Travel Insurance – Why? Where?

The first time I ever heard of travel insurance was when I was 14 years old. I was going to Florida for two weeks with a friend, and my grandmother made sure I was well-equipped: a nice suitcase, traveler’s checks, and travel insurance. It was a tiny policy, enough coverage for a 14-year old. It covered medical emergencies and theft or loss of my traveler’s checks. Thankfully, I never had to make a claim, but I’m sure my grandmother slept better the two weeks I was away.

Travel insurance is best on extended trips, cruises, and trips far away from home. I personally would never travel abroad without travel insurance. Most insurance policies basically cover any medical expenses, theft of your property, loss of baggage and etc. Some policies are more specialized, such as car rental collision coverage, overseas funeral costs, return of a minor child, kidnapping and ransom, and other risks. I highly recommend travel insurance for global travel, especially coverage for medical and dental. I have heard a few horror stories of folks traveling out of the country only to encounter foreign medical doctors and outrageous prices. Travel insurance is usually inexpensive unless you are traveling to a risky location or participating in a risky event (such as skydiving over the Alps!). Still, it does pay to shop around. Why pay more than you have to? Such is cheaptravelinsurance.com. This UK-based company offers travelers an incredible array of insurance policies, all geared toward your specific travel experience. Going on a cruise? Check out CheapTravelInsurance’s special cruise insurance policy. Are you a family traveling abroad? There are very affordable policies for families, too. There are other policies, too– the Backpacker, the Annual-Multi-Trip, The Over 65′s, the Ski and Snowboarding! Single trip insurance is an incredibly low £5.35! And online orders get 10% discount.

Check out the prices. I think you’ll be astonished at how inexpensive the travel insurance is. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Travel Blanket for the Chillies

I am an usual person, because I rarely get cold. Even in winter, I am quite comfortable without a heavy coat and hat. Actually, my “winter” coat is just a sweatshirt jacket with a winter scarf accessory. On really cold days (below 10), I wear a flannel shirt underneath. My husband calls me his “winter woman,” lol. I have a difficult time in the summer when the temperatures reach more than 75. Just weird, is all.

However, my husband is the exact opposite. He is very comfortable in the summers and freezes all winter. When we travel and it’s a little chilly, I have to pack a travel blanket for him and for the kids who do tend to get cold, also. In the winter (which can be vicious here in Upstate NY) it’s always good to keep a small portable blanket in your trunk, anyway, for emergencies. It’s hard finding a warm blanket that is also convenient and suited for travel. Most of the time I just throw an extra blanket on the floor of the trunk… but I cringe because the van floors are so dirty.

Do you have this same problem? Here’s a really cute little travel blanket- the Cabin Cuddler. It was invented by an airline pilot, actually. His name is Jim Levings and he came up with the idea after walking through the airplane cabin and seeing the passengers struggle with their airplane blankets. “Blankets are reused on airlines no matter how sick people may have been who used them, no matter how wet, moldy, or germy the blankets were,” he said. YUCK!!! Jim came up with the idea of a convenient and affordable travel blanket– a personal travel blanket that you can tuck right in your own little bag! I love the thing! It has a nice pouch at the bottom to tuck your feet, and it comes with it’s own inflatable little pillow.

Check out the website for more information, or call toll-free 1-800-788-5770 to order by phone.

Enjoy the Ride

At the dinner table this evening, I was asking the children (I have four, ranging in ages from 11 to 18) what they liked best about traveling. I was thinking of writing a blog article about how to travel with kids. But as we talked about our experiences over our baked ziti and bread and butter, it became clear that the children enjoyed our adventures during the car trip more than the distractions to make the trip bearable. In a nutshell, I guess you could say we enjoy the ride.

They had some good ideas. Of course, being older (and more articulate), they are beyond the bingo games and sing-a-longs that make younger children happy. My youngest would still love a van with a built-in DVD player, but the others offered some sage advice. I’ll share them with you, because I thought they were very open and frank with their thoughts.

1. Take the scenic route.

This ranked number one among them all. They hate taking the highways and thruways, even if it means we will arrive at our destination sooner. Why have misery all the way to your destination and then all the way back home from it, just to save time? Enjoy the ride!

As New York travelers, we have the advantage of day-long car trips and beautiful scenery. We’ve had our share of I-90 road trips, and the trip is never as much fun as the trip we had when we took local routes like Route 5 or Route 20 or Route 8 or even the out-of-the-way local roads. Improvise a little. Make stops along the way, go to a grocery store and talk with the locals, or do your homework and find some local oddity in town to see before reaching your “big” destination.

2. Interact with the passengers.

My husband and I like talk radio (well, my husband loves it). We could have it running the whole trip. But the kids hate it. This makes sense, since half the time they don’t understand what the radio host is talking about. They’re kids. Who the heck is Bill O’Reilly to them?

My children want us to interact with them. They love conversation and stories. So hubby and I try to keep the car trip lively by informing the kids of all our youthful foibles, to their great delight! I also try to research the site we are visiting, and give a short history lesson before we get there. This adds a great deal of depth and appreciation to the site we visit. It also impresses the tour guides with our great knowledge.

I believe children- for all their groanings and complaints– truly desire their parents’ input. Mine certainly do, and aren’t afraid to let us know. Traveling in the car for long distances, where else can parents find such a captive audience? We mostly discuss the Bible, history, family life, philosophy, and current events. Find out what interests your child, but also teach the child some new things. Travel is really the perfect time to bond closer together and learn more about each other. It especially helps if you have a talkative group, as do we.

3. Bring along audio books for quiet times.

When you are tired of talking (or listening), an audio book works wonders. We have the Bible on tape, and several CDs of sermons from ministers, which are wonderful for quiet thoughts on the road. I rarely play music, and I never play heavy rock music, because those are distractions that work against reflection and conversation, I believe. Travel should be more than just a means to an end. Traveling to the destination is 90% of the journey, and I want it to be filled with convivial depth, not anarchistic distractions.

So there are my kids’ ideas. Nothing against Uno or sing-a-longs or hand-held computer games, as everything has its place I suppose. But keep in mind that the journey is half the fun, and children are as happy with simple things as complicated things. I will take that a little further and say that they are happiest when they are involved with the parents, and when there is unity among the group. This makes the traveling so much more enjoyable.

Enjoy the ride. Enjoy it together!

Photo courtesy of Vintage Clip Art.