Please welcome my guest post for this month, Ruth, from Mom’s Musings. She is a mother of 5 and an avid camper. I don’t know how she does it! Ruth wrote a such great article on her Hubpages that I asked her to share it here.

Thanks Ruth! I hope you enjoy the great outdoors this long weekend!

I live in Canada, and our winters can be pretty harsh…One day, I hope to be able to travel during the winter and soak up the sun in some remote, island location:-)

I know that you can find websites galore listing the top destinations for snowbirds, so this list is going to be different!

I am going to share MY dream destinations…dreaming is good…

I am a big dreamer and truly believe that I will visit all of these destinations in my lifetime!!

The List…

Please welcome my guest writer for this month, Tara, from Tara’s View of the World. She is currently driving across Canada for her summer vacation but before that She managed to write a great article on her Hubpages, “Family Vacations: 10 Common Travel Mistakes to Avoid” that I asked her to share here on my Travel Blog.

Thanks Tara.

1. Passport Issues

Be sure both you and your children have valid passports. Every American citizen, including infants, needs a valid passport for travel outside of the USA. Some destinations require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after you arrive so be sure to get your passport renewal done in plenty of time. If you are in a hurry companies like RushMyPassport.com can get it done in as little as 24 hours.

2. Not getting adequate travel insurance

It may not seem like a huge deal but if something goes wrong and someone gets sick or injured it is vital to make sure you are covered. 

3. Being overly ambitious with activity plans

When you are planning your activities be sure to keep in mind how old your children are and how much they can feasibly do – and ENJOY- in one day. Try not to become so focused on what to DO that you forget to just BE with your family. Trying to squish too much into one day will just make the kids overtired which will make mom and dad grumpy and then no one is having any fun!

4. Booking connecting flights too close together

Expect delays. Make sure you give your family enough time to navigate plane transfers with ease. It is never fun to be running through the airport dragging screaming kids along behind you because you don’t want to miss your next flight. 

5. Having unrealistic expectations

Traveling with kids is not the same as traveling without them- both can be equally enjoyable but your expectations will need to be adjusted. If you expect your family vacation to be perfect you will be disappointed. Remember that travel can be tough on kids and parents alike. Allow for things like jet lag and adjusting to your new surroundings.

Parents often dream of complete relaxation and enjoying the easy life on vacation- perfect, non-bickering, non-whining children who will peacefully play while mom and dad relax on the beach. And while that could happen… for most of us our kids will still be our kids even if we are on a beach in Mexico. If they aren’t perfect at home then they won’t be perfect on vacation either. The parenting never stops. Enjoy a family vacation for what it is- a departure from the normal. But don’t expect your children to magically change personalities on the flight over.

6. Not making reservations

Don’t be disappointed by arriving somewhere and having nowhere to stay. Some attractions suggest reserving a spot beforehand so be sure to check ahead of time and make the appropriate arrangements.

7. Packing too heavy

Many parents fall into the trap of feeling like they have to bring everything they own to be prepared for every potential circumstance. Carefully plan what to pack keeping in mind the amenities located in your destination. Only pack what you will really need! Your child will probably not need 13 different toys, 18 pairs of pants, 36 t-shirts, and 22 bedtime stories for your 7 day trip. Be careful not to pack too many clothes because the vast majority of places will have laundry facilities if you need them.

8. Forgetting to take the camera or the video camera

You will want a way to record all your fabulous family adventures!

9. Spending too much money

Make a budget before you go and be sure to stick to it! Don’t fall into the trap of believing you have to purchase your children an expensive souvenir from every single attraction you visit. Souvenirs are great but don’t overspend your budget on things that won’t really matter in 6 months.

10. Forgetting to relax

Take time to rest and simply enjoy being with your family. Soak up your surroundings, forget about your troubles and focus on living in the moment.

WOW, this has been quite the week. I’ve met some incredible bloggers through the Ultimate Blog Party and tweeps along the way! My hubby is happy this day has come… I might have overdid it just a bit…. I’m already planning for next years! Thanks to 5 Minutes for Mom and Happy Panda Baby for all that you did!

I will be pulling the winner of the $150 Canadian Tire gift card tonight (April 17) and announcing the winner on Monday (April 19), I need a day off!

So to celebrate the last few hours… I’ve decided to double your entries!!

