You’re all probably familiar with finding flights by using Travelocity, Kyak, Priceline, and Expedia, to name a few. Did you know about AirfareWatchdog.com? All you have to do is sign up for low fare alerts (sent to your inbox) to your favorite cities.  No airline is off limits so you’ll get to travel on your preferred carrier. Quick, easy, and simple.

 Today’s guest author shares a personal story of what happens when things don’t go according to plan.

We recently planned a surprise party for my grandma’s 70th birthday with all of her kids and grandchildren flying in without her knowing. We had family flying in from all over the country: Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, and New York City on Thursday morning. The plan was to meet up at the hotel and meet her at one of her favorite restaurants and surprise her there. My grandpa booked a party room and planned to leave well after the last flight was scheduled to get in. While we coordinated everything perfectly and gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the restaurant, Mother Nature was not on our side.

We were all scheduled to fly into Ft. Lauderdale early on Thursday morning. My uncle and his family flew in to Chicago on a very late flight Wednesday night which got to Chicago very early Thursday morning (due to the time change). My family was on the same flight as his and we left Chicago on-time for Ft. Lauderdale. Roughly an hour and a half into the flight, the pilot came on to let us know that we were going to be taking a different route to fly around storms that were approaching south Florida. He said that this would be adding an additional 20 minutes of flying time, but that we would beat the storms.

Two hours later, I could tell that we were circling over Ft. Lauderdale. The pilot told us we would be circling for another 30 minutes and that the storms should lighten up enough for us to land. As we were making circles over Ft. Lauderdale, I had an uneasy feeling that we wouldn’t be landing in 30 minutes. Sure enough, almost an hour later the pilot told us that we would need to re-fuel and were being diverted to Orlando to wait out the storm. We landed in Orlando at 2:30 leaving us with four and a half hours until dinner time. When I turned on my cell phone, I saw I had a text message from my cousins from New York that they had been diverted to Orlando as well.

We pulled into an area to wait for the storm and parked right next to a Jet Blue plane which, to this day, we are convinced was the one the family from NYC was on. Another 2 hours passed and we had no idea when we were leaving for Florida. The family from Atlanta landed, but they are the only ones to make it to Ft. Lauderdale. At 5:00, we get a text that the Jet Blue flight would be taking off soon and within 5 minutes, we were told that we were scheduled to land at 5:50 into Ft. Lauderdale. However, it would still take time to get our rental cars and luggage, and a 7:00 dinner would be cutting things really close.

We called my grandpa and told him he needed to stall. He called the restaurant and pushed dinner to 8:00. We were off the plane by 6:00 and my dad and uncle rushed to get the rental cars while we waited for the luggage to come off. It took us over an hour to get our bags from baggage claim, but we all made it to the restaurant by 7:30.

My grandpa stalled again by making a wrong turn and getting lost for an hour.

My grandma nearly fainted when we all surprised her. Despite the nightmares we went through flying down, we all made it to celebrate with her!

About the Author

Adam Bruk currently works as an online marketing specialist analyzing retail trends in socks for diabetics. When he isn’t busy at work organizing philanthropy, outreach, and the diabetes guide, he enjoys traveling around the world and visiting a new place every chance he gets!

Connect With Adam: Socks4Life | Heel to Toe

Yesterday’s blog post focused on mommy wars, but today we’re offering a little support for all moms, especially those who travel with their kidlets. 

I know what I go through when I have to pack up my pooch when we’re going to visit with friends. It’s a production and I can’t imagine packing him up for a plane ride. If you replace the pet with a child, that kicks things up a notch.

This is where DeliciousBaby.com comes to the rescue. The site offers help on a variety of topics, including:

Today’s guest blogger (who wishes to keep his identity a secret) shares great travel tips. Check them out!

Who doesn’t get thrilled on the very thought of going on a vacation? All of us do. But what are the things that you should take with you? If you are still clueless about the things that you absolutely must take on vacation, this list of items is surely going to benefit you.

You must prepare a vacation checklist before starting to pack your baggage. The quantity of things that you would have to carry depends upon whether you are going alone or taking your family along with.

Make a checklist

To streamline the process of say moving to Sydney and reduce stress, make a packing checklist for each person in your household. Each person should carry his own traveling bag or suitcase so that there is no confusion at the time of unpacking the luggage. Check items off as they are put in a suitcase to make sure that you pack everything.

Don’t pack too much

Do not stuff your suitcases with too much clothing. Pack clothing that is wearable with several outfits. For unexpected invitations, along with your casual outfits, always carry a formal dress when traveling cross-country. Pack multipurpose footwear which are suitable with many outfits and can be worn on several occasions. Carry less to travel stress-free.

