Health Travel Insurance Center

The solution to keeping kids amused and occupied on long car rides can seem as elusive as the perfectly placed pit stop.

Parents of even the smallest of infants will find the perfect travel toys to keep them amused and stimulated in between naps. The irresistible Whoozit Activity Spiral wraps around most stroller and car seat carrier handles for on-the-go fun. A baby safe mirror encourages self-discovery, a hidden rattle reinforces cause-and-effect play, and the pull-and-release ball under the Whoozit makes a delightful jiggling motion that stimulates developing motor skills.

Does your baby love to reach for little toys and give them a good shake - before throwing them under the front seat? Well, Lamaze Garden Bug Foot Finder and Wrist Rattle Set is your solution to keeping those toys and rattles off the car floor. These baby-soft wrist rattles and foot finders slip around wrists and onto feet. Let baby grab and shake to her hearts’ content - while developing hand-to-eye coordination skills! Bright patterns and faces encourage discovery while fun sounds reward exploration.

Now baby can “drive along” just like mom or dad with the Beep Beep Baby Soft Driver by IQ Baby. This colorful, soft activity toy features a steering wheel, key, gear shift - even a cell phone! The colors and contrasts stimulate baby’s visual development, while the baby safe mirror promotes self-recognition. And with all the squeakers, rattles and ratchet sounds, your baby will be kept amused no matter how long the car ride is!

For quiet moments, try keeping an assortment of CD’s to soothe your young ones to sleep on the road. For example, Dreams and Lullabies by Markus is a collection of old favorites like Brahms’ Lullaby and new favorites-in-the-making like the dreamy Angel on my Shoulder.

LeapFrog can make traveling with kids seem like a walk in the park. The Little Touch LeapPad allows your baby to interact with classic stories like Guess How Much I Love You, while the My First LeapPad is perfect for your pre-schooler to learn letters, numbers, shapes and other fundamentals while reading and interacting with engaging stories and familiar characters like Bob the Builder and the Wiggles. You can even coax the Game Boy out of your 4-8 year-old’s clutches when you hand him a Leapster! Boys and girls have a blast reinforcing essential math and language skills while playing games and reading stories with their favorite characters like Spiderman, Junie B.Jones, and Spongebob Squarepants.

Electronic games are sure to be a hit with your school-age travelers. Remember 20 Questions? The the hot new game, 20Q - a small, handheld electronic genius that can guess what you are thinking in 20 questions or less! Just think of any object and answer “yes” or “no” to each of its questions as they appear on its LCD screen. Will 20Q guess your answer? About 95% of the time it will - wow!

Another backseat favorite is MadLibs by Excalibur Electronics. Based on the wildly popular series of activity books, players create the craziest, funniest stories by choosing from a list of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs - or by writing their own. The wackier the better!

Perhaps you have a passenger who is an aspiring chess master. Travel chess sets are a great way to improve your chess game on the road, and the Excalibur Chess Station is the grand champion! This full featured travel unit has an LCD screen - no small pieces to lose - and boasts a 1750 tournament rating with 73 power levels from beginner to advanced. It even has a teaching mode and a series of opening play challenges to sharpen your traveler’s skills. Once you have arrived at your destination or returned home, Excalibur Chess includes a game board and chess pieces for traditional play as well.

So your teenager thinks he knows it all? Test his Quiz Quotient against the New York Times Quizmaster from the famous Noodle Nudger of the NY Times online quiz game. Featuring over 2200 questions in 280 topics, this multiple choice format travel game is perfect for either the solo player or a minivan full of kids (and adults!) to match wits against each other.

Pen and paper games are also essential activities for traveling with kids. Klutz has discovered a new use for your vehicle’s drink-holder - how about Klutz Books in a Cup in either Green or Orange `flavors’? For ages 8 - 10, this unique collection of puzzles and games comes in a reusable container, complete with a pencil and a lid, that fits neatly into a cup holder for easy access and storage. Combine this with the Klutz Kids Travel Book and you have the ultimate backseat survival kit. This super high quality book comes with a built-in clipboard, 100 page notepad, 47 page activity book, and a conveniently attached zipper pouch full of markers, yarn, dice, string and more! Mazes, Cat’s Cradle Loop and instructions, Hidden Pictures, Parcheesi Board, License Plate Bingo and Classic Song Lyrics are just a few of the activities included in this Parent’s Choice Gold Award-winning travel activity kit.

What’s a road trip without a great selection of tunes? Your traveling tots will enjoy Raffi or Disney. For songs in the car that even Mom and Dad will love, check out A Child’s Celebration of Rock and Roll featuring original artists like Bill Haley and the Comets, the Coasters, Bobby Darin, Johnny Otis, Shirley Ellis, and Richie Valens. Modern hit-makers, including Sarah McLaughlan. Billy Bragg, Tom Waits, and the Barenaked Ladies, provide new takes on old childhood classics (and some new ones!) on For the Kids. This alternative-rock CD is perfect for traveling with kids of all ages - even those too-cool tweens who think they have outgrown kids’ music!

You’ll be surprised at how easy your next road trip will be!

