The Basic Plan

The most basic plan is that there is no plan.  We just want to see what happens and go wherever the hell we want.  But there are some plan details, some nuances, some qualifiers.

We’ll be traveling alone, but plan to visit basically everyone we know — or as many friends as we can.  If you’re reading this, that probably means we want to visit you.  We’ll want to do laundry and sit on your couch and drink a cold drink out of your fridge.  We’ll probably want to cook together, maybe grill, or maybe go out for dinner.  And then we’ll invite you along.

Because portions of the trip will be fun to do with buddies.  Maybe we’ll finally get to Maine with our buddies from Boston or go skiing with our friends from Seattle.  We might go rafting with our pals in Boise or wine tasting with our friends in California.

Bryce Campground© Lisa McNamara

Much of the time, we’ll crash in national parks and cook on a camp stove.  But I’m not going to spend a year cooking with a pocket knife.  I’m bringing a real chef’s knife.  And we’re going to have metal forks … and glass wineglasses.  We’re going to rough it, but there needs to be some luxury to match the decadence of our schedule.

Until then, we’ll rough it in Chicago, spinning our wheels at work while we wait for our escape.