The Benefits of Planning Ahead
Covid and my bout with cancer made me a shut-in for two years, but since the world’s population was affected by the virus, immobility became the norm for everyone. The problem: When people decided it was safe to travel, hundreds of millions of people began booking their trips. In the past, we could have arranged for a plane ticket and a destination hotel in a matter of months. Not anymore. In early 2023, Iceland was available and so were the broiling months in Greece; otherwise, planes, trains, ships, and hotels were full. Solution: Book for 2024.
Turns out that planning so far in advance has its benefits.
1. We had time to research each trip, making sure it fit our needs.
2. We picked the best weather window possible.
3. We can learn some of the foreign language phrases we’ll need for each trip.
4. We have a couple years of vacation money saved to enrich our adventures.
Our 2024 Opportunities:
1. Golf, shopping, and food adventures in Palm Desert; Tucson, AZ (Book Festival) and seeing friends; end of March, friends visit us in Arroyo Grande
2. Two Tauck tours: #1 We visit Lisbon and take a river cruise-‘Village & Vines’-on the Douro River. End up in Madrid. https://www.tauck.com/tours/douro-valley-river-cruise?tcd=qd2024 #2 See Athens and take a sailboat around the Greek Islands. (cool sailing ship 140 passengers) https://www.windstarcruises.com/ships/wind-spirit/
3. East Coast Family Reunion in Alexandria, VA. Staying at the neat Indigo Hotel in the heart of the city.
4. St. John, VI (the setting for my 13th novel, Idyll Lost) Research AND Pleasure trip. https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sttwj-the-westin-st-john-resort-villas/overview/
5. And more!
May your long-range planning bring you dreamy vacations!
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