So, we’re going cross country! Yea! I’ve been talking about this trip for years and now it’s time to put my money where my mouth is! Planning major events is not new to me; I’ve done it hundreds of time…for work. The more I thought about it, the more nervous I got. What the hell do I know about going cross country?! Nothing! I need to learn and fast!!
I know I said this trip was for my kids – their education and an opportunity to spend quality time with us, that kind of crap – but that’s not the whole truth. The truth is much more selfish. I made a goal for myself to see all 50 states by the time I am 50 years old. I’m in my mid-forties and I’ve been to 34 of the 50 states. Not a bad track record but I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
So back to what this all has to do with planning a trip. My first step was to mount of map of the USA on a board and note with pushpins the states I need to visit. Then I asked the kids what are the places they’ve heard about and want to visit. To this day, their answers amuse me – Niagara Falls, Las Vegas and Oklahoma. Don’t ask. So I marked those next. We then identified friends and family that we should stop and visit while “we’re in the neighborhood.” Up on the board they went, too. Last we added the obligatory National Monuments. How could we justify a cross country trip without seeing Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful and the world’s largest ball of string, my personal favorite? It may sound like a painful exercise, it was really quick actually. The hardest part was finding the map. With that complete, the route presented itself almost immediately. It really came together by playing connect the dots with some string and the push pins.
A semi-painful but very useful exercise!
Although we had a basic route in place, we really didn’t have a good handle on how long or how many miles we were talking or how much time we needed. Google Maps became my best ally in the next planning stage. A quick search for directions from location to location, tracking the miles and time to get there gave us a good foundation to work from. We guessed on how many days to stay in each location, whether it was a stopover or a major sightseeing opportunity. My advice – make your plans like there were no restrictions – you have all the time in the world and money is no object (oh to dream!!) See what you get, then scale back as needed. What can you afford and how much time can you really afford to be away? As with most major decisions, budget may not be the deciding factor but it certainly has a big impact. Since we live on the East Coast, we scaled back Washington D.C. and North Carolina because we knew those were trips that would be easy for us to make at a later date.
So you’ve got some ideas on the where to go and how long you’ll be gone, you’ll also need to figure out the when. We knew we would go when the boys got out of school but we live in New England, predicting the end of school is nearly impossible but we did our best! Now your straw man is almost complete…
Let’s review. You should have a foundation of where you will travel, how long it will take you, how much you can afford and when you want to go. With a basic framework of your perfect trip, you can turn your attention to travel. How do you want to travel – car? RV? Plane?
Anyway you choose, be realistic about the cost of travel. You will never visit multiple states over the course of a couple weeks and only spend $100. That’s not to say that you can’t find ways to minimize your costs but know what and how much you are willing to compromise. What’s more important to you, getting to the largest collection of hubcaps or the extra $100 and 6 hours it’s going to take you to get off the interstate and head down the endless dirt road in the middle of nowhere?
TIPS
- Write it down! Every decision, every idea, every phone number, web site or travel tip. You’ll discuss so much it’s easy to lose track. Keep a log of your dates, locations, and travel time.
- Google Maps is your friend! So is AAA. Use the tools available to you.
- Create a visual of your trip. A map with pushpins always offers a clear picture of where you’re going.
- Not everyone has the luxury of unlimited budget and unlimited time. Set your priorities.