Pack some warm clothes

Do not forget to pack some warm clothes, even if you have decided to spend your vacation in a not-so-cold region. You never know when you may fall ill. You may need your cozy jacket in the air-conditioned room of the hotel where you are staying while on vacation. A light fleece jacket can be worn on cold evenings, so carry it with you.

Medicines

If there are people in your family who take medicines regularly, do not forget to carry them. Do carry prescription medications in their original bottles, and remember to pack allergy medications.

Pack your camera

While moving overseas for short trip, do not forget to pack a camera so that you may capture those special moments of your trip. If you forget this item, you may curse yourself for years to come. These pictures are so fun to look at years later, and do carry some extra batteries.

Hand sanitizer and wipes

A good quality hand sanitizer is a must, especially if you are traveling with small kids. Children have this habit of creating a mess with their hands when they eat. A sanitizer makes sure that they keep their hands clean. 

Don’t forget your passport and any traveler’s checks you may have. Inspect everything before putting it into your suitcase. If it’s a maybe, leave it out. Have a safe journey!

About the Author

Today’s author has been associated with removals in Sydney from a long time. Presently with his vast experience, he is helping people choose the best service provider for them for their safe and hassle free move.

Yesterday, I worked with a client who had lots to do before her upcoming trip this week. We worked on getting her ready by packing and creating a list of to do’s she has to take care of before she heads out of town. Here’s what we did…

Schedule Tasks on Specific Days

Instead of creating one long laundry list, we decided to assign each task to a specific day, with only minor, last minute things for her day of departure. That way, she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed and she could concentrate on looking fabulous and feeling comfortable before leaving for the airport.

We were realistic about how much could be accomplished on each day and realized that at least one day would be a little crazy. Knowing this ahead of time will help her prepare mentally and give her the opportunity to cross something off that may not really be necessary. If nothing gets crossed off, at least there’s a nice vacation waiting…and she can always sleep on the plane.

Schedule Errands by Location

We also grouped certain tasks by location. At least 5 of her to do’s required stops that were close to each other, so all of those tasks got lumped together on the same day. It’s more efficient and definitely less stressful than having to roam about DC. There were other tasks that could be handled virtually so we planned for her to do those later in the evening (i.e., after she returned from her brick and mortar errands). 

How do you get everything done before a you take a trip?

It’s Monday. But, I wish it were still Sunday. Or Even Saturday. Actually, Friday because that when I started my long weekend away. It was really fabulous. Fabulously relaxing.

I didn’t even get on the computer. Not once (DH did, though, to check for restaurants in the area). Those of you who know me well know that this is a true miracle. You know I’m in favor of unplugging. You know I struggle with this…but not this weekend. I didn’t even check my blog stats. That’s huge. Ginormous.

Know what’s even better than a long, rejuvenating weekend away? Waking up on Monday morning (a.k.a. Admin Day) and not having to worry about unpacking. That’s because when I got home on Sunday, I gathered up my priorities and got started on a not-so-long to do list.

1. Enjoyed walking into a clean house. (Yes, I clean before taking trips.)

2. Hugged my dog. (He’s such a sweetie).

3. Went to the loo. (This is definitely a priority after a road trip.)

4. Unpacked everything. (One bag, so unpacking was a cinch.)

5. Threw clothing in the washer.

6. Put away our suitcase. (Last time we didn’t unpack right away, our dog took up residence in our bag. The negotiations to reclaim it were difficult.)

7. Threw clothes in the dryer.

8. Watched a bit of TV. (Modern Marvels – love that show. Learned a lot about how eggs are processed.)

9. Had dinner. (I did a few more things after dinner, but you get the picture.)

The stress free weekend flowed nicely into a stress free Monday morning. I highly recommend unpacking and at least putting dirty clothing in the laundry basket. You’ll be happier on a Monday (yes, that’s possible) and can get on with other important things. Don’t take my word for it. Give it go. It will make a big difference.

When you get home from traveling, do you unpack and do laundry straight away? …or wait until…?

Thinking about jumping in the RV for a family getaway this summer? Check out these tips from today’s guest author, Rachel Paxton.

The weather is getting warm again and our family is thinking about going camping again. We are not die-hard campers. We like to camp during warm summer weather and enjoy camping from the comforts of our RV.

RV camping is great, especially if you have young children. With three children six and under, it’s nice to be able to stay warm and dry when it’s raining and to turn the heater on at night when it’s cold. That makes camping a lot more fun both for them and mom and dad.

