Passport to Nowhere

We hadn't thought it necessary to post about the recent changes in passport requirements, figuring that as savvy travelers, you were probably well aware of all that you needed to have and do to continue being the global citizens you are. However, in light of our own recent problems renewing our passport, we thought it might be helpful to take you along on our journey to hell - also known as "dealing with the National Passport Information Center."

January 10th - We mail in our passport renewal forms within the 6 week timeframe given as being necessary to turn around a passport. The application specifically asks for upcoming travel plans, so we put down our departure date of 2/25. A niggling thought in our head tells us to go ahead and pay for the expedited service, which would return our passport via Overnight Service in two weeks, but we figure, hey, there's enough time.

We would come to regret this later. Very very much.

January 19th - The NPIC's online status page still shows no signs of our passport being worked on, or even received, so we call. After waiting on hold for 25 minutes, we reach someone who notes that they have received it and it has been forwarded to the processing center in New Hampshire. At this time, we ask if the travel date on our application would be taken into account, and are reasssured that yes, it will be. (This will, of course, turn out to be completely wrong.)

Early February - We check the online status page again; lo and behold, there is an update. Our passport application is in process and will be sent to us via Priority Mail for arrival on or around 2/20. Fabulous.

February 20th - The day comes and goes with no sign of our passport. We know that the status said "on or around", but with it being a short week due to President's Day and our departure in 5 days, we are starting to get a wee bit nervous. We check online again. We now read "on or around 2/24", at which point panic officially sets in. We call the NPIC. We are on hold for ONE AND A HALF HOURS and eventually hang up in both disgust and distress, not to mention that we are going insane hearing the same 5 minute loop of classical music. Their website also allows you to send in an email inquiry, which they say will be responded to within 2 business days, so we send an email as well. (Note: No response is ever received.)

February 21st - We call back just before noon and after a hold time of only 35 minutes, we reach a nice gentleman who confirms that the passport is being WORKED ON (what?) and also mentions that they have no record of any upcoming travel, which nearly sends us into the stratosphere. After explaining that we do indeed have travel plans, which were indicated on the APPLICATION, we're told that he will put in a request to have the passport finished that day and overnighted. He tells us to call back the following day to confirm that those instructions have been received by the office in New Hampshire.

February 22nd - We start calling around 10:45 a.m. and after repeated attempts in which we reach a voice telling us that they are too busy to even put us on hold, we finally succeed at getting into the on-hold queue, which somehow feels like an accomplishment. Twenty minutes later we speak to Kate, who tells us that the passport was finished the night before but that she sees no indication of it going out overnight. She tells us to call back later, which we dread doing. We ask if there is a number or extension we can use that will bypass the hour-long waits - of course the answer is no. We also check the online status again and see an updated delivery date of "on or around 2/26" - one day after our scheduled departure. We would like to threaten to shoot someone (purely to let off steam, you understand) but realize that in a post-9/11 world this will pretty much nullify our chances of getting a US passport in this lifetime and probably the next one too.

1:00 p.m. - We call back the NPIC within an hour of talking to Kate, because we have a long meeting later and don't want to wait until evening when it seems getting through is impossible, even although they are open until midnight. (We would advise you that the best time to reach them seems to be mid-morning except for the fact that reaching them doesn't seem to make one damn bit of a difference one way or the other.) George says he recommends a reissue, and explains that this will invalidate the first passport and make them reissue a new one immediately and send it by FedEx. He shows us where to find a form online that we will need to fill out for the reissue, but rather than just giving us a number to fax it to, it seems he has to take our cell number so that he can forward it to the gerbils in New Hampshire who will then call us and give us the fax number to send it to them, a rather nice demonstration in bureaucracy. We cancel our meeting and wait for our phone call, form in hand.

