How to Change Plans
And why I don't consider travel plans final until the trip is over
I just read the most beautiful, heart-wrenching newsletter about the fires in LA by my dear friend Gina Hamadey and hope you’ll read it too. She writes about gratitude and humanity generally and this piece about how to talk to people in times of crisis should be required reading.
I am still limping around my house (tiny violins for my broken toe but it’s still making it hard to get around!) and checking on my family back in Michigan (with my mom back in the hospital) reading the news, and wondering when things will ease up. The jury is out!
When I’m planning trips and wonder if I’m taking on a little too much (too many trips, too many stops, too much everything) I sometimes imagine the possibility of my life changing dramatically and travel not being possible. It’s not the most optimistic way of looking at things but it does make me feel a little more grateful for what I’m able to do in the moment and encourages me to take advantage of the here and now. Hobbling around, the fires, war, my mom in the hospital, all of this reminds me of the human condition and how lucky we are to be able to do the things that matter to us.
I planned most of our 2025 trips by the end of 2024 but partially because with points travel, I know there is usually going to be a fair amount of flexibility. I hate the feeling of being trapped in anything — including a plan! — so I’ve really loved how easy it is to make changes however last minute when booking with points.
I realized yesterday that a plan I made for an upcoming break had a couple relatively minor problems in the grand scheme of things but annoying nonetheless:
Departure flight: International flight at 7:20am out of NJ 😩 #impossible
I paid for the flight with the wrong credit card and now would have to pay for checked luggage (see my last post re: how we check luggage)
This flight was booked many months ago on United with miles transferred to United (less than 20K miles per person for the one way flight to Costa Rica).
Let’s look at the different possibilities, how I saved money, got out of my original booking and fixed the departure time just weeks before the trip without spending any more money…
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