The VERY worst part of a long trip, or a short one for that matter, is packing. When you are going to other countries you may not find what you need. For example, I went on a business trip to St. Kitts in the Caribbean with Bill some years ago and my bag was lost. St. Kitts is a very small island with no Target or fat girl clothing stores. I spent 3 days wearing Bill's clothes. I have no vanity - they were functional and quite comfortable. Someone from his company finally said the company would pay for some clothes if I could find any in the gift shop downstairs at the hotel. Mind you, this was a ritzy hotel and apparently fat girls don't buy many clothes there. There was no way I could squeeze into sizes 2 and 4. I ended up getting a man's Hawaiian shirt and continued to wear Bill's boxers. The lesson in this experience, is always cross pack with your traveling companion. That way if someone's luggage gets lost, you at least have something to wear. A very hard lesson to personally learn. Needless to say, I have very few pictures of me on that trip.
In preparing for this trip, I realize that my husband has learned very little from previous trips. He packs in about 5 minutes - men can do that. I have been squirreling away toiletries and stuff for every kind of emergency I can think of. Bill proudly announced that he had everything laid out on Monday night. He had four pair of pants and four pair of shorts. Here are the problems I have with this: (1) We are not going to Hawaii and shorts are not appropriate. The highest temperature we will probably see on the best day is in the low 70's. Bill announced, "Well, that is short weather!" The low temperatures at night are in the 30's. I reminded him that we would be as close to the Artic Circle as we have ever been and I didn't think he would need shorts. He declares, "Well, I am taking them anyway." He also packed his sandals to go with his shorts, (2) On a cruise ship there is one dress up night - formal night. Women get really decked out and some men even wear tuxedos. I think it is stupid. The real goal is to get everyone dressed up like they never would in real life, take their pictures, and then sell them. However, I do like to fit it, albeit with nice pants and blouse. That is the best meal of the cruise and you can get as much as you like. I asked Bill if he had something like dress pants and a tie to wear. He announced that it was stupid to get dressed up and we would eat in the room that night. I reminded him that we couldn't get seconds if we did that and we would have to smell the food in our cabin for days. Then he asked, "Well, can I wear shorts?"Again this would be at night with 30-40 degree temperatures. I guess I will eat alone that night. (3) One of the last things Bill said to me last night was, "Will we need a bathing suit?" The last time Bill wore a bathing suit was Memorial Day in the kiddie pool with Gabe. It was obvious from his skin tone that he has not had one on in years - in fact, I can't remember the last time he had one on. I attempted to patiently say, "No Bill, I don't think we will be swimming."
P.S. I should never have told Bill that I was writing this blog. He is trying to infiltrate it with comments under the alias "Ole Willie." Please ignore any comments he makes. He told me that he didn't want me to write about him but I told him he is the main character in this story. I think I will have more patience if I can see the humor.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Preparing for the Journey
Here I go again! Oprah keeps talking about "following your passion." Well the one true passion I have, other than my grandson, is travel. I absolutely go through withdrawals, like a crackhead, if I don't have a trip planned. I have a bucket list and this trip is on it. Bill and I watched a travel video about the fjords in Scandinavia one Saturday afternoon and I told him we really need to go there. I found a cruise that leaves from England and with the first stop at Bruges Belgium. We spent one day there with customers years ago and did not get to see much. It is a beautiful - maybe the most beautiful European city - and I have always wanted to go back. After a day in Bruges we will cruise to Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsingborg (Sweden). When we get back to England we will fly to Edinburg and spend three days. We will then fly to Belfast and spend three days with my good friends Roberta and Owen in Eglinton, Northern Ireland. Bill has never been there with me and he can see how truly fun I can be.
This is a very ambitious trip and a true to test for my somewhat inflexible traveler husband. He is on "travel probation" and this will give him a chance to prove he can hang in there with me. For his sake, pray we have no airline delays, miss the cruise ship (yes that has happened before) or bumpy flights; however, I have him medication for all situations that may arise.
Since October I have been researching our destinations and made flight arrangements. It is never a pleasant thought to think about flying for that long. Bill made sure we have extra legroom, a luxury we paid for. He is hoping no one will be sitting next to us so we can spread out - fat chance of that happening. Most of all, I think he fears being trapped next to his ADHD wife for that long with no escape. In the past, I have always had an "activity bag" with books, CD player, crossword puzzles, magazines, etc. to keep me occupied. I spend about 6 1/2 hours of a 7 hour flight rummaging through that bag and the other 30 minutes going to the bathroom. With the invention of the IPad he may be in luck. I have my movies, games, tunes, and books downloaded. In fact, I have enough entertainment in that one little machine to keep me occupied for about a year. Well, we see how it works out.
