I think we can all agree there’s a lot of work that goes into getting away. Planning the trip, paying all of the up-front costs (plane ticket, etc.), tying up loose ends at work, arranging for a house-sitter and pet-sitter, putting a hold on your mail and newspaper… the list goes on and on.
Beyond all of the stuff you have to do, we have a few traditions for before we go (whether it’s a trip to the beach or to another continent).
First, I like to clean. Okay, maybe I don’t exactly like doing it, but it’s part of the routine. I like knowing we’ll come home to our tidy abode. A freshly-cleaned bathroom is a beautiful thing after any amount of time on the road, on a plane, you name it. Yes, dusting and vacuuming before you leave for a couple of weeks may be somewhat futile, but I like to do it anyway.
Many thanks to the lovely April Finnen for taking this pedi photo!
Next up: pedicure. Zeke laughs and shakes his head every time, but indulging in a pedicure helps me downshift into vacation mode. My ever-practical husband asks “who’s going to see your feet?!” — to which I respond “I will!” Seriously, though, is there a better feeling than digging your perfectly-painted toes into soft sand? Yes, I still get a pedicure even when we’re not going to a beach. It simply feels good and right.
Pedicure: complete. Now we’re ready to go!
When we travel with Zeke’s younger sister, Andrea, Zeke always hits the comic book store and buys her a little stack of reading material — generally Danger Girl comics. The tradition dates back to 2002 when Zeke, Andrea and their brother, Zach, toured Egypt. It was Andrea’s first (of many) trans-Atlantic flights.
One more tradition (and this one can be filed under deep, dark secrets): if we leave in the morning, we go to McDonald’s for breakfast. For some perspective, you should know we can count the number of times each year we visit a fast food drive thru on one hand. It’s not a high-brow thing, it’s a waistline-control thing. So this trip to McDonald’s is a clear demarcation between “normal” and “vacation” time.
Do you have any pre-travel traditions? Do tell!
nokidswilltravel 
We always clean before we leave … Mostly because we don’t want our critter sitter to realize how filthy we are. 🙂 I’m not that into pedicures, but I occasionally get a manicure. And for our last couple trips, I’ve baked a batch of gluten-free cookies to take on the plane. (Airport food can be really disappointing, even without diet challenges.)
Otherwise, just the normal stuff — Loading reading material on the iPad, updating instructions and putting gas in the car for the house sitter, etc.