Stages of Trip Planning

I’ve been noticing the many stages of trip planning. Thinking back, it’s almost a predictable process. First the Dreaming or Wistful Longing. As both Peter and Mariola mentioned, we spent *years* in this stage. This is the someday, maybe we’ll go on a trip together. Wouldn’t a castle in Tuscany be grand? Provence sounds great…what if we went there? Biking thru the green hills of Ireland? With a world of possibilities, it’s easy to dream.

Then thru some process that is not quite clear, those dream start to take concrete shape as we enter the Commitment stage. A tentative comment is taken seriously. Could this be the year? Financial and vacation budgets get reviewed. The stars align. Yes, we’re going! We made this decision in July. Only thing from perfection is Tommy’s absence; hopefully college will hold other adventures for him.

This is when we make the big chunk decision about when and where - Rome over Thanksgiving. We purchased tickets and reserved an apartment for all of us near the Forum. (Not a castle, but we’ll save that for next time!). All signals go.

Then it’s all about Anticipation. Rome! We’re going to ROME! Purchasing and pouring over guidebooks. Surfing the web. Going thru the days with a new alertness to everything Italian, and Roman specifically. Restaurant famed for authentic Italian cuisine…gotta try it. New movie When in Rome…watched it. (Cute, but skip-able). Talking to friends for advice and recommendations. (Consensus advice is “watch out for pickpockets.” Sigh). Basically counting down the days.

While anticipation also involves some preparation, it’s mostly in the form of a list in my head. Then about a week before departure the Preparation Panic stage kicks into high gear. The details large and small involved in relocating and stepping out of our daily routine get addressed. Time to do the laundry, the packing, and finalize arrangements for dog care. Can we stay connected while abroad? Do we have the right power supplies? Enough batteries? What’s the weather gonna be like? (Rain.) And what about [x]? Did you do [y]?

Funny thing about this stage is how the trip acts as a milestone. All of a sudden, those things I haven’t gotten around to for 6+ months now absolutely have to get done before we leave. (Can you say “Toyota floor mat recall”. Sheesh). It’s an interesting motivator, but easy to get out of hand. Sometimes it’s helpful to remember the basics. We have our passport, we have our tickets, we have our credit cards - everything else is optional. There will be time when we get back, even for Christmas shopping.

Departure. At some point, it’s just time to go. Everything either got done, or it didn’t. For me, there is a certain comfort in that inevitability. When the doors of the plane close, the preparation is over, and I can get back to the anticipation. Tomorrow is the day!!!