FAMILY TRAVEL
— by Deborah Williams
the orchestra and Destination Cleve-
land, the phone was returned the next
day. Nothing was missing.
• Lesson learned: Be more mindful
and do not try to put something away in
the dark.
LESSONS
T
he New Year is traditionally
the time for resolutions and
in keeping with tradition I
am resolving to be more mindful while
traveling to avoid losing or misplacing
vital items. Certainly my remarkable
luck in getting vital items returned can-
not continue.
My experiences have lessons for all
travelers and especially so for families
who naturally travel with more stuff.
Certainly losing a child is one of
the worst possible travel events (I too
have had this experience). According to
a survey, two percent of travelers con-
fessed to losing their own child while on
vacation. Fortunately, that same group
managed to also relocate their wayward
child.
Travel can be stressful and it is
easy to become distracted. Each time I
lose some vital item and get it back, my
faith in the goodness of most people is
restored.
My experience in Cleveland last
summer is a prime example. A small
32 WNY Family January 2019
group of us were enjoying the world fa-
mous Cleveland Orchestra at a concert
at the Blossom Music Center, the or-
chestra’s summer venue.
I had a small backpack with my
camera along with my iPhone in a case
filled with credit cards, my NEXUS
card, driver’s license, and some cash.
The concert was ending and I decided
the phone case would be safer in the
backpack, but in the dark the phone
did not make it into the pack although I
carefully zipped the pack for safety, af-
ter thinking I had put phone inside.
Of course, I did
not discover that the
phone was missing
until I returned to my
hotel and it was too
late to call the venue.
But an honest person
had already turned
the phone case in to
the Lost and Found.
Through the coordi-
nation of staff from
On two different occasions while
staying a few days at a hotel — once in
Hershey and the other time in Sanibel
— I decided to unpack some items and
put them in the empty dresser drawers.
I was violating my usual practice and
paid the price. I left without the items
and ended up calling the hotels and the
clothing was mailed home to me.
• Lesson learned: Don’t unpack
except on cruise ships and then open
every drawer and double check before
leaving.
Losing or misplacing a passport
can be a devastating travel experience.
I have had it happen twice. I still do not
know what happened the first time my
passport went missing. We had just ar-
rived at JFK Airport in New York on
the way to Jamaica. We had to claim
our suitcases and transfer to another ter-
minal. At the baggage carousel, I took
out my passport case with my passport,
tickets and baggage claim check. That
was the last time I saw my passport and
I have no idea what happened.
What followed was a police report
at JFK where transit police told me sto-
ries of creative criminals who prey on
unsuspecting travelers. I was allowed to
fly and once I arrived in Jamaica I had to
report the loss to the American Embassy.
The second time my passport went
missing, we were leaving our hotel at an