Last weekend we went shopping for a proper map (because you should always have a paper version with you on the road in case your electronic gadgets run out of power), some city guides (it's all on the net, but I still want to stroll the pages back and forth) and summer clothes (I simply don't know whatever happened to my old ones). We were actually supposed to be doing something totally different and more important, but once I get my mind settled and need to get out of the house, there's nothing anyone can do to change my mind. As Saturday happened to be the last day of school, a trip to Helsinki and a visit to a nice café was enough to persuade our youngsters to come with us. Some quality time for the whole family!
After we had enjoyed a well-earned breakfast of sandwiches, lattes and sweet delicacies, and my husband had in a very detailed manner taught our boys how to admire ladies' "feminine parts" without anyone noticing, we were dying of laughter and ready to hit the shops. I have for some years found it quite difficult to find decent and yet relaxed summer clothes from Finland, and have bought them on our trips to Italy or online instead. I'm not even looking for something really special, but still it feels hopeless to find nice summer-colored clothes that aren't rags or don't cost 100 € each. Well, a dear colleague of mine had said that Marks & Spencer (within Sokos department store in Helsinki) is something to consider, and there we went. Ohhhh the surprise when I found linen shirts of multiple summer colors (light yellow, light blue, with and without stripes..), pretty t-shirts, beachwear and even some very formal attire. Really nice. I tried on the shirts and thought that the M&S designs fit a Northern wide-shouldered woman like myself very well indeed. Me likey!
My husband walked in to Halonen department store, picked a few shirts and a pair of shorts, and was ready in 15 minutes. That's... not natural.
Then to get the map! Suomalainen Kirjakauppa ("The Finnish Bookstore") has some travel guides in their selection, but only the biggest or best-selling series. We bought small city guides of Los Angeles and San Francisco and a huge brick called simply "USA". At another bookstore, Akateeminen Kirjakauppa ("The Academic Bookstore"), they have an impressive selection of travel books and maps, and we picked a Michelin map called "2015 Road Atlas - North America". Like I said; even though we have navigators and Google Map for the mobile phones, it is always possible that they break down, run out of power or get out of range. I feel much more secure holding an old-fashioned map in my hand than simply relying on electronic equipment. They go perfectly well hand in hand.
There is always some paperwork to be done before traveling to the USA. You need an ESTA registration, a passport of course, and in some states they might also request an IDP, International Driving Permit. Since we will be visiting three different states during our road trip (California, Nevada and Arizona), we thought it's best to be safe than sorry and to get the IDP ready. Just in case they might ask for it at the Hertz car rental or if there is a traffic accident and we would need to talk to the police; it surely is easier to have a document in English than only the Finnish licence, in which there is nothing in English. In Finland the IDP is quite easy and fast to get through Autoliitto (The Automobile and Touring Club of Finland).
We also still believe in printing all the travel documents before departure. As my husband was printing the plane tickets, car rental and hotel booking confirmations, he realized that we still didn't have all the hotel nights booked! A few weeks ago we spent hours on going through the hotels in San Francisco and trying to decide on the best (and affordable) one, and when we had made the decision and started the booking process, his computer had crashed.... and for some reason we thought the booking had been OK. Well it hadn't, apparently. It took us yesterday some more hours to get the same decision made (I think we even chose the same hotel again), and now, FINALLY, all arrangements should be made!
Two weeks and two days to go, guys 'n gals!
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