Travelers Barista: March 2010

While booking my trip to Maui I was unsure of whether to do a layover with the kids. Then I figured it'd probably be better to give them a break from the long flight rather than endure a straight shot from Seattle. Our flight was slightly delayed leaving us only time to hop from one plane to the next - "there goes my planned break for the kids" I thought. Surprisingly my 22 month and 5 year old both did so well on all our flights.

Our flight home was uneventful, which is a great thing! I was so excited when we got off our first long flight from Maui (OGG) to San Francisco (SFO) to see a KIDS PLAY AREA. Our layover was only a half hour but this was the best thing to have a place where the kids could run around like crazy monkeys and burn off some energy. The play area was based on a "weather theme" and had a tornado maker with fog being pulled up in a spinning motion making it fun to touch, climb on and just gaze at. Then there were two small but entertaining tunnels to crawl through, climb over and what ever else their little imaginations could think of. A couple more little spinning globes, sand dune creator and electrical TV amusement were all just enough to keep the kids entertained and blow off some energy built up during their previous 5hr flight. It made that last hour and a half ride home fly by!

The next time you may be considering a possible layover at SFO airport with kids, I'd definitely recommend it if you can arrive in Terminal 3. The kids' play area is located near Gate 87, in Terminal 3.

Does your airport have a "play area"? I found this great "Kids Diversion Guide" online that lists each airport with some sort of possible kid entertainment. I was surprised to see my own Sea-tac International on the list with a play area. This must be new and I'll have to seek it out next time we fly.