LISTS OF LISTS

It’s complicated. I have planned a glorious six and a half week vacation to lead off my retirement. It’s actually a conglomeration of five or six vacations in one. I have decided that I will include the narrative of this trip in this blog rather than starting a new travel blog as I have done previously. This trip is now all booked and leaves little opportunity for spontenaiety or just hanging around and relaxing. Getting prepared has taken a boatload of research. I have been busy coordinating several people, timing multiple parts of the trip to interlock seamlessly, arranging flights to accommodate others, and so on. Planes, trains, buses, cars, and boats, Air BnBs, hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, and four countries in forty-five days. This will include trips with old friends, my brother, and my wife, a 45-year reunion, and the making of a documentary.

I have had to think about how to make a movie, how to make connections in foreign countries, how to arrange time that I can see many different people who are very dear to me, how to make maps and information available, how to get my iPhone unlocked (it’s a miracle!), 

how to find a place to stay in Edinburgh during the Festival, and in Paris on Bastille Day.

 

Now I have to figure out what to pack, and how to structure the timing of doing laundry so that I don’t run out of underwear. I have to prepare for the weather and make sure that I have good walking shoes. Do I need some nice clothes for a special occasion? The hardest part has been trying to figure out what equipment I need to bring to accommodate my love of photography, and the technology for a blog. The documentary has now added the complication of video and audio equipment and the extra hard drive space that I will need to accommodate all that data.

Yes, I have been making lists. I have been making lists of lists. I have also been busy preparing for my retirement, aligning my finances, preparing a will and a trust, and completing Power of Attorneys for Health Care. I have been paying bills in advance, calling credit card companies, and making sure that I have some pounds and some euros. 

 

I have been checking in with people and with places that I am staying, printing out tickets and information, making sure I have back-ups of some of my documents, and arranging for a friend to pick up some of my gear so that I don’t have to cart it around with me on all of my travels. I am making lists of lists of lists. My desk is covered with scraps of paper, reminders, information, and instructions that I hope I can make sense of during the next week or so.

Yes, it is complicated but I find this all very rewarding. There is a sense of accomplishment, of overcoming barriers and fears and proceeding anyway. I have worked through problems and hit a few walls, which I have navigated around. I have had a lot of luck and I will never underestimate good fortune or the generosity and flexibility of friends and loved ones.