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It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t fe It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t feel like it in Miami, it really never does but that just gives us a reason to explore other states. West Virginia is one of them, fun fact I actually lived here between undergrad and grad school! Here are Things to do in West Virginia (SAVE + SHARE): 

1. Enjoy New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, or visit any of the states 35 state parks as West Virginia has 1.5 million acres of parks and public land. We personally walked the Shavers Lake Trail and canoed on the lake. 

2. Enjoy some serious adventures! We’re always trying something new and West Virginia offers a lot of options from whitewater rafting, to 1,000+ miles of off-road ATV trails, to rock climbing, caving and mountain biking . 

3. Take a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad which stops at the Whittaker Camp where those who worked in the lumber and coal industry lived during the work season. 

4. Explore Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where you might just get to see some black bears! 

5. Walk the Falls of Hills Creak trail to get up close to some gorgeous waterfalls! 

This week I’ll be sharing various cities and states you can experience a beautiful Fall getaway. What are some of your favorite places to enjoy autumn?

Tap the link in my bio for my West Virginia blog post and a blog post of the best places to experience Fall in the US!
Still not over our day exploring the waters of For Still not over our day exploring the waters of Fort Pierce. We danced, snorkeled, fished and went tubing. Definitely want more days like this and still pinch myself that this is what a day of work looks like for me sometimes. Thank you @seadoo for the opportunity.
If you know my husband you know water activities a If you know my husband you know water activities are his favorite! Fishing, jet skiing, just being on a boat on the ocean relaxing, name it, he’s there. So we couldn’t be more excited than to not only get the chance to test out the new @seadoo Switch but be the stars of a whole commercial for it. We had entirely too much fun filming this. Of course now he wants to buy one!

Do you like getting out on the water? Favorite activity?
Our 3 Day London Itinerary (SAVE + SHARE): 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 1: Walked across the Tower Bridge (you can take a tour of London of Tower as well), walked along the River Thames and took a make a fascination hat class with @create_your_own_hat! 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 2: Harry Potter walking tour, checked out Borough Market and went on a night ghost bus tour. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 3: Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen, Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guards, and explore Westminster for the infamous red telephone booths, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

If you have more time on previous visits to London we have taken a day trip to check out Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, rode the London Eye, took a ferry ride down the Thames River, checked out Warner Brother Studios, and did a graffiti/street art tour.

Is London on your list? If you’ve been what did you do that you think is a must for visitors?

Things to do in London, London with kids, family travel
Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are no Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are not babies anymore. Where has the time gone? Excuse me while I go cry in the corner 😭😭😭😭. 

Too in my feelings to provide an informational post, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? List Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? Listen replace husband with whoever you need to but why these ppl keep acting like we can take our money when we’re gone?!? Y’all feel me or nah? 😅😬😩
Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is us Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is usually on everyone’s things to do in London list but since the girls and I don’t eat beef or pork the menus for most places didn’t make sense for us as they are filled with ham sandwiches and other things we don’t eat. I ended up finding Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen instead which offers a tea menu with breakfast items, while not traditional it worked best for us! It cost £35 pp.

For a traditional Afternoon or High Tea Try:

🫖Palm Court at The Ritz
🫖The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason
🫖Theatre Royal Drury Lane
🫖The Grill Room Hotel Cafe Royal (has vegetarian an vegan options)
🫖Coronation Afternoon Tea at Cellarium, Westminster Abbey
🫖The Rosebery Coronation Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
🫖The Goring Hotel

Afternoon Teas Geared Towards Families:

☕️Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at Aqua at The Shard
☕️Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel
☕️Jungle Book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
☕️Secret Garden Afternoon Tea at Taj 51
☕️The Buzzy Bees Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel
☕️Grover’s Children’s Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel
☕️The Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
☕️Sherlock Holmes Inspired Afternoon Tea at the Mind Palace
☕️Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych
☕️Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson
☕️Wizard of Oz Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel

Have you done a proper Afternoon or High Tea in London before? Was the one you did on this list, if so what did you think of it? If you have additional recommendations please do leave a comment!

