Planning: The Vacation Edition

Posted in podcastTagged , , , , , ,

“Plans are useless, but planning is invaluable.” – Winston Churchill

Miss O has been trying to predict the things she’ll tell her kids she didn’t have when she was young.

After watching a video and wishing she could smell what the person was holding up to the screen, eight-year-old Miss O said, “Someday I’ll be telling my kids that back in the day, we couldn’t smell our videos.”

Hey, it’s as good as anything I could come up with. In fact, I’m a terrible prognosticator. But I’m pretty good at figuring out a plan for things as they pop up.

Which made the podcast conversation Vicki and I had with blogger, writer, and planner, Brian Hannon, (Writing from the Heart with Brian) even more fun. Brian told us about how he plans family trips. He comes up with solid options and then his fellow travelers enthusiastically respond.

Well, that’s the idea at least. So, we talked about what it actually looks like to be a planner who is coaxing everyone along.

Brian brought forward the beautiful sense of calm that comes with having something on the horizon to look forward to. And we talked about how to blend planning and spontaneity.

This is a great podcast episode for the beginning of summer. Brian’s fantastic story-telling sparks our juices for how to enjoy our planned and unplanned vacations!

So I know you’ll enjoy the scenic and beautiful places we go when we share the power of story.

Here’s a sneak peek – you’ll love it! But don’t lean in – our videos don’t have any smell…yet!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor Episode 73: Planning It Out with Brian Hannon

Or subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Episode 73: Planning It Out with Brian Hannon on Anchor

Two Kinds of People by Brian Hannon

Brian’s blog: Writing from the Heart with Brian

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

Other podcast episodes featuring Brian Hannon:

Episode 58: Creative Heart with Brian Hannon

Episode 44: Hot Tips for Writing About Family with Brian Hannon

Episode 34: How to Write Family Narratives with Brian Hannon

Episode 17: Building a Base with Brian Hannon

39 thoughts on “Planning: The Vacation Edition”

    2. I was thinking the same, Jane. What a brain Miss O has…and I have no doubt her imagination is pointing to the future. With her creative skills and Wynne’s DNA as an engineer, maybe ‘smell-a-vision’ will be here sooner than we think! 🥰

      Liked by 2 people

  3. I love Miss O’s prognostication. 🙂 We’ve traveled to (and lived in) a few countries, and beforehand scanned the travel books for other people’s ideas of “must-see”. Then we chose the ones that we felt WE “must-see”, scrapped the rest, and traveled by the seat of our pants. The most magical things happen when you leave some decisions to the universe! The real adventure and discovery are found between the lines. In the bigger picture of life, I think that is true too. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, leave it to the universe. I completely agree – especially with travel. Like where to eat for instance. Or your post about that beautiful crystal you bought! Thanks, Susan!

      Like

  7. Videos with a smell! Reminds me of an old SNL skit I believe, and the tag line was “Smell-o-rama!” the name they came up with for an immersive cinema experience!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, I’m laughing Tamara! The immersive cinema experience. Makes me think that I heard of a show at DisneyLand (or one of the theme parks) where you watch a Harry Potter movie (or something) and spiders come down from the ceiling and you get misted in the water scenes.

      It’s possible this idea needs refinement!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. LOL, well getting misted by spider would freak me out, I don’t think I’d want to get more realistic! The immersive experience can get into the haunted house experience!

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Oh, Miss O is so smart! TVs that allow you to smell! Now she’s who you should have on the podcast, she’d be a much better guest than me. Smarter, wiser, funnier. Certainly a better speaker. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😎😎😎

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, you’ve given me an idea – you and Miss O interviewing each other. Now that would be great! Loved having you on this podcast, Brian! It’s so good!

      Like

  12. Oh, I’m very much a planner….but I’ve also learned to be Gumby. Make a plan, execute plan, when life laughs and blows up the plan, it’s time for a detour. Please tell Miss O if she’s the one who creates scented videos to also create an option for leaving the scent off. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sounds like a very wise option to be able to turn the smell off!

      Love that you mention the part about being Gumby. I can relate to that feeling – it often works better when we learn how to bend in addition to plan!

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Miss O may very well have predicted the rise of the Smell-o-Vision!

    I love Brian’s approach to trip planning. It’s good to be organized and have a plan but to also leave room for spontaneity and group decisions to be made.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Love the sense of calm planning brings. And love the adventure that comes with going with the flow. You’re right Wynne, definitely a place to find balance. Just watched on Vicki’s blog. Brian is so fun.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Finding a balance – well said, Alegria! It’s the trick with so many parts of life, isn’t it? Thanks for watching – I could agree more about Brian! ❤ ❤ ❤

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.