#4 My Travel Journal - When a plan becomes a sham ....
... Plus travel pics from our first week on the road!
I love a plan, finding comfort in schedules, itineraries, lists, colour coded spreadsheets complete with tasks and dates. I’m not the most spontaneous of people, preferring the cosiness of a plan, alongside the boundaries and the control. I suppose the liking control over a situation and relishing in a plan come hand in hand, like open toe sandals and summer days. You could say I was a control freak, although I’m not sure why preferring to be in control of a situation makes a person a freak, but whatever.
I remember smugly writing in a previous travel journal how this time around we’ll be travelling at a quicker pace with more of a plan and a schedule. And how one thing I’ve realised is that I’m not as suited to open-ended-let’s-see-where-we-end-up travelling as I’d like to be.
Well friends, let me tell you, best laid plans rarely work out as expected. But we already knew that didn’t we? You can plan and research and organise to your hearts content but reality is usually a far cry from the plan created. And when it comes to planning our travels, I really should have known better.
I think it was around day three when I realised that I may as well have just deleted my perfectly curated spreadsheet of our European road trip 2.0 and how I would have to go back to living my best spontaneous self which as you’ve probably guessed by now, is no easy task.
We planned to cross into France on a Wednesday. We booked the crossing for the Tuesday.
We planned to head straight to Austria. We didn’t and we aren’t even setting one wheel in.
We planned the Dolomites in detail from the campsites to the hiking routes. We are no longer going.
We planned to drive a certain road through Northern Italy. That’s not going to happen.
I watched as our first two weeks crumbled under the mighty pressure of a rain cloud; the pull of the sun too strong for the plan to withhold it. I felt the pang of disappointment as I saw the hours of planning vanish in an instant, the rumbling of fear as my thoughts began to divert to crisis mode - what was going to happen now?! How on earth would we make this trip work without my trusty spreadsheet?!
It turns out though that the world did not collapse around me. In fact, the disappointment slowly subsided with every kilometre we climbed through the Swiss Alps and the fear became a distant memory as we headed into Italy seeing the beautiful sight of Lake Como. We then went on to find one of the best park ups we’ve ever come across complete with panoramic views you can only dream of. And now as a write this, I’m sat by the car about 5km from Chamonix, eagerly awaiting to see what the famous French town has to offer.
Not bad to say we hadn’t planned a single bit of this.
Who knows where the road will lead us now. We’re changing our minds on the daily, choosing the best route for that moment, continuing to chase those blue skies. I find it challenging to relinquish control. You would be forgiven for thinking that my previous experience of travelling in the camper van would have helped, but my level of control is so deeply ingrained it’s hard for me to set myself free. And even though I know plans can be broken or changed, that you need to allow room for movement and there will always be a certain level of ambiguity, I will never give them up. Why? Because it’s in those moments where I hear myself mutter these words, “I love it when a plan comes together”, that all is ok in the world, that all is not lost.
Don’t get me wrong, we still have high-level timeframes to adhere to and certain details which must happen (oh you can’t take the project manager out of me entirely!), but we know that along the way we’ll be greeted with new places, new decisions, new roads to follow. Plus who knows, maybe this time around I’ll look deeper at the opportunity to lean into this spontaneity, to see if I can loosen the grip on life just a little bit. I bet I’ll be surprised at just how much I appreciate doing so…
I’m interested to know, are you a fellow “control freak” or are you able to forego a plan for a bit more spontaneity in your life?
And now for a few pics….
Wow, just wow, Lyndsay! I have never read a better advert for going with the flow! Plans? Who needs plans?!
YOU'VE GOT THIS!!!!!!! 🙌