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5 Tips on Traveling With a Car Seat

August 15, 2016      Tips on Traveling with Kids

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

Car seats are very important in keeping our kids safe. However it can be a drag to travel with a car seat, especially when it’s already a pain getting through the airport smoothly with kids. Not anymore, here are 5 tips on traveling with a car seat.

mother pulling a car seat with her child in the airport

Traveling With a Car Seat: Does my car seat fly for free?

On US Airlines you can always check a car seat for free at the ticket counter or at the gate. Here are 3 reasons to always gate check your car seat. However when traveling with a car seat on international airlines the rules vary. Some count it towards your checked luggage allowance while others only allow it to fly for free if the child is under 2. Check your specific airlines website or call customer service to verify.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

How to protect your checked car seat!

When first traveling with a car seat the only thing I thought about were all the germs it would get from checking it. It would get germs from multiple people touching it, from the belt conveyor at baggage claim, and by being under the plane. Then I’d be putting my precious, clean baby in there to catch all those germs. Due to this I highly recommend purchasing a protective bag!

I forgot mine once and on my flight to my destination I asked the counter for a garbage bag and they provided me with one. However, on the way back that counter didn’t have any so don’t count on the airline providing something when traveling with a car seat. All the baby stores have several types and sizes of car seat bags depending on your needs. I bought a sturdy one as we travel a lot and didn’t want to risk the cheaper material ones ripping after multiple uses. If you don’t plan on using it much, don’t break the bank!


What are the risks of checking a car seat?

Car seats that have been in a car accident are no longer safe and should not be reused. We all know airlines damage people’s luggage all the time and there are no exceptions for car seats. The chance of an airline damaging your car seat where it is no longer safe and functional is unlikely. The problem is there is really no way to tell. You have no idea what happens to your car seat once you check it and not all car seat damage is visible.

The only way to 100% prevent the mishandling of your car seat when traveling with a car seat is to bring it on the plane with you. Unfortunately purchasing a seat for your child under 2 can be a big expense not everyone can afford so what are your alternatives?

  1. 1. Checking your car seat at the gate will eliminate a lot of handling as it’s walked over to the plane and handed right back to you upon landing but of course still no guarantee.
  2. Consider purchasing a cheaper car seat just for traveling purposes.
  3. Instead of traveling with a car seat if you plan on renting a car at your destination you can also rent a car seat through the rental company. There is an added fee (up to $13.99/day) for them to provide a car seat but if you have a AAA membership Hertz gives you one child, infant, or booster seat for free! They also have other savings which you can find here. The problem with renting a car seat is that you never know the condition it will be in.
  4. If it is a place you travel frequently, say visiting grandma/grandpa consider purchasing a car seat for their car that way you never have to travel with a car seat!

How to get your car seat to the gate!

If you are checking your car seat at the gate or having your child sit in it on the flight it can be daunting thinking of how you are going to manage. Car seats can be heavy, not to mention impossible to carry if you already have a carry-on bag plus a child to carry. Here are some ways to get your car seat to the gate:

  1. Get a car seat bag that has backpack straps so you can carry it.
  2. Snap the car seat into your stroller frame if you have an infant car seat so you can push baby in it.
  3. Get a car seat transporter (these have wheels so you can have baby strapped in a pull it and some can even be tied to your carry on suitcase so you can pull both with one hand). For details on the car seat transporter I use (video below) click here.
 


Traveling With a Car Seat? Here’s how to use it on the plane:

If you plan to have your child sit in their car seat on the plane you will be required to purchase a seat for them. Some airlines offer discounted child fare but most don’t. Your car seat MUST be FAA approved to be used on an airplane. How do you know if it is? It will read “this restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft” or “for use in aircraft”. If the label is missing or unreadable your owner’s manual will also provide this information. Worst case call the manufacturer to ask them and have them provide you with a letter stating so.

