The PolyBlog

At the beginning of the month, I had a long list of ideas to write about. As I started to write, however, things moved around and morphed. In the end, here’s what the framework looked like:

• Introduction –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-focusing-on-travel-in-month-2/
• Multiple country bundles –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2a-travel-bundles/
• One-off destinations –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2b-a-bonanza-of-destinations/
• Cruises –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2c-cruising-into-retirement/
• Dreaming of a long road trip aka a walkabout:
  • Destination: Western Canada and the US –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2d-i-dream-of-a-walkabout-part-1/
  • Logistics of how to travel –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2d-i-dream-of-a-walkabout-part-2-the-logistics/
  • Destination: The Atlantic Provinces –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2d-i-dream-of-a-walkabout-part-3-travel-redux/
  • Destination: The Eastern US –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2d-i-dream-of-a-walkabout-part-4-east-of-the-mississippi/
  • Destination: The Mid-West –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2d-i-dream-of-a-walkabout-part-5-sidequests-in-the-mid-west/
• Long visits to each province –> https://www.thepolyblog.ca/retireprep-month-2e-we-like-to-move-it-move-it/

A total of 10 posts about my vacation and travel plans in retirement. I admit I was pretty excited at the start. Some of the content was based on old versions of my bucket list; others were ideas generated by conversations with Andrea over the last 20+ years; others came up based on Jacob’s input and interests. It’s exciting…literally, the potential for thousands of kilometres and hundreds of days, even just for the walkabout options. While I am a bit nervous that most of the walkabout trips would be by myself, Andrea is interested in some of them, too.

Yet what really threw me for a loop is that I got almost zero comments on any of the posts from anyone. I mean, it’s not like I’m some viral blogger, but the travel ideas didn’t provoke any reaction? As I said, it surprised me. On the other hand, it reinforced one of the central tenets of retirement — I’m retiring, not Andrea or Jacob or the various friends and family reading the posts. And while I thought people would find the posts to be some of the more interesting things I have posted, they fell pretty flat. Which is an important lesson learned, too…if I want to engage people on things like camping trailer options, maybe I should try and join groups that are focused on camping trailers and talk to them. 🙂

In the end, what I did was figure out the types of trips that I wanted to consider later and the viability of the logistics. Many of them wouldn’t creep into the planning matrix until 2027 or 2028, of course, so I’ll set many of the “to-do” list items quite far out. But I drilled deep enough to narrow some of the options. And I added some enhancements, where warranted. While the “list” side is just tickboxes and scheduling, I also added the “buddy” side for Andrea and Jacob for many of the destinations, my brother Mike for some stuff on the trailer side, and my sister Carolee and niece Liz for some bundled trips. I also added Liz as I may want her suggestions for solo cruise options / repositioning options without single supplements, etc. I’ll also engage some online communities for both the trailer and kayaking options in the distant future. I’m good for now.

To-Do list after Month 2

Reminder of ritual options

1. Simple rituals
   • List the goals
   • Include checkboxes when completed
   • Schedule the activity
   • Add a duration element
   • Add a quantity element
   • Gamify to be a “chain” of achievements (the Seinfeld method)
2. Social engineering
   • Public announcement
   • Tribal (join a group)
   • Informal accountability (buddy)
   • Formal accountability (paid professional)
3. Participation and completion rituals using gamification
   • Performance / high score / personal best
   • Completion / participation element
4. Certification and combination rituals
   • Validation of completion (external)
   • Validation by test (standard)
   • Combination (through point systems)
5. Reward rituals
   • Simple
   • Combination

In previous posts, I noted that there were a couple of detours that I didn’t take, and both sort of mid-west-ish…one in Canada, one in the US. So I want to see what it would look like if I did a separate trip to check out those locations.

Segment 1 would start in Wisconsin (50d). When I planned my route back from New Orleans, I pretty much went straight North to Chicago, Milwaukee, etc. I didn’t deviate much from that route. And there is a whole lot of midwest that I skipped over. I would probably start in Minneapolis. Then continue down through Des Moines, Omaha, Lincoln, and Kansas City. I would probably go to Witchita, just cuz I love the song from Cindy Church. Oklahoma City would be next on the list, and if I didn’t hit Dallas / Fort Worth earlier, I’d do them this time. I already did Albuquerque, but I’d probably do it again on the way to Denver. Then swing West, probably to Salt Lake City. I don’t know at that point if I would do Casper Wyoming or up into Yellowstone. It’s possible that before I went south to KC, I probably should have picked off part of North and South Dakota. But after SLC, I could mosey to Boise. So many options. I could try to finish off in Butte. Or some variation thereof. For the map, I went over to Montana and back to Iowa, but I could be flexible. It’s a whopping 98h, 10400km, so 25d just in driving at 400 km a day. I’m going to double that, which might be a bit high, but there are a lot of famous sights along that route, plus lots of places to do a bit of paddling and hiking.

