The planning starts......

Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
2016 January 15

Now that the usual new year's festivities are over for another year, it's time to start thinking about trip planning and where I might like to go this year . The process seems more difficult this year and I'm struggling to figure out any places I might like to visit. For some reason, there's a more pronounced lack of enthusiasm at the moment, which may be exacerbated by the miserable, depressing, gray weather (not to mention having to shovel snow). The first photo will provide an idea of the typical winter conditions.

I was excited to have a look at the new RS tour catalogue when it arrived in the mail, but after looking at a couple of tours and then looking at the currency exchange, my enthusiasm quickly faded away. The Canadian dollar is not in a good position right now, and either of the two tours I was considering would have cost an extra $1400 in currency exchange alone! Consequently I won't be taking a tour this year.

2016 February 20

Due to an unforeseen and unexpected foot injury, my trip plans will be on hold until further notice . I'm scheduled for orthopaedic surgery at the end of February, and along with that a recovery time of about six weeks. Although this will likely mean lots of free time, I still haven't regained my usual enthusiasm so will have to take this one day at a time.

2016 April 12

Finally, the sunshine has returned (in several ways)! I've just had my final follow-up visit with the orthopaedic surgeon and the crutches are gone! It's sure nice to get back to some semblance of normalcy. I've also regained my enthusiasm for travel and the plans for my next trip are starting to take shape.

My trip this year will have to start earlier than usual, as I have to be back in lots of time to attend a wedding at the beginning of October. Therefore I'll be starting my holiday in August this time which I don't normally like to do, as that's one of the "peak travel months" and it's usually hot and crowded in Europe. Oh well, it's not a huge problem - c'est la vie.

2016 May 24

The arrangements are all falling into place nicely (although I still have lots to do). My flights are now all booked and I finished making the last of my hotel reservations last night.

I decided to try something a bit different this year, and booked part of my flights with Air Canada Rouge, which is the "budget" branch of Air Canada.  Since their inception several years ago, they haven't had an exactly "stellar" reputation for good service, and their ratings on SkyTrax reviews are still hovering at about 3/10. However after talking with some of their representatives at a travel event, I decided to give them a try as the only sure way to know what they're like is to try a flight. In this case, they were absolutely the best option as I can get to my destination in two flights, which is about the easiest way from this area (although that means a layover at Toronto / YYZ which is not my favourite airport). I booked "Premium Economy" and I'm hoping that might provide a more comfortable flight experience, as most of the negative reviews were from people who were seated in "Economy" (aka "sardine class"). We'll see......

2016 August 23

Departure day is almost here, and as usual I'm a bundle of nerves. Even though I've been through this many times, the tasks on my pre-trip list always take time to finish and there's no way to abbreviate those. Unexpected complications sometimes interrupt the routine, which adds to the stress. I have one more appointment this afternoon and hopefully after that I'll be able to finish the remaining items on my list quickly.

I've decided to try a slightly different packing method this year, and take two bags instead of three. I previously travelled with a main pack, day pack (carry-on) and a camera bag. I'm going to try combining my carry on and camera bag, which will make travel on European airlines a bit easier. In order to do that, I'm going to try a carry-on size Duffle with a camera insert, and had one custom made by the nice people at Red Oxx.  It will likely be a bit heavy but hopefully not too much of a burden to carry. The day pack is a detachable part of the main pack, so I'll be taking that too, but it doesn't add much weight when it's empty and can still be used if necessary.

In one sense, I'll miss leaving home now as we're at last getting some beautiful summer weather after somewhat "mixed" conditions in June and July, with overcast skies and rain. This summer has not been as hot as usual, but still perfect for swimming and other outdoor activities. The daytime highs have been ranging from 25-35C (can reach 40C or more on occasion), and air conditioner use has caused some records in power consumption. The electrical utility is expecting record peaks of about 7,580 MW and they're urging people to reduce consumption where possible. I don't have home A/C so have to suffer with just a fan.

Only a few hours to go.....

Comments

londonpenguin
2016-05-23

I hope your surgery was successful and your travel bug is back!
-Teresa in Seattle

eagle10
2016-05-24

Teresa, thanks for the note. Yes, the surgery was successful. I've now posted an update on that.

2025-02-16

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