Great travel gear for parents & kids

Fall is usually the time when I start looking at new travel gear, partly because I like to give useful, practical items away as Christmas presents, and also because I don't mind receiving those kinds of gifts myself!

Here are some travel items that caught my eye recently that look both useful and practical for parents and kids.


A cross-body travel bag
When I travel by myself with my kids, I always like to keep my most important items right on my person at all times: things like tickets, passports, credit cards and cellphone. That way I know that the things I can't do without are always within reach, and that I won't misplace them or forget them on the way. This bag by Lewis N Clark looks excellent and comfortable to wear. It also holds tablets and e-readers, which is an added plus.


Water-proof cameras
I know many people just tend to use their cell-phones as the camera of choice these days, but if you're like me and you're a big fan of the beach, a water-proof camera seems like it would be an excellent thing to have.


A portable charger for your phone
Traveling with cell-phones and other electronics means you are always looking for places to recharge those devices. The iGO Power Trip is a portable battery that you can charge with a USB-connection and that can then charge your phone or tablet on the go. This one is compatible with several brands, including Samsung, iPhone and iPad, Blackberry and Nokia.


Fun travel games
Games specifically designed to be easy to bring along for travel are always a good thing when you're traveling with kids, and these two look fantastic. I first saw the magnetic Curious George game over at the Travel Tot site, and I'm definitely keeping it in mind for our next trip! Hasbro's travel-sized version of Guess Who? looks great too: my kids really like that game, and bringing it on a trip would give us a fun way to pass the time.


A portable travel bed
If you're traveling with a baby or a toddler, a portable travel bed can really make your life easier. The PeaPod from Kidco looks fantastic for travel and for the beach, and Brica's Fold N' Go Bassinet would be wonderful for babies on the go.


A collapsible cup
Whether you're traveling by car or plane, or just going for a hike or a picnic, these collapsible silicone cups could come in very handy for snacks or meals.


A solar-powered charger
This is the ultimate dream when it comes to charging up all those electronics I travel with: a solar powered charger.  This particular charger, the Freeloader, can be used for cameras, e-readers and more.


A kit that organizes all those cables
Last time I traveled with the kids, I brought a small bag full of nothing but cables and wires for all our various devices, chargers, and converters. This handy little roll-up kit does a much better job of keeping those kinds of bits and bobs organized!

An inspiring organization - Global Citizen

I've just recently started following an inspiring organization that is working for global change in many important areas: Global Citizen. It's an organization that is focusing on some really important goals, including an effort to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, promoting primary education for all children, and combating polio and other diseases.

Read more about the organization on its website.

Travel-memories: piglets playing tag in Rismyrliden

Check out these very cute (and active!) piglets we saw on our trip to the old-time farm in Rismyrliden, Sweden this year. If you're traveling in Västerbotten in Sweden in the summer, this place is a fantastic destination to visit with kids.

The piglets were the cutest this year, but there are also calves, bunnies, horses, and other animals to see, and some traditional Swedish crafts and treats to sample. If they have fresh bread for sale from "bagarstugan" (the baking house), then definitely buy a bag or two: it is heavenly with some butter on it!

Flying with kids & dealing with a cancelled flight

Some travel days are a lot worse than others. The day we left Sweden (after a lovely month of visiting with friends and family) to head back home to Canada, might very well qualify as one of my worst travel experiences ever.

At the best of times, our travel between Skellefteå, in northern Sweden, to Vancouver, in Canada, takes about 20 hrs or so to complete with travel time and time waiting at or getting to airports.

Still, it was supposed to be an easy day: catch a late morning flight with SAS from Skellefteå to Stockholm, arrive in plenty of time before our Icelandair flight to Reykjavik and then continue on to Seattle and home. Except that didn't happen, because about two hours before that first flight, the one down to Stockholm, we received a text message that SAS had cancelled our flight. No explanation, and the number to call turned out not to be open for business on Saturdays.

I went numb. What could we do? If we didn't get to Stockholm in time to check in for our 2.20 pm flight, we would not get home at all that day. An initial online check of alternate flights was not encouraging. There were NO other flights from Skellefteå that day.

Words to live by when you're panicking.

