First of all, I want to thank you all for your donations to Passports with Purpose. We raised over $26k, more than double the original goal and enough to build a school in Cambodia, complete with clean water, a school nurse and at least one healthy meal a day. Thanks again to PosterBrain for donating the prize and thanks to all of you who participated in the raffle!

Also, I want to explain why I haven’t been posting in awhile. I haven’t given up on WanderTot; I just have some health problems that make it difficult to post regularly sometimes. I’m going to try to step it back up to at least once a week. I still have to finish telling you about our trip to Hawaii!

I have a lot of pain, numbness and tingling in my arms that makes it difficult to type, not to mention the, at times, overwhelming fatigue. For almost two years, I went to many doctors and specialists, not to mention acupuncturists, chiropractors and physical therapists (love you Ava!). Our insurance was terrible, so we were paying a lot of money out-of-pocket. After so many inconclusive tests and still no diagnosis, I decided to put it all on hold and spend the money I would have spent on medical bills on taking my son to see the world. It isn’t easy to haul him and our luggage around the airport, but it isn’t really that much harder than going to the grocery store with him.

Finding the time and money to travel with Jack is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Studies have shown that purchases on “things” don’t make you nearly as happy as spending the money on experiences. Although many people are much worse off than me, being less-than-healthy has made me realize that you shouldn’t put off things you want to do. You just never know what might happen.

Traveling with Jack has been amazing and I don’t regret it for a second, but it has been catching up with me a little bit. We finally got some new, much better insurance (Kaiser rocks!), so I’ve resumed the search to figure out what’s wrong with me. I still want to continue our travels, although we might stick to shorter flights for the next few months, even though we finally got both of our passports (sigh). I’m hoping to visit Oregon soon and once we’re up for it, I’m really looking forward to taking Jack to France. He started taking French classes a few weeks ago and said his first words in French today!

Hopefully someday I will feel like my (pain-free) self again. But in the meantime, I’m going to love my baby, travel as much as possible and share it all with you.

When I first heard about Passports with Purpose, I knew it was something I had to get involved in. Each year, travel bloggers pick a worthy cause and procure a prize for a raffle. Bloggers spread the word about the raffle, their readers donate $10 for each ticket, some win awesome prizes and everyone makes a difference in the world. Pretty great, right?

This year, Passports with Purpose is building a school in Cambodia with the nonprofit organization American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC). The AAfC is dedicated to improving opportunities for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia. As of right now, Passports with Purpose is only $400 away from their goal of $13,000 to build a school in rural Cambodia. With extra money, we can help improve the school with things like English and computer teachers, computers powered through solar panels, Internet access through a satellite dish or GPRS system, a well or water filter, a school nurse, a vegetable garden and a bookcase of books.

Why a school? Why Cambodia? Here’s what Delicious Baby’s Debbie Dubrow, a founding member of Passports with Purpose, had to say:

“One of the things I was struck by on my own visit to Cambodia was the strong spirit of hope, and the desire to rebuild both at a personal level and a national level, the intellectual society and successful economy that had been destroyed by the Khmer Rouge in the late ’70s. English language and computer schools seemed to be down every alleyway in Phnom Penh. Parents scrimped to sign young children up for lessons in English and computers and to learn the cultural arts that were all but lost during the Khmer Rouge Regime.

In rural areas, the sense of hope and the desire to rebuild might be just as strong, but the options are more limited. This year Passports with Purpose will establish a school in a rural area whose children have been deprived from any educational facilities. A school provides a much needed alternative to poverty or sex trafficking.”

I’m sold. Are you? Hop on over to the Passports with Purpose website and check out all the fantastic prizes, which include cameras, hotel stays, travel gear and much more! For each $10 donation that you make to AAfC, you will will be entered in the giveaway(s) of your choice. The fundraiser closes on December 21 and all proceeds go directly to AAfC.

