample size, bottle brush, and maybe our Avent microwave steamer (if our hotel room has a microwave)

For the luggage:

1. More diapers
2. More wipes
3. Baby clothes organized using both Ziploc bags and REI stuff sacks.
4. More medkit items
5. Nightlight(s)…one for the room, and one for the bathroom.
6. Sunscreen
7. BabyBjorn (for me) and for my wife, Ergo Baby Carrier
8. Carseat (probably the really lightweight Graco infant carrier even though he is over 20 lbs!)…trying to avoid lugging the Britax Roundabout around when we really won’t be spending much time in a car.

OK, I’m sure there is more than this, but its a start!

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We’re about 9 days away from our Bahamas trip. We are traveling from SFO - MIA - Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. So I’m starting to put a packing list together for the trip. Here’s some nice tips I found from Glennia Campbell at The Silent I on traveling with preschoolers age 3-5. Lets start with the 5 year old. I think this is easier than packing for the 10 month old though!

Packing list for the plane for my 5 year old:

1. Backpack he can carry himself.
2. Extra change of clothes in a ziploc bag. Extra fleece sweater for the plane ride.
3. Coloring books, puzzle/maze books, crayons and pencils.
4. Blank journal book, and tape. When we see souvenirs (like ticket stubs) we can just paste it into the journal book.
5. Flying paper airplane book and some colored paper for making paper airplanes.
6. DVD player (very important!) and some new DVDs. Good headset.
7. Snacks. Include hard candies that can be sucked while the plane is descending, to deal with ear pain. This is only 1 of the strategies that we’ve used with him: sometimes we’ll try to keep him drinking liquids, sometimes we ask him to squeeze his nose, close his mouth and blow. But the candy is a little incentive that he appreciates when his ears are hurting!
8. Magnetic checkers board. We’ve been starting to play some father-son checkers these days so maybe a small travel magnetic checkers board would be a worthwhile investment.

I haven’t thought about how to survive a layover at Miami airport (MIA) with the kids. Fortunately the travel outbound is pretty efficient, but the return includes a 5 hour layover! I could only find a little information about MIA here. But no real information about family friendly activities at MIA. Does anyone have a parents guide to MIA or “family guide to MIA” or something? SFO is easier…he loves the AirTrain.

OK, next up will be: what to pack on the plane for a 10 month old!

UPDATE:  For earaches on plane trips, Glennia suggested we pack some Benedryl as well.

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I thought I’d start this blog with some personal notes. I’m a dad with a 5 year old boy and a 10 month old baby boy. And a wife that works full time. So we are pretty busy juggling job, schools, activities, etc. Well, I’ve always had a travel bug, which has been curtailed a bit by the responsibilities of being a dad.

Before we had kids, we went to: China, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belize, Guatemala, Tanzania, and Kenya. Within the US, we traveled to Alaska and hiked around Denali, drove from LA to Boston via Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Utah, Moab NP, Bryce NP, Zion NP, Canyonlands NP, Colorado, Rocky Mountain NP, Vail, Denver….

Anyway, we haven’t done as much traveling since then. But we are planning on taking our kids to the Bahamas in a few weeks and we need to plan that trip. I thought I’d just blog about the process and highlight some great tips for family vacations and traveling with kids that I find on the Web for other would-be family travelers that have to take the kids along with them. Please comment if there is anything that you’d like to read about!

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