There are two other towns with airports within 1 1/2 hours drive from Skellefteå - Umeå and Luleå. If we could find a flight from there, the day might be saved, but SAS had no flights from either town with seats available. At this point I was madly trying to figure out how I would deal with the situation: contact Icelandair to let them know, try to re-book, get down to Stockholm as soon as possible so we could hop on any planes available...

Then, my dad found a flight from Luleå on Norwegian airlines, leaving at 11.15 am. It was the only flight available that would get us to Stockholm in time. I could hardly believe it. And there were seats available! Now we just had to get there in time.

The equation was this:

• Time: 8.30-ish am

• Drive time to Luleå: 1 1/2 hours, making our estimated time of arrival by car, barring traffic problems: 10-10.15 am.

• Flight departure: 11.15 am. 

• Flight arrival in Stockholm: 12.35.

• Flight out of Stockholm at 2.20 pm, though check-in closed at 1.20 pm.

All do-able, just, as long as we got on that flight from Luleå, and as long as that flight left on time.

Luckily I had packed our bags the night before, so me and the kids hustled ourselves into readiness immediately, while my mom and dad helped us along.

The place we were leaving: Burvik, Sweden.

The drive to Luleå was fast. That's all I'll say about that. I've never travelled that distance so fast ever before. Once at the airport we checked in and asked if they could check us through on Icelandair. Just as I suspected, they could not check us all the way through since Norwegian is not affiliated with Icelandair. Instead, in order to at least get us checked in for the next leg, I wanted to check in online. After realizing that Luleå Airport does NOT offer free wi-fi, I managed to get a connection, only to realize that I had no printer for boarding passes. Now, it is possible to get boarding passes sent to your phone, but seriously, at this point I felt like I wanted hard-copies of everything.

My mom went on a mission to find a printer, and came up with something even better: the guy at the information counter offered to let me log in on his computer and print whatever I needed. This process took a bit longer than I had counted on since we were flying to Seattle, and checking in for any US-destination when arriving on an international flight requires you to enter quite a bit of information. By the time I was finished, we had 15 minutes to go before the gate was closing for our flight to Stockholm. Pair that with a very long lineup, a single security checkpoint with a very zealous employee, and I felt like I was sweating bullets. It did not make for the most relaxed of goodbyes with my parents, and the kids were about to melt down from all the emotions and stress.

Once we were on the plane however, I could breathe. Especially once it took of, on time.

After that it was easy. Not a lot of time to spare in Stockholm, especially since we had to wait for our luggage, but it was alright. And once we were checked in with Icelandair I felt the tension just go out of me: now I knew we'd get home.

Crafts with barf-bags to pass the time on the plane.

Some things I learned from this experience:
1. Explain to the kids what is going on and what it means
When I heard our flight was cancelled, I freaked out. Not as in crying and wailing, but as in going into turbo-charged mode. After ordering the kids to get dressed and get their carryons organized, I realized that they thought we might never get home at all if we missed all our flights, so I explained to them that we would get home, though maybe not today.

Once we had our new flight, I explained that we now had a chance to make it home, and if we didn't, we would get on another flight and make it home anyway. It's easy to forget in the heat of the moment that some things that might seem obvious to an adult, might not be so obvious to a child.

2. Ask for help
That guy at the information desk at Luleå Airport who offered me the use of his computer and printer saved my sanity that morning. And I only got his help because my mom asked for assistance there. Not every person will be as helpful, but it is worthwhile to at least try.

3. Airports should offer free wi-fi
Seriously. An hour of free wi-fi for travellers should not be a big deal. Many airports offer it. Luleå Airport does not.

4. Bringing snacks is good
I had packed our carry-ons the previous day, including some snacks for the kids and me. That absolutely helped: we didn't have time to stop for snacks in the car, but I had something to offer the kids anyway. Same thing at the airport. Hungry kids are not patient travellers.

5. Having essential travel-documents in an easy-to-reach spot is great
I have a small travel pouch/purse that I keep credit cards, passports, tickets and boarding passes in, separate from my big carry-on backpack. Being able to easily check that I had our travel documents there helped reduce my anxiety level both in the car, at the airport, and on the various planes. I knew that as long as I had that pouch with me, we could get home, even if we somehow managed to forget or lose everything else.

