Solve My Stress!

[lagilman]

[Poll #1965029]


EtA: why do I have the feeling that y'all are voting "wing it" just for the eventual on-the-road tweetathon amusement?

Comments

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

I'm a fan of winging it for the most part, with one exception. Book at least a few hotels along the way, or lock in other housing. You don't want to end up at a roach motel...

[lagilman]

except that ties us into going a certain distance every day, since we already have a reservation...

[adpaz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I learned that hard way that can bite you in the butt. When my husband and I moved from Philly to Nashville, we'd made a reservation somewhere that would take cats. Hit a nasty rainstorm which slowed us down a lot but had to keep soldiering on until the we got to the hotel we'd reserved - about 14 hours after we started driving.

Definitely more for the "wing it and have fun!"

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

In most cases, you can cancel the reservation up to a certain point that day. So as long as you make a judgement call earlier that day you have some flex. Just don't book non-cancellation rates.

[lagilman]

So you're saying, plan it.

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

I suppose kind of. Not EVERY stop necessarily, just some points along the way where you know you will be able to rest up and have a good nights sleep. But not so much as pre-planning routes with pit stops etc.

The last time I did a road trip like that, I booked a hotel every other night, then in between found places depending on what was near me (and slept in the car one night because the place I thought I found was closed for the off-season)

[greatsword.livejournal.com]

Before I say "I'll tell you in the comments" I should have made sure someone else didn't just give the identical advice. Though my touchpoint rate was one day in three - I had at the time a better tolerance for bad motels and sleeping in my car.

[lagilman]

Yeah - I suspect I'll book the end-point hotel, because we're going to need to return the rental car/get to the airport from there, and play it by ear the days we're actually on the road...

[jennielf.livejournal.com]

tweetathon amusement? NEVER.

OK, well...yeah, probably. :)

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Plan for an adventure, and wing it.

[natf.livejournal.com]

plan the logistics of this research trip to a fare-thee-well

I think that this may be an idiom with which I am not familiar.

[lagilman]

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fare-thee-well


1. A condition of utmost perfection: played the part of the martyr to a fare-thee-well.
2. The most extreme degree: beat his opponent in the match to a veritable fare-thee-well.

Probably, although not verified, from a farewell wish that everything will go well/be perfect on a journey. Or, possibly, ironic: I did it perfectly, you can hit the road. Archaic/poetic usage.

[natf.livejournal.com]

Ah thank you. Yes, I could have searched but I was out of spoons so sorry.

[sharpwords.livejournal.com]

No useful comments except bwahahahahaha at your ETA. (Which also isn't very useful.)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I say wing it because if you plan it? Fate is gonna MAKE you wing it anyway. Might as well bow to the inevitable up front.

[larah33.livejournal.com]

When travelling to someplace new, I like to make a list of a few sights that are "Must See" and then wait to see what happens. I don't always hit everything on the list, but I always have options for the days when I feel up for some adventure.

[lagilman]

Well, this trip isn't going to be focused on "sights" so much as "sites" - it's a geographic fact-gathering expotition. Hence the desire to just hit the (non-highway) road and go...

[larah33.livejournal.com]

In that case, I'd say wing it!

[white sheckmas (from livejournal.com)]

Plan what you can but build in flexibility where possible.

...yeah, I know, that's even harder. ;)

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I'm in the "look at everything you think you definitely would like to see, book reservations accordingly (like on an AMEX, so you have guaranteed res that can be cancelled before 6 pm) and otherwise wing it" camp.

If you want to see certain things, double-check times for open-close and tours. It took me three attempts over years to get into Mammoth Caves--I kept hitting them when there was no tour about to leave. Finally a travel companion settled down with a research book and I got to see the blasted thing, which is incredible if you are a cave buff.

Wishing you great enjoyment. Also--take along some non-perishable food, in case you have any food issues that might get you in trouble. I've seen more than one vegetarian hit a little town and even the beans are cooked in lard, or (me) there's not a safe gluten-free restaurant available. Plan for disaster and have back-up nutrition.

May it be a great trip!

[lagilman]

Fortunately, Christine and I are of the "oooh look! a diner!" road tripper-style. A few protein bars thrown in the luggage, enough water to stay hydrated, and we're fine.

I do need to make up a playlist, though.

Oh, good--

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Minimum food stress!

Diner, yummmmm.

[madrobins]

Can you plan high points and wing the rest?

[lagilman]

Not really, because I'm pretty sure I don't know what the high points will be. This is more of the "get enough visceral sense of a place to write it effectively" trip than a "let's see X!" trip, since nearly every historical site post-dates my time period....

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

Plan as you go. This is why Heaven created guidebooks.