Socal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills

Absence Makes the Heart Grow...?

I received a couple of worried emails today from friends who visit here often (thanks!) and were wondering about my long absence. Steph correctly guessed that it had something to do with school starting next week. Yes, even though we have not started yet, I've been up to my neck in PTA commitments (which I had put off and put off and put off all summer, meaning I've had to really focus on it now that we're gearing back up again).

Lorna, who has had a very busy and stressful summer herself, was wondering why all my most recent posts have been about travel -- and I have to say that in the time I've NOT been posting here, I've been wondering if I'd narrowed my focus a bit too much. I do love traveling and writing about it -- but I'm not as compelled to do so as I was when I was blogging here about whatever I happened to be thinking about on any given day... and I suspect that what I'm producing is also not as compelling.

The problem, of course, is the one I've been struggling with for the three years that blogging has been my chosen creative outlet: how to balance my need to describe what I'm feeling with my family's need for privacy. I thought that by sticking to a narrow focus of travel writing, I'd be safe -- and I have been. But it's not working for me. I have several travel-related pieces in mind, just waiting for a break in my time when I can do the research and put it down here... but that's the rub. The travel pieces take longer and the last couple of weeks I haven't had the time to do it and so I haven't posted at all and I've missed it. At the same time, I've had other things I've wanted to write about too, but which have no place here -- the Emmy tribute to Dick Clark, back to school in SoCal, PTA (you know, the usual suspects).

So I may change scope again. But not today -- I also received an email from the principal, who has not been able to open the PTA newsletter I put together (which has to be run off this week so it can be distributed when school starts). So in the meantime, here's a little travel observation:

There are BARGAINS around for Labor Day!! Two of the regular emails I receive from major hotel chains indicate that loads of people are staying home for the three day weekend -- and there are rooms to be sold. (If only we had picked THIS holiday to travel to New York instead of Memorial Day -- you can get a room at one of the W's this weekend starting at just $199 -- that's HALF what they were charging in May!)

Interested in a last minute getaway? Check out Marriott's eBreaks and W's "Let's Play" deals.

One Day Sale on Carnival Cruises

Air travel has settled down a little bit since last week's terror news. Security has eased up a bit in the UK, where travelers can throw away their clear plastic ziploc bags and bring one carry-on item onto their planes. British Airways (which cancelled a third of their flights over the last seven days) reports that 90% of their passengers out of Heathrow will leave as scheduled today.

At the same time, today the United States Transportation Security Agency is set to release new guidelines today for airport security. I have a feeling that the guidelines will be revised fairly frequently for a while. Anyone traveling by plane from the US should check on them with the TSA before packing - get the most up to date information here.

One of the consequences of 9/11 was increased sales for cruise lines. If you're feeling a little bit leery of air travel right now, a cruise vacation might be just what the doctor ordered... and you can book an oceanview cabin today for as little as $259 (for a three-day spin around the Bahamas). That's right -- Carnival is holding a one-day sale, where you can get an upgraded cabin for the cost of an interior one. Check it out here.

Terror Alert Raised to Red; New Airline Carryon Restrictions

My radio alarm clock is set for 5:00 a.m., and I awake each day listening to NPR's Morning Edition. This usually grounds me -- and helps make up for those days when I do not have time to read the newspaper.

Today, I got more news than I wanted. Instead of the soothing voices of Renee Montagne and Steve Inskeep, what I heard was a Michael Chertoff press conference with the news that the British government had foiled yet another terrorist plot involving air travel.

Twenty-one suspected members of a home-grown cell in the UK have been arrested. Their insidious plan was to simultaneously blow up nine different airplanes (from four carriers) traveling from London to the United States, and they were going to do it by bringing on board benign liquid material that, when mixed together, creates a powerful bomb. The investigation continues.

Reaction around the world was immediate, with flight delays and cancellations all around Europe. Within Britain, short-haul flights to Heathrow Airport were suspended for a while, but have resumed. U.S. Homeland Security raised the terror level for international flights to Red, and imposed new restrictions on carry-on items: No liquids, gels or toothpaste-type products will be allowed in the passenger cabin (the exception is baby formula and precription medication).

U.K. authorities have gone one better: First reports indicated that they were allowing NO carry-ons AT ALL, with the exception of a passenger's passport and wallet, and those items must be contained in a clear plastic bag.

