Most of my stuff is packed and ready to go. We'll do laundry tomorrow and I'll pack the rest of my clothes (mainly underwear). My wife, on the other hand, needs to pack most of her stuff tomorrow. I know she'll get it done.
We bought some of our travel food today. Just gotta get some sandwich fixings and some more water tomorrow and we'll be good to go. This is one of the rare times that I feel fully prepared for a trip. I always feel like I'm forgetting something or rushing around until the last minute to get something done. Not this time. I think we're good.
Anybody have recommendations for some good travel literature? I mean books, novels, etc. It doesn't have to be about travel.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
It never fails.
I get sick before every major trip I plan. Seriously. I can be healthy for months upon months then as the day of my departure creeps closer, I get sick.
A couple days before Guam, I get a sinus infection. The morning I wake up to go to Washington DC, I wake with a cold. And so many other of my trips have been: hampered by a sickness.
On Thursday I started to feel something odd in my right ear. Not exactly pain, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. I took some Tylenol and colloidal silver and attempted to sleep it off. Woke up yesterday and though it felt better I could still feel something amiss. I was hoping to shrug it off, you know, man style. But alas I decided my trip could not be put in jeopardy like this so I went to a Walgreens walk in clinic.
The doctor was nice, but she didn't really listen to me. I told her that a specific medicine made me sick to my stomach, but I had it in other forms and was fine. It is NOT an allergy. Later on she states that she's giving me Cipro because I'm "allergic to penicillin"! I quickly reminded her that I was not allergic to it or any other known medicine. She didn't care. I don't know why, but it annoyed the shit out of me. The prognosis: I have a sinus infection! Though it's not affecting my sinus (at least it doesn't feel like it is), it's screwing with my ears and throat. So I'm on anti-biotic for the next five days or so. It shouldn't affect my trip much, but it's a pain in the ass.
I don't know why I get sick before a big trip, but it has been the pattern for years now and it frustrates me every time. I keep myself healthy for most of the time, but for some reason my defense drop before a trip. Maybe it's the stress of the impending adventure or maybe it's just fate being a bitch.
A couple days before Guam, I get a sinus infection. The morning I wake up to go to Washington DC, I wake with a cold. And so many other of my trips have been: hampered by a sickness.
On Thursday I started to feel something odd in my right ear. Not exactly pain, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. I took some Tylenol and colloidal silver and attempted to sleep it off. Woke up yesterday and though it felt better I could still feel something amiss. I was hoping to shrug it off, you know, man style. But alas I decided my trip could not be put in jeopardy like this so I went to a Walgreens walk in clinic.
The doctor was nice, but she didn't really listen to me. I told her that a specific medicine made me sick to my stomach, but I had it in other forms and was fine. It is NOT an allergy. Later on she states that she's giving me Cipro because I'm "allergic to penicillin"! I quickly reminded her that I was not allergic to it or any other known medicine. She didn't care. I don't know why, but it annoyed the shit out of me. The prognosis: I have a sinus infection! Though it's not affecting my sinus (at least it doesn't feel like it is), it's screwing with my ears and throat. So I'm on anti-biotic for the next five days or so. It shouldn't affect my trip much, but it's a pain in the ass.
I don't know why I get sick before a big trip, but it has been the pattern for years now and it frustrates me every time. I keep myself healthy for most of the time, but for some reason my defense drop before a trip. Maybe it's the stress of the impending adventure or maybe it's just fate being a bitch.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Pass arrival
Just a quick note: our America the Beautiful National Parks Pass has arrived! I'm surprised at how quickly it came. I ordered it on Friday and it arrived today. Great work NPS!
Friday, June 8, 2012
America the Beautiful Pass purchased!
I've been pretty lazy about buying this, but it's done! I have purchased the America the Beautiful National Parks Pass. It's 80 bucks, but it allows you into all the National Parks for one year.
Not all parks charge an entry fee, but some do. After calculating the prices for the parks we are intending to visit, I decided it was best to get the pass. Now that we have it we can go to any National Park we want to whenever we want. It's pretty sweet.
This will not only make our trip a little easier, but we now have the option of seeing more. Since we have no real itinerary, we can basically do whatever we want and see whatever we want. Having this pass will just open up the country a little bit more.
You can find info about the America the Beautiful Pass here. I will review the pass once I have used it a couple times.
Not all parks charge an entry fee, but some do. After calculating the prices for the parks we are intending to visit, I decided it was best to get the pass. Now that we have it we can go to any National Park we want to whenever we want. It's pretty sweet.
This will not only make our trip a little easier, but we now have the option of seeing more. Since we have no real itinerary, we can basically do whatever we want and see whatever we want. Having this pass will just open up the country a little bit more.
You can find info about the America the Beautiful Pass here. I will review the pass once I have used it a couple times.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Getting ready for the summer trip
Traveling with someone requires a lot more planning and effort than traveling alone. When I was single I'd usually make a plan, inform people who lived in or near my destination that I was coming so we could hang out, and then go.
Now, I have to make lists and have a more defined plan. The wife doesn't really want to fly by the seat of our pants, and I guess that's cool. It is nice having a list so that I don't forget stuff. Once I almost flew back to the United States without my computer charger. That would've been horrible.
