Good news! Travel edition!

[lizbee]

I booked a hotel room in Wellington for WorldCon next year, and then I did a budget and confirmed that I can actually afford to go to WorldCon next year.

Some may say that was the wrong way around; I say I read the cancellation policy very closely.

(What I have not yet confirmed is that I'll get the time off -- unfortunately Peak Con Season is also the beginning of Peak Legal Season, which is why I'll never make it to Star Trek Las Vegas. My bosses are aware that I have plans, and have approved in principle, and I'll send an email around at the beginning of 2020. But, knowing it's a big ask, I've made plans to arrive on the Tuesday and leave on the Sunday.)

It's a very tight little WorldCon budget -- my flatmate, who knows how I con, pointed out I haven't given myself any money for cocktails -- but it's also SUPER conservative. I haven't taken into account the three-pay month in February, or the fact that I'll be putting less into our joint savings after our trip to America. The important thing is that I know I can easily achieve the bare minimum.

And, in the meantime, there's the America trip. I have winter clothes, including thermals, and I've confirmed that there's a laundromat near our hotel in Detroit if the laundry service is too expensive to contemplate. I have my ESTA waiver. I have travel insurance. And packing cubes.

I get paid once more between now and departure, and all I need to buy are a new pair of blue jeans in my preferred style (comfortable enough to wear for long-haul flights AND they accommodate thermal leggings underneath) and a US SIM card, which I can buy locally. Oh, and as a special Christmas gift for the TSA (and also myself), I'm gonna drop $6 on a pair of slip-on sneakers from Kmart. If I need anything else while I'm away, I can buy it in the US.

(The shirts I bought at US Target in 2012 have only just fallen apart in the last year or so. I am absolutely replacing them.)

Now my over-planning brain has turned to important things: 

• What will I read on the plane? (One possibility: this is the time to catch up on all the books I've been meaning to read! Oooooorrrrrr I'm gonna reread A Song of Ice and Fire)
• Do I need to panic about our one-hour stopover at Dallas Fort Worth on the trip home? (Probably not! Both connecting flights are American Airlines, we'll be fine)
• Is it too soon to worry that I'll cry so hard in Hamilton that I'll ruin my eye make-up?
• Is it weird to be excited that, after I get back from the US, I'll be able to start over-planning for Wellington?

Comments

[nonelvis]

I need to look into hotels now that the con has released that info -- which one are you staying in? I also need to figure out whether it makes more sense to visit Melbourne before or after Wellington, but some of that will depend on the spouse's likely work schedule. OMG, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING.

Have you read NK Jemisin's Broken Earth or Inheritance trilogies? Both are nice and long and suitable for trans-Pacific flights.

[lizbee]

I'm staying at the Mercure Abel Tasman, which is 10 minutes' walk from the venue and also cost less than AU$1000.

I started one of Jemisin's books a few years ago, and got about a hundred pages in before I realised I didn't like any of the characters, despite the amazing worldbuilding.

[garpu]

Hrm. Depending on if your first flight leaves, an hour will likely be enough time to get through Dallas. You shouldn't need to do security again, or at least I didn't the last time I flew through there. (Granted, it was a few years.)

[lizbee]

That's what I'm assuming! This is a change the airlines themselves made -- the ticket I booked was Detroit - Chicago - LAX -- and I am trusting that they know what they're doing.

[garpu]

You might not have a lot of time at DFW, but it should totally be doable, so long as the first flight isn't horribly late.

[lizbee]

Given the time of year (5 Jan) I suspect snow delays might be a danger -- but I'm also pretty zen about it, if that makes sense? DFW is a major hub, and if we can't make our connection in LAX, I figure Qantas will take care of us.

I mean. They'd better.

[garpu]

Oh yeah...they won't strand you in Dallas. But if you are stuck a night there, there are definitely worse places. Texas has great tex-mex food. :) Los Angeles would be a good city to be stuck in, as well.

[bowdlerized]

Are you making a stop in NYC? If so let me know if you feel like getting lunch or something! :)