Travel Ready

Several months ago now, my husband and I asked our youngest daughter what she wanted for her college graduation gift from us. She answered without hesitation, "I want to take a trip back to Korea!"
You see, we adopted Courtney from South Korea as an infant, and our family served as missionaries in Korea from the time Courtney was three until she was eight years old, but she's not been back since then. So, we closed our eyes at the sight of the ticket prices and booked our flight reservations a couple of months ago. Now, the day of departure is upon us. We leave later this week.
The preparation panic has struck us all full-force. Each of the three of us has a To Do list a mile long. We've learned from experience, the key to a successful trip lies in thorough advanced planning and anticipating unforeseen challenges. I've called the banks, confirmed flights, checked weather reports for Seoul, made extensive packing lists. . .and paid a last-minute visit to the dentist. (As unpleasant as a trip to the dentist may be, I'm certainly glad I was able to see my own dentist rather than endure the drill as a stranger in a strange land--and dentist chair.)
We've put a lot of advance thought and planning into this Korea trip, and I fully expect it to pay off when we reach the Land of the Morning Calm.
David and I took another trip this past weekend. We awoke early Saturday morning with the urge to get on our motorcycle and just go wherever the road took us. No planning. No preparation. Yet, we had a delightful ride through the scenic Ohio River valley.
Sometimes a writer needs to put a lot of research, time, and effort into plotting her story. Sometimes she needs to just let her novel journey carry her along. In the Writer World, we distinguish the two as Plotters versus Seat-of-the-Pants Authors. Which are you? Have you ever tried your hand at the other?
I will be away the next two Mondays, but I PLAN to return with lots of fun stories to share. As they say in Korea, "Tasi Manapshida!" See you again soon!