RetirePrep: How did month 2 go looking at Travel?
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
| Category | Task | Rituals | Notes | Due date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02A. Travel | Prioritize travel bundles (UK, France+, Germany+, Scandinavia, Vietnam+) | Checkbox Schedule Professional Buddy | Andrea, Jacob, Liz, Carolee | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02A. Travel | Figure out options for NZ+Australia | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea, Jacob, Carolee | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02B. Travel | Consider Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Washington, Nunavut | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea, Jacob | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02B. Travel | Consider Galapagos, Patagonia, Peru | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea, Jacob | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02B. Travel | Consider St. Lucia, St. Martin, DR, Caribbean Cruise | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea, Jacob | October 2024 | Underway |
| 02B. Travel | Consider Western Europe (Iceland, Italy, Greece (cruise?), Portugal, Spain) | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea, Jacob | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02B. Travel | Consider Russia | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Jacob | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02B. Travel | Consider Asia (Japan, Mongolia, China) | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Jacob, Andrea | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02B. Travel | Consider Oceania (Great Barrier Reef) | Checkbox Schedule | Jacob | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02B. Travel | Consider ME and Africa (South Africa, Nile, Victora Falls, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Egypt, Morocco) | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea, Jacob | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02B. Travel | Consider Antarctica | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea, Jacob | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02C. Travel | Consider cruises (inland, coastal) | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02C. Travel | Consider solo repositioning cruise | Checkbox Schedule Professional | Liz | August 2027 | Not yet started |
| 02D. Travel | Decide on walkabout logistics (vehicle, trailer) | Checkbox Schedule Professional Buddy | Andrea, brother, sales people, online groups | August 2028 | Not yet started |
| 02D. Travel | Consider scheduling (West, Atlantic, East, Mid-West) | Checkbox Schedule | August 2028 | Not yet started | |
| 02E. Travel | Consider temporary moves to provincial regions | Checkbox Schedule Buddy | Andrea | August 2030 | Not yet started |
Reminder of ritual options
- 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)
- Social engineering
- Public announcement
- Tribal (join a group)
- Informal accountability (buddy)
- Formal accountability (paid professional)
- Participation and completion rituals using gamification
- Performance / high score / personal best
- Completion / participation element
- Certification and combination rituals
- Validation of completion (external)
- Validation by test (standard)
- Combination (through point systems)
- Reward rituals
- Simple
- Combination
I saw this more as you brainstorming than soliciting feedback. Although ending with an explicit request would be a clue, sigh.
My overall thought is you are trying to be too comprehensive.
My insights from travel:
1. Geography trumps. The topography, weather, industry, architecture, flora and fauna have more similarities than differences at a given latitude and distance from a sea.
2. The UK diaspora, and indeed other immigrant groups, tried to recreate home.
3. Similar things loose their charm with overexposure. See the whatever, say pioneer village, near home and the world class/CAA 5 star recommended one when you are in the vicinity. You want to avoid the ABC syndrome. (I don’t want to see another bloody church! The TD on my big trip (when I was in Europe for your wedding) told us, when we complained about the Cologne cathedral not being on the itinerary, that if he took us into every Gothic church we passed when we got to Notre Dame at the end instead of being awestruck we would think yeah, yeah, ABC.)
4. Being able to video chat on WhatsApp helps a lot, but being alone for weeks gets old.
5. Part of the joy of travel is having someone with you to nudge and say, “wow look at that”, or “cool, I didn’t know that”.
6. Another joy is researching the highlights of an area. This fun was a huge bonus for Elizabeth and me for the Arctic Circle trip. We had started in June and had lists of things of interest to us in walkable distance from the hotel if we had free time in the smaller cities, and were able to see and do some of them while other people just waited for their suitcases before the scheduled dinner.
Also we had 2 days in the capital cities on our own but no time this fall prior to the trip to think about that with trying to get Chesterfield marketable, but we had our notes from June and they were more comprehensive than we recalled, with locations marked on a map, hop on hop off bus routes, and open hours. We saw virtually everything on our list, and Elizabeth was able to do some hikes when she had more energy than me.