Packing

One of the convenient things about owning an RV is that you can plan and pack well ahead of the day you are going to leave. You can plug the RV in on the driveway and fill the refrigerator and freezer with food several days before you are going to leave. You also don’t need suitcases, you can just pile all your family’s clothing in the RV closets.

With small children, however, it is often still necessary to be packing clothing the night before you leave. If we are going to be gone for a long weekend, I don’t have enough clothing for them to be packing several days in advance. Make sure you pack shorts as well as pants, no matter what weather you expect. I also take two changes of clothing for every day and lots of extra underwear..

Food and Supplies

While you are camping, make a list of items you run out of so that you can replenish your cupboards for your next camping trip. If you wait until you get home, you will forget what you were going to put on the list. This happens to me all the time. Things you will most often run out of may include paper towels, aluminum foil, dish soap, paper plates, etc.

Food storage is also easy with an RV. I keep a lot of items already in the camper so they are always ready to go, such as hot chocolate, small boxes of cold cereal, spices. The more you store in the camper the less you need to pack later.

Meal Planning

When you are planning meals, consider whether or not you will have access to water at your camp site. Although you can fill your water tank before you get there, if you are relying on that water for the entire weekend for cooking, dishes, and the bathroom toilet, you will run out of water faster than you expect. When we know we will have limited water, we use a lot of paper plates and plastic silverware, and bring a small barbecue along to cook a lot of the food to limit water usage.

RV camping is great fun for the whole family. If you are like me and like to be organized ahead of time, this is very easy to do with an RV. RV’s take a lot of the stress out of getting ready for camping and make the experience more enjoyable for the entire family.

About the Author

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of five. For recipes, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit her website, Creative Homemaking.

Connect With Rachel: Web

Today’s guest author, Ryan Embly, shares some tried and true traveling tips.

Today’s young travelers seem to be unable to plan and organize their vacations without the help of at least three different gadgets – what a difference from the days before it practically became a requirement to own a cellphone. If you prefer to kick it old school while making travel arrangements rather than join the technological age, here are some organization tips for you.

1. It’s easy to get confused and disorganized when shopping around for things like airline tickets, hotel reservations and tickets for tourist attractions. If you’ve just called six different hotels that all quoted you different prices, it’s unlikely you’ll remember which hotel goes to which price.

When calling multiple locations, make sure to write down the name, phone number, price quoted and other useful information. Make sure to write this information down even if you don’t think you’re going to use it. Far too often people have neglected to write down information that at the time seemed useless but later became valuable. For example, if you are looking for a cheap hotel but the lowest price you’ve come across so far is still too expensive, keep that information because, for all you know, that is the lowest price available and it will be a real hassle to have to dig up that information again after you’ve made ten other phone calls.

2. Writing up a packing list will help you kill two birds with one stone. A list is useful to have when you are packing so that you don’t have to spend time digging through your dresser figuring out what to bring. A list will also help you when you are packing to go home so you can run through it to make sure that you have packed everything you brought with you and there’s nothing hiding under the hotel room bed for you to accidentally leave behind.

3. Write down all your contact information neatly and store it all in the same place. You can buy yourself a little address book to keep all the information in. You should write down the number of your hotel, airline, car rental agency, travel agent, places you are visiting, friends and family in the area – everything! It will save you a lot of time and effort later on when your memory inevitably fails you.

4. Hard copies are your friends. Make copies of everything that could be important for your travel plans, such as your itinerary, tickets, reservations and flight and hotel information. Bring a copy or two along with the original on your trip, and leave another copy at home so if you lose everything, you can phone home and still have access to the information.

It’s also a good idea to make a copy of your driver’s license, passport or identification in case they are stolen or lost. This way, replacing or reporting these documents as lost will be a much easier process. Also, for some purposes you may be able to use these copies in lieu of the original documents. Bring along a folder, binder or accordion file with you so you can keep track of everything.

About the Author

This post was written by Ryan Embly of CarRentalExpress.com.

On the latest episode of Shark Tank, one of the entrepreneurs presented a pretty clever idea. Ladies, you will definitely appreciate this concept for a number of reasons.

Here’s more info…

The Company: OneSole®

The Creator: Dominique McClain Barteet

What It Is: One pair of shoes (bottoms or soles) with interchangeable tops (over 1k available, including collegiate).

