(2014 – deciding on the summer hols…..)
Lets go to the States and rent a car…
OK
Well, we’ve driven in Florida, California, ‘done’ Route 66……
Out comes the map….
Mmmmm… what about flying to Denver
We always wanted to ‘do’ the Rockies…
♪♪Colorado Rockie Mountain High♫ ... we can sing John Denver songs the whole time…..
Oh look…. there’s Salt Lake City… that might be interesting…
So THATS where Yellowstone is… we have go there….
Ah… Mount Rushmore…. Its just on the other side of Wyoming…..one state across from Yellowstone….so can’t be that far….
NO WAY!…. Devil’s Tower… its actually REAL!!!! I thought it was just part of the set in Close Encounters of a Third Kind.
That’s South Dakota … there’s the Black Hills….
♫ Take me back to the Black Hills
The Black Hills of Dakota♪♪♪ ……
Look…. Badlands …. Oh remember ‘Badlands‘ …. the song in Thelma and Louise….. is that the same thing? Have to go there…..
And then Denver is just below us….
Well that makes a loop….. ok…a rather big loop…. 1900 km give or take a few hundred….Oh wait…. its the US… so that would be 1900 MILES….. not allowing for ANY local touring and deviations…..
No bother (says she who won’t be doing the driving!)…. I’ll just go ahead and book those flights…..
(
We always think that the planning is almost as exciting as the trip, we just love getting the maps out! 😁
I agree 100% – especially at the very early stage when the idea is just germinating. And I still love paper maps !!!!
Oh gosh, me too! 🌞
and yes 1900 miles is a lot more than 1900 km ::) Nice to keep the list handy! Cheers
Needless to say, the end result was almost double that total!!! Hope all is good with you – stay safe…. XXXMarie
🤣 yeah ok same to you
Planning is key to any successful road trip. I planned for months to get ready for our 17,000 km cross Canada/U.S. road trip. Pre planning freed up our travel time to simply have fun. Stay well and thanks for sharing. Allan
The planning itself is also fun – and much easier nowadays – there’s nothing you can’t look up…
In the good old days, I used to take a notebook along with all the handwritten details. I would also note where I took my photos and where we ate and what. I like today’s research better. Allan
I still to this day set off determined to record every single thing. So I write the time we leave home, how much the airport parking or aircoach – depending which – costs, what we eat at the airport, how much I spend on puzzle books or whatever… and so on… I last 3-4 days and then it slips – by the end of the trip its usually down to one word!!! I’ve never ever come home with a completed diary.
We’ve done the same, not the same trip, planning ahead I mean, but our side trips and wasteful time just chilling out with locals etc., worked havoc with our plans. In retirement we took 3 months off and planned to cover a lot of S.E. Asia but after nearly two months just in Thailand – and not even wanting to leave there – we had to rush through Laos and give up on Vietnam until another time. But that’s what travelling should be all about, seizing the moment and living it. We never regretted one moment spent travelling – apart from one disastrous holiday in Israel – or having our plans disrupted (including a bad car accident in Spain which meant we spent 3 weeks in hospital and came home carless but with friendships forged and still existing). So the motto is, Carpe Diem!
Absolutely – if Covid has taught us anything, its to seize every opportunity from now on. Reading through your comment Marie, I realise its been years since we actually just booked a flight and took off without a further plan….. something to consider if — and when — I ever get off this island again….
I actually left a river trip (with a friend) on the last day and booked into a hotel as I loved the area so much that I felt I had to stay on. Mind you, I had a problem with the tour company as we’d booked a package with them as one has to with a river trip and apparently you have to return with them to keep it legal, but a “sprained ankle” made me unfit to travel so all was well. Nowadays I need plans as I’m older and things are more likely to go wrong but I still go ‘off piste’ without thinking. Old habits die hard.
Lovely at times to break away from the pack –
When we returned our car at the Gatwick airport the check in person could not believe we had travelled 3006 km. That seemed surreal to her. We’ve had a blast driving through big and small roads throughout England and Scotland. Some stuff planned ahead and some stuff flying by the seat of our pants. But always with time for a pint at the end of the day!
Its impossible to even estimate the mileage for such trips isn’t it – and the best bits are, of course, the unplanned ones. As for the pints ….sounds to me like you’ve your priorities sorted…..🍺🍺🍺
Planning is much more fun than driving! Add Canada to your road trip!
We’ve been to Toronto /Quebec/ Newfoundland…… Canadian Rockies are definitely on our list -XXXMarie
Planning, dreaming, all the same … 🙂
It certainly is at the moment!!!
Planning can sometimes be as exciting as the trip itself. But 1900 miles is INSANE – what an amazing adventure! 🙂
I’d say we did almost double that in the end!!!!
Sometimes planning is more exciting than the trip itself, don’t you think? We’ve touched most of the above places in one road trip, and returned the rented car with 9,500 km. I miss those days🙂
We all need to just take off don’t we….. open road, zero restrictions…… can’t wait…..
Don’t we all! In my case (age) they’ve gone forever but I have wonderful memories and I despair sometimes at young relatives who spend their weekends ‘shopping’ and then say they can’t afford to travel like I did.
Different priorities….. from the very beginning, no matter how little money we had, a summer trip was essential to us. Of course, in those years, we didn’t travel for the rest of the year. You’re right to despair – its so much easier – and cheaper to travel now…..
This post made me laugh, Marie. I believe that the happiest part of our vacation actually happens way before we ever step foot in chosen destination. Just planning or anticipating the trip makes me giddy with excitement. Hopefully we can start planning soon, because for me it’s been 17 m0ths since my last trip, imagine. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely weekend. Aiva 🙂
Its resonating with a lot of readers isn’t it – that excitement and joy when a trip begins to take shape…..
Ye must both be anxious at this stage to get to see family again – hopefully 2021 will get us all moving…. XXXMarie
Oh yes, the Rockies are unforgettable! Did you check out Grand Teton National Park, just south of Yellowstone? I am planning a road trip for a camping trip later this year. I agree, the planning is a whole lot of fun! Have a great weekend, Marie! 🌞
Just found this in spam so apologies for the delay in replying Lisa. Yes – we spent 2 nights there – so one full day which wasn’t enough of course. Hopefully we’ll get back some day and spend extra time there. I’m not thinking of any trips at the moment so I envy you – I’d give anything for a US road trip! Happy planning!
Thanks for fishing me out of spam! 🌞
Oh yeah, now you’re talking about my part of the world. I can’t wait to read your next post!
I’m sorry to say that Colorado got very little attention in the end – we’ll have to go back…..
Sounds very much like our planning😂👍
The best kind!!!!!! XXXMarie
And planning roadtrips in the US in a car or on a motorbike is two very different things. In a car we have experience that the miles fly by on the Interstate. On motorbike you can do less miles in a day. And we still use paper maps but I use google earth a bit when planning for motorbike routes, easy to pin locations and calculate mileage per day.
Its a great country for motorbike trips isn’t it…although I know you’ve done lots of US road trips by both bike and car. Glad you still using paper maps! Although I reckon they’ll soon be a thing of the past…. My son rolls his eyes when I even suggest looking up a paper map. Mind you – now that I think of it… I don’t know when last he would have used paper for anything!!! XXXMarie
Wiping his a**😂we have all our travelled routes in western US drawn in markers on one map, I should frame it👍
He probably has an app even for that!!!😅 😂 🤣