Since the planning began we've researched possible destinations, sights and places to eat. The wife has been pretty diligent in thinking about what we need to bring and other logistics. I've basically been in charge of our "flight plan" so to speak. I absolutely refuse to make reservations at hotels along the way as the time to get to a certain destination may not always be what we think it will be. I have a lot of friends tell me stories how they made reservations for their long car trip only to get delayed and miss the reservation. To make matters worse they often times would have paid the full amount prior to departure. I don't want to spend money on something I may not be able to use. I know I run the risk of not finding a hotel where I want to, but there are plenty of hotels along the way and I'm sure we'll find one. Another reason I dislike hotel reservations is that you never know where you might need to stop. Sure it's easy to look at a map and have a destination in mind, but you may get tired earlier or you may have more energy and decide to press on. There are dozens of factors when it comes to car travel and I feel that they all dictate the necessity of having open ended plans. I also really like just knowing the end date and figuring stuff out on the road.
The wife and I purchased some stuff for the trip such as some dehydrated camp meals. We really want to save money and so we're going to eat in most of the time we're traveling. We'll probably eat one meal out a day, but we'll see figure that out later. I do, however, have a couple places that I absolutely want to eat at. One of these places is the Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas. I've seen it on TV and read about it online. I have to try one of their steaks. I'm not going to do the 72 oz challenge. That's a young man's endeavor...
So far we've got our list of gear we need and an outline of places we want to go and by when we need to be there. I think we're good for our trip. Now to just wait out the next two weeks and pack and we'll be good to go.
Now, I have to make lists and have a more defined plan. The wife doesn't really want to fly by the seat of our pants, and I guess that's cool. It is nice having a list so that I don't forget stuff. Once I almost flew back to the United States without my computer charger. That would've been horrible.
Since the planning began we've researched possible destinations, sights and places to eat. The wife has been pretty diligent in thinking about what we need to bring and other logistics. I've basically been in charge of our "flight plan" so to speak. I absolutely refuse to make reservations at hotels along the way as the time to get to a certain destination may not always be what we think it will be. I have a lot of friends tell me stories how they made reservations for their long car trip only to get delayed and miss the reservation. To make matters worse they often times would have paid the full amount prior to departure. I don't want to spend money on something I may not be able to use. I know I run the risk of not finding a hotel where I want to, but there are plenty of hotels along the way and I'm sure we'll find one. Another reason I dislike hotel reservations is that you never know where you might need to stop. Sure it's easy to look at a map and have a destination in mind, but you may get tired earlier or you may have more energy and decide to press on. There are dozens of factors when it comes to car travel and I feel that they all dictate the necessity of having open ended plans. I also really like just knowing the end date and figuring stuff out on the road.
The wife and I purchased some stuff for the trip such as some dehydrated camp meals. We really want to save money and so we're going to eat in most of the time we're traveling. We'll probably eat one meal out a day, but we'll see figure that out later. I do, however, have a couple places that I absolutely want to eat at. One of these places is the Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas. I've seen it on TV and read about it online. I have to try one of their steaks. I'm not going to do the 72 oz challenge. That's a young man's endeavor...
So far we've got our list of gear we need and an outline of places we want to go and by when we need to be there. I think we're good for our trip. Now to just wait out the next two weeks and pack and we'll be good to go.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
List of best places to see in the United States
After taking several of Facebook's "Travel Quizzes" I feel that I want to make a list of great places to visit in the United States or 100 places everyone should see in the United States. Please comment here on the blog or on my Facebook site. I want to hear your opinions! Thanks!
Memorial Day Traffic?
As with many Americans I am no stranger to holiday traffic. The dreaded three day weekend beast of clogged highways and trips that drag on forever, which is the inevitable result of the influx of road travelers. It's a fact of life that Americans have lived with for decades. I was dreading it myself prior to the ride from Nashville to Memphis on this Memorial Day weekend.
I had originally planned to leave for home on Sunday thus beating the impending traffic jam of the long weekend altogether, but my plans changed like plans tend to do and my wife and I were set to leave on Monday. I decided that I wasn't going to be anxious or mad about having to battle my way through the hoards of vehicles. I wanted to be calm and relaxed. And I was.
The wife and I started out from Nashville shortly after 4pm. I figured we'd be in store for a 5 or 6 hour ride due to traffic. I was wrong and happily so.
There was the normal Nashville traffic and I figured that soon we'd be bumper to bumper. But it never came. We drove smoothly through city after city with hardly a slowdown. My long feared traffic jam never materialized and if anything the road was unusually empty. I've been in worse traffic on that long stretch of I-40 at 10pm on a weekday. I'm not sure why there was no traffic, but there wasn't.
I had originally planned to leave for home on Sunday thus beating the impending traffic jam of the long weekend altogether, but my plans changed like plans tend to do and my wife and I were set to leave on Monday. I decided that I wasn't going to be anxious or mad about having to battle my way through the hoards of vehicles. I wanted to be calm and relaxed. And I was.
The wife and I started out from Nashville shortly after 4pm. I figured we'd be in store for a 5 or 6 hour ride due to traffic. I was wrong and happily so.
There was the normal Nashville traffic and I figured that soon we'd be bumper to bumper. But it never came. We drove smoothly through city after city with hardly a slowdown. My long feared traffic jam never materialized and if anything the road was unusually empty. I've been in worse traffic on that long stretch of I-40 at 10pm on a weekday. I'm not sure why there was no traffic, but there wasn't.
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