Pack a Flashlight

Pack a flashlight or two. I always, always, always pack a flash light. If I'm traveling by car I pack a flashlight. If I'm traveling by plane, I always pack a flashlight. Going for a quick wk-end or a nice long vacation, yep I pack a flashlight in either case.
WHY?

1. Electric can go off anywhere, anytime. After all it goes off at home, right? Why wouldn't it go off due to a storm or electrical problem when you're traveling?
2. Hotel rooms are dark, which is really nice when you're trying to get some sleep; but when you wake up in different places all the time can you see your way to bathroom in the middle of night? Not normally. Thus the little flashlight on the right in above picture is something always packed in my ditty bag for all trips, long or short. It's always placed on my bedside nightstand in hotel rooms. It always get's used!
3. The flashlight on the left is a new item we've gotten really hooked on. You do not need batteries! Batteries are heavy. Regular batteries are expensive, always have to be replaced and are not at all environmentally friendly. If you use (and we do 99.9% of the time), rechargeable batteries, then you need to be sure and pack the recharger. This flashlights run by being cranked up. See the handle? You crank it a few times, then snap it back down and you have light. We've tested it out. We cranked about 40 times and it ran all night. It's small, lightweight, easy to use and the light has 2 levels--regular and bright. So, it really is one that you can see with.
4. If traveling by car, hubby usually has a large heavy duty flashlight in the car. This is a safety must! If you're on the road at night and have a problem, you really do need to see what you're doing. Maybe you need to change a flat, hard to do without a good flashlight.

Sometimes we're caught off guard and things happen one doesn't expect, with truly with a little bit of forethought and planning you can be prepared for almost anything. Being prepared, being organized can make your trips so much more enjoyable. Being organized, being safe and planning ahead can make what could be a bad situation nothing more then a little bump in the road.

More than a school yard with Flat Stanley and Flat Joe

This wolf sculpture came all the way from Bozeman, Montana at the request of Ron Hirschi. It sits in the school yard at Wickliffe Elementary School in Upper Arlington, Ohio. Besides being a fabulous piece of art it has quite a history. It was requested by Ron Hirschi, a author of Childrens Books. He's a naturalist and teaches kids about the importance of saving the enviornment. His book, "When The Wolves Return talks about the importance of this animal in nature. He spent lots of time at Wickliffe helping students with writing, inspiring them to take care of the planet. There were fishing trips, walks in the woods as well. Flat Stanley enjoyed telling Flat Joe all about the Wolf, and Ron Hirschi.
Walking around to the front of the building Flat Stanley told Joe all about Peace Poles. This one has English, sign language on 2 sides and Japanese and Chinese on the other sides.
May Peace Prevail on Earth. Joe climbed to the top of the pole for a really good look, so you may need to click to enlarge it enough to see him.
The plaque indicates this pole was commemorated in April of 1991, the end of The Gulf War. When the pole was placed children sang songs about peace. Sadly, that peace has been interrupted.
In the garden beside the Wolf is this memorial to Will Powers. Will loved nature and enjoyed Ron Hirschi's visits. He lost his life riding his bike home from school. Both Flat Stanley and Flat Joe wanted to pause and honor this young man.

Activities:
Go to the library or book store and get one of Ron Hirschi's books.
Draw, color, or sculpt with clay one of the animals from his book.
Plot on the map Bozeman, Montana and Upper Arlington, Ohio.
Discuss how animals balance nature.
Do math with the numbers/miles from the maps
Make a word puzzle with new words from the book.
Discuss what the Gulf War was about.
Make your own peace pole
*No one likes to think of a child loosing his or her life; but it does happen. Discuss bike safety with your children, it's important.
**Look around your schoolyard, are there plaques, statures? Do you know what they mean, what the story is behind them? Many school yards have things to teach us.

See you Oct 1st when Flat Stanley and Flat Joe have a special on playing and having fun for you. Don't miss it, you see FLat Joe will be packing his bag and moving on to another interesting location.
Have you missed previous adventures with Flat Stanley, you can catch up, CLICK HERE

When and Where are you Traveling?

Once you finalize all your travel plans type up a complete travel itinerary and email or print to pass along to at least one other person besides those in your travel party. When are you leaving, where are you staying, phone numbers for contact at the hotel as well as your cell phone numbers. If you're flying include flight times along with the name of the airlines and your ETA. It's always a good idea for someone else to know your whereabouts. People have gotten lax and and or lazy and don't do this as much as they used to. They think as long as they have a cell phone, they're ok and anyone could reach them. However, what if your lose your cell phone, or it get's stolen, or the battery runs out, or you find you're not getting good cell coverage and there's an emergency? People need a way to contact you, and you need a way to contact them. Be smart include name, dates, addresses, and phone numbers.

Think of the sad situations we all hear about on the news where someone doesn't make it to their destination. People try, but can't reach them by cell phone. Police can't look for them if someone doesn't know where they were suppose to be, or when.

Maybe you keep everything in your laptop; but someone takes it and then you've got no way to check confirmation numbers. Maybe you keep notes in your purse or wallet and that gets stolen or lost or forgotten. Be prepared, have a back up. If you pass along your complete itinerary to someone else you're covered.

Are you renting a car, include the name of the company. This too can help in the case of an emergency, an accident etc. If you're driving your own car, include the color, make, and license plate number on your complete itinerary.

Not saying something will happen, or that you need to be paranoid; but a little caution is in order when you travel. Things do happen, usually when we're least prepared. Take an extra 5 minutes and pass along your complete travel itinerary. Something so simple can be a life safer later.

My brother was out of town on business when our mother had emergency surgery. We didn't know if she'd make it through the night and contacting him wasn't easy. When you travel, be safe, be prepared. You'll have fewer people worried about you, and you'll have a better stress free time.

Please enjoy some pretty fall color. The suitcase will be back with regular posts soon. Just taking a few days off.