Lisa Bronart is freelance writer and homeschool mom and always on the look out for cool stuff for kids- neat travel toys can make a long trip shorter for everyone!

http://www.mastermindtoys.com

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One of the more salient qualities of island living is the abundance of fresh seafood. Barbados is home to the flying fish, but there is also a wide range of fish caught within ten miles of the coast: Dolphin, Wahoo, Yellow Fin Tuna, Albacore (white tuna), Swordfish, Marlin, Barracuda, Sailfish or Billfish, Kingfish, Bonita or Skipjack, Shark, and Red Snapper to name just a few.

It must be noted for those concerned with such matters that the dolphin variety found in Barbados isn’t of the bottlenosed SeaWorld specimen: It is the multi-colored, blunt nosed dolphin known as Dorado or Mahi Mahi. And while the White Marlin is a protected gamefish in the United States, there are no such regulations in the Caribbean.

Similarly, the Baraccuda is not a recognized food fish in North America due to a toxic impregnation called Ciguatera found in some species. Barracuda in the waters surrounding Barbados are free of this contamination. And yes, the flying fish do fly, propelling themselves from the water at speeds of up to 50 mph and then, spreading their dorsal fins to form wings, “fly” for distances in excess of 100 yards.

There are scores of fish sellers and fisherfolk in Barbados. The largest fish markets are located in Bridgetown near the cruise ship port and in Oistins on the South Coast. Several smaller fish markets are located along both the South and West Coasts. Our personal favorite is the Weston fish market in St. James that is the home of Smokey, fishmonger to the stars!

Sir Cliff Richard (who owns an elegant villa at Sugar Hill) once arrived at the Weston Fish Market with a television crew in tow in order to film Smokey at work for broadcast to millions of viewers in the UK. Smokey’s clients are a who’s who of the entertainment and business world. It is fascinating to watch Smokey expertly filet a Dolphin weighing upwards of 20 lb in minutes with his razor sharp machete. If the line at Smokey’s is too long, feel free to step next door to John Moore’s Bar for a “onesie” where the Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, is known to hold the occasional “cabinet meeting.”

Ten pounds of yellow fin tuna will cost $60.00 or $30.00 US. Other varieties of fish have similar per pound pricing. Flying Fish, which is sold in several of the neighboring stalls by a group of lovely ladies, is $12.00 (US$6.00) for 10 “ready bone” or ready to cook filets. Indicate whether you want Smokey to “steak the fish” or to leave it whole with just the skin and bones removed. He will also include the fish head, chopped in to small pieces, unless he is instructed otherwise. Fish Head soup, or fish stock, is delicious—take home a fish head and give it a try!

Billy O’Dell, with his wife Carolyn, is the owner of BarbadosBarbados.com, an online concierge to Barbados. The O’Dells also run Food Affairs, a popular Bajan catering service.

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So, you’re finally going away for your well-deserved vacation. Don’t let careless packing spoil a great holiday. Airport security systems have changed and has become much tighter. You might want to think about leaving some items at home and there are also some items that you might want to think about taking along. Here are some items to think about taking with you for a smoother trip and holiday:

Bottled water: many people are afraid of causing delays at the security checkpoint and some may insist that you finish it in front of the guards. Sipping water regularly while you fly can alleviate much of the discomfort that flying can cause. Also, depending on your destination - it can be very useful to have a bottle to fill with drinking water.

If you are diabetic it goes without saying; but even non-diabetic travelers will benefit from having some small food items on hand. Food wouldn’t usually bother security guards. Keep some small sugary and high protein snacks on hand to curb low blood sugar levels.

Baby Wipes will most likely be needed as well even if you don’t have a baby. If you eat something sticky and can’t get up to go to the bathroom these will help.

No matter where you are going you will need to find some secure way to carry your money and valuables. Your passports and credit cards will cause a vacation ruining mess for you and your family. If you travel often then it might be worth your while to invest a bit in something special and practical. Money belts are one way to carry around your valuables but they sometimes look bulky and obvious. A fanny pack is another idea. It depends on where you are going. You don’t want to draw attention to yourself or to your nerdy lime green fanny pack. Depending on where you are going you may want to leave jewelry at home. Foreign criminals are just looking for unsuspecting Americans.

Some kind of portable entertainment system is essential if you are traveling alone for long periods of time. It isn’t only techno junkies that can benefit from one of the many portable entertainment systems. Delays can be expected if you fly and you will be glad for something to keep you amused. Load an iPod with some of your favorite music and you have an instant mood lift wherever you are.

Another item that could be useful is a first aid kit. Even if you don’t need one - it will be reassuring that you are equipped for any emergency. Include headache tablets, some Mylanta is a must and anti-inflammatory. There are some excellent small travel first aid kits available nowadays.

Packing a plastic bag or two into your bag is a good idea. It will be a handy at some stage of your trip. Plastic bags have an uncanny way of being both useful and hard to find when you need one. Roll it up - won’t take any space and you will find a use for it at some stage of your trip. Otherwise you might land up having to pack your wet shoes in with your clothes.These are just a few tips to ease your trip stress. Since 9/11 air travel has changed and it’s important to keep this in mind when traveling. Plan ahead, be prepared and most importantly - have a great trip!

Christine Bettridge has loved writing since childhood. She has written Plays, poetry and many articles. Her latest e-book End Time Secrets recently released by Cypress Street Publishing has caused an order craze in the religious world. It can be ordered and downloaded right now through the publishers website at End Time Secrets and she also is the editor of the article directory, Above All Content Visit her blog at: The Bible Sound Blog

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