Segment 2 would take me to Waterton Lakes / Glacial Lake National Park (16d). I have wanted to go to Waterton for a very long time to see the area. I tried multiple times while working to schedule a conference there, with no luck ever. Sigh. Coming from Columbia Falls, the best route is the Going-To-The-Sun Road that goes right through Glacial Lakes NP on the US side. The problem, of sorts, is that a) it is seasonal, you can only go in the summer, and b) you have to book it in advance. Except I’m not likely to know my route and timing well enough to get me there in time to book it. Unless I totally reverse my trip and go to the Park first. 🙂 At the moment, I would start in Columbia Falls, pass through Sprague Creek / Crystal Point / Siyeh Bend and end up at St. Mary on the other side of the US portion of the park. From there, the trip returns to normal limitations of time and desire, with a stop at Waterton Lake on the Canadian side. I plotted a route back through Lethbridge and Grasslands National Park, and then just a straight line back to Ottawa that takes me back through North Dakota and Minnesota.

Overall, the trip would be about 10d or so, but I would double that first part, 6d or so, making it 16d in total for 3800 km. The totals are all off though as it won’t let me officially take the right road at this time of year, so it keeps rerouting me the other way around. But I know the road has a bunch of other limitations including overall length of car and trailer combos (no longer than 21′, which might mean having to leave the trailer near one of the entrances and driving through or around to pick it up again later). I’d figure it out for the year I was going.

So that takes care of the “missed” mid-West. I could TRY to add it into my first “west of the Mississippi” grand trip, but these two segments are already large on their own:

• Segment 1: 50d, 10400 km
• Segment 2: 16d, 3600 km
• Total: 66d, 14000 km

And with that done, it pretty much covers the entirety of Canada and the US except Nunavut, Hawaii and the Grand Canyon, all of which could be separate one-off trips at some point.

Do you have any place you want to go that I missed?

Andrea and I have already travelled through the Atlantic provinces on three previous trips. The first big trip started in NY state, through Vermont and New Hampshire, and into Maine before going up into New Brunswick, all around Nova Scotia including Cape Breton, back to PEI, and over to New Brunswick and home. The second was Quebec City and the Saguenay, before hopping over and doing Gaspésie including Percy, and then all the way back home. Our third trip was to Newfoundland, and we started around Deer Lake, visited Gros Morne, and then worked our way all the way over to St. John’s before flying home.

And I confess, I would like to do parts of that trip again for things we didn’t have quite enough time to do, small diversions we didn’t have time for, and larger sections we just plain couldn’t do at the time. All of it. I’d even like to do it with the same trailer that I hope to use for the big 25K loop. Perhaps I could do it as a test for that trip. So, what would this “repeat / redux” trip look like?

Segment 1 would take me up to Labrador (16d). I’d do the Saguenay region again; cross over into Northern New Brunswick, slowly working my way towards Percé. and around Gaspésie; then up through Labrador City, and around all the way down to Labrador coast where I can cut over to Newfoundland. The new parts that I haven’t seen before would be central New Brunswick, Northern Quebec, and all of Labrador. Overall? It would take about 52 hours, for ~4200 km. If I stick to the previous range, call it about 400 km a day, that would be 10-11 days, plus another 5 days in there for stopping at various places for more than a day/night. Since I’ve seen it before, I think my real desire would be the chance to do a bit of kayaking along the way for some of the rivers, small lakes, etc. No real sea stuff though, that doesn’t interest me. At least, not in a kayak! I’d be open to some small boat cruises to see the coastline.

For Segment 2, it would basically be Newfoundland (26d). The tricky part is that I don’t know how much I want to repeat previous trips, and it is a LONG haul across the entire island. I did a complete workup to cover all of Newfoundland, which is insane. I’m not really going to do that, not in practice. The so-called plan would cover all of the upper peninsula above where the ferry from Labrador docks; take me all the way down through Gros Morne (there’s a fjord I would want to see this time); a couple of little jaunts up by Baie Verte, back over to Twillingate, and if I could, I’d spend a night on Fogo Island. I have no idea how transport works for there, where I’d leave my car, etc. I’d pass through Gander, head over to Bona Visa, a few more peninsulas, and then into St. John’s.

Then I’d hit the southern peninsulas. With a full trip out to where I could hop over to St. Pierre and Miquelon. Again, no clue what’s involved to do that, but I would want to make sure that made my list this time. A few more excursions off the main highway into the core of the island would be mostly about getting into the harder-to-reach parts of nature and hopefully kayaking a few quiet lakes and rivers. And then, heading back all the way to the south western tip, Port aux Basques to get me to the ferry off the island.

