- Treatment Plan: Hypertravelosis
- Step #1: Determine Why You Want To Travel
- Step #2: What Do You Want/Need Out of Travel Nursing
- Step #3: Where and When Are You Willing to Go
- Step #4: Understanding the Myths
- Step #5: Know Your Deal-breakers
- Step #6: Building your Travel Portfolio
- Step #7: Research Travel Nurse agencies
- Step #8: Submission of Your Profile
- Step #9: Working With Your Recruiter (s)
- Step #10 Prepare For the Interview
- Step #11 Preliminary Contract Negotiations
- Step #12: Determine if The Job is A Good Fit
- Step #13: Sealing the Deal
- Step #14 Getting Ready for The Journey
- Step #15: Packing for the Travel Nurse
- Step #16: Prepare Your Vehicle
- Step #17: Keeping Track of the Paperwork
- Step #18: Make It A Great Road-Trip
- Step # 19 Arrival on Location
- Step # 20 Settling In (unpacking and finding the necessities)
- Step # 21 The countdown Begins: Your Travel Nurse Assignment Day One
- Step # 22 How to Make the Most of Your Travel Nurse Contract
- Step #23 Travel Nurse Contract – 8 Weeks to go…
- Step #24 Travel Nurse Contract – 4 Weeks to go…
- Step #25 Travel Nurse Contract – 2 Weeks to go…
- Step #27 Travel Nurse Contract Evaluation – Wash, Rinse, Repeat…
- Step #26 Travel Nurse Contract – The Final Week
We’ve all heard the saying “Getting there is half the fun”. This is a motto that I truly believe. In this step we are going to focus on how to Make It A Great Road-Trip.
Sometimes you have to be determined to make it a great Road-trip. Road-trips can be disastrous or amazing depending on the circumstances and the planning. I’ve had my share of both, but more often than not they have been amazing. I’ve driven from coast to coast across this great country more times than I can count and each experience was unique and invigorating. Let’s break down the road-trip in three steps.
Step #1 Determine Your Time-frame
Give yourself enough time to explore. Nothing is worse than a road-trip where you are on a strict schedule and can’t stop to explore along the way. Some of my favorite highlights were the ones that I ‘found’ along the way and took the time to explore. I usually give myself about 400 miles/day to travel if I’m tight on time. This is about 6-8 hours driving. This allows time to stop for lunch or take a quick walk through a quaint town. If there is a town/city/attraction that I know of along the way, I’ll give myself extra time to work it into the schedule.
Step #2 Plan The Route
My best advice here would be to BE FLEXIBLE. I generally have a basic route that I plan to follow but many times this has been diverted. When I meet people along my route, I always ask if there is something in the area that they would recommend seeing/doing/experiencing. It’s amazing how many times I’ve gotten to experience something unique by doing this. Who would have know that there was a great ghost town just a few miles from where I was? Or the falls that were hidden yet just minutes away? Plan a basic route and remain spontanious to new adventures along the way and your bound to have a great time.
There are multiple resources that I utilize when planning a road-trip:
- Roadside America – Lists fun and quirky ‘Route 66′ type attractions that you can search by state or route.
- Small Town Gems – With links to photographs, maps, history, historic sites, climate and town services for all recommended small towns in America.
- Trip-It - Easily plan and share a road trip plans with the free online road trip planner tool.
- AAA – This is also a great resource for maps, attractions, service areas, etc.
In today’s world of GPS and electronic navigation, don’t forget to also carry a paper map with you. In addition to providing a back-up if your devices are not working, it also provides a good at-a-glance resource for state and national parks, historical sites, etc.
Don’t forget to make sure to prepare your vehicle to ensure that it is in good shape and that you have all the appropriate gear for your trip.
Step #3 Enjoy the Experience
There really isn’t any explanation needed here. Enjoy your time. Make the most of the good and the bad. Realize that what today might seem disastrous….tomorrow it will be a fond memory.
I was traveling with my pre-adolescent daughter from New Orleans to San Diego (I think it was July or August). After just an hour or two on the road, my air-conditioner decided to break-down. We were traveling in the hottest part of the summer in the hot, humid swamps through southern Louisiana. We ended up in some tiny little town at the local ‘mechanics’. There was no office and my daughter and I threw down a blanket on the ground, grabbed the umbrella and had an impromptu picnic while sweltering in the heat and humidity. It was truly miserable at the time but one of my favorite memories with my daughter.
Do you have any Road-Trip stories or advice? I want to hear them. What are your thoughts on the list/suggestions above?
TheGypsyNurse
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