<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

THANK YOU to the 20 people who responded to my plea for help!  I would 
love to include verbatim all the great ideas and encouragement that I 
received, but in the interest of space I will attempt to summarize.

I asked for advice about traveling with our 12-year old celiac daughter 
who doesn't eat mammals or sea creatures and is highly sensitive to 
gluten, canola oil and perhaps other foods (we are having her tested). 
She feels sick a lot and we aren't sure why, and are not sure (1) how 
to order in restaurants, (2) how to travel as a family, (3) how and if 
she can safely and happily travel in school overnight field trips with 
her unsympathetic classmates, and (4) if we stay in a hotel or 
apartment with a kitchen, what equipment we should bring.  We were 
planning a trip to San Diego and were looking into condos to rent.

I am summarizing under these four general categories, and three others: 
(5) finding accommodations with kitchens (6) additional helpful 
resources, and (7) information about San Diego.

Our family update is that we decided to adopt two rescued kitties and 
so will not be traveling to San Diego for several days as originally 
planned.  However, we will do several day trips using the great 
suggestions that your provided and work up to longer trips in the 
winter or spring.

  PART 1: SUMMARY OF TRAVEL ADVICE
Contents:
Restaurants
General Traveling Advice
Traveling with Classmates

RESTAURANTS
The tips for ordering in restaurants were:
(1) use the dining card;
(2) describe the situation as medical and a severe food allergy.  That 
way the restaurant workers are more likely to take the problem 
seriously.
(3) Tell the waiter we can't eat anything that has flour in it,  has 
touched flour, or has soy sauce in it.
(4)  Tell the waiter that all bread products should be kept away from 
our food.
(5)  Leave if they aren't helpful, leave and find somewhere else.
  (6) Don't hesitate to send food back if it's wrong.  If the food 
arrives and there's obviously gluten on the plate, tell them they have 
to start again from scratch, that contamination is an important issue.
(7)  When traveling to a new city, do a search of the celiac archives 
to see if anyone has
recommended celiac-friendly stores or restaurants in the area.  If you 
can find a celiac group in that community, write ahead of time asking 
where you can buy food for your daughter or eat out in their area.
(8) Ask the servers to use new gloves, clean utensils, and pans when 
preparing your daughters food. It could be they are trying but there 
could be cross contamination.
(9)  Try Indian food. They are usually fine. just be careful of the Nan 
and appetizers.

GENERAL TRAVELING ADVICE
Many people shared their experiences traveling, including their 
favorite travel foods.  Their tips include:

(1) Have gf food suppliers ship directly to the vacation destination.  
(It is good to alert someone at the destination so that they are 
expecting the food and know what to do with it.)  Also take plenty of 
food in a suitcase just in case there is a mix up.
(2) Travel by car, if possible, so you can take more food and food 
equipment with you.
(3) When you spend your vacation in an accommodation with a kitchen, 
(which requires you to shop for food)  you learn about a place and its 
culture in a different way than you would by eating in restaurants that 
cater to tourists.
(4) Make dishes ahead of time and freeze them so you don't need to cook 
a lot on the vacation.  If you are flying, you can pack a suitcase with 
frozen breads, buns, mini pizza shells, and tortillas and other dry 
goods.  Use freezer packs to keep foods cold.
(5)  Before you travel, search the web and find the nearest health food 
store and your favorite grocery store and when you arrive, stock up on 
the perishable foods you need.
(6)  Use a cooler that plugs into a cigarette lighter in a car or bus.
(7) If you bring cereal, be sure to bring bowls and silverware!
(8)  Pack your coolers with dry ice.
(9) Carry picnic foods into Disney and other types of parks.  Tell them 
your child has medical dietary restrictions. (We have a letter from her 
gastroenterologist to that effect which we have had laminated.)
(10) Camping is another way to travel that can easily be gf.
(11) Go to websites for the products you trust and ask them if they 
sell in the areas you are going to and they may even send you some 
coupons  to use on your trip.
(12) Favorite travel foods include:  fruit, raisins, peanut butter, 
cheese, hard boiled eggs, small applesauce containers, raw vegetables, 
Tiger's Milk Protein Rich Bars, Bio-International
Vegan Food Bars,  yogurt (reg.Yoplait is safe), cottage cheese, and 
pudding (Kraft is safe even the pudding sticks which are great frozen 
like a popsicle) which are all easy to buy most anywhere; GF version of 
rice crispy bars,  Oscar Meyer hot dogs and smokies, Kraft cheeses, 
Malto meal bag cereals (choco dyno-bytes, fruity dyno bytes, corn 
puffs).  Additional suggestions are included under TRAVELING WITH 
CLASSMATES below).
(13)  If it's a car trip, bring nonperishable food supplies along, like 
peanut butter, tuna, unopened mayonnaise, rice, crackers, etc.  As soon 
as you arrive, make a trip to the market for butter, milk, eggs, 
cheese, meat or fish - the perishables.

TRAVELING WITH CLASSMATES
Generally it seems that children who are diagnosed very young have 
better luck with their peers understanding their food concerns than 
those diagnosed later.  By the time they are in school, they are more 
comfortable with their eating habits and so are their classmates.

Attitude is everything.  Don't let the disease stop your child from 
living life to the fullest.  Ultimately, it is probably making each of 
us a better, stronger person.  The emphasis should be on enjoying other 
people's company rather than the food.

Suggestions for the school trip (and attending camps) included:
(1) Speak to the teachers going on the trip so they understand your 
situation and concerns.
(2) Send supplemental food.  This could include a gf cereal, cans of 
soups, chili, refried beans, food bars, yoghurt, fruit, Kinnikinnick 
doughnuts, milk, applesauce cups, pudding cups, raisens, gf crackers, 
bread, cookies, fruit snacks .
(3)  Call the school and ask to see a copy of the menu (if applicable). 
  Call the person in charge of foods and discuss food preparation.  If 
they can't accommodate or you don't feel safe, make comparable foods 
for each day.  Place each meal in a large zip lock bag, label it and 
freeze  it.  Put the foods in a small cooler on the bus.  Don't worry 
about how much room it takes up on the bus as on school trips they are 
legally required to accommodate your child's dietary needs because it 
is considered part of the American's with Disabilities Act.
(4) Order plain salads.
(5) Send gf treats so she can eat dessert when others are eating sweets.
(6)  Send the entire class cake or cookies using  gluten free products 
and take it in for them to have. Don’t tell them it is gluten free 
until after they have eaten and they will be surprised.
(7)  Use compact cloth like coolers because they may take up less room.
(8)  At convenience stores, you can get nuts, sometimes fresh fruit, 
some ice cream bars, beef jerky, chips; not all that healthy but it can 
tide her over.
(9)  Send written instructions and enlist the help of a "nice" teacher 
who can be a contact to assist in food selection.
(10) At McDonalds, order a plain burger, french fries and a coke.  The 
hot fudge sundaes are also gf.  Make sure they fry their fries 
separately from the breaded foods.

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