Family Travel Countdown

Since the itinerary has been discussed recently I thought of giving an update on some of the other progress we have made. The other day Paige and I were remarking that we still have some things to take care of but it feels like a lot of the “heavy-lifting” is done.

Getting the Jeep Ready – We got roof rails installed (my dad actually did it) and we bought a second-hand Thule cargo carrier for the roof. We also have car seat organizers for the kid’s stuff. We just need to put new tires on the vehicle, get it serviced and she is ready to go. We are actually outfitting the Jeep for a trial camping run this weekend with all the gear.

Bikes for the Road Trip – We replaced the stolen adult bikes with second-hand bikes and got them serviced. We purchased bike locks and have confirmed that the children’s helmets fit. Now we just have to get Julie off training wheels.

House Rental – Paige knocked this one out of the park! The house is rented and we are really happy with the tenant and the arrangement. Our sister-in-law helped out with this and we are happy to have put this to bed.

House Repairs – Due to the rental we put in a new furnace, a new air conditioner and got the water tank fixed. We painted our bedroom and just have a few cosmetic touches to do.

Banking & Credit Cards – I will write a proper blog post on this next but we essentially are going to switch up our cards and banking to better support the spending we plan to do over the next year. Also, we have set up as much automation as we could as it pertains to bill payments and the such.

Dealing with our Family Car – There is an ongoing recall that I plan to have sorted out soon. I am essentially getting a new battery in the car and then have to make the decision to sell it or not.

Putting stuff in Storage – We’ve been doing some dump and charity runs and are about a third of the way there. Once the weather breaks we will be putting free stuff on our lawn. If anyone wants my Toronto Maple Leafs jersey from the 90s, let me know.

Cancelling our subscriptions – Costco, Netlfix, Disney, Amazon prime, Goodlife, we hardly knew ye. A year on the road means we are looking hard at all our recurring subscriptions and we have cancelled pretty much everything.

Health Insurance – I did a few weeks of rate swapping and purchased coverage for the duration of our trip. This was another big one off the list. We also got our provincial health coverage extended so that it doesn’t lapse when we are out of the country. To get our “out of province” health insurance we actually needed to do this.

Health Checkups & Vaccinations – Pretty much every dental, health check, eye exam, and vaccination has been completed by all members of the family. An interesting side story, my travel doctor suggested that I get myself tested and see if my penicillin allergy is still present (as penicillin is one of the more common antibiotics around the world). I did not even know this type of testing existed but got a referral to a specialist. I am happy to report that I no longer have to say I am allergic to penicillin on those health forms. It took 40 years to get that cleared up. This is another “side-win” associated with the trip.

Schooling – The children have been pulled out of daycare and are back on a waiting list to get back in. Yes, that is how things work in our area. Paige is working on the “lesson” plans we will have to teach the children. Joking aside, planning this part has been a ton of fun for Paige. Personally I can’t wait to teach em fractions.

Booking Accommodations and Flights – This is an ongoing process but we’ve managed to get our flights taken care of up until the end of the year. We jumped on some amazing online offers we’ve seen and have come in way under budget on the flights so far. One-way flights, flexible timelines and email alerts have been the key to our success here. As for accommodations, most of the places we are keen on, have been booked. Those that are less important we will just go with the flow. But whenever we get notified of a great offer, we jump on it. We are currently under budget on the accommodation side of things to. We seriously sign up for every alert and email program that we can. It has paid off tremendously.

Ciao for now

Mike