I guess it is no surprise that as the wheels of our 787 Dreamliner were lifting off from the runway of George Bush Intercontinental Airport last November that I was thinking of a return visit.
Over the next several weeks I thought of how I would have planned our road trip knowing what I found out during the experience, then when the time was right I raised the subject with Karen. She was supportive of another visit but wanted to negotiate the length of time it would take. Then there was the elephant in the room, financing. But even an answer to that revealed itself at the right time.
I started to sketch out on paper (okay computer pixels) what another US road trip would look like, then I found out an interesting piece of information. One of my colleagues on another work group runs annual tours from Kiwiland along Route 66.
I checked out what I could of available tours and was a bit disappointed. They tend to stick to the interstates in the direction of Route 66 and only come off the interstates for the towns along the way. They are also only 10 day tours and miss a whole lot of the interesting things to do.
So I began to think, could I put together a better tour? Then came the big brainwave, something I called the "Jazz, Blues and Honky Tonk Brews" tour.
Blues in Houston (along with some general tourist stuff including the space centre), Jazz in New Orleans, a trip up the Mississippi delta on Highway 61 to some of the still remaining juke joints, Elvis's birthplace in Tupelo, Memphis and Nashville. And to tie into a Route 66 tour more jazz in St Louis and Chicago. My target clientele would be "empty nesters", 45 and over, either musicians or with an interest in music. Three full time musicians I spoke to were adamant that it would be a good idea.
I looked at what it would cost, what could be charged at this end and if there was enough profit for Karen and I to have a paid, or at least subsidised, holiday too. I thought it was achievable but was not sure how to promote such an endeavour.
My youngest brother Wayne has had a very varied career path. Unlike Dean and myself, who have made a profession out of law enforcement, Wayne has regularly changed employers, industries and locations around the country. He ended up running a business with more than 30 staff before buying his own business a few months ago.
Wayne also plays guitar and fronts a band in the mid-north, 9 hours drive from where Dean and I are based. His eldest son is currently learning sound reinforcement and recording, Wayne is setting up a recording studio for local musicians and is a whizz with things like Facebook.
This afternoon I was speaking to Wayne on the phone and mentioned I wanted to come up and see him to pick his brains. I had hoped to travel the extra 2 hours north of Auckland on Karen's next trip to Hearty Towers for her transplant review, but that is next week. She has her clinic on the Wednesday afternoon and at 8:30 on the Thursday I have to be on the range for our IPSC Handgun Nationals.
I gave Wayne a basic outline of my thoughts and he said that guerrilla Facebook (GFA) advertising was the way to go. He has a local GFA "guru" who could give me some pointers. "But" he said. "I think there are other avenues you could go. I think you should talk to my travel broker as he works with a company that does escorted tours all round the world. I think he could give you some ideas".
I left the call with Wayne after promising to get up to see him in the next couple of months. I think he misunderstood me because less than an hour later he sent me a text. His travel broker, Cam. could meet with me any time this coming week except Tuesday morning.
I phoned Cam and introduced myself, telling him that I thought Wayne had got his wires crossed. I would not be able to see him this trip. Cam had time to talk (Sunday afternoon here) so we did a bit of brainstorming. I told him of my thoughts and he was enthusiastic on the idea. He especially liked the music themed tour of Southern States.
Cam told me he needed to speak to those at the travel company he mainly works with. There are some I's to dot and T's to cross (would I need a passenger service license to take paying customers (6-8) in a mini van?), that sort of thing. But Cam was, as I said, enthusiastic. he was on speakerphone and at one time his wife called out "I want to come on that trip". Cam said that he understood that the outcome we wanted was a paid trip back to the US, although we would have to pay for some extra time that Karen would want.
So will we be running a tour in the US sometime in the near future? Who knows. But I am looking very seriously at setting it up for a retirement activity when I do eventually decide to stop working for the government. After all, if we can get an overseas holiday every year or two out of it why not enjoy the perks.
