Are you a "planner" or "impromtu-er"?

[abc]

The Diva Day got me thinking: by the time the issue was brought up, I've already got my next season's trip pretty much finalized (in my head, at least).

In fact, for me, I have a tendency to plan next season's trip at the end of the previous season. Kind of a way to say good-bye to one season by having something nice to look forward to during the in between time.

I do that for ski season, and I also do that for my biking season also. So, March/April is time I firm up next season's ski trip and October for biking/kayaking plans for the next year.

I do most of my impromtus trips around my area. Not having to plan and buy tickets weeks or months in advance makes it easier to just throw everything in the car at a moments notice. And NOT having a season pass in this case means freedom to go anywhere I fancy. ;)

So, what are you, a "planer" or a "last minute" person?

 

[Jilly]

abc, I think like you. If I'm going to spending big money and time - 1 or 2 weeks, then things are planned in advance. Weekends trips sometimes just happen on Thursday night or Friday morning. Talking about planning - we ran into friends that we travelled with years ago, skiing, and they were already planning 2008 trip to Breckenridge in March of 2007. Also they were trying to get a group together to share expenses. Even in the summer, I only set aside the long weekends for the cottage. Now with my dragon boat racing, some other weekends are booked with festivals, but I try to keep the summer open. Again this winter we have a condo at Tremblant, so I don't think there will too much skiing anywhere else.

 

[altagirl]

Planning things ahead like that makes me feel trapped. Even when my husband and I traveled in Europe, we'd typically have no idea where we were going to ski (even in which country we wanted to ski) in the next few days. If the snow looked better somewhere else - we're on our way. And we'll find accomodations when we get there. I even went on a trip with some friends in Germany where we started driving South and didn't even have a destination in mind until after a few hours of driving.

I don't like changing plans once I've made them, so I'd rather not make plans at all and just see where I end up. If I commit to skiing somewhere on a certain date, I feel like I'd be bound to be missing better conditions somewhere else. So unless it would be totally impossible to get off work or find a place to sleep (that's only happened once and we ended up at a very cool resort down the road that we wouldn't have otherwise discovered, so it was good) without advance planning - I don't do the advance planning.

 

[ski diva]

Depends on the trip. Generally, I'd say I plan about four months out. The only exception was when we hiked down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and had to make our reservations at the Phantom Ranch two years in advance! You have to -- that's how far ahead of time they fill up. Worth it, though.

 

[ski now work later]

Until all of our children are grown and on their own, planning is an essential part of finding opportunities to travel with and without them. Part of what I have to do is to make sure that my kids can be with my ex-husband when I travel and that they can be with me when it's my turn. All that planning has to take into consideration a lot of factors, but we do a good job with it.

I "plan" my mid-week skiing by blocking off a week day each week from December - March when my kids wake up and go to sleep at their Dad's, and then I go depending on snow and driving conditions, weather, and my workload, with snow conditions being the most significant factor.

Weekends are unplanned for day trip skiing. This will be my first Winter with a full pass for our local hill (Berkshire East). I bought passes for me and my two children who live in Western Mass. as opposed to my stepchildren who spend the academic year in Cincinnati and ski/ride with us in December, February, and March when they visit. Anyway, I'm sure that we'll ski and ride locally more often now that there won't be the "can I afford 3 lift tickets today" mentality since the only cost will be the gas for a 35 minute ride....

My dream? To block off two, week long travel periods in January and March (or February and April) each year and not plan where we're heading until the season begins and the conditions are established. Our youngest is starting 5th grade in the Fall and the two older ones will start 8th grade, so it's gonna be a little while before that dream becomes a reality. In the meantime, it's fun skiing and riding with them, and soon enough, they're gonna smoke me on snow!

 

[Pequenita]

My dream? To block off two, week long travel periods in January and March (or February and April) each year and not plan where we're heading until the season begins and the conditions are established.

This is my M.O., without the blocking off of time. I usually have no idea where I am going until a few weeks to a month beforehand. This whole "plan a trip for March when it's not even August yet" thing is new territory for me!

 

[abc]

In the past, I only did one week-long fly-away trip each year. And it tend to fall around March or early April so condition is pretty well known (basically plenty of base everywhere, take a chance with freshies). The early part of the season, I just jam as many local trips in as I can while balancing other aspect of my life -- work, family, etc.

Sometimes, I get lucky with conditions. Other times, I get lucky with extra time off. But for one reason or another, I've never managed two weeks/season. Money was definitely a significant factor since fly-away trips are considerably more expensive than local ones. Sadly, skiing the perpetual ice and slush of Northeast is getting boring...

IMy dream? To block off two, week long travel periods in January and March (or February and April) each year and not plan where we're heading until the season begins and the conditions are established.

Thank you, ski now work later! That's almost exactly what I have in mind!

Now that I finally have the financial means to do more than one week, and the freedom of no non-skiing "significant other" to get in the way, 07/08 will be the first season I will have a PLAN for two trips to far away "fantasy" places! :D The 2 weeks need to be apart as much as possible. So, I'm planning one of the two (as "usual", in March) and keeping my eyes peeled for opportunity to jump (into a plane) for another trip earlier in the season, which will be my impromtus/un-planned trip! ;) And if I don't succeed early season, I'll see if I can sneak the ESA Big Sky in April through my boss.

