Travel Advice

[celtictigeress]

Now that traveling season is here I thought it might be good to post some advice for people going on vacation. Anyone with ideas is more than welcome to join in!

My advice is for women who need a passport to go on vacation or travel on business: Be sure to make your flight reservation in the name on your passport. If for some reason it isn't -- say, your passport is in your maiden name and your ticket in your married, or vice versa -- get a certified, non-photocopied copy of your wedding certificate (not your license) to take with you to security. If my husband hadn't done that I don't think I would have been going to Anguilla, since my passport is in my maiden name and my FIL made my ticket reservation in my married name.

My other piece of advice is to be aware when someone around you is opening an overhead compartment during your flight. The woman behind me had a water bottle in the overhead, opened the door to get it, and the bottle ended up falling out and hitting me on the head. It's amazing how heavy water in plastic can be. The "be careful when opening overhead compartments because contents might have shifted during the flight" warning is there for a reason!Too bad this woman didn't pay attention to that.:duh:

[100792]

Great Advice.

When I had my pets I always traveled with their medical records. Even though they never bit anyone I was not taking a chance and carried their shot records with me.

Before DS was old enough to get an ID card (I know you can get state cards at the DOL) I carried a copy of his birth certificate and a current photo with us.

[jcme]

If you don't have a passport, make sure your ticket matches the name on your driver's license.

If you travel with a group and don't go by your first name, ask the trip leader to book the ticket in your formal name but keep everything else in the name you go by. That way you have no hassles at the airport (or however you are travelling) and everything else is as you prefer. The one time I just had them book under my formal name a lot of people didn't know it was me when they saw the list of people who were going.

If you travel with pets who want to hide under things and are staying in a hotel...

1) Block off any place your pet can hide. The last think I wanted to do in a hotel to get my cat out from under the bed is try and lift up the matress and box spring (I had to do that the first couple times at home before I brought him to the vet, I quickly learned to lock him in the bathroom to get him in the carrier because there is no place to hide :D )
Put your suitcases around the bottom of the bed and also across any other openings you pet can sqeeze into. Usually when I've travelled with my cat, it has been longer trips so I have a bunch of stuff, if you aren't travelling with much bring some empty shoe boxes or cardboard to prop up against openings.

2) Make sure your pet doesn't try to dash under a matress on a platform bed. At one hotel, I thought oh good, I don't have to drag all my stuff out of the car to block off the bottome of the bed. Then when I let the cat out of the carrier he proceeded to dart under the bed and bonked his head so hard. :eek:

Take care

[rose39]

While traveling it is always good to leave your itenary with a friend or family member. We always check in with a friend when we arrive at our destination and let them know what we are planning. We also leave emergency numbers with the friend so in case they need to contact any of our family members.

[Marian Paroo]

If you're gonna be in my neckadawoods, PM me!

[kitten61]

I agree with Rose39 and always leave an agenda and as many phone numbers as you can. With Homeland security always wear comfortable shoes that are easy to take off when you go through security.....and above all, take a large dose of patience, you're are going to need it.

[Marian Paroo]

Has anyone here traveled wearing a brace, or a prosthetic or heavy orthopedic shoes?

I hope to be in the USA around Thanksgiving, and I am wondering how much trouble my shoes and my orthopedic condition will be.

My shoes are heavy, and if they want me to take them off, they will also have to offer me a chair.

And I don't want to think about all the :( s and :mad: s behind me as I slow up the line.

[jcme]

I can't speak to dealing with those things myself, but have seen when travelling, several people needing extra time or assistance because of various reasons.

I've seen th TSA work with individuals needing extra assistance 1 on 1. Someone usually comes on the entry side of the checkpoint and has helped them with whatever they need and has manually checked anything that shouldn't go through the x-ray.

As for the people behind them, I've never seen any impact. People use another line or the TSA person providing assistance has the person off to the side while they are helping them or manually checking things, while others can still go through the checkpoint. Then when the person needing assistance is ready to go through, they let them go through next.

I would let the first TSA person you encounter at the checkpoint know you may need some assistance and I'm sure they will work with you to make things as smooth as possible for you and everyone else in line.

Take care

[hazleyes822]

Eat bland before you travel on a plane. Nothing worse than having to be stuck in your seat and your tummy gets upset.

Bring a book, but also make sure you have music. It helps when people beside you are annoying and your just want to chill out.

Have snacks for small children. Remember anything that is liquidish ( puddings, juice boxes etc) will spurt when opened when on your flight. Same with water bottles etc. Have books and new toys to keep them entertained on the flight.

c