Why It’s Fabulous:

1. Traveling. You can different looks without having to pack a bag just for your shoes. Simply bring along your Traveler Soft Step Soles (that’s one bottom with one black top and two more tops for $98) and you’re good to go. Btw, lighter bags also means less baggage fees. Couldn’t you also see this working well for a weekend road trip? Sounds like a win-win to me. =)

2. Closet Space. With the 3-in-1 concept of these shoes, you’ll also save on closet space.

3. Quick Change. You can start your work day with one look and switch it up for happy hour. You can also change your soles. The Diva Soft Sole ($120) has a 5″ heel compared to 2″ for the other OneSoles. Buy the set and choose your tops. Easy.

4. Comfort. Perhaps the best thing about these shoes is the comfort factor. As a pharmacist who stood on her feet 12 hours each day, Dominique McClain Barteet, the creator of OneSole, wanted a shoe that was fashionable and comfortable. Each shoe is lightweight with the EVA soft step insole.

What do you think? Would you be willing to try OneSole? Not ready to shell out the bucks to get your own? Enter to win a free pair instead (scroll to bottom of the OneSole “Contact Us” page).

The last two weeks have been super busy. <cue head spinning> And, to add a little spice to the mix, about five days ago, I decided to attend NAPO 2011.That’s where a throng of pro organizers descend on city for 4-5 days and fix everything that’s out of place.

Well, maybe we all don’t fix things. But I do. Last year, I fixed a crooked painting in the hotel elevator. I waited for the hotel staff to fix it, but I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to straighten it. I tried to fix a figurine, too? It wasn’t centered, but I should have left it alone. Don’t worry, no one got mad at me…but things didn’t go so well because it was glued to the table! =)

Anyway…why the last minute turn about? It’s a long story, but the short of it is that I was given a new reason to consider by my colleague, Kate Brown. Then, the stars lined up as nicely as they could, and here I am getting ready for a trip I wasn’t planning for. Did I mention that leave tomorrow?

So, what does one do when faced with a last minute trip? You still make a plan…you book your flight and find a place to sleep while you’re away (thank you, Julie Bestry and Kate Brown!)

And, you do these five things:

1. Make a List.

You aren’t surprised that this is #1, are you? Making a list is the best way to figure out what has to get done. Write down all the things you will need. Do you have the appropriate clothing for the conference (e.g., business casual or flip-flops and shorts)? Thank you, Scott Roewer, for the Facebook reminder about NAPO’s biz casual dress code. Oh, and don’t forget about the location (e.g., will it be warm or frigid?).

Get it out of your head and onto paper or in your smart phone…and make sure you have clean underwear and comfy shoes. Thanks to my mum for the last two reminders.

Btw, it’s great to make lists and travel plans (do you have the name of the hotel you’re staying in?), but if you haven’t registered for the conference, it’s all for naught. So, this should definitely be on your list of things to do.

2. Find The Right Suitcase.

If you’re going to a conference where there will also be an expo, that means you’ll probably find great products. If you use your favorite suitcase, will you be able to fit the stuff you plan to buy when you’re at the conference? Last year, I got some organizing goodies from Rubbermaid but had to send them with another organizer (thank you, Jackie Kelley!) who had more room that I did. Why not grab a bigger bag (thank you, Connie Banford!) to fit it all in for the trip back home?

3. Straighten Up a Bit.

You won’t appreciate this before you’re gone or even while you’re gone (though your significant other might). The appreciation will kick in when you get back to a home that is clean and organized. Because when you’ve been up from the crack of dawn with a lay over and a change of planes, you’ll be really, really glad you took care of that before you left. It will be one less thing you’ll have to worry about doing so that you can get on with the business being jet lagged. ;)

Can’t get to it all? Organize and clean the area that you tend to spend a lot of time in. That way, there will be at least one room that can run to (to work, think, or even just relax in) when you get back.

4. Pack.

Obviously, you need to pack, right? Well, that doesn’t mean you need the kitchen sink. Since this is a last minute trip, you may not have all your favorite things on hand. Maybe all your suits are still at the cleaners. Find some key pieces that you can mix and match. Doing this will let you get as much use as possible out of the items you carry and without weighing yourself down with random pieces of clothing. Plus, you’ll have enough room for those conference goodies you’re going to buy.

5. Get Some Sleep.

It might seem like you don’t have enough time to sleep when you’re running around getting ready for this trip…but, if you’re not rested, you’ll look and feel pretty haggard when you step off the plane. And, where will you find cucumbers for your eyes at the airport?

Go to bed at a reasonable time the night before your trip and try to catch some zzz’s while you’re on the plane – especially if you’re bypassing your hotel room and heading straight to a conference session.

Ok, now off you go. But, before you do – what are your last minute trip rituals?

P.S. Did you notice all those “thank you’s?” That’s because when you’re planning a last minute trip, you always need a bit of help! =)