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Home Planning Trip Planning – Family Adventures

Trip Planning – Family Adventures

May 15, 2017 By Mark Chism Leave a Comment

Planning for TripAs a newly married couple it was important to know costs for a specific trip. As our family grew the desire to travel never wained. Trip planning was a must for us to be able to budget. I began planning at least a year before a big trip. It has included family opportunities sometimes including pets. My wife needs plan A thru E as options and alternatives. Whether it was a timeshare, hotel, or RV, planning for costs helps prepare.

This started as lists on a notepad with options and costs looked up in travel books. As computers became popular the list migrated to a computer word-processing file. Somewhere along the way it became a spreadsheet with tabs as it remains currently. Travel books gave way to magazines and finally internet searches and online reservations and discounts. It is important to list mileage and hours in the spreadsheet for adjustments.

Spreadsheet Planning

Attractions have included animals like at zoos and aquariums. There are also zoos in Amish communities often consisting of cart rides through fields of animals. Local shows are always fun to check out. One of my favorite venues to research is monuments and historical places. I found amusements parks, but discovered that all of the kids were turned off by the lines which accompanied these visits. Sometimes a trip with the kids in the car would start with “Not again” but often ended with a discussion of discoveries which is what I strive for in my planning.

My wife started creating accompanying meal ideas and shopping lists for our arrival. Today my wife creates an accompanying meal plan for stocking the travel trailer before we leave. See her planning post here.Planning to Travel . For multi-week trips there is an additional shopping list created for a stop along the way. We look for opportunities to experience local food as well.

Trip Planning makes Enjoyable Trip

Trips have been planned with the idea that this might be the only opportunity to visit the area.  At the same time there should be down time for rest in the plan. Therefore, trip planning efforts always help to make a more relaxing and enjoyable trip.

Do you plan for your trips? We would love to see some of your tips. Please share with us in the comments.

Trip Planning fun
Good Sam Travel Assist

Filed Under: Planning Tagged With: planning, Travel

About Mark Chism

Since our marriage, Mark has had opportunity to travel which has included his wife and 4 children. This included the homeschooling journey and continues today with his wife. Mark has a B.S. in Information Systems and a M.S. in Organizational Management. He received his PMP certification in 2001 and remains active in the Project Management community.

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Welcome as we share at Chismtrails

About Us

We are Mark and Eujeana Chism. Since our marriage 25 plus years ago, we have been traveling. At first it was our homeschool family traveling together. Now our four children are graduated and we have continued the journey. Welcome to our little corner of the internet. We hope to share discoveries from our travels and inspire others to find their own adventures through travel. Please enjoy and engage in the … Read More ....

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