When Jay and I set out to fulfill our dream of traveling the world together, we decided that instead of going overseas for a full year at one time, we would travel for back-to-back winters (the slow season for Jay’s business). In between, Jay could run his business and I could find project work. Last March, we completed Leg 1. As soon as we got back, we both dived right back into work and life back at home. It’s fascinating to me how fast time flies when you get into a routine. It doesn’t seem possible that 8 months have gone by since we got back. And it’s hard to believe that in just a few short weeks, we’ll set off for Leg 2 of our journey.

One of the things I love about traveling is that it forces you out of a routine. Visiting new places and experiencing new things has the ability to make time slow down. Routine makes time go faster…whereas unique and memorable events slow down time. I’m ready for a slow down. I’m ready to get out there again and create new and memorable experiences. I’m ready to get out of my comfort zone and have my eyes reopened to life outside U.S. Now, in all honesty…at this point, I don’t feel “ready” in terms of the fact that I have a mile long to-do list to get through before we go, But I am ready for that day when all the to-do’s are behind us and we board that plane!

Some of our favorite days from Leg 1 were ones we spent hiking and being active, so we are planning on doing much more of that during Leg 2. At the top of our list for this leg was to visit New Zealand. We’ll spend five weeks there, traveling from the North Island down to South Island in a camper van. Jay can hardly wait. The most meaningful experiences from Leg 1 came from our time spent volunteering. For Leg 2, we’ll spend three weeks volunteering in Hong Kong with Jason & Polly Noble for Crossroads Foundation (http://www.crossroads.org.hk). We are looking forward to that. And if we can still make it to the Philippines for three weeks as planned, we’ll look for ways we might be able to help there. The lives lost and devastation left behind from the super typhoon is hard to comprehend. That being said, if they don’t want tourists there, we’ll go elsewhere. But if there are places ready to accept travelers, we want to be there to support all the
people there who rely on travelers and the tourism industry for their livelihood.

Although we’ve booked all the airfare for our travels, we don’t have much planned beyond that at this point. We’ve been collecting ideas and suggestions and will continue to do so along the way. As much as I am a planner, I’ve learned that there are benefits to not having it all planned out in advance. It provides the flexibility to stay somewhere longer if you enjoy it and to move on if you don’t.

Here’s where we’re headed. We hope you’ll follow us along through this blog!

Dec 6: Depart U.S.
Dec 7 – Dec 14: Japan
Dec 14 – Jan 6: Philippines
Jan 6 – Jan 26: Hong Kong
Jan 26 – Jan 28: Singapore
Jan 28 – Jan 31: Sydney, Australia
Jan 31 – March 7: New Zealand
March 7: Return to U.S.