5:00 pm. - We have been waiting for 4 hours and our grip on the phone resembles rigor mortis. We call NPIC again. The smarmy Rita notes that we've been busy calling all day, and seems to find the whole thing generally amusing. She says that the New Hampshire office has not picked up the request for a reissue yet, which explains why we now have a completely new appreciation for an old country song, "When the Phone Don't Ring You'll Know It's Me". Rita's advice is to gather new photos, proof of upcoming travel, and the form that was supposed to be faxed in, and get thee to the nearest passport agency at 7:30 in the morning, which would require leaving the house by 6:15 a.m. Aside from the fact that we are not even coherent at that hour, we are pregnant and already extremely overwrought, and feel like this last-minute rushing could actually bring our strained and expanding frame to the brink of physical harm - not to mention complete and utter madness. That would certainly kill the vacation, passport or no passport.

We call our travel agency, Expedia, and advise them of the situation. That niggling feeling we'd had earlier had also advised us to insure our trip, and we purchased insurance that allowed us to cancel our trip for any reason. This seems to be the only saving grace, as this move may well save us roughly $3000 in package costs. They instruct us how to cancel the package if necessary (we figure we'll wait until after mail delivery on Saturday just in case) and are nice enough to deposit $100 into our account for a future trip even though none of this is their fault.

We actually start to cry.

Because we do have the option of canceling and rebooking without major financial penalty, we decide to just wait out the passport. Calling the National Passport Information Agency is a joke - most of the time you can't get through at all, and when you are lucky enough to get put on hold, you have to wait for a minimum of 20 minutes. When you finally reach a human, they seem to want to help for the most part, but their efficiency is diminished by the fact that the people who actually have the passport are not reading the messages, but are up there playing around in Second Life, totally unconcerned with those of us in this one. Either that or they are, as we suggested before, not even people but gerbils, a theory we are becoming more convinced of since no one has actually spoken to or received any communication from these so-called "people".

February 23 - Just to see if there are any updates, and to torture ourselves one last time, we make one final call to NPIC. We're on hold for 15 minutes, a record low. The person who answers says our passport went out yesterday. We ask if it was overnighted, he answers that it went out via Priority Mail, the service they normally use. Their website said that two days ago. We wearily mention that our vacation will most likely be shot and he mutters a completely useless "Sorry". We know it's not his fault, but that is the whole problem here - unlike a company that might actually be interested in keeping clients happy, the US government can't be held accountable. They couldn't care less if we lose a few grand on a vacation, and there is no one to hold responsible for the apparent failure to read the travel dates on the renewal application, or the subsequent failures to respond to requests to get the damn thing out a day or two sooner. Because that's all we needed - a day.

It's still not too late. Mail today came and went but there's always tomorrow, our last day before departure, although we are not holding out much hope here. But the lessons here are:

1. If you are renewing your passport and have ANY travel plans within 6-10 weeks, pay for getting your passport expedited so that it arrives within 2 weeks. You do not have to pay an outside agency to do this for you, you can pay the fee yourself along with your renewal fee and forms. You do not even have to show proof of travel (that's usually reserved for those that need passports within 14 days). It will cost you an extra $60 but will save priceless amounts of aggro, not to mention the possible cost of canceling/rebooking your vacation.

2. Insure your trips - always always always. Thank God we got this one right. And check your insurance carefully - not all carriers and packages cover the same thing - many plans only cover cancellation due to illness, death, accident, or some other physical trauma. Our plan, which allows us to cancel for any reason, is a lifesaver, and only cost roughly $50 per person. We have to look at it more carefully - the air may not be reimbursed but rather a credit issued for future travel, which is fine with us since we hope to be in the air within two weeks - but you should always have some sort of insurance, especially if you can already foresee a possible problem with your travel as we did. Don't just assume that everything will be fine.

3. Of course, we'd be negligent if we didn't remind you that as of late January, all US citizens entering the United States by air need a valid US passport. Prior to this, one could travel to many countries in the Caribbean and some in Latin America without a passport: since those countries didn't require a passport but just a birth certificate, you were okay. But remember, it's not the other countries that have changed their requirements, but the US. So although you may be able to get to Panama just showing your birth certificate, you won't be coming back here without a passport.

