REAL CHICKS: Planning an Adventure Trip
Marijo & Carla
One of the common elements of the Real Chicks is our love of a good adventure. Many times these adventures are close to home – a hike in a nearby state park, paddling kayaks in a local lake, etc. Other times our adventures take us further. Recently, a group of Real Chicks traveled to North Carolina on a kayaking trip that we planned ourselves. We wanted to spend some time together and wanted the opportunity to experience and/or re-experience white water kayaking. The trip was fabulous and we all had a really wonderful time. Jessie asked if we would share some tips on how to plan a successful adventure trip as well as some lessons learned the hard way. Here is what we learned:
1.
Give yourself and the participants plenty of time to plan.
We started dreaming of adventures in September. We went on our trip in May. That time frame gave us plenty of time to find a guide, find accommodations, and spread the word. It also gave the participants time to arrange their schedules and budgets to accommodate the trip. The farther the distance, the more time you’ll likely need for planning.
2.
If you’ve gone on a successful trip, mimic the elements that worked well.
Our first Real Chicks adventure trip was a March 2010 trip to Colorado planned by Jessie. We weren’t entirely sure what was in store for us other than some outdoor winter activities such snow shoeing and cross-country skiing, as well as the potential for tons of fun. Turns out, the trip was a huge success and bonded the group into a close knit group of friends. As we planned our NC paddling trip, we thought back to the successful elements of that trip. Breakfast was a casual, help yourself affair that worked really well. We copied that in NC and that type of meal, and its elements, have come to be known as a “RC Breakfast” to our group. In CO, we all stayed in a big cabin at a YMCA Retreat. That communal housing situation positively impacted the group dynamic in a way that separate hotel rooms never could have. When we started looking for places to stay in NC, we immediately looked for a nearby YMCA Retreat. Even though the retreat was a bit out of the way, we loved being all together and coming “home” each night. This was especially great in NC as our group splintered during the day to accommodate skill levels and other interests.
3.
Find a guide you trust.
Our paddling trip was driven by our desire to experience white water kayaking and to spend time with our friends. Knowing that most of our group had never paddled on moving water before and that we’d have to travel to get to white water, we knew we’d need a guide. We wanted a guide who could create a trip that appealed to Beth, who had been in a kayak on lake approximately 4 times, as well as to April, who is an accomplished white water paddler. Of course, we wanted someone who could keep us all safe, teach us great skills, and (ideally) be someone we liked to hang out with for hours on end. When we started talking about guides, we discovered that we both had been checking out Girls at Play and its founder, Anna Levesque. Anna’s paddling resume was impressive and the philosophy of Girls at Play seemed liked it fit perfectly with our group. After we both had separate email and telephone conversations with Anna, we knew we had found our guide. Not only did she assure us she could help us create a fun trip for everyone, we were excited to spend time with her and get to know her better. She is totally a Real Chick! Once we got to NC, Anna introduced us to Mary Frances who was to be our co-guide. We promptly feel in love with Mary Frances as well!
4.
You can let some details slide. Or not.
We decided to rent a car when we got to the airport in Greenville. We didn’t make reservations. When we got to Greenville, we found out that all the local universities and colleges were conducting commencement ceremonies that weekend. Rental cars were in short supply and the quoted prices were a bit outrageous. While the chicks wrangled gear and retrieved checked luggage, we got on our phones and started to find a better option. The website for one of the rental companies indicated that they had vehicles available AND at a good rate. We booked on-line standing 10 feet from the counter, got our cars, and got a good deal. However, this could have taken a really bad turn! We knew we would need vehicles as we had to drive to our cabin and drive ourselves to Anna’s the next day. Without wheels we would have been stuck. The moral of this story: if you know something is a NECESSITY, don’t leave it to chance. While it might work out, you are rolling the dice on something that could make or break your trip.
5.
If you delegate, delegate all the way and stay out of it! Also, make it easy for those who are willing to help.
Two of the chicks graciously offered to meal plan and grocery shop. We quickly said “THANK YOU!” and gave them that role. However, when it came time to shop, Carla didn’t have the grocery allotment in cash to hand to them (Carla typed that sentence and takes full blame for her poor planning!) and four of us ended up on the grocery shopping trip. Maybe we were hungry, maybe we were excited, who knows. But we got A LOT of food, some things in duplicate! In addition, Elizabeth HAD to purchase the groceries as she was (graciously) allowing us to use her Whole Foods discount. This saved us a TON of money but added a step of having to reimburse Elizabeth (due to that whole lack of cash thing...). The better route would have been to set the budget, give it to Elizabeth in cash, and let her get the groceries with one other person to cut down on confusion. Things worked out in the end – we had enough food to throw an impromptu picnic lunch in the parking lot on Sunday. We hadn’t planned for that meal but, after play boating that morning, we were hungry and would have had to scrounge a meal at the airport. Instead, we had a nice little picnic with Anna and Mary Frances, finishing off our hard boiled eggs, clementines, and Luna Bars. We also were able to send some wine home with Anna & Mary Frances as a little parting gift (as well as an truly odd assortment of leftovers)!
6.
Budget.
Really. Budgeting is an interesting beast. I’ve (MJ talking here) had a few attempts at budgeting for group trips and this is probably the best I did on any of them. Three things to keep in mind:
A. Overbudget. Round those budget numbers up and leave room for unexpected expenses. We were able to pick up the cost for alcohol and the car rental because we had plenty of cushion in our budget and didn’t have any unexpected expenses arise. It’s much easier to sell a trip at a slightly higher cost than have to approach your friends mid-trip asking for more money.
B. Structure your trip so everyone pays one person in advance. Its vacation, keep things simple for you and the companies you work with by not splitting everything out individually. It’ll all balance out in the end.
C. Keep a record of your expenses and reference them when you plan your next trip.
7.
Communicate
The two of us have been planning events together for over a year now, little tiny events all the way to huge, national scale events. Each organization will find their own way to manage information, but one thing that will be true for any team is that communication, over communication in fact, is essential. We know exactly when we’ve stopped communicating effectively because one or the other of us will get overwhelmed with the stress of everything we are planning and the enormity of the “to-do” list. We then call a lunch meeting (or a pub meeting) and re-evaluate where we stand. As soon as we are back on the same page, the stress level goes down. Don’t make yourself hate the trip in advance due to stress over the details! Take a breath, regroup, and tackle one task at a time.
