Rent Baby Gear on Your Next Trip for Easier Packing

by Jamie Rhein on

We traveled with my son from India to Thailand when he was three months old. This wasn’t his first trip, but it was his first international one. Along with us came his car seat carrier, baby stroller, baby sling, and diaper bag. He slept with us, so that took care of the where to let him sleep. We stacked pillows around him whenever he was in bed alone. The baby stroller was also handy for transporting our own personal items through the airport and up to the gate. Strollers are hand-loaded onto an airplane and since you get it back as soon as you land, it’s mighty handy to have one.

There were times on other trips when we lugged along a portable playpen, but he really never used it. I can’t recall why not, but bringing it turned out to be a waste of energy and space. Probably because he never used it at home either, so why would he use it elsewhere? The what to bring along when traveling with a baby can be a stumbling block for folks whose child needs certain items to feel comfortable in an unfamiliar environment. I too pondered this before every trip away from home.

To help people who want to travel with their young ones, but hesitate with the thought of the stuff they could be dragging along, there are companies who are offer solutions. (see article). Baby’s Away rents out full-size cribs and stuff like ExerSaucers. The Traveling Baby Company rents high end strollers, baby bathtubs, car seats, baby monitors etc. You can also order stuff like baby food and supplies to have on hand when you arrive at your destination.When visiting friends and relatives, having a crib readily available could come in handy–it actually isn’t a bad idea to have some food at the other end too. Not that you can’t get any, but to not have all those jars to pack sounds divine. When traveling in some parts of the world, commercial baby food just seems a safer bet.

This summer was the first time we drove to New York without the jogging stroller. It was always such a pain to pack. Trying to keep the wheels from tumbling out each time the hatch of the station wagon was opened and closed was an issue. I can see how it might have saved us some grief if we could have rented a stroller for the few times we actually used it. As far as renting a car seat goes, since you can carry them to the gate and have them hand put on at no extra charge, I’m not sure why a person would rent one, unless you are one person traveling with a child and can’t manage to carry it too. I could be dense, though, and just not get it.

The photo by Six Continents Chick on Flickr shows what traveling with three adults and one infant can look like in the stuff catgory. Read the description and you’ll see what I mean.

Amtrak Can Be Cheap

by Jamie Rhein on

When I was looking for information on the GrandLuxe Limited train trips, I discovered that Amtrak does have some terrific travel deals for last minute travel. For example, if you want to go to Chicago, Illinois from Indianapolis, Indiana in a couple of days, the ticket costs just $10.80. It’s a five and a half hour trip which makes it about $2 an hour.

(The photo is of the Amtrak train passing at Wacker Drive along the Chicago River.)

These deals are found in the Hot Deals section under Weekly Specials. Other deals I found are New York to Savanah, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois to Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Kansas City, Missouri to St. Louis, Missouri. There are deals for the return trips also so hopefully you won’t get stuck and not able to get back without paying a hefty fare for the return.

In general, Amtrak also offers cheaper travel from any destination for the 2 to 15 age group. Every day those fares are half price. You can also get discounts if you are a student, senior citizen, AAA member, in the military or a family member of a person in the miliatary, or a member of the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP).

I’d love to do one of these cheap trips. I suppose I could drive to Indianapolis (about 3 hours from Columbus, Ohio) and then take the train to Chicago. It would be cheaper than the gas and tolls, but where would I keep my car? Better to drive after all.

Car Seat Rules in the U.S.

by Jamie Rhein on

We’re heading to Montana via Seattle, Washington in two weeks and I just found out we’re in the market for a car seat. Washington’s car seat rules changed over a month ago and my son doesn’t meet the new criteria for not needing either a car seat of some sort.

A child needs to be 8 years-old or be 4 feet 9 inches tall to only need a seat belt. My son doesn’t make it on either account. Since there’s no way he’s going to agree to going back in the car seat he’s used since he was younger than two, I think we’ll get him a booster seat. I’ve been thinking about getting him one of these anyway. He’s safer if he’s buckled in at a better height. These two booster seats are the ones I’m thinking about. In case you need to know some car seat/booster seat rules for other states, here is the list of the ones that also require seats for the not a baby, but not big enough yet crowd. Montana is also one of them.

Now we will have one more piece of luggage to take that I wasn’t counting on. If we check the booster seat, it’ll cost us $5 on Skybus. Of course, we could carry it on the plane and let him sit on it. Does that count as a carry-on? According to the Website, a stroller can be carried to the gate and Skybus folks will check it then at no extra charge. I’m assuming this means the booster seat counts as well. There is no one to call to ask. I’m still waiting on a response to the email I sent Skybus two months ago asking a security question about the safety of ordering tickets on-line. I did order the tickets anyway.

Plugged In or Tuned Out in Amish Country

by Jamie Rhein on

Once, when I was about ten years old, my grandparents came to visit my family in State College, Pennsylvania where we lived. Afterwards, they brought my brother and me back to their house in Dayton, Kentucky right across the river from Cincinnati. They were excited to take us on a side trip through Amish country on the way.

Since the oldest settlement of Amish in the United States is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a drive through there guarantees coming across horse drawn buggies, white farmhouses with laundry flapping on clotheslines, and fruit and vegetable stands that also sell homemade pies and jams. I was happy to drive through Amish country, but after awhile was more interested in reading my book than keeping my eye for another buggy much to my grandmother’s displeasure.

Now that I’m traveling with my own 14 year-old, I can somewhat relate to how my grandmother felt.

This My Turn Essay by Lisa Segleman in this week’s Newsweek magazine addresses the road trip with kids issue, something that I’ve also written about in earlier posts. In Segelman’s account, everyone in her family was plugged into their own electronic devices, thus did very little to interact with each other while they traveled from New Jersey to Florida. I understood her feelings about not having anyone to interact with since everyone was busy interacting with their gadgets, but also wondered why no one said, “Unplug.”

On the other hand, perhaps part of the pleasure of a road trip is the coziness of being in a vehicle with family members without arguements. Still, whenever we go on trips with my daughter, we do tell her to take off the earphones from time to time to visit with us. And sometimes, she hands me her headphones so I can listen to her favorite songs. The only time I do this is on a road trip and I always feel great when I’m plugged in.

Colin Thomas snapped this picture of Bethany and posted it on Flickr. His comment said, she said, “You’re so annoying.” Yep, sounds about right. I don’t think Bethany is an adolescent though, but the sentiments are the same.