4. Finally, since we're all about traveling with the kids, yes, all children, regardless of age, need passports too, and both parents will need to appear in person to apply for it (there are exceptions, check here for what those are).

We hope these tips will help you to avoid our drama. We'll let you know if we made it out of here or not.

Pre-Baby Vacation Plans

You're not even a parent yet. You're just eagerly awaiting the arrival of your little one, and you're here because it has occurred to you that once Baby shows up, your vacations, not to mention your life, may go through some changes.

Kudos to you for not being one of those who thinks that life will be exactly the same after baby gets here, with just the small addition of some really cute baby clothes, a spiffed up nursery, and of course, an adorable baby that never cries and sleeps 10 hours a night. Yes, life will change. But it's not too late to cram in one last vacation before Baby arrives, a chance to enjoy some pre-baby bliss and get spoiled like hell.

If you're thinking about where best to spend your last few vacation moments as a childless couple, there's a website just for you. Babymoonfinder.com specializes in helping expectant couples find and plan that wail-free getaway. (Check out Globorati's post on this.)

What's cool about Babymoonfinder.com is that they're not just finding places for you to go - you can go on Expedia or Orbitz and do that yourself. What they help you to do is find any one of the growing number of packages that pamper you with your impending parental status in mind. For instance, the W Hotels in New York feature a Baby Me package, for stays until March 31st, that include a onesie for Baby, a subscription to American Baby magazine, and a gift for Baby that will be sent upon his or her arrival. Other hotels include prenatal massages for Mommy or a couples massage, which we love even more. Fabulous.

Skip on over to Babymoonfinder.com and plan that vacation. Trust us, you may not think you need it, but you do. Once you've planned your babymoon, come back to Child of Leisure: we'll tell you where to tote Junior once he's safely out of the box.

Peapod for the Wee Tot

Our iPods are filled with a wide variety of artists: Bob Marley, Tchaikovsky, the Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Billy Idol...

Then, of course, there are the Dora the Explorer hits.

We willingly filled up with all the tunes that D likes because, hey, she has her musical tastes too. But can we tell you how many times we've been home alone with the iPod on shuffle, reliving our teenage years, only to get a sudden blast of Dora singing "Celebration"? Talk about bursting your bubble.

Peapod Toys is coming out with the first mp3 player for infants and toddlers,which we can't wait to try out. Due out in May of this year, it will feature simple controls for toddlers and hold up to 2 hours of audio. The molded rubber construction will make it easy for toddlers or infants to grab and hold, and should also lend it some durability, although we haven't gotten our hands on one to know for sure. Included software will help you to manage the player's library on a PC, and also purchase and download music. As of today, the manufacturer hasn't responded to questions about retail pricing or iTunes compatibility (we're guessing a fat no to that one), so check their website for updates.



The only thing that makes this not so perfect for travel is that it uses a speaker instead of headphones. That, of course, is great for little ears - they'll be plugged up with headphones soon enough - but not so great for the ears of those around Junior on an airplane (or yours in the car, for that matter.) Still, once you reach your destination, your toddler should be pleased with his ability to perform his own dj duties.

www.peapodtoys.com

UPDATE: 2/20/2007

We just heard back from the president of Peapod, who says their mp3 player won't be shipping out for another 12 weeks, with a probable pricetag of about $99. The Peapod will be compatible with any music store with the exception of iTunes. Peapod also plans to have its own website for purchasing and downloading music, with a wide variety of music outside of the traditional children's genre (good call on that one). No word on where you'll find the Peapod yet, so check their website for updates.

Passport to Cleanliness

Purell is great stuff, and so are antibacterial wipes. But somehow we always forget to bring them along when we travel, even now that we're parents and should really own stock in that stuff. Maybe it's because the large sizes are too cumbersome and the small sizes are - well, too easy to forget?

