The Big Trip.
Excerpt from the Article…
One Whole Month. For the entirety of my adult life, I've dreamed of spending an entire month with my family navigating the busy mazes of train stations, and the winding canals and cobblestone streets of cities with directional signs I can't pronounce. For me, it isn't as much about where we're going. It's about going someplace together. I call it The Big Trip. (But I could have called it the big carrot I've been chasing at the end of a long stick). And I have to say, planning this trip has been half the fun.
Even if the plan is to have no plan, for me, it starts like this. I scratch up a blank calendar, roughing out a draft of dates. Where do we want to go? What are we curious to see? What is the best route to travel so that we don't waste time backtracking? And how many days in each city will feel leisurely and not rushed? I open the jar of possibility and put in the big rocks first. Then I fill in all the little pieces. Hotel vs Apartment? Which area of town is less touristy? The fun part is putting together a budget and seeing how to allocate and prioritize the things that make it most enjoyable. For example, I don't care much for eating in fancy restaurants when I travel. I'd rather stay in a good apartment, make a few meals and discover all the real, local food. One of my favorite pastimes while traveling is just looking at items on grocery store shelves. It's fascinating!!
Indelible Memories. “As an Oregon kid, June meant piling into Ol’ Besty, our Chevy truck-bed camper. Summertime was family time. We didn't always know where we were going, but we always ended up somewhere fun. We fished, we hiked, we collected sticks for the campfire, we made burnt toast, we lit lanterns and listened to the hum of the fuel, and we madly shook JiffyPop pans over the camp stove until the foil dome burst with buttery goodness. We were dirty. We were itchy. We were on the adventure of our lives.” …
