Travel Plans

I’ve been talking for quite some time about spending some time in the western hemisphere. This morning, full of resolve once again to sit down and just book the dang tickets, I dialed in the travel Web sites and tried to piece together an itinerary. An hour later I was staring dumbly at the screen, having found a very good London-New York flight, but to and from the wrong airport in London to hook up with the cheap european airlines. Somehow it seems wrong to spend more to go between airports in London than it does to go from Prague (or, cheaper yet, Brno) to London.

That’s about when the fizzy sound started coming out my ears and my eyes began to scan deep discounts to Odessa, Calcutta and Bejing. Once again I failed to book my tickets. I’ll make another go of it later. At least I’ve figured out the requirements:

1) Start in Prague in the early Marchish time frame (unless substantial savings can be realized at another time).
2) Long layovers should be in places I can meet up with people.
3) Multi-day layovers acceptable (and even good) but I won’t be renewing my driver’s license until I get to California, so renting a car is not an option.
4) Through some conveyance, I must end up in Cupertino.

5) Then follows a less structured period of driving around. I would like to visit (not necessarily in this order) western Washington, Colville (rhymes with smallville), Bozeman, the Sacramento environs, Scotts Valley, San Diego, and various spots in New Mexico. Weather may alter the list. Alaska, once again, will have to wait.
5a) I suppose I should warn some of those people that I’ll be in the neighborhood.
5b) The last time I drove around the continent for “about 3 weeks” it took more than seven months. I don’t see that happening this time; I’ll be paying rent over here the whole time.

6) Leave from Albuquerque.
7) Long layovers etc (see above), although now I will be able to drive a car legally.
8) Return to Prague late Marchish/early Aprilish. Road Trip Day on the road? It might work.

It seems there are (at least) two ways to travel. Book tickets to fit specific requirements, which is what I’ve been trying to do – although I suppose if my requirements were more specific things would be much easier. Too many choices. Alternately you can just say, “what the hell, I’ll go there”. Just pick some place that sounds cool, and go when the airline tells you you can do it on the cheap. You have to commit fairly long in advance, but it is possible to do what I have dubbed “impulse planning” – you read a list, make a choice, and off you go.

Anyone want to meet up with me in Bali?