We've come across something that we think we'll remember to bring along. These soap sheets at Horchow are made for travel, if the fun passport packaging is any clue. Each packet has 20 sheets, and they're sold in sets of 12 packets: 4 each in lavender, lemon verbena, and fresh linen scents, enough to keep the immediate fam fresh and clean for at least a few journeys. (Organizing a large family group trip? These are great pre-departure gifts to give out.) They do require water, so you might want to keep the antibacterial gel handy for those times when a bathroom isn't available. Still, we think these are quite cool, fun - and memorable.

www.horchow.com
$60

Diapers Deluxe

Diaper bags have come a long way from the days of pink bunnies and blue teddy bears. Check out these options, all lovely enough to have you strutting through airports with flair. You'll be using these long after baby is out of pullups.

Coach Optic Signature Baby Bag

Comes in pink, blue, black and tan. It has an infinite number of pockets (which we find frustrating but you might love) and the changing pad that makes this a diaper bag versus a regular tote.
www.coach.com
$398

Burberry Close Decorative Shackle Buckle

For Burberry-loving moms, a signature diaper bag; in pvc with nylon lining; includes changing pad.
www.burberry.com
$495

Eva Rocker Diaper Bag by Debbie Rott

Leather bag that comes in an array of colors and celebrity styling: black, tan, red, purple, navy, denim, brown and gold. 6 inside pockets and waterproof changing pad.
www.blissliving.com
normally $310, on sale right now for $295

Audrey Bag by Mia Bossi

This bag performs covert diaper duty, which we love: it has a washable changing pad, a removable insert, and detachable straps for snapping onto strollers. We love the computer insert option to tote the laptop, although for a $1300 bag we think it should come gratis (it's an additional $54.50). Supple Italian leather with snake skin trim; also comes in glow and orchid.
www.miabossi.com
$1308

Fleurville Diaper Bag

Leather bag shown in Chocolate Luxe; also comes in black, pink and aqua marine. Comes with see-through wipe case, removable insulated bottle holder, and washable changing cloth.
www.fleurville.com
on sale for $197.95

Stork Sak

A great option for dads but cool for moms who want a hip unisex look; in black or espresso tough cowhide leather. Includes leather trim changing mat; a great laptop bag when diaper duty is over.
www.tuttibella.com
$200

Staying Liquid

It's your last day of vacation. You're somewhere warm and lovely on a beach of warm white/pink/black sand. Or perhaps there's an infinity pool, so named, you think, because you could stay in it until the end of time.

Your flight doesn't leave until mid-afternoon or evening and you've finagled a late checkout, or perhaps there's a suite you can take advantage of for those odd hours between 11 AM checkout and actual departure. Either way, you've worked it so there's enough time to enjoy one last frolic in the water, all the while pretending that you don't have to leave your paradise.

Except...

what to do with those soaking wet bathing suits?

Hmmmm...you could stuff them in the plastic laundry bag the hotel usually provides in the closet, but how common. It would be so much nicer to have your own smart-looking wet bag.

Well now you can. Appropriately named "Wet Bag," the name may not be chic but the style is. Originally designed to hold diaper paraphernalia, these bags come in 3 sizes ranging from small more personal sizes to large hold-the-family-swimwear size. The outside is thick sturdy cotton padded with a polylaminate material, while the inside is, of course, waterproof. There are nine prints to choose from that are appropriate for adults as well as children, and best of all, these bags are completely washable and reusable.

And if you're bathing au naturel, you can always use your Wet Bag for the body washes, colognes and hair products that you can't bring on board anymore.

www.minimebabygear.com
$11.95-$17.95

W New York Union Square

This morning a water pipe burst in our house.