Remember that just because your car seat is FAA approved doesn’t mean it will fit in the airplane seat. Be sure to measure your car seat and check with the airline. You’ll need to determine if the specific plane you would be traveling on has seats wide enough for your car seat. This is important as many airlines have various aircrafts they fly.

Car seats are not allowed to block the exit paths of others in the row. This means the car seat will need to be installed in the window seat on a typical 2 column plane. If the plane has 3 columns the car seat could also go in the middle seat of the middle column. Please note that some NON U.S. based airlines require you to provide the car seat details at booking over the phone. Unfortunately some do not allow children to sit in car seats during the flight at all. Others require the car seat to be forward facing so be sure to contact the specific airline prior to booking or always book on a U.S. based airline when traveling internationally.

You may be interested in reading: 8 Tips on Flying with Babies

Consider leaving your car seat at home!

Instead of traveling with a car seat maybe you should leave it at home. If you are traveling to somewhere like NYC, Chicago, or Tokyo where public transportation is in abundance or everything is in walking distance decide if you really need a car seat. If you are only taking trains and buses a baby carrier and/or stroller will suffice. For toddlers in major cities, Uber will provide you with a car seat for a small surcharge. Click here for details.

You may be interested in reading: Tips for Flying with Toddlers


Do you have any other tips on traveling with a car seat? If you found this article helpful, please share it!

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

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Comments

  1. Meme says

    November 6, 2016 at 7:40 pm

    Hello,
    I love your blog and IG!!! It has inspired both myself and my husband to make a list of countries to travel to and plan to travel when the baby’s 3 months.
    Where did you get the rolling cart pictured above for the car seat and also on a video on your IG account?

    • Monet Hambrick says

      November 7, 2016 at 1:15 pm

      Hi Meme,
      Thank you so much, I am so happy to hear that! Yessss to this list of countries to travel to. You can find all the details for the car seat transporter on my Must Have Travel Gear Section of the blog, here’s the link directly for this one that includes a link to purchase the product http://www.thetravelingchild.co/travel-gear/car-seat-transporter. Let me know if you have any other questions.

  2. Labby says

    October 18, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    Great tips, does one also take the car seat base? Thanks

    • Monet says

      October 19, 2017 at 10:14 am

      Hi Labby,
      Glad you found them useful! I do not travel with my infant car seat base. You can install it with the base as long as the vehicle has the seat belts that lock (like when you are in a car that stops abruptly but the seat belt doesn’t let you go further). YouTube installing an infant car seat without the base, it will show you exactly how to. Hope my answer made sense, lol!
      Monet

  3. Sierra Dallas says

    November 21, 2017 at 12:57 pm

    As a parent, my first priority is to keep my kids safe.I have to travels a lot around the world with my a baby. Thanks for infant car seat travel bag ideas. It’s really essential for every mom to manage traveled with the baby and to feel comfortable and easier while traveling with the baby.

  4. Stephanie says

    March 15, 2018 at 6:27 pm

    Love reading all of your post. You have answered just about everything I was stressing over, so thank you very much. My husband and I are traveling to New Orleans with a 4 month old. We are staying about 1 Mile from Bourbon street. I was thinking we use the carrier since everything is in walking distance however, do you recommend bringing the car seat for the trip from the airport to the hotel in a shuttle? Or would the carrier suffice?

    • Monet says

      March 15, 2018 at 7:11 pm

      You’re very welcome and I am so happy to hear how helpful you have found my posts. Is the airport shuttle one of those shuttle buses with no seat belts or is it a van that cans seat belts and the carseat can be installed? I would see if the hotel can provide you with that information. If it can’t be installed no point in traveling with it but if it can I would recommend it for the car ride to/from the airport and then you can keep it in your hotel or Airbnb.

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Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

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