Logistics of Leaving
Planning a 3-6 month road trip takes some serious preparation. Especially when planning to never stay in a hotel. I will have had just about 2 weeks from the conception of the idea for the trip to when I depart. These are some of the things I've been busy doing to prepare:
1) Smile.amazon.com has been a good friend to me lately as I've purchased many items utilizing my prime account to help ensure my trip is safe, while getting to support my favorite charity! Items such as:
- Hands free head set for my phone
- Cooler that can plug in to the cigarette lighter in the car
- Dog ear cleaner, clorox wipes, shampoo/conditioner
- Various car plug/wall plug converters
- Various car plug/wall plug converters
- Hyperkewl dog bed to keep Bundle cool in the hot summer zones
I've also ordered other items like a car rack, boat cover...etc. Ensuring everything arrives on time has been interesting, but everything has!
I've also ordered other items like a car rack, boat cover...etc. Ensuring everything arrives on time has been interesting, but everything has!
2) My trusty yellow legal pad. I have three brains I use on a regular basis. The one on my shoulders is pretty good, but it definitely needs it's sidekicks the computer and legal pad. I don't really use the computer to make lists because I like being able to cross things off properly and add to it easily without having to boot anything up. There's also the added enjoyment of throwing away the list when it's done!
I ended up with a 4 page list of things I need to take with me on my journey. My mother is a big proponent of waiting after you pack. We've all been there, an hour out for a trip - or maybe just 10 minutes when we realize we left something vital behind. Therefore, she always recommends sitting in the car for 10-15 minutes to let everything sink in before you actually leave. This has saved our family a few times from forgetting things. I started my list in the first week of preparation, so I've had two weeks of waiting on it to make sure I don't forget anything. Everything from dog and human hair brush and nail clippers, to camping supplies, chargers, first aid kit and everything else I might possibly need.
Other legal pad purposes include tracking:
- Lists of to do items such as get dental cleaning, take Bundle to the vet, get prescriptions from doctors...etc
- Lists of important papers/documents I need to take with me and photo copy to have records
- The spur of the moment ideas and people that come to mind that I need to contact for the trip
3) Planning the route! I literally looked at a map, pin pointed the key places I knew I wanted to go and figured out routes between them that would put me in other rowing cities or places where I know people. I've been editing this continuously as I find more programs or people to visit. My mantra is Follow The Rowing!
I found a pretty cool site that maps out travel plans. They have a limit on the number of stops, so I had to break it down into parts. Here they are (dates listed are somewhat approximate)
4) The amazing Google documents - specifically their spreadsheets. I have a sheet with a tab for each of the 4 parts of my trip. Each tab outlines the stops for the trip, the mileage and approximate driving time between stops, who I could possibly reach out to for housing, options for rowing and options for dancing, and finally everyone's contact information. This document is what I will live by for the trip. I'm trying to get to the point where I initiate contact with people a month before I arrive in that city to start setting things up. So many emails, so many phone calls. Setting this up is pretty much a full time job - and for me it's fantastic. I love logistics and people! When the two combine, it's just plain fun! :)
5) Clothes - how I hate dealing with clothes. I don't know how I have so many clothes, and t-shirts my goodness. I really want to take as few clothes as possible for this trip. Two of everything sounded great (shorts, pants, t-shirt, nice shirts, dress....) for a goal, but I ended up with a few more than that in some areas. It took a couple go throughs to finally get it cut down to size for the trip. I have it set up in the car so that there are bankers boxes acting somewhat like a chest of drawers. The "plan" is to then pick clothes for each stop and put them in my overnight bag. Great plan, although I think it may be challenging to execute as smoothly as it sounds.
6) It becomes real that you're choosing a homeless lifestyle when you pack all of your stuff into storage. It took most of a day to get everything into my recently rented storage unit. Then there were a couple random trips with the final things once everything got packed up and ready for the car. Very nice to know my stuff will be safe and will be where I left it for when I get back.
Other legal pad purposes include tracking:
- Lists of to do items such as get dental cleaning, take Bundle to the vet, get prescriptions from doctors...etc
- Lists of important papers/documents I need to take with me and photo copy to have records
- The spur of the moment ideas and people that come to mind that I need to contact for the trip
3) Planning the route! I literally looked at a map, pin pointed the key places I knew I wanted to go and figured out routes between them that would put me in other rowing cities or places where I know people. I've been editing this continuously as I find more programs or people to visit. My mantra is Follow The Rowing!