We went blissfully about our business when we woke up, totally unaware that down below in the depths of our basement, chaos was erupting: water cascading out of a pipe at such strength that firefighters could have driven off flames with it. It was only when we were heading out of the house through the basement that we became aware of our own personal Antarctica - big sheets of ice by the garage door, cold water floating everywhere else.

Nice.

What does all of this have to do with the W, you ask? Nothing, except for the fact that we were there the previous night and boy do we wish we were back there now...

The W hotel chain isn't the first one that comes to mind when one thinks "family-friendly." But of course, part of our quest is to find those hotels that may not necessarily make a big deal out of advertising that fact, but that do a bang-up job of welcoming you once you get there.

The W Hotel Union Square definitely does a bang-up job.

Service Pros: When we first arrived at the hotel, coming in out of what felt like sub-zero temperatures, the front desk staff immediately offered our daughter some hot chocolate and apples. A weird combo, yes, but being hungry and cold, hey, it worked. D loved the cocoa so much she had 3 cups, which they kept supplying without complaint. The staff was more than just gracious to D - they genuinely seemed to like children and really pampered her.

Service Cons: The only problem - mainly because of being 5 months pregnant - was the door service. Now, we're usually okay with opening a door for ourselves, but the front doors at the W are heavy, made moreso by the fierce arctic winds churning across Union Square. More often than not we had to open those babies ourselves because the lone doorman was already occupied. Note to management: can you get more doormen? Please? We can vouch for the fact that you sometimes actually have more than one guest entering and/or leaving the hotel at a time...

Room Pros: We had a Spectacular room, which was definitely big enough for two adults and a toddler not to feel cramped, and did feel rather spectacular. The room sported a king-sized bed with really plush down pillows that I wanted to steal; cots and cribs are available and the room easily accommodates either one. The room is nicely decorated in neutral beige and brown tones, complemented by eggplant and gray touches like throws on the chairs and throw pillows that were also soft and huggable. The DVD player was a big hit, especially since we were prepared for it with a Laurie Berkner DVD for D. (W has a selection of DVDs for you to choose from but we didn't get to see how much of it is kid fare.) D also liked the cool lounge music already loaded into the bedside CD player and we danced around the room to it like lunatics in front of the floor length mirror (see more on that below).

For some reason we never seem to have enough towels when we travel. That was not a problem here. Washcloths and bath towels were big, plentiful and plush. The tile around the bathtub made it feel more like a homey NYC apartment than a hotel, which was a nice touch.

Room Cons: The duvet cover on the bed was a mauve matte silky material, which had us running around behind D as she gobbled up her pizza and fries out of fear that she would leave greasy fingerprints on the damn thing. Of course, she did manage to get one or two small ones on there. Oops.)

There was a fabulous mirror, at least 7 feet tall and framed in hardwood, propped up against the wall. We loved it and if staying sans toddler, we would have loved it even more. The problem was, all of us loved it: D kept hugging it and leaning on it. We kept seeing images of it crashing down on her, which made it hard to relax and appreciate her healthy self-image as she vigorously kissed and hugged her reflection.

The window in our room (# 2007) was very narrow, although it had a great night view. But since the ceilings were extremely tall and the drapes were heavy as well as ceiling high, it was impossible to close them - we couldn't get the drapery to move across the rod. Not so great when you're trying to fool a child into thinking it's not time to get up yet.

For those that care, they were rather spare with the bathroom amenities (bar of soap, shower cap, shoe mitt on the bathroom counter, body wash, shampoo and conditioning rinse from Bliss in the bath) but we didn't mind - we usually bring our own anyhow and it must save money, trees, parts of the Amazon rainforest and a polar bear or two. (The several unexpected doodads they put on the minibar - from a teddy bear to an intimacy kit, ooh la la - might make up for those that like "stuff", but those are all for purchase.)