WanderTot’s giveaway is $100 gift certificate to PosterBrain, where you can get premium-quality photo enlargements of your travels, your family or whatever you want! These enlargements are printed on 200-year archival photographic paper with a satin finish. Their prices are fantastic too, so with $100 gift certificate, you could get four 24″ x 36″ prints. You can upload any photo to PosterBrain’s easy-to-use site: jpg, gif, png, tif, bmp, as long as it’s at least 1 megapixel. PosterBrain will print it and ship it within 24 hours. Thanks PosterBrain for joining me in supporting such a great cause!

My toddler and I spent our second day in Honolulu with Discover Hawaii Tours, on their Polynesian Cultural Center and Circle Island Tour. We only had three days in Hawaii and I wanted to see and do as much as we possibly could in that time. I really would have liked to spend more time at every single place we stopped, but we just didn’t have time on this trip. Now we have a lot of reasons to go back. We saw Pearl Harbor, the Dole Plantation, the North Shore, the Byodo-In Temple, a tropical farm, scenic overlooks and many film locations, in addition to spending a few hours at the Polynesian Cultural Center, all in one day.

Here are a few of the highlights from our Oahu tour:

The Dole Plantation

I would have loved to take Jack on the Pineapple Express train and to see the world’s largest maze, but all we had time to do was get some pineapple whipped ice cream. Yum!

We drove through the pineapple fields on our way to the North Shore and Greg, our native tour guide, told us that this year is the last year Hawaii will be producing and exporting pineapples, so we were lucky to see what might be the last pineapple crops in those fields.

Sunset Beach

Look familiar? I know I have seen tons of iconic beach pictures from this exact beach. I would love to go back at sunset someday to see how Sunset Beach earned its name. It’s definitely not a beach for swimming though; there were signs everywhere warning of the dangerous conditions.

On the way to Sunset Beach, we passed Turtle Beach, where tons of sea turtles commune every afternoon. On Oahu, every turtle is tracked and even has a name. They rope off Turtle Beach when the turtles arrive to keep them safe, but I’m sure you could still get a good view. If you come across a turtle in the wild, Greg says not to touch it, because we can pass our germs along and many turtles get sick and die this way. He said he used to ride the turtles before they knew the germs were passed along. No fair.

We passed quite a few other excellent surfing beaches, including Waimea Bay and the Banzai Pipeline and saw tons of gorgeous scenery. But what struck me the most about the North Shore was how quant it is. There are no humongous luxury resorts or McMansions, just some nice little neighborhoods with rules against building them. There are still multimillion-dollar homes to be sure, but the price definitely reflects the location more than the house itself.

Polynesian Cultural Center

This large open-air attraction features various “villages” showcasing different Polynesian islands, including Somoa, New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji and more. Each island “village” is staffed mainly with BYU Hawaii students, who are originally from the islands portrayed and who benefit from scholarships funded by the money the park brings in. Most of the islands have a performance showcasing their culture, as well as some hands-on activities and demonstrations.

The Polynesian Cultural Center gave us a little taste of each of these islands and now I just HAVE to visit them all. Soon. Especially Samoa, whose show we enjoyed the most. I enjoyed hearing about how the men in Samoa not only do the hunting and fishing; they also do the cooking and the cleanup after. That’s why they are called “the happy people.” The men there have learned that when the women are happy, everybody’s happy. Jack enjoyed the square “ball” woven for him out of some kind of plant and watching the Samoans shimmy up the palm trees. That was his favorite part and he immediately said, “Wanna do it! Wanna climb up!” So I helped him “climb” up the trees, just like them.

We also had a BBQ buffet lunch here, included in our tour, and took a canoe ride through the park’s tropical lagoon. The grand finale was a show on canoes, showcasing the unique music and dance of each island culture.

Byodo-In Temple

This photogenic Buddhist temple in the middle of the lush Hawaiian landscape was a nice final stop. We were pretty worn out after such a busy day, so it was nice to stroll around in this stunningly beautiful yet very relaxing place. Jack enjoyed the koi ponds, ducks and black swans. All the little paths were perfect for a toddler to wander.

