Soon we’ll be enjoying a week away from everything and go on vacation, and I realized that my brain is already there. Since vacationing is on my mind this week, I thought I would discuss vacations – SSC style. Taking vacations used to be no big deal, we would pick a place to visit, get everything lined up and then go. Yeah, easy!! Add 2 kids in the mix and everything gets a lot harder to manage, and WAY more expensive. Plus, get kids out of their routine and schedule, and OMG things can get crazy pretty quickly. So how do we deal with this and what do we do to keep the costs down so we can vacation more, let me tell you.
Recently, I came across an article about “Fly-in, Fly-out” fishing trips in Canada. These are mainly to go after pike, walleye, and grayling, and all the pictures show people holding big, toothy, 40” long fish. A trip like that seems like it would be a blast, so I began to investigate the options. I invited a couple of friends along thinking it could be a good “guy trip”, you know, travel, fishing, some camping or relaxing in a lodge each night, and general shenanigans that end up with some great stories. The guys and I have done other charter fishing trips in the past, so I figured they’d be on board. However, the price can get a little ridiculous, Heck, it can be a LOT ridiculous, so I sold it to them as, “Hey, I think we should take this trip to Canada and get some monster pike! Fly-in, fly-out style in a bush plane! Doesn’t that sound awesome?!” Little do they know that my main motivator for doing this trip sooner rather than later is that in a few years, I’ll be retired and money will be a little tighter. So, how do I tell them that?
I suggested to my friends that we plan for 2016. I need to save up for it, because this trip will require some hustling, both financially and getting Mrs. SSC’s mother to visit to help with the kids. I found fishing outfits that had 5 day fishing trips from $800/person up to some ridiculously expensive all-inclusive trips that are way more than I could afford. The big catch here is figuring out what I get for my money. The all-inclusive package is all your meals are cooked for you, all amenities of home, fishing tackle and lures are provided, and a guide every day in your boat. The guide alone accounts for ~$900 of the cost. The $800 trip is more my style though. We get our own outpost cabin that we get flown to, and then the boat is sitting there waiting for us. We have to provide our own tackle, lures, fish finding, cooking, and groceries. While it is more my style, do I want to trek from the Gulf of Mexico to Upper Saskatchewan with enough fishing gear, clothes, and food for a week all the while just hoping the airlines actually keep it all with me? Short answer, No sirree Bob! It would be fun, but not the first time out.
Hopefully I’ll catch fish bigger than this!!!
Plus, it’s still a lot of money, and I’d feel better saving up and spending it now, rather than in a few more years when I will be retired. I’m still not sure how to impress upon them why I want to go on this trip now rather than “in a few years.” I suppose my main urgency in trying to schedule a long-lead-time trip like this is knowing that I may not have the extra cash sitting around in 5 years. However, in my friend’s cases they will have more time and money in a few years… I mean, these guys aren’t planning on retiring for another 20-25 years, so what’s another 3-5 more years? They’ll have earned another week of vacation, and more money from promotions and raises, so they don’t have the same drivers as me. I almost feel deceptive, like I am trying to ‘trick’ them into taking this trip before 2018.
Then, my buddy Ted proposed another trip idea*. His uncle takes groups of guys fishing in the Wind River wilderness, 1 day in, 3-5 days fishing, 1 day out. We’d take horses instead of hiking to be more efficient, and increase the cool factor, and since it’s his uncle the cost is, umm, well, practically free. I guessed at $200-$500/person and Ted replied, “Well, we essentially have to get there and pay for food.” And his uncle doesn’t even fish! That sounded like a slam dunk, but then I’m back in the “I want to do the Canada trip before retiring, which could be as soon as 2018. The Wind River trip would push my dream Canadian fishing adventure back to at least 2017.” Gah!!!
Maybe I’ll tell them we expect money to be tight in a few years, but that sounds even odder, as Mrs SSC works with both of these guys. That alone would raise a red flag that might take some explaining. Maybe I’ll have to “Goonie it up” with a speech like, “Come on guys, this is our time. It’s our time to go fishing now. We may not get this chance again.” While I feel it’s a bit deceptive to not come out with it and tell them, “Look man, we’re planning on quitting the oil industry and moving to Virginia in a few years, and things may be a little tighter with funds. If I don’t do this now, it might be a lot more years before I get the chance to do this again.” In reality, this probably wouldn’t be a big deal, but I’m not comfortable enough with co-workers and even ex-co-workers knowing about and starting to gossip about my 5 year plan. Ultimately, if things don’t go as expected, I’d like to keep working where I am and not have my boss think I have one foot out the door. I’m not sure how I’m going to approach it, but I’ll be sure to let you know how it plays out.
* – Names have been changed to protect the innocent
Have you run into this in any situation with co-workers?
Have you told anyone about your FIRE date, and plans to abandon work?
Anyone have any better ideas for some good Pike and Walleye fishing trips?
