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February 19, 2010

By Erin Shultz The Kokomo Tribune Fri Feb 19, 2010, 10:27 AM EST

After college, my best friend Kim and I went to Europe for a month. She asked where I wanted to go, and my answer was “wherever the wind takes us.” I had a set list of museums I wanted to visit, but other than that, I didn’t really much care.

I always thought I was just a go-with-the-flow kind of vacation girl.

As she and I are planning a vacation together this spring, she has “respectfully asked” that I become more involved with the planning.

“If you make me plan the entire trip and say ‘I don’t care where we go,’ or ‘wherever the wind takes us,’ I swear I will murder you with a starfish while we’re on the beach. Love you! Can’t wait for this trip!” Kim said recently.

So it turns out I’m not incredibly laid back. I’m just terrible at planning vacations.

I wish someone would have told me about this before, although I suppose I could’ve seen it coming.

Recently I went on a trip to Las Vegas with a group of my running friends and, of course, I had nothing to do with any of the scheduling. In fact, for nearly every race I’ve ever run, someone else has handled the specifics.

My trainer has figured out that if she signs me up for races and pay the race fee, I’ll have no choice but to pay her back, go to the race, run it and vow never to run again. Until she signs me up for the next one. She always signs me up as “Erin P. Shultz,” and has yet to tell me what the “P” stands for.

You tell me what time to be at the airport, and sure enough, I’ll be there. Ten minutes late. But I’ll be there.

On this trip, we all showed up in together and I was the first to step up to the woman at the ticket counter.

Her: “What is your flight number?”

Me: “Ummmm ... Hey, guys! What’s our flight number?”

Her: “Where is your connection?”

Me: “Ummmm ... Hey, guys! How about our connection?”

Her: “How many bags are you checking?”

Me: “Ummmm ... Hey guys, should I check both bags? Also, will you cut up my food for me in Vegas? Or maybe chew up a handful of worms and spit them into my mouth like a baby bird?”

I am only one step away from being that kid dragged behind his mom through the airport on a leash.

So after I figured out that I am pretty much a helpless traveler, I vowed to change my ways and be more involved with the planning. I promised myself I would have a list of places I wanted to see when Kim and I go on vacation this spring.

So I have just one question left:

Ummm ... guys, where should we go for vacation?

— Erin P. Shultz

[friday] editor / world traveler

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