It seems to be a week of parents, kids, and air travel, and a whole lot of discussion of hoaxes.

First, there was the Heene family, and what it becoming known as the Bubble Boy Flight.  Or hoax, depending on which side of the issue you come down on.  A recent CNN breaking news report said that charges were soon to be filed against the dad.  What charges?  Not yet known, but many who followed the story on Thursday will be curious to find out.

Next, comes the story of Nic (a mom), Jackson (a baby), Atlanta’s Jackson-Hartfield Airport, and the TSA.

On October 16th, Nic posts on her blog that while she was undergoing a secondary screening a TSA official took her baby out of her arms and left her sight.  You can read her story on her blog.  A cry went up from outraged parents and passengers.  And who could blame them.

I read her story and while it sounded outrageous, I had a niggling little voice inside of me that said. . . “there’s more to this story.”  Maybe it’s because I’m naturally suspicious and need corroborating evidence.  Maybe it’s because I deal with the TSA and security screening more than most people.  Maybe it’s because something just didn’t sound authentic.

The TSA chimed in on the TSA blog, citing their attempts to contact Nic and receiving no response.  They posted a video of the individual who they claim in Nic, showing in elapsed time a security process that took around 9 minutes starting from the time she put her items on the security conveyor until she walked away from the security screening area.  What happened in those 9-ish minutes didn’t bear much in common with Nic’s description, with the exception of there was a baby and there was a security screen.  In the video, baby and mom were never more than a couple of feet apart, always within eyesight of one another.

You will never hear me asserting the the TSA is a paragon of efficiency or etiquette.  I have seen everything from people trying their hardest to do a job that no one really wants done to power hungry officials.  Everything from gross incompetency to an I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude.

I’ve seen passengers who are polite, despite the intrusion on their civil liberties and the ridiculous procedures involved.  But I’ve also seen passengers with chips on their shoulder, taking out anger or frustration on people who are just trying to do their job.  I’ve seen passengers who refuse to calm down, becoming their own worst enemy, as well as those who are angry and spoiling for a fight and exaggerating their circumstances.

In this world, it takes all kinds.

Take a look at these videos and decide who you believe told the truth.   I’m not asking whether you agree with TSA procedures, because not many people do.  I’m not asking if you thinking a mom should be separated from her child, because clearly she should not.  What I’m asking here, is who is telling the truth.  If blogging in citizen journalism, we need to care about that.

Watch the video and then vote.  Feel free to leave a comment as well.

[micropoll id="210348"]

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I have a short list of travel posts this week, not because there was any shortage in great stuff, but because I had a little health scare that landed me in the emergency room.  I’ve spent a rather low key week as I’ve been nursing myself back to health, and so I just haven’t had the typical online time that I usually do.  Still, I think you’ll find plenty to like from these posts:

The Vacation Gals entreat the airlines and the FAA not to allow lap children.  The fares are cheap these days, but the costs add up.  Still, think about these issues before keeping your infant on your lap for your next flight.

Italy Mondo strike a chord near and dear to my heart, Italian food.

PlanetEye Traveler – Green Travel is talking about holiday travel.  Already!

Eyeflare has a nice primer on how to capture silhouettes in your travel photos.  Here’s one of the tips – turn off your flash!

Uncornered Market, making its first appearance in my list of favorites, lists the 7 habits of highly effective travelers.  How many can you count as yours?

Travel Savvy Mom, another first timer on my favorite list, tells why spending more money for an executive floor room can actually save you money.  I agree, and try to take that option whenever possible.

Intelligent Travel teases us once again with a very strange hotel, this one in a sewer pipe.

PlanetEye Traveler – London tell s the story of a neighborhood about to be demolished.  Residents of the building have put up portraits on the windows, a reminder of the real people who are impacted by this decision.

Cockpit Chronicles at Gadling attempts to help us understand why waiting in line on the runway is inevitable.

Travellious has some cool travel gear.  And besides that, Kelly is heading off to Italy.  (See Italy Mondo post above. . . again!)

LA Times lists some over-the-top promotions that hotels are trying.  Are you tempted by any of them?  The promotion that I want?  FREE internet access!

Seattle PI reminds me that there are hostels here in Seattle.

That’s it for this week.  Please stop by and say hi to this great group of travel bloggers – and tell them you read about them at Flyaway Cafe.

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When you travel all the time, it becomes easy to take the whole process for granted.  Instead of being excited about heading off to the airport for a flight, you complain about having to go on “one more trip.”

It’s easy to understand how you feel when you’re traveling for business, but when it’s finally time to take the family on a vacation, it’s time to get your mind in a different space and make it fun for everyone.  Especially for the kids — who can all too easily pick up on any negative travel vibe.

Whether you’re traveling with the family, or sending the kids on a trip of their own, they are going to need something to do for those hours they are buckled into an airplane seat. 

So how about some good old fashioned games?  No whistles, no bells, no video screen.  Just some cards, mental and visual stimulation, and family interaction. 

Flying Rubberneckers is card game that you can use to make the plane trip fun, encouraging kids to look at the world around.  It’ll help pass the time, keep them occupied, and maybe even learn a thing or two.  The game consists of 70 cards, and is appropriate for reading levels for ages 4-8.  It retails for $12.95.

Additional Rubbernecker cards are available for car trips.

Get out of your grumpy travel blahs, and help the kids have the plane trip of their life!

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Traveling can frequently be difficult, but traveling with toddlers can always be difficult.  From managing the little one’s time to managing their “stuff,” there are added tasks to juggle when you have children with you.

Bringing a stroller with you when you travel allows you to get kids through the airport with minimum fuss.  It can keep the kids in one place and most allow you to stow a bit of “stuff” on it as well.

But since strollers frequently don’t fit in airplane overheads (depends on the specific aircraft and stroller type), and even if they do, they take up a lot of room, most strollers aren’t brought onboard as it is just one more thing to lug down the aisle.

What happens to the strollers?  Most are “gate checked.”  This is jargon for checking something directly at the departure gate (usually right at the aircraft door), rather than at the ticket counter.  This means that you can keep the kiddies in their stroller right up to the time you walk aboard the plane.

However, “gate checked” does not necessarily mean that you will be able to recover the stroller on the jetway when you get off the plane.  Most bags that are gate checked are sent to baggage claim.

If you want to get your stroller on the jetway upon arrival at your destination, you need to confirm that your airline offers a “claim at gate” option.  Most do, although not all.  And this option is not available for international flights into and out of the U.S.

Remember –

Gate check – you can check the bag at the gate

Claim at gate – you can claim the bag at the gate

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