Planning makes perfect
What do we do when we’re not traveling? Make plans for traveling!
It’s been a few months since we’ve posted anything here on Sande Travels. That’s because we haven’t been traveling! That doesn’t mean that we’re not staying busy; on the contrary, the months have been filled with planning for a very busy travel year in 2026.
Perhaps it’s because we both have engineering backgrounds, but Barb and I plan everything in detail. I don’t think we’ve ever gone on a trip where we haven’t planned — sometimes years in advance — everything. That doesn’t mean that we don’t do things spontaneously while traveling; that’s part of the fun when we get to a destination and find something new and different. But we make absolutely sure that we have our mode of travel worked out, a place to sleep every night, some ideas of key things to visit or do, and have contingency plans in place in case something goes wrong.
New Orleans during a Mardi Gras parade. Photo © 2017, Steven Sande
New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of Texas
What are we looking forward to in 2026? Our first trip starts in late March and is one of our fun RV camping trips. This time, our ultimate destination is New Orleans and the National World War II Museum. We have all of our RV parks, state park campgrounds, and RV resorts booked and in many cases paid for. The RV goes in for some heavy maintenance in February, and our towed vehicle “Mr. Toad” goes in for a check soon after. Before we leave on the trip I always take advantage of the Les Schwab Tire Centers free pre-trip safety check. One of these days that check may result in us needing to buy six new tires (and a spare!), but we feel that the assurance of safety we’ve gotten from these free checks is worth the money we’ll eventually spend with our local Les Schwab store.
I’m also taking the opportunity to make some upgrades to the RV. We’re improving the security of the vehicle with an RVLock Atlas keyless entry system, I’m replacing a few door handles that had stripped screws on them, and we upgraded to the LevelMate Max to hopefully help us park the rig in a more level attitude. I’m also hoping that some work I did last year will stop a leak that occurred every time we used the shower (a fitting near the drain was loose).
That trip takes us through eastern Colorado and the state of Kansas before turning south toward Oklahoma City. We have a couple of nights in Arlington, TX (a visit to the National Medal of Honor Museum is in the plans), one night in Tyler, TX, and then head to Vidalia, LA for one night of camping next to the mighty Mississippi River.
Once we get to New Orleans, we have four nights planned at the New Orleans RV Park and Marina on Lake Ponchartrain. After our days of wandering the National World War II Museum, we head southwest to Palmetto Island State Park (LA), Galveston Island, Corpus Christi, and then South Padre Island, TX. I know the chances are slim, but I would be the happiest guy on Earth if we happened to be at the KOA on South Padre Island when a SpaceX SuperHeavy/Starship lifts off from Starbase, TX…
From there it’s to Choke Canyon State Park near the bustling urban center of Calliham, TX, then three nights in the beautiful Texas hill country near Fredericksburg at the Arch Ray Resort. On the way home we’ll spend another night at Abilene State Park, one in Amarillo at the Big Texan RV Ranch (no, we’re not trying for the free 72-ounce steak at the steakhouse), and then re-winterize the vehicle in Pueblo (actually closer to Colorado City) CO before making it back home.
Great Lakes Explorer Cruise
In June, we’re finally (God willing) going to be doing a trip that we have had on our list for years. We’ve done dozens of oceangoing cruises, a handful of river cruises, but we wanted to cruise the Great Lakes.
This one starts with a flight to Toronto and two nights in a hotel in this bustling city. We board the Pearl Sea Cruises Pearl Mist in Toronto, a small cruise ship that can carry up to 210 guests. Our destination is Duluth, MN, but along the way we visit a lot of ports and all of the Great Lakes:
Although the map makes it appear as if we’ll be going over Niagara Falls, the Welland canal runs between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie (actually St. Catherine’s and Port Colborne, ON) so we won’t be wrecking the ship with a 164-foot drop.
