family adventure USA — Team Halligan Unexpected Road Trip Miami to Charleston

For many of us, after a long two years of lockdowns, and limited travel, the thought of getting away to sunnier climes at Easter, and ditching the staycation, was just too tempting. However, based on the recent Easter weekend travel carnage, we may all be now reviewing the plans for the lovely sunny bank holiday weekends approaching over the next few months.

My family were celebrating my hubster’s 60th birthday, and my daughter and I planned the trip of a lifetime to The Masters in Augusta – one of the hardest sporting tickets in the world to acquire. With meticulous planning, off we went with the kids and my 80 something parents ( AKA The Rents), to have a three generational holiday of a lifetime.

Well within 12 hours of leaving London Heathrow and arriving into Miami International Airport, things started to unravel pretty quickly. It’s stressful enough downloading COVID NHS apps and passes for a generation of silver surfers, when they live 400 miles away from you, but that was nothing compared to arriving into an International airport, where not only were there too few immigration staff at customs, but 200 flights over the past 24 hours had been cancelled due to storms and an impending tornado.

It was a sight I had only seen on the TV. People sleeping on airport floors, ( “why do people do that and not book into hotel rooms?” I reflect),queues of people getting more and more irate and not one BA staff member to be found. We arrived at the check in desk to be told our flight with American Airlines to Charleston, that was due to leave that night, had been cancelled, and the next available flight for all six of us was 4 days later, due to the backlog of delays and cancellations.

Ever resourceful, our son Sam announces

“Not an issue. Let’s just get out of here and we can drive the 600 miles up to South Carolina”.

He sure loves a road trip!

Reeling at the thought that after a 9 hour flight, we were now looking at a 10 hour unexpected road trip, we then arrive at the car rental area, to be met with a similar scene. Queues everywhere, and a sea of passengers looking desperate and bewildered. Crying children and panicked parents all desperately on their mobiles.

“What was going on?”

The bottom line was, unless you’d booked a car in advance, there were no hire cars to be had for love or money, and that position was not going to change for weeks, due to the big Easter get away.

“Well, let’s just book a hotel room for the night and at least get some sleep, and ensure the rents are well rested for whatever tomorrow brings.”

However, there were no hotel rooms to be had anywhere in Miami. We thought we’d managed to book 3 rooms with a well established booking site, only to arrive at the hotel to be told, it was a mistake and the booking was an error.

We were truly stranded.
Midnight in Miami.
All the bars and restaurants closed.
No hire car.
No bed for the night and supper was sitting on the sidewalk with some beer and sushi from the service station, taking stock and going into resourcefulness mode.

Miami Roadside Beers and Sushi at Midnight -working out a plan!

There were 6 adults, 6 sizeable suitcases, and we had to get to Charleston in the next 24 hours, otherwise we would lose our hire car, and then……. It didn’t bear thinking about. This was a trip of a lifetime, that was quickly unravelling, and we needed a solution.

What would YOU do?

My idea of getting the greyhound bus was met with derision ( I think I just wanted to relive my BUNACAMP summers!) and suddenly our son Sam declares;

“The Chevvy have just launched their 2022 Suburban, a really cool car and there’s enough room for everyone and their bags. I’ve found someone who can drive us, and not sure what it’ll cost, but let me negotiate this with David ……..the UBER DRIVER!”

Only in Miami could this happen. Uber drivers with luxury vehicles, and there we found our solution.

So at 12.45am all six of us end up taking an UBER journey 600 miles over 10 hours, all the way from Florida to South Carolina, and safely arrive at our hotel, tired, happy and only 12 hours late. Result!

It was for me an HPM, a high parenting moment, as my hubster and I have spent years teaching our children the importance of life skills, being able to think creatively and problem solve, keep an optimistic hopeful outlook, and in a crisis, both Izzy and Sam positively flourish.

However for those of you with younger children, if you are planning to get away over the summer or half term, I cant stress enough how important it is to start to think about the potential pitfalls of going to the airport and waiting in queues and how to cope with those inevitable delays. Start thinking about how you’ll entertain them on the flight and what hand luggage you’ll need to cope with every eventuality, especially missing suitcases.

So.....here are some top tips to help you have that stress free departure.

