Planning those trips
When it comes to your vacations, are you a great planner or do you just like to wing it?
Patty’s sister, Mary Ann, is the all time best planner. The sisters were both born in a small town on the Mississippi River known as Burlington, Iowa. They were barely of school age when their parents moved to Colorado. That all set up a natural place for all of them to go whenever they had vacation time.
Mary Ann and Patty have always clung to their Iowa roots and especially their aunts, uncles and cousins. Patty has cherished all of their trips back home, but Mary Ann…well, let’s just say that Mary Ann is extra special. Patty has gone back to the home town nearly every year but Mary Ann has gone there a lot more than that.
The trip to Burlington takes about 15 driving hours and it is so far from a major airport that the high cost of flying does not usually justify the modest time savings. So, most trips are via the same old auto route: East through the flatlands of Colorado and all the way across the endless corn fields of Nebraska, passing through Omaha, and then they travel through the rolling hills and pig farms that make up so much of Iowa.
If you have never been through the open spaces of the Midwest, you might be surprised to learn how picturesque the old farms can be. It all represents a charming and seemingly simple life.
Since the two sisters have made that trip so many times and since they visited the exact same people each time, you would have assumed them to simply pile in the car on the designated day, just as you would head to work day after day without much thought; but that is not how it has gone down, at least as far as Mary Ann is concerned.
The elder sister seems to use the planning of the trip as a way to extend her pleasure. She likes to analyze all of the details and make her plans well in advance. All of that seems okay but the odd part is Burlington is such a small town that there are only so many things to do. Besides, they are mostly just interested in enjoying their relatives. So they do the same thing every trip.
They take the same highway, they visit the same people in the same order, they visit the same old favorite park, they eat at the exact same restaurants and Mary Ann even plans on eating the exact same meals; like a pork sandwich which she always plans on eating at the ever familiar Iowa Tavern.
One year Patty had the audacity to suggest they try out a particular Bed and Breakfast, just for a change of pace, instead of the usual Comfort Inn and the whole idea was like fingernails on the chalkboard to Mary Ann. Reluctantly, she went along with it and that too eventually became part of the travel ritual for them.
All of this planning seems a bit odd to an outsider considering the modest objectives and the fact that they have repeated the trip so many times and that they are both smart enough to remember where everything is, but such an outsider misses the entire point.
Their simple objectives are in harmony with the people they love to visit in the old home town. These are simple folks who enjoy the simple things: Church, family, tomatoes, parks and pork sandwiches.
Extended planning is just a way for Mary Ann to spend more time with a memory of people and a place that means a lot to her. Sometimes the thrill of the chase is a great form of pleasure to certain people. So she planned and planned and planned, even though she knew exactly what she was going to do, who she was going to see and even what she was going to eat.
Naturally, the family members have always teased Mary Ann about the quirky planning, but now, after many years, there is only one aunt left. Aunt Grace was the cranky one, but oddly everybody liked her anyway. Now she is 96 and rolled up safely on a floor in a seniors building, so she won’t fall out of bed. She doesn’t know anybody anymore. But Patty and Mary Ann can take pleasure in knowing they shared many great moments with their family and Mary Ann probably got more out of those visits than anybody. All because of excessive planning.
What about you? Do you make intricate travel plans or do you play it by ear? Do you utilize an itinerary to pack a little more pleasure into your time off, or would you rather not abide by schedules and take an impromptu side-trip once in a while?
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2 comments:
1) Driving more than 6 hours is insane, unless you are driving somewhere for the first time or it is particularly scenic. Save up the money and fly. (Yes this means you cheap-arses like my mother). It was once suggested recently that I drive 17 hours with a 1 and 3 year-old child. I declined, but if you plan on attempting this, bring a gun with enough bullets for the lot of you.
2) Flying sucks. Some rules:
a) don't check bags
b) wear pajamas or shorts a tshirt and flipflops so those gun-toting, union mentality, over-reaching authority, self-important, waste-of-tax dollar "employees" from the ridiculous 2nd biggest mistake GWB made, ie Homeland Security TSA department don't stop you and get a cheap feel behind temporary opaque shade-screens.
c) arrive early. no seriously. while you're at it, just show up the day before. Every year it takes longer so they can sell you food, magazines and booze (oh, I mean make you safer), so just plan on staying the week at the airport.
d) if you somehow think the flying is not worth it, go back to step (1).
3) I don't eat at any restaurant they have at home. Get on the internet and pick out one or two "famous" places for the area, go there, and every other meal seek out a local establishment.
exception: you are travelling with other people that don't follow this rule, or you are in a hurry, say hideously hung over (maybe still loaded) and late for a sister's wedding. Then go to McDonalds.
4) Only make one or two plans. We are going to California and the only thing on the agenda for a week is Disneyland and a round of golf. Fly by the seat of your pants for the rest. If you are travelling with a "planner", make special reasons to do something other than those plans. It will cause fights, but you might as well take your medicine, otherwise you will spend all vacations on a timetable. Tactical tip: Say you will show up to an event, then don't. Then people don't expect much from you and you're FREE!
5) Spend less time taking pictures with a camera and more time taking them with your MIND. No one gives a crap where you went this summer, that just makes them jealous. The point behind travelling is to EXPERIENCE something DIFFERENT. So leave the tourist gear home and relish the experience.
6) DISCLAIMERS:
a) All of the above rules can be negated or vetoed by your spouse without prior notification.
b) All rules are subject to change if you have children, especially restaurants not including a "happy meal" on the menu.
c) If you cant handle a) or b), do what my father does: Lie on the couch and play dead. Then you don't have to go at all.
I think road trips are fun. I just drove from Chicago to Pittsburgh for a wedding, and we made several stops along the way. We picked up three people, switched cars twice, stopped at some fun places to eat, and enjoyed chatting with some friends that we hadn't seen in a few months. You can learn a lot about people by traveling with them in the car. Some of my favorite memories of vacations are the road trips. Although flying is faster, it rarely results in some funny rounds of 20 questions. But to each's own, I suppose!
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