One other feature that was cool for the childless but maybe not so cool for parents of toddlers: the sliding door on the bathroom. It's a great spacesaver and makes complete sense in the room. With an opaque glass inset, it slides easily into place, but there was no lock - meaning it slid OUT of place just as easily. D literally caught the paternal unit with his pants down more than once, and giggled mercilessly. So much for privacy...

Room Service: The excellent Todd English's Olives New York restaurant is downstairs providing wonderful fare both in-restaurant and in your room. For room service, there is a child menu, with the usual faves: chicken fingers (which they were out of), hamburgers, mac and cheese, etc. When we ordered and included D, they were sweet enough to add 2 boxes of candy hearts gratis just for her. It warmed our hearts. It also pissed us off slightly. Of course, we loved that they added a special something for her. But the gentleman who brought our order up made a big deal of pointing them out to D, which made it all the harder to get her to eat her food first and not hit the candy immediately. Long after he left we were engaged in conversation, including tears and drama, about why we have to eat our food before the candy. It began to get very Rain Man. Note to management: Very thoughtful touch, but how about something healthier (we'd even take an oatmeal cookie) and placing it discreetly on the tray so that parents can decide if and when Junior gets it? We're not ungrateful, really; it's just hard to fight the lure of candy...

Restaurant: We ate at Olives for breakfast in the midst of downtown business people wheeling and dealing. There was enough on the menu to keep D happy : cold cereals, oatmeal, sausages, etc. All of the food was quite good, but if you want to save Olives for dinner there are other options in the surrounding area, including the Coffee Shop across Union Square, which also does a nice lunch and is far more fashionable than the name would imply.

Being a W, of course there is the requisite lounge just off the lobby, providing comfortable seating by day and turning into quite the dimly-lit scene at night. There's also the Underbar in the basement which we didn't peep at - why tease ourselves? We didn't get to make a visit on this trip, obviously, but we'll be back.

Fitness & Spa Stuff: The paternal unit tried out the fitness center and loved it. Each treadmill has its own TV - a small thing, maybe, but a luxury when the person already there is into Oprah and you want SportsCenter. The hotel doesn't have a spa but they can arrange for in-room services including mani/pedis or massages.

Other Info: This hotel is dog-friendly: you'll see bowls of kibble and water by the front door, as well as a pet menu alongside the human ones for room service. We love dogs ourselves, but when a big golden retriever got off the elevator and made a lunge for D (who was doing nothing to excite or even attract said dog), we did have to wonder what W would have done if it had bitten D. Maybe something for them (and the growing number of pet-friendly hotels) to think about.

Lastly, W has a Whatever/Whenever service that will provide whatever, well, whenever. As long as its legal, they'll help you do it: you can see some of the more unusual things they've done on their website. Our admittedly lame request came about when we bought salads from Whole Foods Market across Union Square and forgot to get utensils. Whatever/Whenever provided us with full place settings for 3. There was a nominal fee for this service, but given that it made the meal much nicer, it was worth it.

Hmmm...maybe we can get them to redo our basement.

Busy Bodies

Kudos to last Sunday's New York Times Travel Section, which hipped us to the website Madallie.com, a children's travel store.

While you can't really reinvent the wheel when it comes to keeping kids occupied on the road, the fun products at Madallie are unique in style. They've got stuffed animals that are so plush and comfy that we're thinking of buying one for ourselves, and their magnetic games - slides and ladders and checkers are a few - put old games in fun new packaging.

Our real faves, though, aren't the games and finger puppets that are in abundance. Instead, we like the pseudo-grownup stuff, like the colorful luggage tags and passport holders. The travel journals also look really cool: they're great for helping kids keep track of what they've seen, done and God forbid, learned on their trips to Peru and Vietnam. There's even some funky stationery for camp or trips, a great tool to introduce kids to the dying art of writing letters instead of emails. (What? You mean people used to write on paper and mail it?)

Now when we prepare for our next trip we can make one online stop for all that "keep busy" stuff. Because isn't there enough stuff to do before traveling already?