One of the reason for the early planning is psychological though. By putting down on the calender the trip for next season, it's my way of saying good-bye to the season passed. Think about it, I'm about the only one who's NOT missing winter, YET! ;) I can talk about it all summer and not feel depressed by it because I have something concrete to look forward to for next season!

 

[num]

I tend to think about places I want to go in advance. Not actually plan though. I think "Tahoe would be nice in the spring" and "Vermont would be great in February" etc, and I'll poke around at various websites and look at things in the area. Actual planning and booking is a last minute thing for me, advance planning in my mind is a few weeks ahead. I often catch a last minute deal and book within a few days of my trip.

 

[Sheena]

I am a bit of both.......I will buy the airline tickets and reserve a hotel room a few weeks before we leave, but after that the details of where we will ski are up in the air. That way, I don't feel to structured.....

 

[altagirl]

It really has to be something that I know will fill up in advance for me to make plans - like a camp or something that has limited space available.

Otherwise, if we're just going skiing or biking or something, if it's going to be so crowded we can't get a hotel when we show up - it's definintely NOT where we want to go anyway! The only place we go that gets crowded is Moab, but you can't reserve the camp sites we want anyway, so you just have to hope for the best.

 

[abc]

It really has to be something that I know will fill up in advance for me to make plans - like a camp or something that has limited space available.

As I was the one who asked this question first, I don't know what I was thinking...

Today, my boss told me my request for vacation in September is, well, denied. Nothing serious, just a camping trip I had in mind and I thought Sept. isn't a busy month as far as vacation goes. But it turns out we have something that REALLY needs done right at that time!

So, I'm submitting my vacation request for my Galapagos trip in Christmas, 5 months in advance! Now they will just have to plan their work AROUND MY VACATION!!!

 

[Ski Spirit]

Planning Vacation

As I was the one who asked this question first, I don't know what I was thinking...

Today, my boss told me my request for vacation in September is, well, denied. Now they will just have to plan their work AROUND MY VACATION!!!

Good luck with that, abc! My schedule revolves around deadlines so if I don't plan to take time off, I'm out of luck. There are only certain windows in time when I can get away and I've learned to formally plan them/book them and stand by my plans! Of course, year-end (ie. January/Feb) is the most demanding time of the year for me, so I can never make plans to go on a trip that goes beyond a week-end in that time frame. Mid-February onward is potentially ok and we have planned trips in that time frame. One of these days, though, I'm going to figure out how to fulfill my husband's wish for a trip for us to Jackson Hold in the middle of January!!!

 

[abc]

One of these days, though, I'm going to figure out how to fulfill my husband's wish for a trip for us to Jackson Hold in the middle of January!!!

But why January? The snow is usually better in Feb!

My case is partly my fault. I didn't know there's a project that needs me around this time so I never block the time slot. Had I requested the vacation 2 weeks earlier, they would have had to drop my peice from the deliverables till a later date.

And the reason I never block the time was, fundermentally, because I wasn't so sure I wanted to go on camping trip in the first place!

So, I'm not too terribly upset at that, but will definitely leverage it to nail my next vacation!

 

[Native Vail Gal]

Planner.....but once I'm there.....I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal once I have some down time! (ie....time I haven't planned anything for!)

I think planning helps me utilize my time better!

 

[SnowHot]

I can count on one hand, how many trips I'd taken until last year. (Not including weekend outings to sporting events)
Our honeymoon(2 weeks in hawaii with island hopping included) was planned well in advance, and was the vacation of a life time.
One trip to Florida for Daytona Bike week(husband's dream) was planned well in advance.
3 trips to LasVegas for Trade shows. Planned well in advance.

I turned 40 last year and decided that it was time for me to do stuff when the mood hits me. Thus the Impulsive trip to ABasin!!!

Our family business tends to dictate when we can be impulsive, but its my PLAN to be IMPULSIVE!:D

 

[Greeley]

I usually have to plan ahead for our ski trips. We travel with our dog and don't want to get stuck in a high dollar room or a total dump that reeks of smoke.
I will prbably book our January trip to Vail next month. It gets booked about the time we quit waterskiing for the year. I have to have something to look forward to. Our late February trip to Steamboat gets book later since there a a number of decent places that allow dogs.
Our early April trip to Snowmass also gets booked in the late fall. The lodge we like to stay in only has 4 pets rooms.

 

[playoutside]

Both I think. When I'm in planning mode most of my crowd appreciates the advance work -- plus I usually get my way then!

For weekend and day trips I'm always game to join others. They just need to mention when and where and I'm in.

I do a bit of advance planning with some friends for weekend trips. I belong to a ski house and with good plans I can get my friends accommodations too. Well worth it to save significantly on the lodging near the mountains.

I also tend to be the organizer for my crowd for the week long trips. I start the planning for that during the summer...I throw out the ideas about where I'd like to go next winter and start to get a sense of where people will join me and who maybe can't go at all because of other commitments like kids, work, etc. The airfare and car decisions are normally set in Nov/Dec to be sure of availability. Lodging is usually locked in at least a month before departure. The where to ski varies, I always research discounts and if we must will preorder tickets to some areas. I know for some this makes me sound totally like a planner, but for me the advance stuff lets the actual week of vacation run pretty seamlessly!