7. You need some downtime. I have been on a bus on travel days through amazing scenery for hours. Napping past some of it doesn’t miss anything. And when I went to Australia, I ended up with a week off 2/3 of the way through. (The next tour in the series used to have 4 departures a week, but post pandemic only one every 2 weeks.) I really enjoyed the vacation from my vacation!
6. Restaurant meals take a long time, and become repetitive in menu choices, but deli purchased picnics have logistic challenges for storing leftovers and eating outside in inclement weather.
7. Especially for North America, I would drive myself (aka, navigate while Elizabeth drives) but use the available tours as a way to generate a must-see list. OTOH, long drives through God’s country between national parks and on a bus tour could nap, and not be distracted from the scenery by paying attention to driving.
8. For me 3 weeks is a good length. I am anxious to get home in week 4.
Cheers!
Carolee
Hey, sis, wow. Add another 1000 words and you’ll be up to my wordlength hehehe
That’s really interesting about the ABC syndrome. I haven’t wrapped my head around two concepts yet that are semi-related. Our friend Vivian’s philosophy for travel is that they try to do 3 things before lunch each day, and in doing so, ensure that they’re “accomplishing” their travel goals for that trip. That’s slightly over-stating things, it’s not about the goals obviously, but that they ensure that they start each day strong. I definitely can’t do that pace, but I do like the idea that if it is a “doing day” instead of a “driving day” or a “relaxing day” for various longer trips, I’m making sure I do something and don’t end up lazing around too much, getting a late start, etc. The other part, and again, I don’t know how this fits, is if I’m trying to avoid ABC, do I focus on things that get me out of my comfort zone and/or things I can’t see at home. Could be a crawfish bake in Louisiana or Northern Lights in the Territories, or simply a giant cathedral.
That’s intriguing too about the advance research and filling shorter spaces/times. I am worried that a long journey by myself will get old, although I have hopes that a couple of the hobbies I have will fill that in a bit with some extra social stuff, even when “new” social isn’t my strength. For Canada, I want to check out some of the astronomy clubs across Canada; for US and Canada, I would like to take a kayak and hang out with some of the paddle club outings. Mike likes the comraderie in trailer parks, and I could see myself hanging out for a BBQ or a campfire, but not sure I’m going to “bond” with locals if I’m only in the area for 2d at a time before moving on. I’m attracted to the idea of a vacation from my vacation, as you say. Yet at the same time, I’m curious to see if I’m itching to finish or happy to hang out for a week somewhere even though it delays my return. For my “big” trip, things get a bit wonky if I delay too long…the first part of the trip would have me in the Territories for September for prime Northern Lights season. But if I then cruise down to San Diego and over to Louisiana, dawdling along the way, I risk not being home by Christmas. On the other hand, if I buy a slightly more robust trailer option, Andrea could fly down to meet me for a long weekend or even a week.
For the driving part, it does worry me that if I’m driving, and navigating, and even just figuring out how to get from A to B or looking for a turn, will I feel like I saw everything or not? There are trips where I’ve been with Jacob and Andrea, and I know I “missed” stuff because I had to focus on the road. I’m a little worried I’ll get complacent and think, “Oh, it’s too much trouble to pull over or stop”, and I’ll continue on by something amazing. Even sometimes where the view ahead was good, same to the side, but if you looked backward, it was worth pulling over to see the view.
And there’s the chance that I’ll do a week and say “Nope, not for me”. We’ll do tests beforehand, make sure it’s something I want to do. But 3 weeks may be good when I know I’m home in week 4, as you suggested; 3 weeks may seem endless if I’m only 20% of the way into the trip.
Thanks for the thoughts, lots in there to consider 🙂
And welcome home, btw! Note that on my list of places, you and Liz show up as additional advisors for some of them in particular (Australia, Scandinavia, for example!).