Are you going to be flying with an aging parent or young grandchild? Is your airport quite a distance or will you be gone for some time? A great help for the Sandwich Generation, and one of my favorite ways to save money when flying, can be an airport hotel that offers a “Park and Fly” option, also known as Park N Go!

My senior mom and I recently enjoyed a visit with some of our long distance grandchildren. Because of flight schedules, we wound up flying out of an airport two hours from our home. With a very early flight heading out and a very late flight scheduled for our return, we opted to stay at a Holiday Inn Express that offered Park and Fly long term parking. The rate was only about $25 over the normal room rate making it a very affordable rate for long term parking, and much cheaper than traditional airport parking.

After a leisurely drive to the airport hotel the day before our flight, we enjoyed a fairly restful sleep (late night arrivals kept it from being totally restful). We filled out the simple paperwork, put a parking ticket in our car, and made sure it was locked up. Early the next morning, a very nice gentleman drove us to the airport and helped us load and unload our luggage, making for a very easy trip.

A delightful week later, we flew in at midnight, gathered up our luggage, and called the hotel. Within five minutes, another very nice young man arrived to help us load our bags into his station wagon. Off we went, straight to the hotel, where we had a much quieter and more restful night.

The next morning, we enjoyed a free (another of my favorite ways to save money ) and tasty breakfast, then were on our way home. My senior mom enjoyed the trip immensely but was definitely very tired from the trip. By not having to make the two hour drive the same day as a long flight, it made it much easier for her.

It’s well worth checking online or even calling some of the airport hotels in the area to see if they offer Park N Go or Park and Fly options. It’ll save you time, money, and stress – definitely a win-win-win in my Sandwich Generation book!

Planning ahead does require a little bit of extra time initially, but it can also save you time, stress, and more in the long run! Here are some plan ahead tips for Sandwich Generation senior home care givers and grandparents, heading out to help an aging parent or a grandchild who doesn’t live close by:

1. If you’re flying to an unfamiliar area, be sure to take a few minutes, if you can, to map out your route and print it as well as sending it to your cell phone if it has that capability. Many cell phones now have GPS and that’s such a big help. Occasionally, though, they don’t work as quickly as we need or you drive through “dead zone” areas where your cell doesn’t work well. Not to mention the fact that our “older eyes” may not focus as fast as they used to. Having the route already done and easily available will save you time and stress.
2. Doublecheck to make sure you actually have your driver’s license, credit card(s), and checkbook. Mine are always with me but I still always try to doublecheck and one time it paid off BIG TIME. I had to make a short-notice flight out of state due to a family illness. When I checked my wallet an hour before heading for the airport, I discovered my driver’s license wasn’t there! Panicked, I called the airline and was so relieved to find there were a couple of alternative options I could use. I grabbed one and headed out. It was a difficult trip without that license but at least I made it. I later found that the license had fallen from a file folder I had put it in for a real estate transaction and was lodged between the seats in my car.
3. Take contact phone information for various places you might not already have in your cell phone or address book. It can be a big help to have phone numbers for the local hospital, doctors, neighbors, etc. PRE-CRISIS TIP – I got those phone numbers from one senior relative who lives far from me. They’ve come in handy more than once for everything from checking on him at the hospital to arranging for an alternative for Christmas presents to be delivered while he was in the hospital.
4. Make sure your frequent travel numbers and contact phone numbers for airlines, hotels, car rentals, etc. are in your cell phone, your wallet, and/or on a handy sheet in your wallet. No matter how well you did plan ahead, plans can change. Those numbers can save you a ton of time if that happens! Trust me! I just went through that WITHOUT the numbers and paid the price in lost time and mega stress!
5. While on the way, use the time to try to relax and prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for what lies ahead. Scripture praying, praise and worship using an mp3 player,  a crossword puzzle, and a relaxing book are four of the ways I use. How about you?

For more Sandwich Generation travel tips, be sure to check out Flying Too Close For Comfort? Tips for the Sandwich Generation.

Twice I’ve had to unexpectedly fly at the last minute, due to senior home care giving and grandparenting duties. In the process I’ve learned a few tips and tricks that are handy in a wide variety of travel situations. This is part one of a multi-part series over the next few weeks:

1. Watch those connecting flight times! Even if you talk to the airline personnel and they seem confident you’ll make your connection, please be aware that NOT ALL DO! (I am writing this after having missed my own connections and winding up spending the night at a local hotel!) Your rush to help your loved ones can take two-three times as long if you miss your connection. There are no guarantees of getting there on time, of course, even if you have longer connections between flights. Bad weather or mechanical problems can crop up at any time. But choosing reservations that offer an hour or more between flights instead of only half an hour can make things less stressful for you!
2. If you have to fly in late and your connections are close or weather is a concern, you might want to make your hotel reservations directly with the hotel and explain the situation. I only had a half hour to make my connections on my last trip. I called the hotel and explained the situation and gave her my frequent flyer number. The hotel manager was great. She explained she had 25 spots at 5 pm and wasn’t sure if they would fill up. She gave me the option of losing the room if they filled up or keeping it but getting charged. I chose the second to be safe. When I did end up missing my connection because of plane delays at both ends, I immediately called her and she allowed me to cancel my reservation even though it was past the normal time for cancellations.  Needless to say, when I finally got to that hotel I filled out a STAR EMPLOYEE card for her!
3. Many airlines offer cellphone and/or email alerts you can sign up for. These notify you if there is a gate change, flight delay, etc. As I sit in an airport (this time I have a whopping 48 minutes between flights going through Atlanta – the busiest airport in the world, according to our last pilot. Do you think I’ll make it this time?), I just got a buzz on my phone to let me know about a gate change on my second flight later today. Very handy! Particularly since I was originally scheduled for concourse B and now am going to concourse A. If I had run off the plane with only minutes to catch a flight, I might not have noticed that gate change on the board! I highly recommend these alerts. (By the way – it’s now a week later and I DID make that flight! Everything went smooth as silk! You just NEVER know! )
4. If you don’t mind writing on your hand, I’ve learned it gives me less stuff I have to juggle and keeps my ticket safe when I write the gate number, flight number, and take-off time for my connecting flight onto my hand. That’s especially handy when I don’t have much time to catch that connecting flight!
5. Even if you are rushing to pack your bags due to a caregiving crisis, it can still be wise, and in the long run save you time, if you empty them first and then start packing from scratch. I had to toss two fairly expensive lotions when I forgot they were in my carryon from a previous driving trip and they turned out to be over the airlines’ maximum of 3 ounces. Not only that, it took five extra minutes for them to spot them with their machine then dig through my bags to find them. If I was tight on time when taking off, due to caregiving demands, that could have made me miss a flight!

More tips to come next week. And in the meantime, if you have some great flying or other travel tips, feel free to share them in the comments section.