I am a meticulous planner. I know where we will go in each city, how we will get to those places, where to eat, and how much money I might need. Bill says I am not spontaneous enough but I figure I will only be there once and I want to see it all.
In preparing for a trip of this magnitude, you have to remember everything:
1. Call your credit card companies and tell them where you will be and when or your card might not work.
2. Check and recheck flight schedules because ours have changed about 4 times since we booked.
3. Get money for each of the countries, although some say just go to an ATM when you get there. I want a few coins rattling in my purse so I can at least get a Diet Coke when I get off the plane.
4. Pay all of your bills that are due when you are gone. I may not have the money in my account, but at least it will look like I tried to pay.
5. Make copies of you passport so if you get robbed you can prove who you are at the embassy.
6. Get all of your medications refilled and get drugs to keep Bill quiet.
7. Write your will so your children won't fight if the captain of the ship decides to do a line of coke before sailing.
8. Mail off birthday cards to those who have birthdays while you are gone. Boy, do they ever think you are thoughtful.
9. Clean your house so if you get taken as a hostage you won't look like such a pig and your toilet won't be black when you get back.
10. Go buy some new underwear - it's no fun when you run out.
Hopefully by Saturday I can have a post. I am not sure about the availability of WiFi and I am sure not going to pay the ship charge for it. If I can't post everyday, I will catch up when I get back.
I wrote a blog when I was in Ireland in 2010. Several people said they had difficulty posting on it but enjoyed reading it. I also had difficulty putting up pictures. I hope my skills have improved on this one. I will keep up with my e-mail and Facebook and would love to hear from someone from back home. When I do get home, I promise to bore you with my pictures.
Bon Voyage!
This is a very ambitious trip and a true to test for my somewhat inflexible traveler husband. He is on "travel probation" and this will give him a chance to prove he can hang in there with me. For his sake, pray we have no airline delays, miss the cruise ship (yes that has happened before) or bumpy flights; however, I have him medication for all situations that may arise.
Since October I have been researching our destinations and made flight arrangements. It is never a pleasant thought to think about flying for that long. Bill made sure we have extra legroom, a luxury we paid for. He is hoping no one will be sitting next to us so we can spread out - fat chance of that happening. Most of all, I think he fears being trapped next to his ADHD wife for that long with no escape. In the past, I have always had an "activity bag" with books, CD player, crossword puzzles, magazines, etc. to keep me occupied. I spend about 6 1/2 hours of a 7 hour flight rummaging through that bag and the other 30 minutes going to the bathroom. With the invention of the IPad he may be in luck. I have my movies, games, tunes, and books downloaded. In fact, I have enough entertainment in that one little machine to keep me occupied for about a year. Well, we see how it works out.
I am a meticulous planner. I know where we will go in each city, how we will get to those places, where to eat, and how much money I might need. Bill says I am not spontaneous enough but I figure I will only be there once and I want to see it all.
In preparing for a trip of this magnitude, you have to remember everything:
1. Call your credit card companies and tell them where you will be and when or your card might not work.
2. Check and recheck flight schedules because ours have changed about 4 times since we booked.
3. Get money for each of the countries, although some say just go to an ATM when you get there. I want a few coins rattling in my purse so I can at least get a Diet Coke when I get off the plane.
4. Pay all of your bills that are due when you are gone. I may not have the money in my account, but at least it will look like I tried to pay.
5. Make copies of you passport so if you get robbed you can prove who you are at the embassy.
6. Get all of your medications refilled and get drugs to keep Bill quiet.
7. Write your will so your children won't fight if the captain of the ship decides to do a line of coke before sailing.
8. Mail off birthday cards to those who have birthdays while you are gone. Boy, do they ever think you are thoughtful.
9. Clean your house so if you get taken as a hostage you won't look like such a pig and your toilet won't be black when you get back.
10. Go buy some new underwear - it's no fun when you run out.
Hopefully by Saturday I can have a post. I am not sure about the availability of WiFi and I am sure not going to pay the ship charge for it. If I can't post everyday, I will catch up when I get back.
I wrote a blog when I was in Ireland in 2010. Several people said they had difficulty posting on it but enjoyed reading it. I also had difficulty putting up pictures. I hope my skills have improved on this one. I will keep up with my e-mail and Facebook and would love to hear from someone from back home. When I do get home, I promise to bore you with my pictures.
Bon Voyage!
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