I am assembling a binder for a possible Massachusetts trip. I was wondering how everyone organises and plans when they go lighthousing.

I like to use clear-view binders. I have a few packs of binder tabs that I use for trips. I make a tab for each light, as well as "general tour info" and lodging for each night. I also design a cover in MSPub that becomes the "poster" for the trip. I like to come up with creative trip names--this one is called "Cape2Cape", as it goes from Cape Cod to Cape Ann.

Under each tab, I have four things. On the front is an info page. I have varied sources. In New England, I use lighthouse.cc and cut-and-paste the info into Word and play around with the breaks to make it all fit on a page; other places I tend to use lighthousefriends.com.

Then I have a notes page. This is a simple Word doc. The top has the name of the light and "Notes" in bold. Then I have any pertinent information to visiting the light.

I also have MS Streets and Trips directions. I use the detailed strip maps, as I have no use for the directions, but the maps can prove invaluable when navigating.

Finally, I have any important info I find online on visiting. This might be a page for a park a light is in, directions from the official site, or hours. Anything that might help.

Under the general tab, I have everything else. I place there the directions which contain the entire route, as well as the directions home. I also like to print out logs from the web, and any info I might get here on the CF.

Under lodging, I have reservation confirmations, hotel info, etc.

So, that's how I organise...how do you do it? I'm curious to see.

That's about how I do it. It's pretty insane how caught up I'll get in planning a trip. Basically I print out everything from the PC and then place them in a three ring binder each light separated by a divider.

I too print pages from lighthouse web sites and check out to see if who has the best directions to get there. Also check times lighthouse or site is open and if it can be climbed.
I print maps from AAA and print up the hotel confirmations. Most of the time I take my laptop computer and write in my lighthouse journal at the end of each day or next morning.
Since I have kids, I make sure we do some things I know they would enjoy, as they are already saying "another lighthouse?". I may sure the hotel has a pool, the kids always like to swim and splash around.
Last, I make sure I have enough money to shop at the lighthouse gift shops (I nearly went broke at Currituck).

I use DeLorme Gazetteer Atlases for the state I am visiting. I write my own directions using a compilation of information from books and maps to figure mileage and timing. Then, when I make the trip, I note changes to the directions if I find a better way. I also use a small file to put local brochures in divided by location. This last trip I used a binder to keep each tour separate. I try to find information as to the hours of each lighthouse, gift shops, museums, etc. ahead of time so that I can arrive when they are open if possible.

Wow, you folks are so organized! I usually "wing it" when I go searching for lights I haven't visited before. A lot of times I refer to various lighthouse books which often have decent directions to lighthouses. I do have the map of Maine and Massachusetts lights which is also helpful. I keep no data on my visits other than the pics I take.

Bob

I'm somewhere between Bob and the rest of you.

I do research and develop maps or directions to the lights I hope to visit. I'll prepare a plan of attack and mentally decide which ones can be bypassed if time is getting tight and which one's are a definite have to see.

I'll print out the maps and directions and take them along and include any info I can find about times they are open etc.

I have gotten better over the years in determining how many Lights I can truly get to in a given amount of time. I prefer quality to quanity now. I don't like to just dash in take a picture and dash out. I like to linger at many of the Lights.

I don't have a binder- just a bunch of papers usually placed in the order of when I'll get to the Lights. I try and make notes every night at the motel and then put my report on the forums after the trip. I then print out my report and add that to my lighthouse Journal. I even print out the responses if they are something more than- great pictures, etc.

I guess you'd have to say I'm organized disorganization.

Dennis

I'm right there with y'all. Can't have to much organization. I usually have a limited amount of time to see everything, so it has to be planned to the minute. It also helps to build the excitement before the trip. Like I really need any

I have a binder with tabs for
1. Travel documents (e-tickets, reservations, etc.)
2. Maps printed form MS Streets & Trips
3. Pages from the Internet on the various lighthouses along the way
4. Pages from one of two lighthouse books I disassembled and had 3 hole punched: Atlantic Coast Lighthouses and the Penrose Book on Michigan Lights
5. Lists of HL dealers in the states I am visiting taken from the HL.com website

In the binder, I keep a directory of Kinko's around the country. The traveling businessperson's home-away-from-home.

Rod is in the process of moving this week (and having a new baby next week!) or I'd be sure he jumped in here. Rod probably does all of the above, but times everything to within 5 minutes!

Just a sample of Rod's work:
http://216.46.163.97/forums/Forum15/HTML/000022.html

I have never seen Rod's master plan or book, so I don't know how he manages all that information at once. However, the best notebook I have ever seen was done by Mary Meyer. I don't think anyone could beat her notebook!

Hey Folks
I have the perfect system , I let Pam do it all, . That way all I have to do is drive, and say Yes Dear :p . No but really she does do all the paper, and web work, so I don't know what all she has in her folder, but she has an answer to all my questions .

What I usually do is:
a) Go to lighthousefriends.com and print out the info for each light to be visited for the directions and GPS coordinates and then put them in a loose leaf binder in the order that they will be visited.
b) Do a web search for lighthouses in the area we'll be traveling to see if there are any more that are in the area that might not be listed at lighthousefriends.com.
c) Enter the GPS coordinates for each lighthouse to be visited into my Garmin GPS
d) Use Microsoft's Streets & Trips software to lay out a tentative route and timeline. I put in some sort of guesstimate for time allocated at each stop to get some basic idea of how long the trip will take, the general location where we'll be stopping each night, etc., The timeline is used during the trip to identify if we're "on schedule" or not. I generally don't print out the S&T info, but rather jot down in a spiral-bound tablet the estimated miles to be driven each day and the tentative overnight stop location.
e) Go to AAA and get road maps, traveler's checks, etc., although the GPS spoils you .... really don't have to have maps along with you!
f) When leaving home on Day 1, I enter the Waypoint of the first Lighthouse to be visited and let the GPS calculate a route and direct me in getting there. Thereafter I enter a new waypoint from each location we stop at.
g) Have a tablet available during the trip to document expenses. After the trip is completed and we're back home, I enter the costs into an Excel spreadsheet to tally up the cost of the trip and compare it to the amount budgeted. We retirees do have to mind the olde budget. :p

Dan

PS: Before leaving I also usually go to the Harbour Lights website and get a list of HL dealers in the area we'll be visiting .... might want to stop you know!! Also I take along a printout of our inventory of lighthouse postcards and lapel pins for ready reference in the giftshops. Also pack our Lighthouse and National Park passports. Seems like I keep adding more ALSOS!!

I didn't mention time in my first post. I work full time, so time is always limited. I am pretty good a figuring how many lighthouses I can see in a day. My first year of visiting I had bad directions for two lighthouses and had to give up on one but did find the other (private resident you could see from the road). At a latter time I did get to see the lighthouse I missed (and climb it to boot).