Final Thoughts on a Very Good Year

Newton, MA
August 26, 2012

On August 23rd of last year, my husband and I set off on the adventure of a lifetime. As the plane took off from Logan Airport, we held hands and just grinned at each other. We had turned a crazy dream into reality. We had left behind our jobs, sold our home and said goodbye to friends and family. When we departed that beautiful August morning, we had a backpack full of clothes and not much else. We were both a little nervous but mostly we were just excited. As we stepped off the plane in Munich on the morning of August 24, 2011, we started the most incredible twelve months of our lives.

Just after landing in Munich, Germany. Oh my word, we were so excited!

That was a year ago and when I think back, I'm sometimes still amazed that we did it. Munich feels like it was a lifetime ago, but I can still distinctly remember how we felt that first day. There was a kind of breathless excitement in the air, like we were a couple of kids on Christmas morning. Everything felt new and different and we couldn't wait to see, hear, taste and explore it all. It was a day of infinite possibility.

In the course of the next year, we visited 3 continents, 18 countries and 16 National Parks. We lived in Paris for a month, camped all over New Zealand and spent three weeks touring Southeast Asia. We snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, rode motorbikes through the streets of Vietnam and attended an Opera in Vienna. We slept on a junk boat in Halong Bay, in a tent at the Grand Canyon and on more overnight trains than I care to count. We drove through the hills of Tuscany, the winding roads of the Dingle Peninsula, the scenic Ocean Road in Australia and along the cliffs of the Yosemite Valley. We stayed in hostels, hotels and the homes of friends and family. We ate goulash in Hungary, Ika Mato in Rarotonga and Pho in Vietman. We toured museums and castles, vineyards and zoos, prisons and graveyards and even a mausoleum. It was an absolute whirlwind of experiences.

Dressed for snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

The beautiful Dingle Peninsula in Ireland


When people ask us to name our favorite place, it's very hard to narrow it down. For the overall "Wow" factor, it seems like the less we knew about places, the more we loved them. So countries like Croatia, Slovenia, the Cook Islands and New Zealand rank high on the list for simply exceeding all expectations. Then there are places like Paris and Venice. I had visited both cities before, but they are such magical cities that even as repeats, they were still highlights of the trip. And then there was Rome, which was a lowlight for both of us after a massive storm threw the city into total chaos. In retrospect it's clear that Rome didn't stand a chance once the storm hit. In fact, there were always circumstances that played into why we loved (or hated) certain places.

Oh Croatia!

Lovely Venice, Italy

One circumstance that played a big role in our trip was luck. Every time we talk about the trip, we talk about how many lucky breaks we caught along the way. It all started weeks before we even left. A lovely United ticket agent allowed us to change our flights to fly into Munich instead of Frankfurt and waived the $150 change fees, charging us only $25 instead. It was a harbinger of things to come. Throughout the trip we checked into hostels and Inns, only to be told we had just gotten the last room for the night. In York, England we were even told that the host had been on the phone with another guest when we booked his last room online! In both Zion and Yosemite, where the campsites had been full for weeks prior, we managed to call or arrive moments after last minute cancellations. And our luck extended beyond lodging and flights. We arrived in Ljubljana, Slovenia on the weekend of their annual wine festival and in Belfast, Ireland on the weekend of their annual Beer Festival and Christmas Tree lighting. And the weather! Oh, the weather. Europe in particular had one of the warmest autumns on record. We didn't even need jackets until mid-November! The great weather followed us all through the year as did our luck. When we started our last leg of the trip, we were so excited to camp in the National Parks and cook over an open fire every night. Just weeks after we left the Western parks, all open fires were banned because of the drought and the danger of wildfires.

Our last minute campsite at Zion National Park

Of course, there were disappointments along the way as well. Switzerland was ridiculously expensive, a snowstorm forced us to cancel our camping reservation in Yellowstone and Rome was pretty much "chiuso" due to a freak rainstorm. We suffered through a few colds in Europe and stomach issues in Cambodia, but nothing that couldn't be cured with some rest or a round of antibiotics. We had a few bouts of homesickness too, the worst for me in Avignon, the worst for Shaun in Sydney, but again, it was nothing serious. We would usually just give each other some space until it inevitably passed. The biggest disappointment of the trip was the realization that we couldn't afford to do South America right now, but even that had a silver lining. After all, neither of us will ever regret the two months we spent touring the National Parks.

And truly, any disappointments we experienced were outnumbered a hundred to one by the magical moments on this trip. I will always remember rollerblading along the Seine, drinking white wine in a sunny cobblestone plaza in Freiburg and watching the light show over Hong Kong Harbor. I'll remember singing and twirling in the Mirabelle gardens of Salzburg in my own little Sound of Music tribute. I'll remember the amazement I felt at seeing the mountains of Grindelwald, the waterfalls of Plitvice Lakes or the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. I'll remember the jaw dropping sight of the Temples at Angkor Wat and the fairy tale beauty of the flower covered Luzern bridges. I'll remember biking through the rice paddies in Vietnam, hiking in Abel Tasman and watching Shaun run the Venice marathon. I'll remember the Christmas markets in Vienna, the lochs of Scotland and the lantern lit streets of Hoi An. I'll remember making a Thanksgiving dinner for two in Dingle and celebrating our birthdays in Rome and Budapest. And we'll both always remember how we completely missed our own wedding anniversary because we we having so much fun.

