Leaving on a Jet Plane

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

20 Apr 2008 07:25 AM

Good morning and welcome to my personal travel journal as we prepare to leave for London. The great thing about family vacation is the opportunity it affords you to spend time with your family, in this case my mother and my daughter. Our vacation to England fulfills three basic family needs:

• Quality family time for three generations
• Reconnection with family roots
• Chance to share new experiences together and to pass on the past to a new generation

Planning Ahead

The important thing about a trip like this is to plan ahead as much as is possible. Traveling overseas requires pre-planning. We obtained a passport for my daughter at the beginning of March. If you need to obtain a passport for your child, be sure to visit the State Department website and print out the applicable forms. You will need the signature of both parents (even if they are divorced) and a copy of the child's birth certificate. Be sure to bring your son or daughter along with you because the person taking your application has to verify that they do match their photograph or will take their photograph while you are present.

We expedited the application which did cost an extra $75, but we wanted to be sure that we had all our paperwork in order. Her passport arrived within 2 weeks of submitting the application so that went really well. Also, call ahead to your passport office and make an appointment if necessary, otherwise you may be standing in line for quite a while at a drop in facility.

Trip Planning

For our trip, we're planning ahead so that we have entertainment on the plane including books, movies and activities for the kiddo as well as some easy packable snacks in the carryon luggage. We've reviewed the airline's rules for what you can and can't bring on a plane and we're packing light so that we're not overburdened as we go through customs and security. Our flight from Texas to London is approximately 9.5 hours there and 10.5 hours to get home. Be sure to check in tomorrow as I share the plane experience and our first day in London.

Sites We Plan to See

We're planning to visit:

• The London Zoo
• The Tower of London
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• Kensington Gardens
• Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum
• More

Be sure to check the Travel Blog frequently for Michelle's fabulous travel advice as well as our own travel experiences.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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