A plan so large as this must need a plan just to plan it, but how does one plan for such a plan?
It all started with a world map and a tattered package of star stickers. You know, the sheet kind that comes in five different colors? Claire chose the red stars and Krispin picked the blue ones. We both stuck stars on our top ten wish-list locations. Our hope was that a route would emerge and a travel plan would jump out at us.
None did.
It all started with a world map and a tattered package of star stickers. You know, the sheet kind that comes in five different colors? Claire chose the red stars and Krispin picked the blue ones. We both stuck stars on our top ten wish-list locations. Our hope was that a route would emerge and a travel plan would jump out at us.
None did.
Creating the initial "wish-list" at Claire's house in The Sea Ranch
We decided that if we perhaps picked a "type" of trip, we would be able to narrow down the destinations.
So, we drafted a list of very rough ideas:
Buy a camper van and drive south to Chile
Ride the Trans-Siberian Railway through northern Asia
Purchase a "Round the World" (RTW) plane ticket
Explore New Zealand and southeast Asia
Roam about Europe
Next, we each chose two trips from this list to research and "present" to the other about. We even made ourselves a deadline for when the proposals were due. Claire tackled info about the RTW ticket and the Trans-Siberian Railway/Northern Asia while Krispin began hashing out the details of New Zealand and the camper van to Chile.
WHOA WHOA WHOA, wait one second-- did you notice Europe got left out? Yep. We dropped it, just like that. A whole entire continent, dismissed! Never mind, we can do without all that culture-- we're 'Mericans. Moving right along...
The presentations were to be standardized so that we could compare the different options accurately. On the more practical side of things, we wanted to know things such as: costs, points of interest, estimated timeline and duration for the trip, and visa requirements. The trip plan also needed to have a section to emphasize the "WOW" factor. After all, we are taking a risk here. Why not make sure the trip has some punch to it?!
Like any good planners, the deadline came and went... no presentations.
Some nights after the deadline, we each showed our cards. Claire had half a route to fly around the world and Krispin had some rather rudimentary facts about some countries in Central America and grumblings about how expansive it is to buy Volkswagen parts there.
However...the important part! When you toss a coin to settle a tough decision, you know which outcome you truly desire when you find yourself secretly wishing for one option while the coin is in mid-air. Similarly, based on where the the focus of our measly amount of research effort had been placed, out the window went Siberia and New Zealand!
So, now the big choice:
1) A long string of cramped coach seats on budget airlines, or
2) Bumping along in a van held together by bailing wire and duct tape
After some careful deliberation ....
Krispin suggested, "let's just fly."
Claire agreed, "okay."
Whew......well that's settled.
WE ARE GOING TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD!!!
From that point forward, it's all Krispin's fault. If the plane falls out of the sky or we rob the grocery store at our destination because we are starving after the inedible airplane food, you'll know whose shoulders the blame falls on.
All that -- and we still didn't know where we were going. Or even in what direction.
Kripsin's first inclination was to go East from California because he went in a Westward direction on his last big trip... (nothing like basing such large decisions on almost completely irrelevant factors). Claire wasn't so sure, quite possibly just for the sake of debate, but in part because she had never been to Hawaii and thought it would be the perfect first stop.
Upon second thought, Krispin changed his desire to instead go West to take advantage of the reduced effects of jet lag. Logical, and therefore the correct choice in his mind.
There you have it folks... agreement at it's finest! We formed the bones of our adventure!
So, we drafted a list of very rough ideas:
Buy a camper van and drive south to Chile
Ride the Trans-Siberian Railway through northern Asia
Purchase a "Round the World" (RTW) plane ticket
Explore New Zealand and southeast Asia
Roam about Europe
Next, we each chose two trips from this list to research and "present" to the other about. We even made ourselves a deadline for when the proposals were due. Claire tackled info about the RTW ticket and the Trans-Siberian Railway/Northern Asia while Krispin began hashing out the details of New Zealand and the camper van to Chile.
WHOA WHOA WHOA, wait one second-- did you notice Europe got left out? Yep. We dropped it, just like that. A whole entire continent, dismissed! Never mind, we can do without all that culture-- we're 'Mericans. Moving right along...
The presentations were to be standardized so that we could compare the different options accurately. On the more practical side of things, we wanted to know things such as: costs, points of interest, estimated timeline and duration for the trip, and visa requirements. The trip plan also needed to have a section to emphasize the "WOW" factor. After all, we are taking a risk here. Why not make sure the trip has some punch to it?!
Like any good planners, the deadline came and went... no presentations.
Some nights after the deadline, we each showed our cards. Claire had half a route to fly around the world and Krispin had some rather rudimentary facts about some countries in Central America and grumblings about how expansive it is to buy Volkswagen parts there.
However...the important part! When you toss a coin to settle a tough decision, you know which outcome you truly desire when you find yourself secretly wishing for one option while the coin is in mid-air. Similarly, based on where the the focus of our measly amount of research effort had been placed, out the window went Siberia and New Zealand!
So, now the big choice:
1) A long string of cramped coach seats on budget airlines, or
2) Bumping along in a van held together by bailing wire and duct tape
After some careful deliberation ....
Krispin suggested, "let's just fly."
Claire agreed, "okay."
Whew......well that's settled.
WE ARE GOING TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD!!!
From that point forward, it's all Krispin's fault. If the plane falls out of the sky or we rob the grocery store at our destination because we are starving after the inedible airplane food, you'll know whose shoulders the blame falls on.
All that -- and we still didn't know where we were going. Or even in what direction.
Kripsin's first inclination was to go East from California because he went in a Westward direction on his last big trip... (nothing like basing such large decisions on almost completely irrelevant factors). Claire wasn't so sure, quite possibly just for the sake of debate, but in part because she had never been to Hawaii and thought it would be the perfect first stop.
Upon second thought, Krispin changed his desire to instead go West to take advantage of the reduced effects of jet lag. Logical, and therefore the correct choice in his mind.
There you have it folks... agreement at it's finest! We formed the bones of our adventure!