To get 2 entries for the price of 1… all you need to do is… DIGG, Stumble, Reddit, LinkedIn, Facebook… basically share my sponsors site, Canadian Tire Travel Insurance then go onto my original party post where the giveaway is listed and leave 2 comments for each time you share it. First leave me comment telling me what you did and leave the link, for the 2nd comment just say this is my bonus entry for ________ (doing what you did). *1 Tweet Max*

How does that sound?!

We might as well go out with a BANG!!

Here are the links you’ll need again:

Canadian Tire Travel Insurance – http://www.travel-insurance-worldwide.ca/

My Party Post – http://canada-travel-worldwide.com/2010/04/ultimate-blog-party-2010/

This contest is open to Canadian residents only. All entries will be verified. The winner will be contacted and will have 48 hrs to respond before another entry will be drawn. Random.org will decide the winner.

I have been preparing for the Ultimate Blog Party for a couple of weeks now. Today alone I’ve been huddled over my laptop making sure my posts are all ready to go. This is very exciting for me on a few points. I’m participating through two blogs this year. My own personal family blog has been going since January 2006 and this blog… which I’ve dedicated to all things related to travel… I only started last summer. So it’s still a baby.

me with 2 angels

The blog has been many years – if not a decade in the making. After coming home from backpacking through Europe with my husband and nearly newborn almost 11 years ago. A friend of mine had a travel blog in which she was documenting all her travels. She is an artist and moved over to Spain and a few other areas. I wish she still had that blog, it was so wonderful to live vicariously through her… anyway, my point was… She encouraged me way back then to write about my journeys on the road. Traveling is great – traveling with kids is a whole other adventure! So Sara… this blog was dedicated to you.

Jumping for Joy

We pretty much take our kids with us where ever we go. We’ve flown with them dozens of times, usually always back to British Columbia, where I was born and raised. We’ve also sent 2 of our kids, the oldest mind you, on their own flights … all by themselves to visit my family in BC. My parents love to travel as well and have taken half my kids to Disneyland, the other two have to wait a little bit longer. They’ve had quite the life so far and they’re only 11, 9, 7 and 4!

It’s not just to exotic places like Vancouver do we travel as a family. We’ve taken many road trips through the United States. We’ve even driven across the country in an RV. That was the trip I probably turned grey afterwards… 4 small children, my hubby, me and my father-in-law… all inside a 24′ motor-home for over 2 weeks. Did I mention the youngest was 5 weeks old at the time?!

Ah… sweet memories! That’s what I’ll be sharing on this blog. I hope you stick around – take a look through my past journeys and come back again real soon!

If that doesn’t entice you… MAYBE THIS WILL!!

I am giving away a couple of prizes on my family blog, over on 5 Minutes for Mom prize page and on here! I’m in the giving mood!!

How would you like a chance to WIN……

A $150 Canadian Tire Gift Card

*Sponsored by the lovely folks at Canadian Tire Travel Insurance, where they have several insurance companies compete for your travel insurance, and when they compete, you win! Contact Canadian Tire Travel Insurance for a free quote today! This prize is available to those living in Canada only.

There are 2 very simple ways to enter:

1. Become a fan of Canada Travels on Facebook
1. Become a fan of Shasher’s Life on Facebook

AND / OR

2. Follow on me at Canada Travels on Twitter
2. Follow me at Shasher’s Life on Twitter

*If you do both please leave 4 separate comments so you can have 4 entries!*

For additional entries you can do ANY or ALL of the following – but be sure to LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each thing that you do – each time you do it!:

* Follow this blog on Networked Blogs.
* Follow Shasher’s Life blog on Networked Blogs.
* Add my travel blog button to your site or add me to your blogroll and leave me a link.
* Follow me on Twitter and tweet this giveaway (as many times as you like – leave a comment on this post for each time you do!) Use @thiscdntravels in your tweet if you would like me to retweet for you.
* Share this giveaway on your blog, Facebook or another social networking site of your choosing
* Share each of the fan pages with your friends! Just tell us which pages you shared and how many people you shared it with.
* Subscribe via Email (on my right sidebar).
* Stumble, digg, tag, bookmark, vote up, thumbs up, favourite, or anything else you can think to do for this prize’s sponsor, Canadian Tire Travel Insurance or this giveaway on this site (as many as you like, just come back to tell me what you’ve done).

This giveaway is open to readers in Canada ONLY. I will choose a winner on April 17, 2010. Don’t forget to leave a link to YOUR party post in your comment (if you are participating) and A WAY FOR ME TO CONTACT YOU in case you win!