My tribute to Julie Andrews in Salzburg, Austria. I was singing "I have confidence in me", in case you're wondering.

The incredible Temples at Angkor Wat in Cambodia

The mountains above Grindelwald, Switzerland. Best lunch scenery ever.


It isn't a single country or a single city or even a single moment that makes a trip, it is a combination of places, people, experiences, timing and even the weather. But in the grand scheme of things, people probably make the biggest difference and we were blessed with meeting lots of great people along the way. We met wonderful Kiwis like Todd and Sarah who lent us all their camping gear and Mark and Caroline who invited us to stay with them in Melbourne, Australia. We stayed with our friend Vanda's Aunt Aileen and Uncle John in Scotland. We hung out with Neil and Sheila, an English couple we met camping in New Zealand, and lunched with American friends of friends in London (Amy) and Hong Kong (Joe). We also stayed with old friends like Simon and Maree in New Zealand, Jen and Andy in Australia and Josh and Renee in Oregon. We had dinner with my second cousin Maggie in Rome, my dad's cousin Sheila and her husband Brian in London and we stayed with my cousin Julie in Asheville, NC. And last but not least, we met the most wonderful group of people on our tour of Southeast Asia! Nikita, Lorenzo, Aidan, Pam, Meredith, David, Shirley, Carl, Kerri, Katrina and Bon- you made our tour so much fun!

At a rugby match in Melbourne, Australia with Mark and Caroline

We had so much fun with John and Aileen in Loch Lomand, Scotland

Our tour group in Vietnam. I loved this group of people!

And then there were our visitors! First there was John and Doug, our frequent travel partners, who helped us enjoy Paris and helped us converse in Germany! Then came Gina and Ted, who saw more in three days in Paris than most people see in a week! And finally, John, Vanda, Kathy, Kevin and Lynn who took the wine country of France by storm! We loved the fact that so many people became part of our special trip and that we made so many new friends. When we finally settle down in a house somewhere, we hope that we can extend our hospitality back to all those we met along the way.

John and Doug were our first visitors

Then came Ted and Gina

And then this unruly crew!!

And speaking of settling down, the time has come to begin the process. After finishing our National Park tour, we spent much of the month of July and August with family. Shaun went back to work as a Cross Fit coach and personal trainer, but in between we spent time with my parents in Damriscotta, Maine, Shaun's sisters in Old Orchard Beach and friends and family everywhere else in between. And now it is time to get back to the real world, as they say.

After finishing up our travels we spent time with family. This is Shaun and my nephew Keats eating oysters in Maine.

It was Pirates Weekend so we all put on pirate tattoos and gave our best mean pirate looks! That's my sister Katie and her kids Duncan, Keats and Sydney

Mom got into the spirit with tattoos on her face. I had to take her hostage!

Dad enjoying being Gramps with my nieces Caitlin and Erin

People have asked me if I think it will be hard to go back to work after all this, but truthfully, I am looking forward to it. We have been living out of backpacks and duffels and bins for the last year. We have benefitted from the generosity of my sister Maura who took us in between trips and our friend Lynn, who is letting us stay at her place while she finishes her work assignment in Germany. But after all our moving around, I just love the idea that soon we will be settled down in our own place, on a regular schedule that hopefully includes days filled with fulfilling work. I said to Shaun the other day that I feel like any time work gets tough in the future, I'll just think back to Paris or Hong Kong or the Yosemite Valley and I will remember why we work so hard.

During my final week of work last year, I met with one person who really seemed determined to get an explanation for this crazy plan. After exhausting all his inquiries he told me he just wanted to make sure I was running toward something and not running away from something. I've thought a lot about that over the past year and I am certain now that it doesn't matter why we did this. What matters is that we took the first step. Shaun and I held hands and we started running. And as we ran we found all the things we had hoped for and some things we never expected. Together we found new places and new friends and new experiences. We found new things to laugh about and we found a better, stronger marriage. We found courage and a sense of wonder and and yes, sometimes some sadness. But mostly we found a wellspring of joy that can only come from living your dreams. So it doesn't matter why we ran, all that matters is that we never would have found any of it without taking the first step.

So thank you to everyone who read this little blog and followed along with our adventure. The blog began as a way to keep in touch, but my hope is that it inspires someone to explore the world outside their door. Whether it's a weekend visit to a National Park or a trip halfway around the world, I hope you all get a chance to follow your big dream. Just remember, it all starts with one step.

My favorite picture from the trip with my favorite person in the whole world in one of my favorite cities!