Rule #2: Avoid flights at ungodly hours.

When the alarm clock rang at 4 a.m., I felt as if I was woken from the dead. Everything in my body ached, and all I could think was, "Why did I book such an early flight?"

Dante's reaction to the early wake-up was even worse. I turned on the lights in his room. He remained asleep. "Dante! Dante! Dante!" He didn't respond. I turned on the iPod. Still asleep. I covered his face in kisses. "Go away!" he said.

I love early flights because they get you to your destination at a decent hour, but my new rule of thumb is to never book a flight that requires getting up at 4 a.m.