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!

The Last Stop

Acadia National Park, Maine
June 11 - 16

Our 16th and final National Park

We had arrived at the end of our journey. Acadia National Park is on the East Coast of Maine on Mount Desert Island, about 5 hours north of Boston. Shaun and I had both been to this park before, so you may think it strange to choose this as our last National Park. Personally, I think Acadia was the perfect ending. We started our trip exploring the world, from Ireland to Budapest, Rarotonga to Hong Kong and we saw some of the most amazing places in the world. But then we came home to the US and started our tour of the National Parks and we found that there were equally amazing places right in our backyard, if we only took the time to look. So even though we had been to Acadia before, this time we saw the park through completely different eyes. And I can honestly say, I love this place even more having seen it in the context of every other place we had visited.

We both loved ending at a National Park along the ocean!

Our visit to Acadia was all about camping and hiking. We arrived late Sunday afternoon and the weather was beautiful so we booked a site at the Blackwoods campground for five nights. The campground had the usual amenities like fire pits and bathrooms, but Blackwoods had an extra special treat- firewood! Every day the rangers would cut wood from fallen trees and they allowed campers to take one armload of free wood per day. It may not seem like a big deal, but the nights were still cold and we were using lots of firewood so we really appreciated the gesture.

Knowing that we were staying almost a week, we took our time setting up the camp site. Many times on the trip we had only camped for a night or two in one place. In those cases we took a minimalist approach, setting up only what we needed and leaving the rest packed in the car. Now, with the luxury of time, we happily pulled out all of our camping gear. We set up the tent, the table and camp chairs and the propane stove. We broke down our firewood and stacked it by the fire pit. We even strung up the tarp to shade us during the day and protect us in case of rain. We were staying for the duration, come hell or high water!

Our home for the week.

We loved the free firewood, but the best thing about our campground was the proximity to one of Acadia's best trails, Cadillac Mountain South Ridge. This seven and a half mile hike is a favorite of many hikers for the stunning ocean views at the summit. As we looked at the camp brochure, we realized that the trail head started almost directly behind our site, not even 50 feet away! As soon as we saw that we decided it would be our big hike for the week. But Shaun, being Shaun, decided to take a little sneak preview that first afternoon. He threw on his sneakers and said he was going to do a quick run up the trail, but he would be back within an hour.

The start of the South Ridge Trail, just beyond our camp site

My husband is quite athletic and he loves running in particular. So whenever he goes out for a run and says he will be back in an hour I assume he will run a bit longer than what he says. On this day, I was writing while he ran so when an hour passed and he didn't return, I just kept doing my thing. Even after an hour and fifteen minutes, I was not at all concerned. I was just a tiny bit worried after ninety minutes, and by the time it approached two hours I was very concerned. I was so concerned that I had laced up my hiking boots, left a note at the camp and started to make my way over to the trail when he finally came bounding out of the woods. Was he hurt? Had he gotten terribly lost? Attacked by a bear? Nope. He just saw the mountain and had to run up it. And that, my friends, is how Shaun operates. He was actually quite surprised by my concern! And here's the thing. He was so excited about having done this run that there was just no way I could be mad at him. We lit our camp fire, cooked up our dinner and sat by the fire together until Shaun could no longer keep his eyes open. Like I always say, the man only has two speeds; fast and passed out.

After his nutty run, you would think he would be junk the next day, but nope, he was raring to go! We had gotten lots of recommendations from the rangers for hikes, so that day we did the Gorham Mountain trail and part of the Ocean trail. The hike was a great reminder of why we love Acadia. It had the scenic trails and babbling brooks we had encountered at almost every park, but this one included sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean. We ate our lunch on the side of Gorham Mountain, looking out at the ocean. It was a very good day.

Gorham Mountain Trail

Of course, we had to climb things too!

Along the Ocean Path

On Tuesday it absolutely bucketed down rain, but we didn't care. We had our tarp protecting the tent and we were only twenty minutes from Bar Harbor, a wonderful little town at the north end of Mount Desert Island. We decided to spend the day in town. After taking care of a bit of laundry, we walked around the shops and had a great seafood lunch at the Thirsty Whale. After lunch we stopped in at the Atlantic Brewing Company for a tour of the brewery and of course, a tasting. We headed back to the campground late in the afternoon, but just to clean up and change clothes. It was still raining so we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at the Burning Tree restaurant, a cute little place right down the road from the campground. It was a great way to spend a rainy day.

The next morning the weather was gorgeous again so we headed back out on the trails. I still wanted to do Cadillac Mountain, but Shaun had already done it so we compromised. He drove the car up to the parking lot at the top and hiked down half way. I started at the campground and hiked up halfway, and then we both finished the uphill climb to the summit together. I missed out on taking the trail back downhill, but since it was ground I had already covered, I didn't mind at all. After hiking uphill for hours, I was pretty happy to sit down in the car!

The hike up the South Ridge of Cadillac Mountain was worth every step.

It was a beautiful day.

The views from the top were spectacular.

