Memorial Day is over. June is here with the promise of summer adventures including grilling out, spending time with family and friends and for many of us travel. May was a whirlwind of end of the school year activities with my grandchildren including pre-school and 5th grade graduations, as well as dance recitals and baseball games.
Where should my next destination be? That’s always in the back of my mind, especially as warm weather begins. The beach starts calling my name!
A major part of the fun of traveling for me is planning and the anticipation for the trip. Although at this time of my life much of my travels are done alone (solo), I love the trips where I can join my children and grandchildren on their vacation. Its so much fun sharing this time with them.
My next trip is with my daughter, son-in-law and 3 grandsons. It will be a combination family vacation to Jekyll Island, Georgia followed by a solo trip to St. Augustine, Florida. I’ll be writing about it in a later post. We already have plans to take a Dolphin Cruise as well as a visit to a Sea Turtle Sanctuary. Time on the beach is also on the agenda.
In the past, I have taken trips where I have driven with the family to our destination. However, as I feel comfortable driving alone, I will be driving separately on this roadtrip. It allows me to stop when I want to explore to take more time, as well as time to listen to audiotapes/podcasts along the way.
When planning a longer trip like this one, I create an inventory to plan what I want to take with me. I usually have most of my suitcase packed at least a couple of days before departure. I think its just that I am excited to get started, but it’s also frustrating to get to your destination and find that you have left something behind.
Deciding what to pack usually depends upon what activities I will be participating in as well as what weather to expect. I usually plan an itinerary with general plans to determine what clothes, shoes, etc. to pack. I like to be flexible, leaving time for unexpected attractions or places I want to see.
Budgeting is also something that need to be determined when planning any vacation. This will determine whether the plans call for more affordable lodging, or go all out for total luxury. I will cover how I map out my budget plans in a future post.
What type of planning information would you like to see? What other topics would you like to learn more about? I’d love to hear your comments!