I found a pretty cool site that maps out travel plans. They have a limit on the number of stops, so I had to break it down into parts. Here they are (dates listed are somewhat approximate)
- Part 1 (Pittsburgh - Pacific Northwest - Phoenix)
- Part 2 (Phoenix - Texas - NOLA - Pittsburgh)
- Part 3 (Northeast Loop & HOCR)
- Part 4 (Florida trip & USRowing Convention)
4) The amazing Google documents - specifically their spreadsheets. I have a sheet with a tab for each of the 4 parts of my trip. Each tab outlines the stops for the trip, the mileage and approximate driving time between stops, who I could possibly reach out to for housing, options for rowing and options for dancing, and finally everyone's contact information. This document is what I will live by for the trip. I'm trying to get to the point where I initiate contact with people a month before I arrive in that city to start setting things up. So many emails, so many phone calls. Setting this up is pretty much a full time job - and for me it's fantastic. I love logistics and people! When the two combine, it's just plain fun! :)
5) Clothes - how I hate dealing with clothes. I don't know how I have so many clothes, and t-shirts my goodness. I really want to take as few clothes as possible for this trip. Two of everything sounded great (shorts, pants, t-shirt, nice shirts, dress....) for a goal, but I ended up with a few more than that in some areas. It took a couple go throughs to finally get it cut down to size for the trip. I have it set up in the car so that there are bankers boxes acting somewhat like a chest of drawers. The "plan" is to then pick clothes for each stop and put them in my overnight bag. Great plan, although I think it may be challenging to execute as smoothly as it sounds.
6) It becomes real that you're choosing a homeless lifestyle when you pack all of your stuff into storage. It took most of a day to get everything into my recently rented storage unit. Then there were a couple random trips with the final things once everything got packed up and ready for the car. Very nice to know my stuff will be safe and will be where I left it for when I get back.
7) Before leaving, it's important for me to invest in my relationships here - in Pittsburgh. My family threw a fantastic party for over 100 people. Mostly rowers and yes, we did sing the Eton Boating Song :) Then I've been busy doing breakfasts, lunches, dinners, sculling, movies, hang-outs...etc with lots of other important people in my life. It has been so valuable spending time with my friends these past two weeks - I will miss seeing them in person.
There are so many other things I've been doing to prepare including closing on my condo that just sold in Austin, taking care of organizing the finances/budget for the trip, working on resumes & updating my LinkedIn profile as I will actively be looking for a full-time job to start hopefully January 1st, spending hours packing the car perfectly so everything has a place and I can still see out the back window and so many other things.
It has been quite busy, and incredibly enjoyable. A good day for me is one where I get a lot done - I'm learning how to appreciate the quiet days, but I sure do still like having madly productive ones. I leave in 6 hours for Columbus and the Greater Columbus Rowing Association for The Amputee Recreational Support Group of Central Ohio's Para-Rowing Sculling Clinic at 8am.
Let the adventure officially begin! Goodnight Pittsburgh! See you tomorrow Ohio!
Other ways to follow the trip:
There are so many other things I've been doing to prepare including closing on my condo that just sold in Austin, taking care of organizing the finances/budget for the trip, working on resumes & updating my LinkedIn profile as I will actively be looking for a full-time job to start hopefully January 1st, spending hours packing the car perfectly so everything has a place and I can still see out the back window and so many other things.
It has been quite busy, and incredibly enjoyable. A good day for me is one where I get a lot done - I'm learning how to appreciate the quiet days, but I sure do still like having madly productive ones. I leave in 6 hours for Columbus and the Greater Columbus Rowing Association for The Amputee Recreational Support Group of Central Ohio's Para-Rowing Sculling Clinic at 8am.
Let the adventure officially begin! Goodnight Pittsburgh! See you tomorrow Ohio!
Other ways to follow the trip:
- Search or give feedback/thoughts on twitter to #boatontheroad
- Check out boatfullofjoy on Instagram
- Subscribe to this blog to get notifications for when I submit my next entry
posted by Unknown @ 6:58 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
Awesome idea about just sitting and waiting a few minutes to make sure you got everything! So many headaches would have been avoided if I'd have followed such simple sage advice. Thanks. Enjoying reading your travels.
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