We were totally wiped out by the time we returned to our hotel, but it was worth it. We got to see a lot of the island in just one day.

(Editorial note: we paid full price for the tour; this is my honest, unbiased opinion, as always.)

When we came around the corner to Waikiki Beach, I was expecting to see hordes of people lining the sand, as I’ve heard it can get quite crowded. Lucky for us, Jack doesn’t care about time zones changing and all that and woke up at 6 a.m. We got to the beach around 8:30 and although it wasn’t empty, the crowds had yet to show up. I held Jack’s hands as he waded in the waves, picking him up for the big ones. He kept saying, “Here comes a big one!” even if it was just a regular one. Or a small one. He could have done this all day, but my arms eventually got tired and we went up to play in the sand.

Then, who should come by but two people who were on the plane from Denver with us. It’s definitely a small world. I never even would have recognized them, but they recognized us right away. Jack made quite an impression, I guess, during our walks around the plane. They also happened to be the winners of our in-flight contest for a CD with the Hawaiian version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which I was dying to win. I don’t usually give my iPhone to people to take a picture of me and Jack, even though they frequently offer when they see me snapping shots of him. But, seeing as we were old friends, I let them take our picture. So here’s a rare WanderTot shot of Jack AND mommy:

Then we took a stroll down Waikiki Beach, past the Duke Kahanamoku statue:

And down to this odd memorial with a beautiful front and everything behind in complete disrepair, just a few odds and ends sticking out of the ocean:

Then we went to the Waikiki Aquarium, which was OK, but definitely not a must-do. After an attempted nap at the hotel failed thanks to traffic noises and slamming doors, we took another walk down the beach and in the beautiful Kapiolani Park while Jack napped in the stroller. After yet more walking and swimming in the ocean, we witnessed the beautiful Waikiki Sunset, an attraction in its own right, with scores of camera-toting tourists watching.

Waikiki Beach definitely held up its reputation for beauty. It was also a great place to people watch, with an interesting blend of characters from all walks of life. There were lots of Japanese and American tourists, mixed in with the Hawaiian locals and tourists from around the world. There were limos and homeless people, surfers and families. Hawaii’s location between East and West, along with its obvious appeal to everyone, makes it the ideal place for different cultures to meet.

One of my favorite moments of the day was just before sunset when Jack went up to an elderly Japanese woman and started talking to her, holding up his flower and saying “flower.” She repeated it as best she could and the looked over at me apologetically and said, “Japanese. No English.” I could see she wanted to interact with him, but wasn’t quite sure how. I wanted to tell her it didn’t really matter what language she spoke to Jack; he just liked her. But she wouldn’t have understood me.

Jack and I arrived in Honolulu (the winning destination of WanderTot’s poll) tonight after Jack’s longest flight yet. I still can’t believe he stayed awake for the ENTIRE seven-and-a-half-hour flight.

We were scheduled to arrive yesterday, but our flight left without us even though there were 11 empty seats, thanks to weather-related weight restrictions. I was like, come on people, you can let on the skinny chick and the baby!! No such luck. Thank goodness we got on today and, not only that, we got an entire middle row of three seats to ourselves.

Everything was going great until, an hour into the flight, the top popped off Jack’s sippy cup, which was FULL of apple juice. It spilled all over him, so he was soaking wet from neck to toe, I mean DRIPPING wet and screaming because a) he had no idea what just happened and it terrified him and b) he was cold and wet. I took off his shoes and braces to make it easier to change his clothes in the cramped airplane bathroom. BAD IDEA. He stood on the floor while I took off his pants and diaper. The second I took off his diaper, he peed. Did I mention I left his socks on? Yep. I brought a clean shirt and clean pants, but I did not foresee him peeing on his socks.

Yeah. So. I just let him go barefoot while the socks were drying out. We went for a much-needed stroll around the plane and I definitely got some looks. The where-are-that-poor-baby’s-shoes looks. Eventually, I had to put them back on because Jack has to wear braces on his feet and he can’t wear the braces without the socks. Also, pee is sterile so don’t give me that look.

