What else have I forgotten?

A three and half month trip is an awkward length of time for a holiday, especially in terms of the organisation. For short, two week trips, I can book, pack and go in the space of a day. Nothing exceptional needs to be done, pack a bag, grab my passport, turn the heating down. When we relocated to the US for a year, even that wasn’t too bad. Put all my stuff into storage, rent out the house, get new insurance. But three and half months is long enough to have the hassle of changing things, but not so long that all items can be shifted wholesale into another form.

We have been systematically going through everything that is likely to crop up while we are away, adjusting as necessary. The house insurance is sorted, along with house sitters, the car MOT is being done early (I was impressed we spotted that one), and all bills should be on direct debit. So, barring any last minute speeding fines, I am hoping there will be no mail that needs attention while we are away.

Our systematic approach has, however, thrown up two minor wrinkles, both related to insurance, and one last minute panic.

We had an annual travel insurance policy that includes climbing so we thought we were covered, until we remembered there was a 30 day single trip limit. Whilst there are lots of insurance companies out there, finding one that will cover a 103 day trip, which also includes adequate cover for climbing, requires one to delve down into the depths of the small print, and even then it is often unclear. However, the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) have come to our rescue, they have cover for anything and everything. Hopefully we won’t need it.

The second wrinkle came when I was creating a spreadsheet with details of all our card numbers (in case we lose them), Jonathan’s European Heath Insurance Card was 2 years out of date! Not too much of a disaster as we have the insurance, but it reduces the excess of any health related claim, so definitely worth having.

Somewhat more critically, I noticed that my driving license expires during our holiday. Slight panic ensued on New Year’s Day as I frantically went through the renewal process on line. At the start the website said new licenses usually arrive within a week (excellent, we leave on the 12th, should be no problem), but when I finished the process, it said it would arrive within 2 weeks. Aarrrg! I am still keeping my fingers crossed that it turns up in time… it will have almost 2 weeks to get here…pleeease! If it doesn’t turn up before we leave, then at least there won’t be any discussion about who is doing the driving!

My only concern now is what else I have forgotten…?

–Gaynor

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