Prior to leaving, I had been battling some sickness, which without any unflattering details, left me visiting the restroom facilities a bit more than normal.  I thought things had passed just before leaving, but by nightfall I found the uncomfortable rumblings returning.

If you have ever stayed overnight at a campground with a pit toilet, they are better than none at all, but not much more.  The smell and thought of what lies below is enough to keep you away unless absolutely necessary.  Now consider that I spent much of my first night frequenting this facility.  Not a pleasant thought.

Fortunately that first night was the last for such uncomfortable and restless evenings, and I spent the rest of the week able to enjoy the trip with much more ease.  That first night was definitely memorable though, I’ll give it that.

This trip is the most commercial, materialistic vacation we have ever taken as a family. Not that we are necessarily opposed to the much hyped tourist destinations, but typically we are the type to go camping or visit a national park for our outings. We enjoy the great outdoors and enriching our kids’ lives, and ours with a little history whenever possible. That said, I do feel like it is a great experience for kids to see Disneyland at least once in their lives. Call me a sucker for the advertising.

Before going, we ordered and received the complimentary Disney vacation DVD they send out to get you “prepared” for your visit. It showed out kids a little of what was coming, but be warned this is basically an advertisement for their hotels and an invitation to spend as much as possible with the options that are conveniently located within the park. What really struck me about the Disney message though, and quite frankly rubbed me the wrong way, is the whole idea of “Where your dreams come true.” Is this the message I want my kids believing in? Ok, I don’t really think they are going to believe it, but there is some heavy brainwashing going on throughout the mini-movie. In fact, at one point they actually say “Disneyland ““ the only place where your dreams come true.” Let me repeat that”¦only place“¦yikes!

Ok, that little bit of griping about their marketing aside, Disney is a sensory overload for kids that they absolutely love. Like a local carnival on steroids times 10, there is simply no way to get everything in the kids want in a 2 day park hopper pass like we did. That’s a good thing, though. Getting in loads of fun, but leave the kids realizing there was even more fun to be had. We did hit several of the big rides more than once though, so we didn’t do too bad.

My biggest complaint is the price of food. Not only is it overpriced and only so-so quality, but they essentially force it on you. You are prohibited from bringing in outside food beyond a water bottle and snack items, and they even search your bags on the way in under the guise of security. Sure you are looking for a bomb, especially when you poked through the little mini cooler we had for cheese sticks and milk for our baby. Did I happen to mention the food was overpriced? We already paid a fortune to get in this place, now we need to use that home equity loan to feed the family a meal to get through the day.

My next thought is more of a funny one than complaining. We arrived early to be at the gates right when they open. We were 5 families back or so at our gate, so we had a jump on things. We had our plan in hand ready to rush to the first ride and get going with a bang. The gates opened ~15 minutes early, so we felt like we had won a prize for being the early birds, but it was not so. We rushed ahead past the shops which were open, only to be greeted by a rope barrier and some friendly security guards keeping us in the main street shopping area until the last second before opening. Yep, we had to wait in what would be our second of oh so many lines of the day, even before getting on our first ride. I figured they wanted to entice to shop right at the get go, but they had another plan in mind. Right at the top of the hour a big announcement came on welcoming us to the park and essentially releasing the hounds in one big hyped moment. It worked, our kids were jazzed to take off from the starting line and rush out to our first ride. Those Disney marketing folks know what they are doing.

Lines, need I say more? Lines stink, but I have admit we had our timing about as perfect as it could be. Most of our lines were short because we went on off days and an off peak week. I shudder to think of what it would have been like during the peak times.

We did miss out on a couple of the big name rides, particularly Splash Mountain and the Aladdin stage show. That is the price you pay for being there in off peak times.

We did the rounds since we had already traveled such a long distance to get to these oases of fun. First Legoland, which is only for the young kids; then Sea World followed by a day at the beach to take a break; finally a two day finale at Disney and California Park Adventure. I am “parked” out now, but we have created some significant, fun memories for the kids. That’s what it’s all about, right?

So, with my little complaints aside, would I do it again? You bet. Every year with the kids, not a chance. Maybe in 4 or 5 years when my youngest is old enough to have her own set of memories to cherish; then she can get her adventure with Mickey and the gang.