So then, THEN, we had another little incident, which you may not care to read about if you don’t yet have children. Let’s just say some of the airplane food didn’t agree with Jack and we had a leaky diaper situation. I had only brought the one extra pair of pants onboard and now they were ruined too. I had two choices. Let Jack rock the diaper, shoes and shirt look or put back on the apple-juice pants. Luckily, they had had about four hours to dry out, so they were only damp when I put them back on. Now the only clean thing the poor kid was wearing was his shirt.

Lesson learned: bring one change of clothes for every few hours on a flight. Plus extra socks.

The rest of the flight actually went really well and Jack was pretty much an angel aside from the forgetting-to take-a-nap thing. He ALMOST fell asleep after we touched down, while taxiing to the gate. He completely conked out on the shuttle ride to the hotel.

I hope he can sleep on the plane on the way home. Especially since it’s an overnight flight.

If you can swing a last-minute trip, now is a great time to come to my home state of Colorado, where Denver Arts Week 2009 kicks off November 6th and ski areas are opening early for the season after last week’s storm blanketed the mountains with snow.

Denver Arts Week features special events all week long at most of Denver’s popular attractions, plus a FREE Night at the Museums on Saturday, November 7th. Many hotels are offering special rates for Denver Arts Week, starting at $52.80. Restaurants are also offering special deals, from 50% off to $52.80 for a two-person dinner. If you’re wondering what’s up with all the deals for $52.80, they’re based on Denver’s famous mile-high elevation (5,280 feet). It’s definitely a popular marketing tool around here.

Denver’s version of Paris’s La Nuit des Musées, The Night at the Museums is definitely the highlight of this weeklong event for me. Eleven museums will be FREE and each will host something special for the occasion. Last year, we hit the Molly Brown House Museum (OK if you’re a history buff, but nothing much for kids), the Denver Art Museum (the Bubbaloo exhibit is a must-do for young kids) and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dinosaurs, astronauts, mummies and more). We had just moved to Denver and it was a great way to explore the city’s cultural offerings. Plus, I love free stuff.

There are free shuttles that will take you from event to event, departing from Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Denver’s upscale mall with ample free parking and every local baby and toddler’s favorite hangout–a large play area with giant breakfast food to climb on.

There are tons of other events happening throughout the week. Check out the official Denver Arts Week website for details.

If you find yourself in the hip Capitol Hill neighborhood (near the Denver Art Museum) around mealtime, I recommend City O’ City, a cozy, hip little place with a to-die-for pizza made with apricot sauce and brie, excellent coffee, local brews and amazing baked goods, like chocolate-mint cupcakes. We are usually the only people with kids in the place, as its generally a younger crowd, but they do have a highchair and everyone has always been really nice to Jack.

**UPDATE This poll is now closed. There was a tie between Austin, Texas and Honolulu, Hawaii, so I decided to go to whichever destination had the most space available on the flights out of Denver. Honolulu here we come! We leave on Sunday morning.**

Jack and I will go wherever you decide. Pick from this list of warm-weather destinations and we’ll hop on a plane as soon as next week (as long as there’s room on a flight). Then we’ll give you updates on our trip right here. If you have a suggestion not on this list, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll add it to the poll. I’m STILL waiting on my renewal passport to come in the mail, so we can’t travel internationally at the moment.

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Disney just unveiled the newest cruise ship in the Disney fleet—the Disney Dream. And I promptly added a trip onboard to my “to do” list (right after “make a lot of money”). The Disney Dream is scheduled for completion in early 2011, but you can book your cruise starting November 9th. This is a ship that really takes that old saying to heart: “It’s not about where you go; it’s about how you get there.”

I am seriously drooling over this ship. Disney is just so good at making things really, truly magical, you know? I suppose that is why they’re always ahead of the pack when it comes to innovation. The Disney Dream is no exception, boasting several cruise industry firsts, including virtual portholes and the first onboard water coaster, the AquaDuck.

