Before I head into today's post - I wanted to answer a couple of questions that came up about our trip! We stayed in a hotel this time, since we weren't going to be "home" that much throughout the weekend. We stayed in Traverse City and just drove out to the various destinations. And we SO WANTED to try the Grand Traverse Pie Company, but their hours didn't coincide with our ability to go. Next time we're through that way, though, we have to make it there. We love pie!
Sandi asked the other day how I go about planning our vacations.
It’s been a few years since I wrote about this, and my methods have changed
with time, so I thought I might pop in today with this quick vacation-planning inspiration
for you!
Ryan and I have
a running short list of places we would like to visit in the next few years.
Some are close to home and others are farther away. The list includes places
like: New York City, Washington D.C., St. Louis, Northwest Arkansas, Mackinac
Island, Prince Edward Island, Savannah, Charleston, more Indiana counties, etc.
As I peruse Pinterest or read blogs or stumble across ideas on Facebook, I’ll make
a note of them on our Pinterest travel board so I can find the information later,
when I am ready for it. Having a broad idea of places we would like to go makes
these discoveries a little easier. (And, of course, Pinterest makes note of
your searches, so if I start choosing something about a location, more ideas
for that spot are likely to pop up. I find good ideas that way, sometimes.)
In addition, if
I find anything particularly fun and interesting online, I’ll pin it for later,
even if it’s not in an area I ever thought about going. Who knows? It might end
up in an itinerary sometime!
EXAMPLE: The boat and breakfast we stayed at in Saugatuck a few
years ago was a random online find. So was the fish boil from this trip.
Instagram is
another gem-finder for me. I follow a lot of full-time travelers and am
inspired by their recommendations.
EXAMPLES: @adventuresofaplusk, @heartandsaultravel
Another amazing
way to come up with ideas for a trip? Ask the locals! I don’t know people everywhere,
but if I know we’re going to a spot where I have a friend or acquaintance, I’ll
ask for ideas of where we should visit or eat. Friends have led us to some
really great spots!
EXAMPLES: On our honeymoon, our sunset cruise on the Marina Jack
II came as a suggestion from my college roommate, Christi, who lived in the
area. On our trip to Virginia Beach, Mark and Lynnette introduced us to
Colonial Williamsburg.
When it comes
time to plan a trip in earnest, we’ll start by picking our location. Locations
are driven by the amount of time we have for a trip, how expensive it’s likely
to be, and the time of year.
Right now, since we both have new jobs, our trips need to be
fairly short, because Ryan, in particular, is still building up his vacation
time. Because we prefer driving over flying, short trips mean close locations.
We don’t mind investing in trips financially, because we prefer
to make memories over buying a bunch of things, but if a trip is going
to be more on the pricey side, we try to plan it out far enough that we can
save up for it.
EXAMPLE: We nixed Mackinac Island for this year. We need to save
up for the cost of lodging there.
The time of year also matters. We’ve learned not to try Michigan
before June, and that going south (even a little!) in the winter is a good
idea. Some places are just too hot or too cold to fully enjoy in certain times
of the year.
EXAMPLES: Our trips to the Tulip Time Festival in Holland and
Saugatuck were both super cold adventures. And while we enjoyed exploring Chicago
in the Christmas-lights of winter, we’d choose warmer weather for next time.
Once we pick our location, we start planning what we’ll do while
we are gone. Honestly, most of my research comes from Pinterest. I’ll look up
locations and read posts and travel blogs about what it’s like to visit there.
Because of our personal preferences, I find that family friendly posts are our
best bets. We don’t drink, so itineraries that include a lot of wineries or
breweries aren’t for us. We tend to like activities geared for families with kids,
actually! If I find something mentioned over and over in posts, I’ll make a note
of it as a can’t-miss activity.
We try to find as many free things as possible – and that’s
easier in some locations than others. Also, we tend to be the kind of travelers
who only go to a location once, so if there’s something we really want to see
or do, even if it’s not free, we make sure to do it. We want to see as much of
this country as we can, so we don’t usually repeat-visit anywhere.
EXCEPTIONS: We have gone back to Siesta Key, where we were
married, and we would go back again, I think, for the nostalgia of it. We would
also repeat a stop in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, because we didn’t have enough
time to see all the Andy Griffith stops we wanted to explore.
Most of our activities and plans revolve around being outside
(hiking, sightseeing, etc.) but we do occasionally visit museums or indoor
attractions. Those visits are often ultimately decided by price or by
photography bans. I am highly unlikely to visit a place if I can’t take
pictures. We’ve done it a few times, but not often.
EXAMPLES: The Louisville Slugger Museum prohibited photos, but
we went anyway. The Biltmore prohibited the first time I visited (when I was
single) but by the time we went on an anniversary trip, you could take pictures
there!
Once I have my list of things I want to try to do, I begin
crafting my itinerary. I try to make each day full – but not too full. I try to
leave room for spontaneous finds and rest! When making the itinerary, I check
to make sure places are open on the day I’m scheduling them, and that we aren’t
doing a bunch of backtracking with driving. I try to line things up in order of
location so we can see a thing or two on our way to or from any day’s ultimate
destination.
If the trip is a long one, I also try to have a couple of “nothing”
days so we can really relax – or so we have room to move things around if
weather necessitates it. Also, if the trip is long, I try to make sure we have
fun activities along the route to the main destination. It helps break up the
driving and gives us something to look forward to in the shorter term!
EXAMPLE: When we did our trip out west to see my family a couple
of years ago, our stop in Casey, Illinois (small town of big things) was a
destination on the way home.
If necessary, we make reservations before we go, so we’re sure
to have a spot/time/ticket. Otherwise, we go with the flow!
EXAMPLE: Fish boil was one of these pre-reserved times!
We do have someday long-term travel dreams, and I’ve
already begun planning for those trips. They look different, because they will
be longer trips, and so for these planning extravaganzas, I’m actually
purchasing some travel-planning books to help craft the itineraries. For the kind
of travel we do right now, though, we find all our ideas on websites, social media,
and personal recommendations!