These days we have electronic crutches to help get us through the long distance drives with kids. Sure, we still deal with repeated “how much longer” and “are we there yet” whines from the back seats, but creating quiet distractions is much easier these days. We have the portable DVD player and a video iPod to keep the two middle kids distracted. The youngest has been better than we could have dreamed for such a long drive.

This makes me think back to what it was like 25 years ago when I was as young as some of my kids.

First, we drove a 1974 Toyota Corolla station wagon that my dad paid $500 for used and we did a little work on it to get keep it running. This was the compact style, so no backwards seats in the rear (thankfully). Because there were three of us siblings, that meant we were packed in the rear set, and someone had the “hump.” You know what I am talking about. Knees shoved up high and uncomfortable, or spread to the side causing constant complaints from your brother or sister that you are in “their space.” My family today drives a Dodge Grand Caravan, meaning plenty of seat space, room to spread out the legs and plenty of storage for the luggage.

Next was the temperature issue. I have some discomfort where the AC is currently not hitting the back of my legs, but overall it is a pleasant 70-75 or so in the car while 102 degrees outside the car. No complaints here. Sure, we had AC in that car as a kid, but of course dad didn’t turn it on. No, back then the AC took too much power from the engine, cost too much in gas, and in general could cause the engine to overheat if we left it on too long. Thus the phrase was often coined, “we have 4-40 AC”¦open up all 4 windows and go 40.” So, this meant we sweated our”¦well, let’s just say it was hot and miserable. Long vacation driving trips in the summer were usually dreadfully hot. Along with the heat, with the windows open driving 60 was also loud and headache forming. I am sure we contributed to the headache factor in other ways as well.

Here is one to add to that whole mess. I remember as a kid going on a scout trip that required a few vans to transport kids and gear. I happened to be in van that was not only sans-AC, but also had problems overheating when going up long hills. The only remedy was to turn on the heat, full blast when going up the hill. That’s right, on top of the already sweltering heat from outside, we had to turn on the heater to pump it away from the engine directly into our hot box. Needless to say, we looked like a bunch of dogs with our heads out the window and tongues out traveling down the road.

Now back to the distraction topic. My kids get the luxury of surprise toys, games, books, and some added electronic time wasters; they have it easy. My parents did the old fashioned car version of just some books and homemade travel games to keep us occupied. I have nothing against what they did, in fact we still throw those in the mix, just that they didn’t last all that long. Halfway into the trip, if we were lucky, all that was boring and we were looking for something more to pass the time. We still deal with the kid boredom, but I swear by the ability to show movies; it simply just passes the time. Definitely a luxury. Definitely just plain awesome.

Here ‘s another big difference, the speed limit. I know that 65 and 75 mph is not as fuel efficient as the old standard of 55 mph. Guess what, even the semi-tree hugger that I try to be I’ll give up a little fuel economy to get to the destination faster. Shaving off an hour or two from a long trip makes a huge difference. Don’t believe me? You must either a) not have kids, or b) have kids much older now and your memory is failing!

Here’s one difference that is admittedly “better” in the sense of safety, but was nicer before: seatbelts. We are stringent enforcers of our kids (and us) always wearing our seatbelts. It’s simply not worth the risk. Back as kids we were much looser on this necessity. We wore them, but we also took breaks while traveling to stretch out or get things out of the back. My wife remembers driving in the family VW Vanagon on long trips were kids would take turns sleeping on the floor. Now that could be nice, but I can’t bring myself to loosen up the seatbelt rules to let it happen.

Ever had sick kids in the car? Now that is a joy of all joys. Avoiding the gory details, along with a whiney, upset kid, car sickness is a mess that we would all be happy to pass on. Nothing beats the persistent odor of spew permeating the car for hours after the event as well. We have gained some wisdom from past experience and include a “sick bag” near the kids”¦just in case; especially when traveling anywhere winding roads.

At this point I have to give myself a virtual pat on the back; there is one way I am different from the “old” generation of guys. I can handle taking frequent stops to make the ride more do-able. Jeff Foxworthy, among many comedians, has a great bit about guys and their need to make record time from point A to point B. I like to get to the destination as quick as the next guy, but I also am willing to sacrifice a little time in the interest of empty bladders and happiness. We plan strategic park visits along the way for kids to stretch their legs and work out the wiggles. See, we men can learn some things.