*Winner will be chosen with random.org and notified by email. Winner will have 48 hours to reply to my email or I will have to choose a new winner.

*BTW, my boss is giving away an iPad to a Facebook fan! How cool is that?!! Become a fan today for a chance to win!! You can follow White Cloud Marketing on Twitter too.

* Domino’s Canada is giving away Free Coke, a 40″ Samsung LCD TV & a PS3! You simply need to click the link to  fill out their online form! You can enter and share on Twitter too! *Canada only*

* Voice on the Go is giving away free long-distance for a month to everyone who fills out their form. They’re welcoming #UBP10 participants with a grand prize of free long-distance for a year! Follow them on Twitter or Facebook. *Open to Canada and the US*

* Select Taste, a corporate food catering company in the Greater Toronto Area, is offering a 25% discount and you could win a corporate lunch at your office for 10! Follow them on Facebook. *Open to Mississauga, Etobicoke, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario ONLY*

* Cottages of Paradise Point, a vacation rental in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, is giving away an iPAD to one of their Facebook fans, join their fan page to win!! The draw will take place on June 30th. *This is open to the US and Canada*

——————————————————————————————————-

*This giveaway is now closed.  A winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced on Monday. Thank you to all who entered. It was extremely overwhelming to my inbox!! For my very first giveaway… not bad EH?!**

I am participating on my family blog in the Ultimate Blog Party that 5 Minutes for Mom is putting on April 9-16 and so I thought I should do the same thing here. A friend of mine works for Canadian Tire Travel Insurance and he heard about my participation in the blog party.  So the other day, he asked those in charge… if they’d sponsor a giveaway prize!!! So what a better place to give it away than on my travel blog, right?!! Makes sense eh?!

Yeah!! During the UBP week, you could enter to win something from Canadian Tire Travel Insurance! We’re working on the final details right now. **UPDATE** he managed to get me a $150 Canadian Tire gift card to giveaway!!!!!** I can’t wait to start the blog party, it’s going to consume a lot of me for the week!!!

I’m sooooo excited!!

If you want to participate on your own blog, there’s still time to do it and click to 5 Minutes for Mom’s instructions page on what details you should know!

Thought this may be an appropriate blog for this contest to be on, being that this is a travel blog, and this is a travel contest:-)

Canadian Tire Travel Insurance is giving you the chance to win this awesome, weeklong cruise for 4. All you have to do to enter is ask for a free travel insurance quote.  BUT, you have to hurry, the contest ends March 31st!!

That is it!! So, click this link for Travel Insurance.

Click the red button and follow the directions for the quote.

Then after you have done that, there is another button at the top of the form for your entry, it has a picture of a cruise ship.

Easy entry, cool prize!!

Top 10 Reasons to buy Travel Insurance

There are hundreds of reasons that could force you to seek emergency medical treatment while travelling or that could cause you to cancel your trip or return home early.

To demonstrate the importance of purchasing travel insurance, here are some examples of what could go wrong during your trip:

1. You’re involved in an accident and adequate medical treatment is not available. Who will help arrange and pay for medical evacuation?
2. It’s your first visit to Europe, and your passport and wallet are stolen. Where do you turn to for emergency cash, and how will you get your passport replaced?
3. Your bag was lost with your medication inside. You need help locating your bag as soon as possible and having your emergency prescription filled.
4. You suffer from a leg fracture while skiing in Colorado. Who will pay for your $45,000 bill?
5. Your cruiseline, airline or tour operator goes bankrupt. Who will pay for your non-refundable expenses? Who will help get you to your destination?
6. You’re walking down a street in Prague and twist your ankle. Who can help you find an English-speaking physician?
7. If an immediate family member becomes seriously ill and you must interrup your trip, who will help you coordinate your return?
8. You arrive in Bermuda but your luggage doesn’t. If it’s lost, who will help you find it? If it’s delayed, who will pay for your necessities? If it’s stolen, who will pay to replace it?
9. You are retired and fall down the stairs in Florida and end up with a hip fracture. Who will pay for your medical bills and coordinate your air ambulance evacuation so you can be cared for in your province of residence?
10. Your baggage’s arrived at the airport but are severaly damaged. Who do you turn to for compensation? (or your bags are lost, like mine were!)