Before you fly

1. Set up for Success

First, make sure you talk to your children about the upcoming flight in advance. Use books and toys to talk about what happens when you get on a plane, what to expect, etc. Use some Emotion Coaching to get an idea of how they are feeling about the flight – anxious, nervous, excited. Let them know what they will be able to do and not do while on board. For example, if you don’t want them to watch the TV screen the entire time, tell them in advance how many movies you will allow them to watch. Roleplay with the children how to talk to the air hostesses and order food. Explain to the children that meals are served when the crew is ready and that you can’t order whenever you are ready (like a restaurant)!

2. Time your journey as smartly as possible

We all know when the airports are busiest, so see if you can be creative/ flexible about the date you leave and travel. Try to avoid those really early morning red eye flights or those that depart at midnight. Sleep deprived parents and children is never optimal for keeping calm. If they’re overly tired, then they often get over excited and can’t sleep (until landing, when they ALWAYS fall asleep!).

3. Pack some emergency supplies

Make sure to pack a ‘survival kit’ for the plane: plenty of low sugar snack food for the older children and formula for the baby, calpol sachets, diapers and wipes, little surprise toys to give them at different times during the flight (think Poundland items), and any stuffed animals they usually sleep with. Also pack an extra layer of clothing in case the plane is cold, and an extra blanket if you have a baby .It may be worth taking a spare set of clothes, just in case those suitcases don’t turn up.

4. Get as comfortable as possible

Wear easy clothing and it can help to take a small blow up cushion to put behind your neck.

At the Airport

5. Keep pushchairs with you

Your stroller can be very useful for when you have tired children and it’s easy to hand them over to ground staff gate side.

6. Divide and conquer

Separate the siblings on the plane, so you keep as much space as possible between them– the closer they are, the feistier they can get. Consider rotating children around so everyone gets a turn sitting beside Mummy or Daddy.

7. Games if waiting at the airport

A recent survey showed that, despite all the modern technology that’s available, most families still also play love to play the traditional games from I-Spy to naming the capital cities or major rivers of Europe. Here are a few of my favourites:

· Yes and No – everyone take turns to ask any questions of one person, but they can’t reply with yes or no or they are out! (For example “Are you sitting next to Rosie?”)

· Granny’s Knickers – everyone asks one person a question to which they have to respond with the answer “Granny’s Knickers” regardless of the question, without giggling! (For example “What’s your favourite ice-cream flavour?”)

· Alphabet Spotting – take turns to name something you can see from the car beginning with a, b, c, d etc.

· Make A Story – take it in turns to construct a sentence each to make up a nonsense story.

· Chocolate or cheese – each person takes turns to ask the question “If you had to choose between the following, which one would you choose?” For example, chocolate or cheese, or perhaps being able to fly or become invisible!

· The 1 Minute Game – choose any topic and talk about it for one minute.

· My Granny Went To Market – one person starts with “My Granny went to market and she bought a.....” and then you take it in turns to remember the whole shopping list! Be as silly as you like...

· Who Am I – one person imagines a character from a favourite story or show, or history, and the others have to ask questions to guess who it is – are you a boy, are you a girl, have you got 4 legs, do you use a wand, are you an alien, are you a baddie etc.

· Sponsored silence –seems so obvious now you think about it!

8. Give children responsibility

Nothing enhances cooperation more than giving children responsibilities .So let them handover their boarding pass at security or when boarding the plane. By encouraging more independence children thrive as they feel good about themselves.

9. Set aside plenty of time

As Australian psychologist Stephen Biddulph says “ Rushing is the enemy of love” so ensure you set aside enough time for all eventualities and stay calm and carry on!

And if you’re completely exhausted or overwhelmed at the thought of taking a flight and travelling overseas, then keeping things local and having a staycation, could be the answer to a happy holiday in 2022.

If you would like to ensure your children are independent and self reliant and that you are teaching them life skills, to ensure they are confident and contented to cope with what life throws at them, don’t miss my next HARMONY AT HOME COURSE - a toolkit of skills for all ages, to ensure a happier and easier family life. Starts Tuesday 3rd May with half term break, Tuesday nights via ZOOM 8-9.30pm.