These are just a few differences I can remember between traveling in days past and now, but I am sure there are many, many more. I am thankful for the improvements, believe me. What can you remember from days gone by that was a pain or simply unbearably difficult?

It was a Residence Inn Marriott which was extremely nice. I have always had good experiences with this chain. Excellent service, great continental breakfast and clean rooms. They boasted their high speed internet on the phone and I felt comfortable with staying there. Although, as most would agree, it is like a coin flip when it comes to high speed internet at a hotel.

We walked into our room and immediately I saw a problem. There was a beautiful spacious table in the kitchenette area where I could place my laptop… but the wired service was next to the couch with a 4 foot ethernet cable! I wanted to scream!! This forced me (an experienced hotel internet dude) to go to drastic measures. I whipped out my netgear travel router. I felt warm and fuzzy as I pulled it out of the cool looking black zipper travel bag with the fam looking on… YES I was a hero… I was on a pedistal as the fam were digging out their laptops waiting for the magic words, “…OK! We’re On!”

I hooked the router up and it wouldn’t let me connect! I then did what any experienced troubleshooter would do… disconnect my router and hook it up direct… STILL wouldn’t let me connect! I called the front desk and got some part time college kid who had, “no clue sir what to make of that”. He was quick to point out a customer service number on a trifold card that should be on the end table. I hung up and called them.

20 minutes on hold, 1/2 hour with level one support, 10 more monutes on hold, and another 10 minutes with level 2 support and finally we were connected!

Come on hotels! If you’re gonna offer it, at least 1) place the cables in the right spot and 2) have half a clue of how it works! – Peter

I have kids, four of them in fact.  Kids alone can make you do stupid things as they run try your patience and generally wreak havoc.  One of my favorite hot drink mug quotes I have read is “Insanity is hereditary, you get it from your kids.”  So true.  Add on top of that traveling by air, with the accompanying airport security frivolities, and you have a real circus on your hands.  I have real empathy on people traveling with kids.  I revel in the times when I get to travel without them.
Yet, with all that said, how could you ever put a kid through the x-ray machine?  Even crazier, the article mentions another case where this happened.

Great quote from the head of security:  “‘This was an innocent mistake by an obviously inexperienced traveler,’ said Paul Haney, deputy executive director of airports and security for the city’s airport agency.”

Translated:  this lady should never again be allowed to travel with kids.  She needs to stay focused on just getting herself from point A to point B all by herself.

Giving her the benefit of the doubt, lets hope she just laid down the carrier and the baby was so bundled up that the TSA rep didn’t notice the baby and sent it on through.  Everyone here knows my faith in the news reporting things as they actually happened.

Airport security, gotta have it, gotta hate it.  First let me say that yes, I understand the need for security and even the stepped up security we experience these days.  What has happened in this decade can only be described as an atrocity, and I can deal with the relative inconvenience of the longer lines, getting to the airport even earlier and the periodic “wanding” by a less-than-interested TSA agent.

So what am I complaining about then?  What bothers me are the things that become a staple in the security line up that do nothing to really protect us, in my oh so expert opinion.  The big one lately is all of our liquid items all of a sudden becoming suspect of being capable of bringing down the airplane we are boarding.  Sure, there are explosives that could be hidden in them, but is “declaring” them by throwing them into a ziplock and having them pass through the x-ray machines separately making us that much safer?  If this is the case, ziplock stock should be skyrocketing these days because apparently that tongue-in-groove technology they have pioneered in the plastic baggy seems to be capable of containing even small liquid explosives.  Amazing!

If zip locks can do this, why don’t we make use of this incredible technology?  How about placing every passengers bag into monster sized ziplock bags, or even easier, why don’t we line the entire baggage compartment and overhead storage areas with the stuff?  Make sure it is the double lock variety though to be sure the blast goes nowhere.

