"The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men..." --Robert Burns
Needless to say one of the grand things about making plans 5-6 months in advance is that they are most likely going to change! Sucks when they do change, but it can't really be avoided.
The plans for my summer trip to Amsterdam have already changed!
The original plan was to meet my buddy Ryan and his wife in Amsterdam for about a week of crazy fun and tourist-y type actions. Now, I have had to push the trip by a few months. The big reason being cost!
When you are trying to coordinate a trip and make accommodations and budgets it's helpful to know when you are going to be able to go! Sadly, Ryan and Elizabeth are kind of at the mercy of her college program and don't know exactly when their trip is going to be. Which means I can't find out until they do! Sadly, that leaves me with a wide hole in my summer schedule and an even bigger question mark on my bank account.
Case in point-- If I go in June or mid to late July then I will be shelling out close to $1700 in airfare alone. While not a horrible price (or a great price). It's about what I was thinking the price would be for airfare. That means I am going to have to come up with a ton more extra cash for hotel, transportation, food, etc..
Now if I delay until October I can branch out a little more. By going in mid to late October I can pay around $2300 and that will include round trip airfare, 11 nights stay in hotels and a car rental. Plus, that will allow me to widen my travel area to probably include the UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands.
So, I won't be able to hang with Ryan and his lovely wife...but that doesn't mean I will be traveling alone. In addition to a wider travel area I have picked up a new travel companion. My father!
Most people would say, "Travel with you dad instead of your best bud! How's that a fair trade?" To which i will say, "My dad is a Rock Star!"
Well, maybe not a rock star...but he is a ton of fun. I know I can ignore him for long periods of time without hurting his feelings too much. Plus, if I get in trouble in a foreign country it always pays to have a parent and their bank account around to bail you out before you have to spend too much time in a French or Irish prison!
So we'll see how "Summer Plans 2011...rd. 2" turns out as we get further along in the year! Once we nail down dates I can start looking a making specific plans...that's where the true fun begins. I can start planning around local events, maybe map out a cool concert or two. That's when I'll start getting excited. Until then I'm just mildly enamored with my plans. Later on is when I get excited/giddy!!