We did a few more hikes in Acadia over the next two days. Together we hiked Jordan trail and Bubble Rock and even hiked a section of sandbar in Bar Harbor that is only accessible at low tide. We split up for a few hikes as well One day Shaun hiked Beehive, a notoriously steep trail that involves climbing iron rungs up an exposed cliff. I opted to hike the Bowl trail instead, a lovely nature walk leading down to a pond. Every day that we hiked was amazing in it's own way. And every day we would return to our campsite, cook up dinner and sit by the fire in our camp chairs, talking about our day.

From thick forests...

...to cliffs overlooking the ocean...

...to Sandbars, we loved every hike

We knew it was all coming to a close then, but we weren't sad that week. Even as we put out our last campfire and packed up the car one last time, we both knew we had just had the experience of a lifetime. Personally, I felt like a different person in the best possible way. I've been thinking a lot about the whole experience and I will leave that for one final post, but I know one thing for sure. Love and Gratitude are two of the greatest words in the English language, and these days I am full of both.

Farewell Acadia!

Smokies, Shenandoah and a side of Shakespeare

Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
June 3-5

Shaun at the entrance to our fourteenth National Park

After weeks of exploring the parks from California to South Dakota, it was time to start making our way East. We drove from the Badlands to Tennessee in two nights, arriving at the park early the morning of June 3rd. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited National Park in the United States. Yup, that's right, Great Smoky. With over nine million visitors in 2011 alone, it totally dwarfs the numbers of the Grand Canyon (4.2 million), Yosemite (3.8 million) and Yellowstone (2.8 million). It's easy to see why. It has all the things you would expect from a National Park, like incredible scenery, great hiking, fishing, camping and wildlife viewing. But unlike Grand Canyon or Yosemite, it is a close drive from many large cities. And since the majority of the big National Parks are in the West, many East Coasters take advantage of having one of the nation's biggest parks within a day's drive.

The beautiful Smoky Mountains

We planned to spend one day at Great Smokies and then head farther North for two nights at Shenandoah. With only a day to spend here, we decided to find a good hike and make it worth the time. We stopped in at the Sugarlands visitor center and talked to a ranger who suggested Chimney Tops, one of the most popular hikes in the park. This trail was under major renovations and was closed from Monday-Thursday, but it was Sunday so luckily the trail was open to hiking.

We loved the drive up to Chimney Tops. We wound through the aptly named Smoky Mountains, looking out on the gray and blue hills as far as the eye could see. We stopped a few times to check out the view, but we were really anxious to get started on our hike. When we finally arrived at the parking area, we were very lucky to get one of the last spots available. We packed up our lunches, put on sunscreen and walked down to the trailhead where we saw this sign:

It was quite clear to me at that point that I would not be making the final ascent at the end of the trail, but Shaun had faith that I would be scrambling up that mountain at his side. So off we went, into the woods once again.

It starts off slow, all footbridges and pretty streams

Rhododendron bushes line the trail

Chimney Tops trail starts off very tame, just a nice little walk through the woods beside babbling brooks and deep green rhododendron bushes with their lovely purple flowers coating the path. All too soon though, that path starts to creep uphill, getting steeper and steeper and more and more rocky. The distance to the top was short, only about two miles, but because of the steepness, it was one of the more difficult hikes we have done on the trip. Finally, after hiking straight uphill for what seemed like an eternity, we reached the rock summit. My ever optimistic husband still thought there was a slight possibility that I would climb to the top with him, but one look and I knew there was not a snowball's chance in hell I was summiting.

It was steep and rocky like this for a long time

And there were other obstacles besides rocks!

Shaun at the summit. Obviously I didn't take this one!

I was not the only one. The trail was very busy that day and the area around the summit was quite crowded. After a while I realized there were three kinds of people at Chimney Tops that day. There were the chickens like me, who took their partners packs and hung back at the safe plateau just before the last climb. We laughed and talked together and nervously watched everyone else start the climb. The second type were the daredevils like Shaun, who would not let anything stand in the way of the summit. They barely said goodbye before starting the long scramble up the granite cliff. But the best was the third group, people who decided to try to make the ascent, but were so scared once they started that they had to turn around within minutes. And then they had to try to get back down! The third group made me feel better about my decision to stay behind!

I watched Shaun make his climb and then anxiously waited as he went out of sight. The view was apparently spectacular, so he lingered for a while up there until making the tenuous trip back down. I must say, I was very happy to have him back in sight. When he finally got back down, he said the view was amazing, but that I would have divorced him if he had convinced me to go up there. So as I see it, a marriage was saved that day by my cowardice!

After a quick picnic lunch (a peanut butter sandwich never tasted so good!) we started the descent. It was definitely slow going, but we arrived back at the car with some time to spare so we took our time driving across the park towards North Carolina, stopping to take in all the beauty of the Smoky Mountains.

Half the park is in Tennessee, half in North Carolina

One last view of the Smoky Mountains

That afternoon we arrived at my cousin Julie's place in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville is one of my favorite little cities in the US and one I got to know very well years ago when my sister Katie and her husband Don lived there. Shaun had never been, so I was excited that he was getting a chance to visit, and Julie was the perfect host! On the agenda for the night... Shakespeare in the Park!