Moving on, how about the arbitrary removal of shoes and belts.  This one irks me every time as I disrobe at the entrance along with unpacking my laptop for scanning.  Does our homeland security office really think they have one over on the terrorists with this one?  Yes, by removing them hiding an actual metallic knife or other device might be a little harder because they are sent through for the 1 second x-ray review, but I am sure the dedicated terrorist would find a way past that one if they cared.  Ever heard of say semi-rigid plastic?  One would think with today’s fashions some baggy pangs would easily hide a sufficient long and deadly device that would make it past anything that could be hidden in a belt or sole of a shoe.  Hopefully I haven’t given some English reading, Internet-savvy terrorist a new idea.

Lastly, just commenting the sheer idiocy of how these new measures are being crammed into our airports.  Some pull it off more respectably than others.  Delta at JFK isn’t one of them, at least the check-in location I was at.  Lines crossed back on themselves and people were crammed up against walls while others tried to weave back against the grain to get to the baggage drop and security lines on the opposite side from where you complete the initial check-in.  It can be tough to deal with additional security and the inevitable delays it creates in the short term, but we have been doing this to some degree since late 2001 so you’d think that is sufficient time to bring in a few efficiency experts.  Maybe I’m just expecting too much.

Yes security measures on this level are here to stay.  If I choose to fly, I choose to deal with it.  But please…pretty please, do the things that actually protect us.  Don’t just design hoops that create new airport jobs and make us think something is being done to make our friendly skies safe.  Actually protect them in ways that work and get rid of the fluff that has become routine.  Is that too much to ask?

Today I was checking our account online and I saw the $200 withdrawl and the rigid $1.75 fee the bank that owns the machine charges. But then to my surprise, a mysterious $1.00 “Foreign ATM fee” was pulled from my account. A few questions came to mind…

1) a. Is the ATM machine operating illegally as an illegal alien?

b. If so, why am I charged for the machine’s wrong doing?

2) Why did I receive US funds if it were a foreign machine?

OK let’s get serious now. I couldn’t believe MY bank whom I have deposited an untold amount of cash into for the past 6 years charges me to use an ATM they don’t own. Is there really an expense to them that they pass to me for using another bank’s machine? I mean, you would think the other bank would welcome anyone to use their machine especially with the lofty $1.75 fee.

Even if the other bank DID in fact charge my bank $1.00 and they passed it to me, does this make sense for the other bank to do? It doesn’t make sense… here is an illustration to prove my point:

Larry needs to rent a car. Phil says “Go to enterprise.” Larry goes to enterprise and rents a car, and the guy asks Larry who referred him. Larry tells him Phil. Enterprise then charges Phil $1.00 for referring Larry to their company.

Sounds quite silly doesn’t it? Well, that’s exactly what is happening if in fact the other bank charges my bank!!! We have been so brainwashed by “Bank Fee Terminology” that whenever we get charged a fee many of us just assume it makes sense. Shame on banks who pray on us like a wolf does sheep!

Not all advertisers can afford the grandeur, so the small comedy clubs, uh, “other” clubs and who knows what else throws their minions on the street to make sure you are aware that they are just around the corner and ready for business. These range, currently from blue haired Samsung ladies on banner clad Segways to 2 second comedians trying to capture your attention as you pass by. All that works for me, I can walk by or be engaged at my heart’s content. The ones that bother me are the pushy leaflet bearing guys that are obviously paid per piece distributed. They say and do just about anything to get that piece of paper in your hand. Get in your way, act rude when you don’t respond to their opening line hoping to prick your conscious for at least some response, or just flat out try to shove that paper in your hand so some involuntary reflex causes you to show a slight response that you are in fact going to grab on.

These purveyors of someone’s wares are no fools. Native or at least seasoned New Yorker’s treat them as part of the scenery, background noise that they likely don’t even notice any longer. Just another obstacle to maneuver as you work towards your destination as you carry on that important cell phone conversation. No, these hawkers are seeking out the ever present tourist who can be suckered into their methods; and frankly, they work.

This trade is not unique to New York of course. Head on over to Las Vegas for a weekend and every “personal performance” outfit happy to come to your room has a “magazine” being distributed. If you happen to be there during some convention, they are out in droves. Who says they don’t know their demographics, eh. So, sadly this practice is not likely to be a fad. Might as well do as the natives do; avoid eye contact, don’t look up admiring the signs, and whatever you do, don’t talk to anyone. Yeah, that’ll be how I enjoy the Big Apple.