In actuality, there are a few exceptions (according to passenger information posted on Virgin-Atlantic's website):

Passengers may take through the airport security search point, in a single (ideally transparent) plastic carrier bag, only the following items. Nothing may be carried in pockets:

• pocket size wallets and pocket size purses plus contents (for example money, credit cards, identity cards etc (not handbags));
• travel documents essential for the journey (for example passports and travel tickets);
• prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight (eg, diabetic kit), except in liquid form unless verified as authentic.
• spectacles and sunglasses, without cases.
• contact lens holders, without bottles of solution.
• for those travelling with an infant: baby food, milk (the contents of each bottle must be tasted by the accompanying passenger) and sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight (nappies, wipes, creams and nappy disposal bags).
• female sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed (eg tampons, pads, towels and wipes).
• tissues (unboxed) and/or handkerchiefs
• keys (but no electrical key fobs)

In addition to this please note:

• All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be x-ray screened.
• Pushchairs (American translation: strollers) and walking aids must be x-ray screened, and only airport-provided wheelchairs may pass through the screening point.

The good news: Virgin is easing their limits on checked baggage to accommodate all those passengers who will no longer be able to carry their hand luggage. The bad news: That means that laptop computer you usually guard with your life. I'm unsure what precautions will be taken to ensure that computers won't be damaged or lost while they are out of sight of their owners. You won't be able to carry your cellphone or any cameras, either.

What does this mean to you? Obviously, if you are already on vacation in the U.K. and were planning on flying back today, you may not get here on time. With the new security measures, travelers everywhere can expect even longer delays at the airport. If you were planning a trip and are feeling a bit apprehensive now, you should check with your airline; you may be able to cancel or rebook without penalty.

Appallingly, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time (five hours after Chertoff's press conference and at least nine hours since the suspects' arrests), there is very little information about this on two of the affected airlines (American Airlines and British Airways have links to the new security restrictions on their home page. I could not find anything on the Continental and United sites, although the latter did include information on changing or canceling a flight that's already been booked.)

If you must travel -- and you're taking your kids -- the new restrictions will create some new challenges for you beyond the delays at the airport. You will no longer be able to bring activity bags for your children - no crayons, no coloring books, no snacks (other than some juice for your toddlers)no comfort items (my daughter doesn't get on the plane without a favorite teddy or doll and her "comfiest pillow").

There is no telling how long these new restrictions will remain in effect. The infamous shoe-bombing incident was nearly five years ago, and it's become second-nature for most of us to make sure there are no holes in our socks on travel day, as we are still removing our shoes for inspection at airport checkpoints.

After digesting the details of the new security guidelines, my first thought was to head to Costco and buy a case of Ziploc bags. If the airlines do not make their eased luggage limitations permanent, from now on I will need to consolidate all of our packing into fewer bags -- and wrapping each cosmetic item (at my age, I travel with a lot of them) in plastic will keep any wayward goo from getting on our clothes. I may even start leaving a good portion of the stuff at home -- I can always purchase travel size packages of toothpaste, shampoo and hair gunk when I get to my destination (even though that will end up costing more).

We have family in Britain and no terrorist threat is going to keep us from visiting them this Christmas. We've been through these scares many times since 9/11 -- we were on a U.K. visit when Richard Reid attempting to light his shoe, and we were also there during a heightened alert when flights were restricted at both London and Paris. I won't forget the time we were seemingly stranded at Heathrow as our flight back to Los Angeles was delayed for a couple hours -- without any kind of satisfactory explanation. It is unnerving, it's frightening -- but there is a calculated risk to everything we do.

This does not mean I want to tell my daughter about the current terror alert. She was apprehensive about our recent visit to New York, because she was afraid that someone would hijack our plane and fly it into a building. As a kindergartener five years ago, she happened into our bedroom on the morning of 9/11 while we were watching television in shock at the events as they occurred. While I wasn't happy that she saw those images on the TV, this is the world we've brought her into, for better or worse. It's a fine line to walk as a parent: I don't want her to live in fear -- but I don't want her to grow up in ignorance, either. Still, she doesn't need to know about this particular close call, and she doesn't need to worry about the plane blowing up while she's on it. That's something I can do, in silence.

Where to Stay in Monterey

Monterey is a town that thrives on tourism, so if you're planning a visit, you've got lots of choices: everything from the five-star opulence of world-famous resorts at Pebble Beach down to one-star motels.

Selecting one depends as much upon your vacation plans as it does your budget. Well, almost as much -- even though the Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that there are 300 hotels, motels and inns on the Monterey Peninsula, demand still exceeds supply... so it pays to shop around.

For a moment, let's pretend that money is no object and you're planning a weekend getaway to Monterey. What will you do there?

Are you a golfer? Then my mention of Pebble Beach above must have caught your eye, as it is Golf Digest's number one ranked golf resort in the United States. The Pebble Beach Resort boasts four golf courses, including two listed in Golf Digest's Top Ten.