Most cruises we go on offer shore excursions well in advance of the trip, so we usually know exactly what we’ll be doing every day. That’s not the case here — as of the end of January, we still haven’t been able to book the excursions, although we do have an idea of some of the tours (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Horse Carriage Ride on Mackinac Island, Scenic Railways of Duluth, etc…). The cruise company is also handling the air arrangements, which of course is contrary to our “gotta have everything planned in advance” mentalities.
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO. Photo © 2021, Steven Sande
Weekend Camping Trip
We return from the cruise… and about two weeks later head out on a short RV trip. It’s short both in time and in mileage — we’re actually going south just about 50 miles to Colorado Springs to spend a weekend. This is a trip we had planned for last summer, but Barb’s eye issues prevented us from going.
There’s a lot to see in Colorado Springs, which is why we’re doing this trip. There’s the National Museum of World War II Aviation, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (which we haven’t visited in years), and a lot of good restaurants.
For years we’ve booked campsites at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, and then had to cancel our trips for one reason or another. This time, the State Park was full, so we’re booked at the Garden of the Gods RV Resort.
Three nights, two full days. Just long enough to relax a bit.
April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. Photo © 2024, Steven Sande
Eclipse Cruise Oceania Marina Copenhagen to Reykjavik
Another short stay at home to reacquaint ourselves with our cat, and then we’re off to Copenhagen where we’ll hop on board Oceania Marina for a cruise that ends in Reykjavik, Iceland the day after a total solar eclipse on August 12.
We’ve been to Copenhagen before, as well as several of the other ports of call on this cruise — Oslo, Norway; Edinburgh, Scotland; Tórshavn, Faroe Islands; and both Akureyri and Reykjavik in Iceland. What will be new to us are several other ports in Norway and Scotland, and three new ports in Iceland.
Over the years we have been blessed to see three total solar eclipses, all with the weather cooperating. To be honest with you, our chances of seeing this eclipse without clouds interfering are pretty small. But at least we can see it get dark, even if there are clouds!
Believe it or not, we do have all of our shore excursions booked for this trip! We also made our air reservations quite a while ago (we’re taking Icelandair both ways), and were able to use Marriott Bonvoy points to book a room at the Nobis Hotel Copenhagen for two nights before the cruise.
Heaven On Wheels (RV) and Mr. Toad (the truck). Photo © 2025, Steven Sande
Another short RV trip?
We can’t get enough of hanging out in Heaven On Wheels, our 2023 Thor Compass 23TW RV, so we’re tentatively planning to spend time at Steamboat Lake State Park in September.
Nothing’s booked yet for this trip; we can’t even plan on trying to get a campsite until mid-March, and the trip depends on a site being available for four nights. If we are able to go on this trip, we should be blessed with some great fall colors.
Celebrity APEX, a sister ship to Celebrity XCEL. Photo © 2021, Steven Sande
And yet another cruise!
What? Two cruises aren’t enough for 2026? Well, we always enjoy spending time on cruise ships in the Caribbean and soaking up both sun and humidity (hey, the relative humidity here at home right now is a whopping 11% and the skin on my hands is like sandpaper), so we’re booked on Celebrity XCEL for a 10-day trip leaving at the end of November.
We have a couple of days in Miami ahead of the trip (once again using Bonvoy points), some days at sea before consecutive days in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, and then we head back to Miami.
Your Mileage May Vary
Of course, whether we actually make all of these trips depends on our health and other factors beyond our control. One lesson the past year drove home is that “Man plans, God laughs”. Even though we were able to complete two very fun trips in 2025, several were canceled when Barb encountered eye issues that eventually resulted in surgery.
What do we do when trips are canceled? We move on. Health and happiness is more than just going on another trip. Although both of us might have been disappointed when we couldn’t go on more camping trips last year, we got over it. You make adjustments to what you can and can’t accomplish with travel, and do what you can.
Whatever happens in 2026, stay tuned and we’ll take you along for the adventure!
Can’t wait to hear about the Great Lakes cruise. We had hopes of doing that trip but covid reared its ugly head. Thanks for Leto g is travel along. We are headed on 2 cruises this year also. Enjoy!!