Cashing In On Some Karma
For the last 2 weeks I’ve been seeding torrents into the 20+ share ratio, I did the dishes every night for a week last week, last night I treated the family to steak, and today I scored the girlfriend 2 tickets to Jeff Foxworthy and offered to watch the kid the night of the show so she can take her friend who she probably doesn’t see as often as she’d like.
So let’s first establish that I’m The Man, agreed?
Well I’m cashing in some of that Karma I’ve built up and I’m going to spend this whole post talking about vacations I want to take this year (and what the hell, future years as well), so sit back and hold on to your hat or just stop reading because as Peter David once said, “Oh…the tone of this book? For those people who like to be warned about such things? Well…it’s…It get kind of intense, actually. There. Now you’re warned. So…Let’s get deep.” 1
One of the best openings to a novel ever, I quote it so frequently that I typed it out from memory and THEN checked the book to make sure I got it just right and only had to change a small handful of words.
Seriously, this thing is going to be epic. I’m starting an End Notes section; I haven’t done that since university.
Anyways, moving on…
Despite recent setbacks I still have every intention of taking 2 vacations this year. Yea, it’s ballsy and selfish but didn’t we just scientifically prove that I’m The Man? Now it’s far from certain that both vacations will happen and even if they do, they probably won’t exactly resemble what follows but I like to play the odds, the more attempts you make the more will actually happen. And if that’s not enough I have some long-range ideas too. Next year I turn 30 and I still intend to do so in my favorite place on Earth that’s outside of my home province…I just haven’t figured out where that is exactly…London and Orlando are probably the frontrunners right now. That’s right, Destination Birthday – I feel like I’m inventing the phrase. Whatever, you only get to turn 30 once and I plan to, for the day, live completely unencumbered, like some kind of trust fund kid – I want to be anywhere on the face of the planet that I choose and for the day not for a second care about the cost or inconvenience of doing anything – for one day in my life2 I will let nothing stand in the way3 of what I feel like doing. And let’s face facts, given the nature of my personality that will probably consist of eating at a Hard Rock and going on the London Eye or going parasailing and buying myself an outrageously expensive dress shirt and going dancing some place that appreciates Pet Shop Boys or catching some live theatre. It’s hardly earth-shattering stuff; just some good food, some indulgence, and maybe a little death-defying….sounds like fun4. It’s a Tuesday4. And then in 2011 I think I will want to return to Las Vegas to see the next iteration of Star Trek: The Experience.
Remember, nothing that follows is set in stone; they’re all just pie-in-the-sky ideas at this point.
San Francisco: Sept. 18th - 24th 2009 (Road Trip with Mindi)
So Eugene would seem to be the natural midpoint between Vancouver and San Francisco. I very nearly learned the hard way that Portland to San Francisco is a bit too much for a single day’s worth of driving. For one thing gas stations become sparse unexpectedly although our situation – the last gas station for a huge stretch of highway being tied up with a hostage situation – was likely (hopefully!) a rarity. But beyond how to spell it and that it is located in Oregon I know next to nothing about Eugene. I suppose it’s time I learned a bit more about the state I was born in.
So I guess it’s time to dust off the old Navigator’s Clipboard file format and sink my teeth into the sucker. Just what is there to do in Eugene? My preliminary search yielded an Air and Space Museum5, a Public Market6, a Hot Springs7, and… (Wait for it)…Theatre Sports! 8
Theatre Sports…clearly I’ve found the right city. The next leg of the journey would take us to Vallejo for Six Flags Discovery Cove…no, wait Discovery Kingdom9 is its new name…frankly I may never stop thinking of it as Marine World. Its looks like they still have V2 which was the ride Jon chickened out of10 in my previous visit. Not sure if we’d want to stay in Vallejo or San Francisco that night. Mindi pitched the idea the other day or rocking it like Toronto – stay in the cheapest places the whole time except for the last night in San Francisco when we’d splurge for the nicest place we could afford. I’m still mulling that option over.
As for what I want to do in San Francisco I have yet to ride a trolley car and would of course like to return to the Hard Rock11. Doing the whole Star Trek IV thing and going back to Ghirardelli’s12 are both on my list. Also must get awesome pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge13. I’m still not sure if I want to check out Alcatraz or not, even now 7 years after passing on my first opportunity – I’ll probably just let Mindi make the call on that one. My God has it really been 7 years? Wow13. The Navigator’s Clipboard for that city was a little sparse…further research would seem advisable.
