I don’t know what I want to write about. I could write about Las Vegas and all the fun Andrew and I had with our parents, but the fact that we said goodbye to them today would only upset me again. I could write about the Chihuahua in the pink jacket obediently following his valley girl master through the airport, but no one would believe me. Then there was the episode of my purse br...

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Check out this article from a travel website Boots 'n All.  Maybe it'll change your opinion.  All three 'misconceptions' about long-term travel relate to Casey and my mindset on our trip.  We're not crazy, we're just bucking the trend!

That's all for now...we're realllly busy with last minute loose ends.  I've repacked by bag four times, Casey can't count the number of times she's redone hers.  But don't get me wrong, it's definitely part of the experience, and helping sidetrack us from how mu...
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October 13th, back in Delaware!  We rolled in around 9:15PM after a roller coaster month in New York.  To say the least, I am just about fully emotionally spent.  While celebrating Kenny and Kirsten's wedding, we learned the somber news that one of the most amazing people I've ever known, my Grandmother, had passed away.

First off, Grandma Z, I'll miss you every day.  You have done so much to make an amazing family, and I am honored to be a part of it.  From your sister, Aunt Anna, her 11 chil...
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If ever there was a need to learn a language, it’d be now. I started the Rosetta Stone Mandarin course and can now recognize a little boy on a horse or under an airplane. I can’t imagine too many situations where I would have to ask (or yell out!) “There is a little boy under the airplane!”, but one can never be too sure! Yes, that is right…I have the arduous task of learn...

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 Today is my last day at Verizon.  What. A. Journey.  I started with this company directly out of college, and was here for 4 years, 2 months.  Three of those years I spent with the CVT (COEP (Central Office Equipment Product) Verification Team) group in Albany, doing barcode verification and equipment installation and removal audits.  Not exactly what I expected to be doing with an Industrial Engineering degree, but a job none the less.  That's what I thought when I signed on the dotted line...
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It wasn't easy. Two months or more were absorbed by the constant stress of moving out of that place. Finally, after hours, days, weeks, and months of packing and cleaning, we left the little house on Bell Ranch Street. It's kind of a weird house for the memory books. In the short two years that I occupied it there were four additional roommates, one dog, a wedding, one break up, a roof reconstruction project, Andrew and I's first Christmas with the folks, some fights to forget and some laughs...
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Preparing for this trip feels like we are in a faulty car. One minute, everything is fluid and moving perfectly and the next moment all motion has ceased. Until we can get things moving again, we are playing the waiting game. We are waiting on Andrew's passport. We are waiting on airfare deals. We are waiting on shots. We are waiting on reservation openings. We are waiting to apply for the visas that will then require us to ...wait.   We are waiting on sales for gear. We are waiting to sell c...

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Wow.  October seems like yesterday.  And already we are one week from June!  If I didn't have pictures, I don't think I'd be able to remember the events of the last 9 months.  When I met Casey, I never imagined I'd be looking at the person who could look inside me and find more than what I've always been.  But, she is that magnificent woman!  I guess when I met her, my only choices were to back off from the cliff, or jump and hope.  Best decision I've made in my life!

So, in preparing for this...
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I realize that this is pre-mature of our big adventure, but as I've never been one to be good at keeping a journal or keeping up with technology, I figured it would be best if I started out early and developed a habit that would, no doubt, be beneficial to have while Andrew and I were off galavanting the globe. Thus far, we have accomplished the minimum in regards to preparations. We were fortunate enough to get backpacks. Granted, it took us four stops between Houston and Austin to fix a "zi...
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