The virtual porthole windows in the inside staterooms will show a real-time view outside the ship from HD cameras placed on top of the ship. The virtual window may be even better than the real thing, as occasionally animated characters like Peach, the starfish from Finding Nemo, and Mickey Mouse will come by to say hi. I could probably actually manage to get ready in the morning while Jack watches the window, waiting for the next character to pop up.

Wondering what the heck a water coaster is? From what I can tell, you ride on two-person rafts through a clear acrylic tube up, down and around the ship. The ride will be 765 feet long and will feature a four-deck drop and a brief point where you are off the side of the ship, looking at the ocean below. The AquaDuck is not for the little ones and has a 48″ height requirement. Maybe we will actually be able to afford to go when Jack is that tall! Except by then I’m sure they’ll have a ship even bigger and cooler that I just HAVE to go on. Dang it, Disney, stop making such cool stuff! You might stimulate the economy or something.

Everything else about the ship shows Disney’s tireless attention to detail. The rooms look gorgeous, the kid’s areas are nothing less than enchanting, the dining is topnotch, the adult areas are sophisticated and the exclusive clubs for teens and tweens might actually charm this notoriously difficult-to-please age group.

OK, I could go on and on about the Disney Dream, but I’m starting to sound like a salesperson, so you should just check it out for yourself on Disney’s website.

(Quick note: If you are reading this and you don’t have children yet, you still might see something helpful. But mostly, I want you to think about this next time you’re going through airport security and realize how easy you have it. Because I know I had NO idea.)

My son and I are usually by ourselves when we fly, so I have to be incredibly organized about getting through security with all our stuff. Because of that, I’ve developed a little system to get us through security faster than most people without kids. I have, in fact, cut in front of such people who were taking too long untying their shoes and putting all their stuff in the bins.

On our recent trip to Orlando, my “little” brother (who happens to be 6′ 7″) joined us for the flight home. I did my usual thing when going through security and he commented on how amazed he was, so I thought, what the heck, I should share the method to my madness with you all. Maybe you will glean a tip or two you hadn’t thought of before.

I try to keep Jack in the stroller while in line, using whatever means necessary: snacks, toys, etc. It’s just too much to manage a stroller, luggage AND a toddler who wants to run around instead of standing in line. When the line stops and Jack is occupied, I get out my boarding pass and I.D. so I’m ready when I get to the checkpoint.

When it’s time to get through the x-ray machine, I usually use the Family/Medical Liquids Lane (you can read more about that here). I leave Jack in the stroller while I get everything ready to go through. This part is a little like a juggling act. There are a lot of steps involved, but I can do it super fast. I HAVE to do it super fast because at this point, Jack wants out of the stroller BAD.

I grab three bins and put them on the counter, along with my carry-on suitcase. Then I get my laptop and ziplock bag of liquids out of the suitcase and put them in separate bins, using the third for my diaper bag. Then I throw my slip-on shoes and Jack’s shoes in with the ziplock bag. This process goes much faster since I plan for it when I pack, so you also might want to check out my packing tips.

At this point, I get Jack out of the stroller and have him hold on to the table leg (so he doesn’t run off) while I fold up his stroller and put it up on the table. Then I pick him up and have him put anything he’s holding into a bin, whether it’s a toy, his lovies or a snack. The TSA agents will not let him through with anything besides his clothes. If I ask him to drop it in, he thinks it’s fun. If I just take it away, not so much. Then I push everything through the x-ray machine and we walk through the metal detector.

Now I have a loose baby and all this stuff to gather up, so I get his stroller down first and put him in it. Then I can get the laptop and ziplock bag back in the suitcase, grab the diaper bag and slip my shoes back on. I usually wait until later to put Jack’s shoes back on so that we can just get moving out of the area and onto one of Jack’s favorite parts – the TRAIN!

Of course, you might have additional luggage or children or a helper, but I guess the main thing is to have a plan ahead of time, even while you’re packing. Getting through security can be quick and painless, even with kids, as long as you think ahead. You will be much more relaxed and probably less likely to forget about the metal on your baby’s pacifier clip, get pulled aside for screening and then, in a panicked state, imagine the TSA took your baby away, as one mom recently did.