We won't get rich but think of the fun we'll have.
Over the next several weeks I thought of how I would have planned our road trip knowing what I found out during the experience, then when the time was right I raised the subject with Karen. She was supportive of another visit but wanted to negotiate the length of time it would take. Then there was the elephant in the room, financing. But even an answer to that revealed itself at the right time.
I started to sketch out on paper (okay computer pixels) what another US road trip would look like, then I found out an interesting piece of information. One of my colleagues on another work group runs annual tours from Kiwiland along Route 66.
I checked out what I could of available tours and was a bit disappointed. They tend to stick to the interstates in the direction of Route 66 and only come off the interstates for the towns along the way. They are also only 10 day tours and miss a whole lot of the interesting things to do.
So I began to think, could I put together a better tour? Then came the big brainwave, something I called the "Jazz, Blues and Honky Tonk Brews" tour.
Blues in Houston (along with some general tourist stuff including the space centre), Jazz in New Orleans, a trip up the Mississippi delta on Highway 61 to some of the still remaining juke joints, Elvis's birthplace in Tupelo, Memphis and Nashville. And to tie into a Route 66 tour more jazz in St Louis and Chicago. My target clientele would be "empty nesters", 45 and over, either musicians or with an interest in music. Three full time musicians I spoke to were adamant that it would be a good idea.
I looked at what it would cost, what could be charged at this end and if there was enough profit for Karen and I to have a paid, or at least subsidised, holiday too. I thought it was achievable but was not sure how to promote such an endeavour.
My youngest brother Wayne has had a very varied career path. Unlike Dean and myself, who have made a profession out of law enforcement, Wayne has regularly changed employers, industries and locations around the country. He ended up running a business with more than 30 staff before buying his own business a few months ago.
Wayne also plays guitar and fronts a band in the mid-north, 9 hours drive from where Dean and I are based. His eldest son is currently learning sound reinforcement and recording, Wayne is setting up a recording studio for local musicians and is a whizz with things like Facebook.
This afternoon I was speaking to Wayne on the phone and mentioned I wanted to come up and see him to pick his brains. I had hoped to travel the extra 2 hours north of Auckland on Karen's next trip to Hearty Towers for her transplant review, but that is next week. She has her clinic on the Wednesday afternoon and at 8:30 on the Thursday I have to be on the range for our IPSC Handgun Nationals.
I gave Wayne a basic outline of my thoughts and he said that guerrilla Facebook (GFA) advertising was the way to go. He has a local GFA "guru" who could give me some pointers. "But" he said. "I think there are other avenues you could go. I think you should talk to my travel broker as he works with a company that does escorted tours all round the world. I think he could give you some ideas".
I left the call with Wayne after promising to get up to see him in the next couple of months. I think he misunderstood me because less than an hour later he sent me a text. His travel broker, Cam. could meet with me any time this coming week except Tuesday morning.
I phoned Cam and introduced myself, telling him that I thought Wayne had got his wires crossed. I would not be able to see him this trip. Cam had time to talk (Sunday afternoon here) so we did a bit of brainstorming. I told him of my thoughts and he was enthusiastic on the idea. He especially liked the music themed tour of Southern States.
Cam told me he needed to speak to those at the travel company he mainly works with. There are some I's to dot and T's to cross (would I need a passenger service license to take paying customers (6-8) in a mini van?), that sort of thing. But Cam was, as I said, enthusiastic. he was on speakerphone and at one time his wife called out "I want to come on that trip". Cam said that he understood that the outcome we wanted was a paid trip back to the US, although we would have to pay for some extra time that Karen would want.
So will we be running a tour in the US sometime in the near future? Who knows. But I am looking very seriously at setting it up for a retirement activity when I do eventually decide to stop working for the government. After all, if we can get an overseas holiday every year or two out of it why not enjoy the perks.
We won't get rich but think of the fun we'll have.
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