Destination Unknown14: Dec. 3rd - 9th 2009 (Aerial Trip w/Jon)
Don’t let those placeholder dates fool you, this trip is so preliminary it’s not even yet in its infancy, it’s somewhere between Zygote and gleam in our eyes. We’ve currently narrowed possible destinations down to 3 if I were to be honest about it: Orlando, Hawaii, or Anaheim. Obviously being in December we’d want to travel to warmer climes – if there’s anything I learned about taking a Spring Break trip with my mom to Toronto when I was in high school it was that…stupid frozen Niagara Falls. I got my revenge in 2003 though.
Anaheim is problematic due to Jon’s dislike of rollercoasters but the fact is we had an awesome time last visit13 so I don’t really see that being a serious hindrance. There was so much left undone.
I think we need to admit that if we end up going to Orlando that definitely favors my interests. The fact is I fell in love with the place in 2007, there was so much to do but I never felt rushed. There was so much at our fingertips and whole other worlds of stuff to do not much further beyond. Craig was right about Florida when we were in Prague and he was telling me how much I would enjoy it – and I haven’t been to most of the stuff he talked about yet! I know I turned to Mindi many times that trip and said, “Jon would love this!” Particularly I remember thinking that about the comic book area of Islands of Adventure15 and Sleuths16. Plus we never made it to Kennedy17…there aren’t any launches in December though18.
I wrote about Hawaii extensively yesterday, for me it’s just a huge (kind of expensive) question mark with Jon as tour guide.
Destination Birthday: Sept. 16th - 23rd 2010 (Aerial Trip)
I think given that the big day falls on a Tuesday I’ll have to abandon the flying Thursday-to-Wednesday to save money convention but this is my big trip so why not do so by adding a day or perhaps more? Obviously the destination is far from decided but currently it would seem to be a grudge match between London and Orlando. They’re both very special places to me but which is my favorite place on Earth? Now I spent my 27th Birthday in Orlando so would doing so again for my 30th make it less noteworthy? And there’s something to be said for being able to say I celebrated my 30th birthday in London. But Orlando is unquestionably more fun. If I end up going to Orlando with Jon this winter I may be less inclined to consider Orlando for the big day but alternatively if I fall in love with Hawaii I may want to return there instead.
You only turn 30 once; I want to do this right.
Assuming prices don’t fluctuate in the next year (Expedia doesn’t go quite that far ahead) I could stay in a pretty nice place for $1,500 per person which for 8 days in London isn’t bad. Especially when budget options start at $1,200 and luxury options would run upwards of $4,200. Alternatively Orlando would be $700 for nice, $1,100 for luxury, and budget $600. But this can’t be decided by price – for once in my life2. The point is that both are affordable. I mean affordable as in possible not as in sustainable mind you but I am perfect willing to take a permanent hit to my savings to finance this.
But be it London, Orlando, Hawaii, or the Moon I’d like to get sufficient warning out there to anyone who might want to join the adventure.
Las Vegas: Nov. 3rd - 9th 2011 (Aerial Trip with Whoever)
As mentioned the 2010 trip is likely to be a kick in the pants to my savings so I think I’ll want to go budget the following year as I lick my financial wounds. Here’s a rough estimate of the trips that would precede it:
San Francisco 2009: $1,000
Destination Unknown 2009: $1,500
Birthday Destination 2010: $3,500
So assuming that I was not able to repay any of that to my savings but also assuming nothing else attacked my savings I wouldn’t have much left. I am hoping that I can make 2009 sustainable partly due to extra work from the Olympics and perhaps the odd election. 2010 is not likely to be sustainable so I will probably want to go cheap in 2011 to assist in rebuilding what I had blown. This would dovetail particularly well given that Star Trek: The Experience is due to reopen sometime in 201019 therefore it’s a hopefully safe assumption that it will be up and running in November of 2011.
In Conclusion…
So this is the current state of my travel dreamscape. Again nothing is set in stone and the likelihood of any of this occurring as discussed is pretty remote but, for me at least, it’s nice to think about and something to work towards.
End Notes
1 Peter David, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #2 ‘The Siege’, 1993
2 54*40 – One Day In Your Life
3 Spectre General – Nothin’s Gonna Stand In Our Way
4 James Tiberius Kirk, Star Trek Generations, 1994
9 http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/index.aspx
10 The ride we walk under at 1:40 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlIa0an3NKY
11 http://www.hardrockcafe.com/locations/cafes3/cafe.aspx?LocationID=97&MIBEnumID=3
12 http://www.ghirardelli.com/
13 http://www.geocities.com/cow_manx/trip3.html
14 OMC – How Bizzare
17 http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/index.html