I have actually found TSA agents to be very family-friendly, often doing little things like getting my stroller down for me or giving Jack a sticker. Of course, I’m sure other families have had bad experiences, but being organized and knowing the rules ahead of time helps make it easier for everyone.

Most of the time, a hotel is just where you go to sleep at night. But there are some hotels that are so much more than that. I love funky, unique hotels. I started collecting a list of unique hotels I would like to stay at someday and I thought I would share it with you all.

There are a lot of unique hotels out there, but not all of them are family-friendly. I’m not going to take my one-year-old to Sweden’s ICEHOTEL (umm, brrrrr) or the Jules Undersea Lodge (he has yet to get his scuba license) or the incredibly cramped capsule hotels in Japan. But not to worry, there are still plenty of incredibly unique options to choose from that the whole family will love.

Woodlyn Park, Otorohanga, New Zealand – OK, first of all, Woodlyn Park has this entertainer, Billy Black, who was a part of the world record-setting group that sheared the most sheep in one day (8,500, of which he sheared 675, if you were wondering). Billy Black puts on the “Kiwi Culture Show,” with sheep shearing, bush animals, the Kiwi bear and a dancing pig. Apparently, said dancing pig also holds a world record for being the first and only pig to rappel into the nearby Lost World Cave in Waitomo. He is also known for riding in a motorbike sidecar and being pig-napped just before appearing in a television ad. Can you say awesome?

Woodlyn Park also has an impressive assortment of unique hotel rooms. You can sleep in a train, a plane, a boat or even a Hobbit house. Each has its own unique style and history. The plane, for example, is a converted Bristol Freighter and was one of the last allied planes out of Vietnam. I’m not sure if I want to go once and change rooms every night or just go back again and again until I’ve tried them all.

Hang Nga Guest House and Gallery, Hanoi, Vietnam – Speaking of Vietnam, this little gem of a unique hotel is also known as the Crazy House. Built by the ex-President’s daughter, who studied architecture in Moscow, the stunning architecture is so unique, it’s a bit hard to describe. A bit of Gaudi influence maybe, with some fairy tales thrown in. Beautiful gardens surround elaborately sculpted “tree houses” with themed rooms and unexpected touches everywhere. Definitely worth a visit even if you don’t stay the night.

Magic Mountain Hotel, Huilo Huilo Nature Reserve, Chile – This unique hotel is shaped like a volcano, has a waterfall cascading down the side and tree house-inspired room decor. It’s also located in a beautiful nature preserve and has one of the top restaurants in Chile. But what really sold me on this one are the hot tubs. Imagine soaking in a huge, hallowed-out tree trunk filled with hot water, perched on a deck overlooking the forest. Count me in.

Dog Bark Park Inn, Cottonwood, Idaho – At Dog Bark Park, you and your family can sleep in the world’s largest beagle. Or the world’s second-largest beagle. You can’t really get any more kid-friendly than that. Inside the dog, you will find books, games and toys instead of a television and a phone. Cottonwood seems like a nice place to get away from it all. It’s not a destination with world-class museums or famous attractions, but it would be great for some good quality family time away from it all. There are a few museums nearby, including The Monastery of St. Gertrude & Historical Museum and the Bicentennial Historical Museum, in addition to a drive-in movie theater and plenty of opportunities for outdoor adventures, including jet boat tours and whitewater rafting.

Kakslauttanen Hotel & Igloo Village, Saariselka, Finland – I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights, but being outside in sub-zero weather to watch them does not appeal to me. At all. Watching them from a heated glass igloo? Now we’re talking. There are no bathrooms in the glass igloos and it’s a bit of a trek to reach them from the main building, although they do provide you with a sled to transport your children and/or luggage. Still, it might be a bit too adventurous for families with young children. It would be great for older kids though. The hotel also has comfortable cabins, which most visitors choose to stay in for the majority of their trip with one night in an igloo.