It was such a fun night! Julie, who owns a catering business, had packed up a cooler full of delicious treats including mac and cheese and yummy steak sandwiches. The guys put together another cooler of beer and wine and we were off. The amphitheater was really close to her house so we walked down and set up a spot for our group. There were six of us total, Shaun and I, Julie and her boyfriend John and their friends Scott and Raleigh. We settled ourselves in on the blankets, poured some white wine and enjoyed a perfect North Carolina evening. The play was Much Ado About Nothing and it was put on by an acting troupe who have been performing Shakespeare in the park for forty years. We had a wonderful time and we loved the play, but I must say it was a bit surreal to go from camping in the Badlands to Shakespeare in the Park!

Lots of folks came out for Shakespeare in the park

Nothing like a little culture! Especially when it is served with Mac & Cheese!

After the play, with our fabulous hosts Julie and John

The next morning Shaun and I mapped out our drive to Shenandoah, packed up the car and then headed into Asheville Center to meet Julie and her daughter Erin for brunch. She chose a place called Chorizo and it was fantastic! The food was Latin, so they had menu items like egg scrambles with shrimp and corn cakes with shredded pork. YUM! Brunch was wonderful and the company was fabulous but all too soon it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and hopped back in the car once again, headed for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

It only took about four hours to drive from Asheville to the Southern entrance of Shenandoah so we arrived early in the afternoon. The main road through the park is Skyline Drive, which follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains 105 miles from the northern entrance at Front Royal, VA to the southern entrance just outside Waynesboro, VA. We had big plans to camp, but we also wanted to spend enjoy the drive to the campground along Skyline drive, so we took things slow. The drive was just gorgeous.

Arrival at Shenandoah

That evening we set up camp at our campground at Loft Mountain. The campground was nice, but the real treat was when we realized we were just yards from one of the entrances to the Appalachian Trail!! After all our crazy hiking, I could think of nothing more fun than to spend the next day on one of the most famous hiking trails in America. In my mind I imagined us hiking for the whole day, meeting "through hikers" who were conquering these 2,180 miles on their way from Georgia to Maine. Unfortunately, we would never end up exploring the Appalachian Trail as we were about to get hit with a bad bout of Frankfurt Syndrome.

Such a beautiful afternoon at Shenandoah

If you've been following the blog all along, you may remember Frankfurt Syndrome from, well, Frankfurt of course! It was the last city on our the European Leg of the trip and we were just exhausted. The weather was chilly and we both had colds and something about the knowledge that we were going home soon made us want to stay in the hotel and order room service instead of exploring the city. We managed to check out a few things in Frankfurt but it was fairly half hearted as far as sight seeing goes. When the same thing happened in Bangkok near the end of the Asia Pac part of the trip, we decided it needed a name and so Frankfurt Syndrome was born.

So here's how it all went down this time. When we woke up there was a thick fog all around us, but that was no big deal so we grabbed our toothbrushes and headed over to the bathrooms to clean up. As I headed back to the tent, it started to rain and then it started to pour. I was freezing and soaked so I made a quick beeline for the car, started the engine and cranked up the heat. Pretty soon I was joined by Shaun, who was even more soaked than me. After watching big pools of water develop all around our formerly nice campsite, Shaun turned to me and asked what I thought about trying to drive back to Massachusetts in one day. He didn't have to ask twice. We waited for the rain to slow a bit and then packed up all of our mud and rain soaked gear in the car and got back on Skyline drive.

Minutes before the deluge began

The fog was thick as pea soup as this bunny can attest.

Although I think I'll always regret not hiking the Appalacian Trail that day, it wasn't a total loss. We took Skyline drive all the way up to the Northern Entrance, stopping along the way to take in the views of this beautiful park. During the drive we saw lots of wildlife, including not one, but two fawns who couldn't have been more than a few weeks old. So we felt like we had at least seen the park, if not in the way we had intended.

We were laughing because we were reading the wildlife exhibit behind Shaun when this deer popped out of the woods!

This little guy stood no higher than my knee and he was trapped on the side of the road by the brick wall. We called the rangers and they sent someone to rescue him.

Another ten miles down the road we met these two. It was like Bambi! Only happier because her mother was still alive!


And once we left the park we drove...and drove...and drove. Fourteen and a half hours to be exact. We pulled up at my sister's house in Milford, MA at 2AM, having let them know we would be very late arrivals. We left all our stuff in the car, walked upstairs and fell into bed, completely exhausted.

Our stop at my sister's was just a quick one. We had one last National Park on the agenda, but first up was my college reunion. I spent most of the three days in Milford trying to remove the filth from six weeks of camping and hiking. I couldn't take off the extra ten pounds, but I did manage a haircut, mani, pedi and a quick shopping trip to find a few outfits that didn't involve wick-away material or spandex. We checked through our mail, unpacked and re-packed the car and headed out for one last trip. We had visited 15 National Parks, most of which were completely new to both of us. Fittingly, we would end the trip with a visit to a National Park that we both have loved for years, Acadia National Park in Maine.

Farewell Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge Mountains!