The resort's hotels (The Lodge, The Inn at Spanish Bay and Casa Palermo) also offer world-class spas, tennis (their tennis club is ALSO top-ranked!), horseback riding, kayaking and swimming - both at the beach and heated pools. Fine dining and shopping are also on-site, which makes the resort a one-stop visit of its own. 

What will a weekend stay at this paradise cost you? The least expensive room at The Inn at Spanish Bay (which is the least expensive of the three hotels) goes for $535 a night (and this does not include golf course fees). Ocean views at any of the three go for upwards of $730 a night.

There are less expensive options for golfers who are willing to forego the luxury of the Pebble Beach resorts. Monterey a beautiful, woodsy Hyatt Regency just three miles from downtown. A weekend room there will run you $249 a night (a relative bargain compared with the Inn at Spanish Bay), and guests get a special rate at Pebble Beach's Del Monte golf course. The Hyatt also boasts its own tennis facility, swimming pool and T-Mobile wi-fi throughout the property.

As I'm not a golfer, I'm kind of partial to Monterey's downtown hotels. I can also personally vouch for their quality, having managed several meetings and conventions at the Monterey Conference Center in the early '90's. The great thing about a downtown location is that once you park your car, you never have to use it again (until it's time to leave).

Adjacent to the Monterey State Historic Park and Portola Plaza is the Portola Plaza Hotel. Across the street is the Monterey Marriott. These are both pretty standard chain-type hotels (the Portola Plaza was originally a Doubletree, now under new management). While you do get a high level of service and amenities, there isn't anything particularly special about the facility or the rooms. These properties do, however, offer you an enviable location where you can walk to all the sites I mentioned in my first Monterey post). These hotels offer comparable rates: $229 and $249 for the Portola Plaza.

If it's a romantic getaway you're after, you'll find plenty of ambiance one block away, at the Hotel Pacific. This all-suite Spanish-influenced garden style inn offers rooms with feather beds, fireplaces, french doors that lead to private patios, and little luxuries like a second TV in the bathroom. If you book online through their website, it will cost you $269 a night -- but when I checked this out at AAA, I found a rate of $209.

This brings me to the subject of hotel room rates in general, which are fluid and dependent upon factors like supply, demand and season. The rate today may be wildly different from the rate tomorrow. To research this post, I selected a weekend in October to check rates and availability. Sites like Hotels.com, Travelocity and Orbitz are good for helping you locate properties to stay in -- however, in most cases you will get a better deal when you book your room through the hotel's own website, especially if you belong to their frequent traveler program and have points to trade for a discounted room. Membership in the Automobile Club can help too (as in the example above), although the discount is not usually as substantial as the one I found at Hotel Pacific.

AAA is also good for giving you accurate ratings of the hotels you're booking -- I've found that the big travel websites don't always concur on the number of stars awarded a particular property.

If the purpose of your visit is to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you should check out the many hotels and motels that have sprung up around Cannery Row. The one I've always wanted to try is the elegant Monterey Plaza, with its beautiful dolphin fountain and dramatic views of the bay. Alas, this property's rates are in Pebble Beach territory, with ocean view rooms for the weekend in question starting at $410.

More affordable options are the three-star Best Western Victorian Inn ($210), and the two-star Cannery Row Inn ($169) and Otter Inn ($139).

Notice how the rate gets lower the fewer stars the property is awarded and the farther you are from the attraction you are visiting? I wanted to save more money on my recent Monterey visit, so opted to try one of the many motels located in the Carmel Hill area of Monterey. This is a hillside strip on Munras avenue, roughly two miles from the Aquarium that is home to over a dozen little motels of the Days Inn, Clarion and TraveLodge variety. Our choice was the Comfort Inn Carmel Hill, with a AAA rate of $129. Even though it was a no-frills kind of place (vending machines instead of a coffee shop, plastic cups in the bathroom instead of real glass), it was clean, it felt safe, it had a decent little pool, and offered free high-speed Internet and continental breakfast in the morning.

It was also located right next door to La Giostra, a pretty good little Italian restaurant and was just a block away from the Del Monte Shopping Center, which had more places to eat and a Whole Foods Market to boot.

If I was worried that my daughter would miss the amenities she's used to in more luxurious places, those fears were quickly rested. "I like the Comfort Inn," she said, as she grabbed the remote and sank into her very own comfortable queen bed. I did, too.

Next: Final Monterey post.

