Planning

I enjoy planning holidays.  Especially big holidays which include lots of different modes of travel, new cities and experiences, so planning this holiday is lots of fun for me.


I know many people like to just 'wing it' on holidays, but I just can't!  I like to have everything booked, planned (and paid for!!) before I leave home.  This is especially true when I am venturing half-way across the world and exploring a new country.  I have been called 'over-controlled' on many occasions and this is a perfect example.  Luckily the hubby is perfectly happy to leave everything in my hands and just turn up on the day!  He trusted me to plan our trip to New Zealand and we had an amazing time, so I guess I have proved my worth.


This time I started with the Lonely Planet guide to the USA.  I looked at all the cities we wanted to visit and then made a huge list of things to do in each city.  This helped me decide how many days we would need to properly see all the things of interest to us.  I then made up a calendar of the trip and was able to work out how many days we wanted to spend in each place, compared to how many days we could realistically afford!!!  Hence a compromise was reached.  As we travel across the US, I have tried to throw in as many different types of transport (hence the title of this blog) and use different styles of accommodation if possible.  I really think this adds to the whole experience.  Sure, it would be fabulous to go 5-star all the way but that is unrealistic for us, so I am embracing as many experiences as I can.


Once we set off on the trip, and visit each state and city, I will be able to share more about each place but for now here is the schedule for the trip.  It will give you an idea of where we are heading.  


19 May       Fly to Oahu, Hawaii
26 May       Fly to Los Angeles
1 June         Fly to Las Vegas
3 June         Helicopter over Grand Canyon
6 June         Fly to Los Angeles  /  Drive to Anaheim (Disneyland)
9 June         Drive to San Diego
11 June       Drive to Monterey
12 June       Drive to San Francisco  (cable cars!!)
16 June       Train to Seattle
19 June       Train to Chicago (arrive morning 21 June)
24 June       Train to Washington
27 June       Train to Philadelphia
29 June       Train to New York
7 July          Fly to Los Angeles
9 July          Fly to Melbourne


So you can see I have covered planes, car, trains, cable cars, helicopters and there will also be buses, smaller trains and various other means of transport before we get finished.    I must remember to pack plenty of travel-sickness pills!!!!