Have you ever been in any of these predicaments? I have! Thankfully when I was in the hospital in the US, I had purchased Travel Insurance. Same thing when the airline lost my bags!! I hear of all the horror stories how people just “popped” across the line for a quick trip, got injured or sick – ended up in a US hospital – and now have an astronomical bill outstanding. The average cost of a night in an American Hospital is between $5,000 – $10,000 A NIGHT!!!

My niece, who recently moved to the US, told me a story of a friend of hers, Canadians who were visiting friends in the US, she was pregnant and went into labour early. They had not purchased travel insurance prior to leaving Canada… the bill… was $165,000!! How in the world does a young couple in their early 20’s, just starting out in life with a new child, ever pay that back?!

It’s not worth traveling without insurance. It’s like playing Russian Roulette!!

Trust me, it’s not worth the risk!

walked in... wheeled out

Remember what this picture is from??….

This morning I emailed (because there is no number listed on their website) the hospital that I visited back in Pigeon Forge, TN way back in August 2008 to get this “outstanding bill” figured out.

They sent me back a reply quite quickly, impressed at how quick actually, the phone number to reach the company that the Doctor’s bill through.

So I called them.

Buffy told me that yes there was an outstanding bill but she can’t send it to my insurance company because they already submitted it to collections. She gave me the phone number for them.

So I called them.

I finally reached the revenue recovery organization (fancy word for collection agency) & the department that was “handling” my claim. This time I was as sweet as cherry pie!

It’s true that you can get more bees with honey than vinegar!

The lady on the other end took my insurance policy information and told me that she’d send them a bill and help me take care of this issue. So there it stands. Hopefully soon this $326.00US bill will be paid and my credit score will be fixed!

Lessons learned: Check to see if the hospital and the doctor you visit in the US bill separately or all together. Read the small print!! Second thing…. don’t snap at the collection agents when they call… they are just doing their jobs. I apologized for being a cranky pants the last time we “chatted”.

I was watching the news last night – in particular – the crazy weather that is happening around the world right now!

Snow in Dallas, Texas

Ice in Florida

Blizzards in England

What’s Global Warming!!

The other day a friend of mine from Fort Myers Beach in Florida emailed me to “brag” about their weather, “It’s 30 this morning,” she writes. I responded… “WOW, that’s hot, it’s minus 12 here!” It took me a day to realize that she was talking in Fahrenheit!

Being a Canadian, I think in Celsius.

It was then that I saw an image on the news with icicles dangling delicately from orange trees.

The CTV news correspondence in Washington, DC made me laugh. He finished off his story about all the strange, cold weather going on all over the US right now and says, “Canadians just call it, Winter”. Yup, that’s right. It’s just another normal winter up here. Maybe that’s why we have so many “Snowbirds“?! Just because we’re used to it… doesn’t mean we like it!

If you’re traveling this winter season to a location North of the 49th Parallel in particular… make sure you’re covered. I saw a whack of people sleeping in the airports in London, stuck there because they didn’t purchase the proper trip cancellation  / interruption insurance. That’s not how I’d like to spend my vacation!

Speaking of vacations… it’s been a great week at the cottage but it’s back to reality tomorrow. I hope you’re having a good start to 2010!

Ok, I’ll admit… I’ve been a bit consumed by travel insurance lately. Maybe because I’ve been bitten by the “you didn’t tell me you billed twice” thing with a US hospital. There’s something on my credit report, I’m waiting until Monday when things are open again to find out exactly what it is! I’m not impressed.

So I guess I’ve also been ranting at home about insurance and this whole ordeal because on Friday, my hubby gets a local business paper and the front page article is all about travel insurance, “Uninsured travel might sicken you.” Hubby throws it at me, “Here, add this to your blog!”.

I haven’t had time to read the full thing this weekend as there are only 5 days before Christmas and all throughout the house, all the creatures are stirring and even the mice! I have 4 kids, have I told you that yet?! 4 kids who are very very excited about Christmas Day. That’s to say it mildly!! lol

But here’s the gist,  it’s true, if you travel without travel insurance the costs could be enormous. Before you go away again, check with your insurance provider. If you have a credit card, you may and may not be covered. My sister went to Hawaii with her family and her husband got stung by a ton of jellyfish. They went off to the hospital and when she called the insurance part of her credit card company, she found out that they weren’t covered. Why? Because they didn’t inform the company about the trip before they left the country. So here they were, he’s burned all over his chest and arms and they have no money to cover the hospital bills.

That’s all I’m going to say about that for a while. haha yeah right!!