We are finally on our way

I almost can't believe it. We've been talking about this for what seems like forever. Pretty much our entire lives outside of work have been absorbed in one project or another related to this since April 2007, and you could argue that we were deep in the 'planning/dreaming' stages of this for some time before that.


What are we doing?


We are fulfilling our dreams of seeing more of the world, and of doing so at our own pace and on our own terms. Both of us have travelled outside the USA before, but never like this. In general, our trips have been the kinds of vacations that most people we know are familiar with - family or personal jaunts to some desired location for a few, short, jam-packed and exhausting days, or endless drives across North America, Scenic Attraction on the horizon, Texaco in the rear-view mirror, and empty McDonald's wrappers jammed in the car's ashtray.


Not that we haven't enjoyed those trips, but they've always felt like being allowed 5 minutes at an epic feast. We would find ourselves chased away by iron-clad schedules with the bittersweet realization of finding places and people we wanted to know better but to which we would probably never return. How can you see any place in 2 weeks, much less 3 days? I know we will still leave each new location we visit with experiences forfeit by the push to travel onward, but hopefully we will have at least burned some strong images and impressions into our memories to carry with us.


What was the impetus for our trip? I like to tease Christina that it was her doing. Years ago, after spending 6 weeks with her family in Beijing, we talked about travelling more, and she introduced me to the idea of round-the-world tickets. We aren't travelling on this kind of ticket, and many years have elapsed since we first considered long-term travel, but the dream is essentially the same. Since the time we first talked about such a trip, both of us finished college (several times), got jobs, bought a house, and in general didn't think much about long-term travel. But though we lived in a beautiful place, had a house that we liked and had invested much time and effort remodelling, and were employed in careers that paid well, we both still had itchy feet. In this last year we came to the decision that now was the time to take our trip. We were both ready for a break from our jobs, and we already knew that Sonoma County, though full of charm, was not to be our permanent home. The cost of living, if nothing else, would force us to both keep working full-time indefinitely or else move away.


We are engaged in travelling to see as much of the world as we have time and energy to spend. Our itinerary begins on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, then moves on successively through New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, SE Asia, India, Nepal, China, Russia, Eastern and Northern Europe, the UK, then back to North America where, after spending some time with family and friends, we hope to continue onwards and see Mexico, Central America, and South America. It's a long list of places, and quite honestly, there are many others we would like to see as well that we are currently not planning on going to for reasons of cost or political stability. I have no idea if we'll get to see every place I have listed, and I'm sure we'll go to ones I haven't. We are making travel arrangements as we go, which gives us the flexibility to slow down, speed up, and change our route at will.


The idea is to travel lightly - although our packs do not appear to have heard about this part of the plan - and inexpensively. We are looking to mostly camp or stay in places like hostels, depending on what makes more sense for the location, as well as to cook much of our own food when possible. By travelling at this kind of 'street-level' I hope to meet more people and see places more as locals do, as well as save money. I've always had the most fun in places I visited when I got away from tourist attractions and just spent my time doing what the people who lived there enjoy doing.

-Justin