While I wouldn’t do all of that, I wanted to see what the maximum plan could look like over 57 hours and 4800 km. Almost 15d, just in Newfoundland, not including what I did in Labrador. Add in about another 10 days I think to allow for rests, trips to outer islands, kayaking, etc. for a total of up to 25 days. I’d also have to see if it would make more sense to go from Argentia in the end, rather than doubling back to Port aux Basques to depart. Although that sailing would be 15 hours to Sydney, rather than 8. Not that it matters, either way, it’s basically a day. Overall, the new parts would be the stuff north of Gros Morne, some kayaking, and Fogo Island plus St. Pierre and Miquelon. If it wasn’t for St. Pierre and Miquelon, I might be tempted to just go down the west coast of Newfoundland and take the ferry to Sydney, skipping almost the rest of the island that I’ve already done a fair portion of, on a previous trip.

Segment 3 would basically take care of Nova Scotia (10d). I’d start in Cape Breton, do the Cabot Trail loop, and then go all the way down to the southern tip of Nova Scotia passing through Halifax and then back up again until I cross into NB and make my way towards PEI. A simple 21 hours and 1700 km. There are a few places I’d like to go kayaking, maybe see a friend or two, maybe even climb a mountain. Plus spend some actual time in Halifax when I’m not sick. It looks initially like a mere 5 days, but call it 10 days in total with fun stops. I could decide to skip a bunch of Cape Breton, and even most of Nova Scotia, only going down to Halifax and then over towards Acadia University and up to PEI.

Segment 4 would finish off PEI and the rest of New Brunswick (9d). It’s only 14h and 1200 km, so not the biggest haul by any stretch of the imagination. Three days of driving would complete the loop through PEI, and then cover off Moncton, St. John and Fredricton, but I suspect I’d want at least 1 day in each of those three plus Charlottetown. We didn’t spend enough time in PEI previously. So 3d of driving plus 4d of sightseeing, and perhaps 2 more days of rest to do nature stuff, call it 9 days in total. I didn’t see many of those previously, more like drivebys, so it would be nice to spend some time.

Now, I have to confess, even if I was to do all of this “again”, with the new pieces, one segment still remains — I still have to get home (6d). Andrea, Jacob and I just did New England a year ago, and oddly enough, where I finish off in New Brunswick is right near two of my favourite parts of the trip — Baxter National Park and Acadia National Park in Maine. There were a few things I didn’t get to do there, partly for time and partly for configuration, so maybe I could go back for some of it. It would still take me 13h to get home, plus the 1100 km, and I’d add likely 2d in Baxter and at least 1 full day in Acadia, so let’s call it 6d to get home.

Would I really want to do this long trip too?

There are two variables at play here. One, yes, I would love to travel in a trailer through all these areas and see them from that perspective. Two, I’ve seen some of it before. Would I still find it worthwhile? My thought, in part, is that the other things I would do like camping, boondocking and kayaking would be worth it. And most importantly, is it really the same trip as before if a) I’m by myself and b) I’m also not pressed for time? Oddly enough, Andrea might be interested in the Ottawa to Deer Lake portion of Quebec, Labrador, Gros Morne, and Newfoundland, so I might have someone with me for the most isolated portions.

• Segment 1 – Labrador, 16d and 4200 km;
• Segment 2 – Newfoundland, 26d and 4800 km;
• Segment 3 – Nova Scotia, 10d and 1700 km;
• Segment 4 – PEI and New Brunswick, 9d and 1200 km;
• Segment 5 – Maine and the trip home, 6d and 1100 km.
• Grand total: 67 days and 13,000 km.

Now, here’s the interesting part for me. Since most of the destinations are ones I’ve been to before, I have some familiarity and comfort with the area; most of it is in Canada, but I would still get some challenges in Labrador and Newfoundland when I’m not within cell service. I’ll need a Garmin if I’m kayaking or even looking for better than average navigation assistance. Maybe even a satellite phone, although that seems overkill except for certain segments. So, what if I started with this trip instead of the other one and let myself ease into the big trip? At 67 days, I could see that easily dropping to 45 days, for instance, with a lot of detours in Newfoundland and even Cape Breton not exactly being “required.”

Or, what if I rented a trailer for this trip? Or what if I only went to Labrador and back? I don’t NEED to do all of this one, but I would be willing to do it again, as it’s a nice way to give everything a shakedown trip OR to cap off the previous one with a shorter-duration haul.

What about you? Have you ever done a repeated trip with more time and less schedule to guide you? Was it worth the “return”? Or did you feel that other destinations were a higher priority?