By Amy SuskiWhen your vacation starts with dragging 3 kids out of bed at 4:30 a.m. to make a mad dash to the airport, one of them is car-sick, and you use up your whole trip’s worth of handiwipes cleaning vomit off your luggage even before you check-in, you know you’re in for a special kind of trip. And our trip to The Big Island of Hawaii didn’t disappoint. From that moment forward there were plenty of ups and downs, from which I draw the following hard-earned travel lessons:
1) Dramamine is your friend. 2) Handiwipes are your friend. 3) However frustrated you may be with an airline after a flight is cancelled for the second time, the lady at the counter is your friend. If you and your kids look pathetic enough she just might take pity on you, bump the nasty guy in pointy leather shoes, and get all five members of your family on the next flight. (Thank you, thank you nice lady!!) 4) The hotel mini-fridge is your friend (and so is Costco). Stunned by the high price of restaurant dining in Hawaii, we alleviated some of the sting by stocking our trusty mini-fridge with breakfast food and snacks from the local Costco. 5) Don't attempt to check a laptop computer, however well-cushioned it may seem. Baggage handlers are not known for their gentleness. (The screen cracked on mine.) 6) Make sure your rental car is in tip-top shape (i.e. all 4 tires have air) before driving off into the night tired, disoriented, and with 3 jet lagged kids. 7) Don't buy swimsuits with pockets. Our 11-year-old “forgot” his ipod touch was in his swimsuit pocket when he jumped in the hot tub. 8) Seriously consider not checking your emails at all. As a result of stupid curiosity both my husband and I got entangled with disputes with our house contractor and problems at work that sucked valuable time away from the trip and left us pretty aggravated. 9) DO make your children eat Hawaiian poi. It’s disgusting and if they get unruly you can threaten them with it for the rest of trip. 10) Don’t bring children to an unmarked, off-the trail crater in the ground with a name like “Devil’s Throat.” It appears suddenly, has a 165 drop, and has no barriers. It’s dangerous. (And is not on any of the official guide maps for a good reason.) 11) Ask the nice people at the hotel which beaches are ok and which are not. The surf is treacherous at some beaches and certain remote spots are better left to the locals. 12) Don’t leave your luggage in a rental car for any extended period. If leaving valuables in your car is unavoidable, we found that a child's semi-circle of vomit around the car is 100% effective in deterring break-ins.
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