6. Anything can happen
Most of the time, air travel is reliable, but that is not always the case. Things go wrong leading to cancellations and delays. What could I have done to prevent getting into such a tight spot? If we had headed down to Stockholm the day before our flights to Iceland, and then on to North America, would have helped, and that is what I might do next time. Apparently, it is not all that uncommon for SAS to cancel flights to and from northern Sweden, and I do not want to end up in the same predicament again. Ever.

Finally: a huge thank you to my parents who saved our travel-day and who also are the reason we enjoyed our stay in Sweden so much. Thank you, mom and dad!

8 tips for traveling by plane with electronics

Not too many years ago, I traveled with no electronic devices at all except a cell-phone, and I can even remember a time when I didn't have one of those. These days, it's a different story: my Kindle, my laptop, my cell-phone, and on our upcoming trip the kids' tablets all have to make it on the plane.

Here are some of my tips for flying with your electronics while also keeping your devices safe and in good working order while you travel. These tips apply to things like:

• laptops
• tablets
• cell-phones
• e-readers
• cameras

and anything else you would consider a "small-ish electronic device".

1. Pack electronic devices in your hand-luggage if possible
If you've ever seen how your suitcases are handled as they're loaded into an airplane, you will probably want to keep your electronic devices in your carry-on. Another thing to consider is that occasionally, thefts do occur from checked luggage. Personally, I would not put any of my electronics in the checked luggage: the risk of things getting broken or lost is just too great.


2. Get protective covers
As a parent traveling with kids, you will probably be putting your devices into your hand-luggage with a bunch of other items, which may include more or less messy things like toys, snacks, diapers, changes of clothes, and so on. It's a very good idea to buy some kind of protective cover for your electronics to keep them safe in that muddle - those screens can get damaged easily otherwise.

For our trips, I've purchased a zip-up neoprene cover for my laptop, and some practical and protective leather covers for the kids' Samsung tablets. My cell-phone has a protective cover on it anyway, so it's reasonably safe. 

3. Charge all devices fully before you leave
This is really important to remember, so I'll repeat it: charge everything up before you leave. Many airports now have electrical outlets where you can charge your devices, but it's not always easy to find them or take the time to use them (or find one that's not already taken!). And a device that is taking up space in your carry-on, but won't start when you want to use it is really, really annoying.
 

4. Bring all needed chargers and cables
When you're busy trying to remember everything you need to bring for your trip, this can easily slip your mind. Make sure you bring any battery chargers and cables you need for your devices along on your trip, or they won't be very useful at all! I usually put all these items into a small bag or pouch and pack it into the checked luggage so they're easy to find.


5. For international travel: bring adapters and converters
This is another thing that might slip your mind in the heat of packing for a trip: electrical outlets are not the same the world over. That charger or cable you brought, might not plug into the wall-outlet in a foreign country. Make sure you bring an adapter or converter, as needed, to simplify your life.


6. Bring some headphones
If you or your children are using devices that make noise, to play games or watch movies or listen to audio-books for example, it's a very good idea to bring along some headphones on your flight. That way, you won't be disturbing other travelers, and you will also be able to hear your devices better: the background noise on airplanes can drown out many sounds.

Get child-sized headphones for your kids so they're comfortable: these can often be used for the on-board entertainments system as well.


7. Pack your devices so they can be easily accessed at security
When you go through airport security, small devices like cell-phones and smaller cameras can usually just be left in your hand-luggage. However, security personnel will probably ask you to take out larger devices like laptops and sometimes (not always) tablets and e-readers before putting them through the x-ray machine.

Some backpacks and carry-ons are designed with a special compartment for things like laptops that you can zip open, and easily show your laptop or tablet. But at some security checkpoints you will still have to remove the device from your carry-on. Just make sure your electronics are easy to access to make this process easier.

8. Think about data charges before you go
If you're traveling outside your own country and want to use devices like smart-phones, tablets, laptops and so on that require you to access and use the internet, you should think about what that is going to cost you. Talk to your cell-phone provider about special plans for data-usage when you're abroad, and check how this will affect your other devices as well.

More cell-phone travel-tips can be found in my post: Cell-phone tips & apps when you're traveling with kids (or without!).