The Jewel in Monterey's Crown

For all its beauty and abundance of vacation activities (golf, tennis, beach stuff), the one attraction that makes Monterey a wonderful family destination is the world class Monterey Bay Aquarium. Now, those of us in SoCal are blessed to have not just one, but TWO terrific oceanic museums in our vicinity (the Cabrillo in San Pedro and Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific), plus Sea World in San Diego...

All of these facilities do a good job of enlightening, educating and entertaining our kids, and our family has visited them all within the last year. You would think that I, as a parent easily bored with the kid stuff, might tell my daughter I'd had enough. (If it was a zoo, I probably would!)

But Monterey's Aquarium is special. It is the one that the others are measured against -- and if I'd wondered why, those questions were erased at the very first exhibit we encountered on our visit this week: Sharks, Myths and Mystery.

Now, anyone who's ever watched the Discovery Channel knows that no one ever lost money by doing a feature on sharks, and every aquarium worth its salt water has a species or two or three to satisfy our fascination with them. However, Monterey's exhibit -- which features at least one kind of shark from just about every body of water in the world -- attempts to put our relationship with these fearsome fish into context.

From videos of Hawaiians telling the legend of the shark god and Pele through hula dance... to Amazonian shark masks... to Far Side shark cartoons and clips of Jaws and SNL's classic "land shark" sketch... the curators in Monterey have created a multi-faceted examination of the animals and why humans should care about them. There is even a family activity room within the exhibit for your youngest kids, where aquarium volunteers tell stories and supervise shark-related arts and crafts.

(If you are planning a visit, you need to hurry! This exhibit will close at 5:00 p.m. on Labor Day.)

But as terrific as this exhibit was, the next one we wandered into was even better. Jellies: Living Art was set up as a gallery, with gigantic "picture frames" set around the glass aquariums containing 16 different species of colorful, translucent, pulsating, mesmerizing jellyfish. And again, the curators reinforced the assertion of these creatures as living art by interspersing the fish with actual art -- like rows of lava lamps and the Dale Chihuly installation pictured above.

From there, we moved to the Outer Bay wing of the huge building, so we could view my favorite ocean creatures: the cuddly looking sea otters. The Aquarium has five of the playful mammals, all of whom were rescued and are kept because they are unable to survive in the wild.

We were fortunate to have reached the otters just as they were being fed - also, that we had been smart enough to show up early. I'm obviously not the only otter fan; every other time I've visited the Aquarium, I've not been able to push my way through the crowd to get a really good look at them -- this time, we did.

A centerpiece of the Aquarium is its 28-foot high kelp forest, with an amazing number of different fishes swimming about in a natural-seeming habitat. Be sure to check this out during one of the twice daily feedings, when a diving-suited marine biologist gives you the low-down on what you're viewing.

Kids will love all the different touch ponds - they will have an opportunity to feel the backs of rays, hold a shark's egg case, sea stars (they don't call 'em starfish any more!), sea cucumbers and more. Let your littlest kids out of their strollers to play in the Splash Zone - an interactive, Chuck E. Cheese type playing area that offers a joyful introduction to the biology of the sea.

SoCal Mom's Tips for Visiting with Your Kids

1. Purchase your tickets by phone before your visit. This is an extremely popular attraction, and the ticket line starts forming long before it opens. Why stand around waiting? Buy your tickets ahead of time. (I do recommend doing it by phone because Ticketweb's service charges are per ticket instead of a flat fee per order.)

The number is (800) 756-3737. Cost is $21.95 per adult and $12.95 for children ages 3-12 (under 3 is free).

You may also wish to consider an Aquarium membership for $100 (especially if you live close enough to visit more than once per year). This gives you, one adult guest and your children (or grandchildren) free admission for 365 days from purchase.

The extra money you pay for your membership helps the Aquarium staff continue their work as advocates for the marine life of the world's oceans.

2. Arrive early. The Aquarium opens at 10:00 a.m. Be there then. By noon, it will be PACKED.

They estimate that a typical visit runs for three hours. I can vouch that even in that time, you won't see everything, especially if you stay for the many different videos and demonstrations they hold during the course of a day.

You may also be interested in an add-on activity (for an extra fee): These range from a pre-opening visit to help feed the critters, surface scuba diving in the tanks, a science expedition on the Aquarium's sailboat or a sunset cruise.

3. Bring snacks. I don't have to tell you that one, do I? There are places to eat at the Aquarium, and lots of touristy lunch spots on Cannery Row (you can get your hand stamped for a later return). So you have options.

4. Bring a change of clothes for the kids. I cannot tell you how many times I forgot to pay attention as my husband "watched" our daughter play in the touch pools... and then had to BUY an expensive souvenir  t-shirt because she got herself SOAKED.

Tomorrow: Where to stay in Monterey.