We left you dangling in Hong Kong back in June 2011. Since then, a lot has happened. To give you the shortened run-down...

We ran the Olympic Day Race at Disney Land Hong Kong. We both finished in times better than we expected and were quite happy. We also saw a population of pink dolphins living in the Hong Kong harbor. These guys are endangered and are legitimately pink. Also witnessed two Dragon Boat competitions, spent a lot of money in an arcade playing games with crazy Asian grandmothers...
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So the last time I wrote anything about our trip, we were holed up in a hotel room in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  That was over two months ago.  It's hard to think about what's happened in those two months, but since then we've visited 6 countries!  That includes Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and now China/Hong Kong.  Since we arrived in Thailand from Bali, we've traveled 7,191 miles by airplane, train, bus, sleeper bus, minibus, and even slow boat.  We've seen some of the most am...
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My parents always like to tell me that when I was a tike, I was smart enough to teach myself to read.  I don't know how someone 'teaches themself', but they stand by their story.  I always had a hard time believing it, especially when literature and English classes were never my strengths in school.  When I was in fourth grade, I was kept after school many days because I had no idea how to read for comprehension.  Essentially, I would read a story, understand what I was reading, but not be ab...
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1/ March / 2011

There was a guy riding on the top of a truck. There was another on a motor bike carrying five of the gallon jugs of water. A woman rode by on another motor bike with three children clinging on for dear life. A white guy weaved in and out of the already chaotic traffic with a surfboard somehow rigged to stay on. One man rode a bicycle with straw-hats, dust brushes, and some form of plant piled on his back. There were countless other scenes that we absorbed during our short hou...

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Since many of you at home have never stayed in a hostel, I thought I'd offer some insight into hostel living...


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So far the experiences have been great and the moments that Andrew and I have shared are definitely for the history books. So after seventy-two days of travelling, I found myself reflecting. As I listened to Johnny Cash and scanned the farming scenery for any indication of a kangaroo, I started to think about all that we’ve seen and accomplished so far. The photos show pretty much everything, but if I could turn back time and bring everyone with me to those certain places and moments…what...

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Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!  I resolve to write more blogs for the website this year. And make them fun reads.  Not today though.  We're off to the blue mountains, and won't be back until late. I know that Casey and I have been very light on the blogs since we took off in October, but we're going to do our best to update everyone a bit more often now that we're getting into the flow of backpacker life.

Even without the blogs, we are doing out best to create lifetime memories on this t...
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So today was supposed to be a day of "catching up on things". We had no plans. We paid for 24 hours of GOOD internet. We weren't supposed to have any fun. This morning we chatted with both sets of parents and one of two Hocker brothers (Kenny). We did our laundry so we wouldn't smell anymore. We attempted to cook a decent meal, but the kitchen was so gross we (sorry to say) ended up at McDonald's, and we even planned out our train route! So what went wrong/right?

While in the lobby pestering t...
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First of all, Happy Birthday to Casey!  I know I'm over a week late, but man this New Zealand tour is hectic.  We started the celebrations in Curlys Bar in Waitomo, where we had a dress up party in bin bags (trash bags, for all you back home).  I went as a monk with a fu manchu and Casey was a pirate (sidetrack--A pirate walks into a bar wearing a paper towel on his head. He sits down at the bar and orders some dirty rum. The bartender asks, "Why are you wearing a paper towel?" "Arrr..." says...
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The last few days / weeks have been incredibly hectic. We boarded the Kiwi Experience tour bus on the 13th and have been hopping on / off day after day. Mattie, our driver, has kept us quite entertained during the long drives, but I think we are both ready to disembark.

We are currently at the Puh Pub with 85 year old Les. It's a hostel strictly used by the Kiwi experience and I must say it's one of the coolest places I've ever been to. The ceiling is covered in hats from previous costume par...
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Two weeks down, and what an amazing start to this adventure!  Right now, I'm sitting in our windowless, 6-bed dorm room in Auckland, relaxing after a free city tour through Kiwi Experience.  The highlight of that tour was watching a Kiwi (New Zealander) bungy jump from the Auckland Bridge while his friends shot paintballs at him.  It was some sort of radio contest that we inadvertently crossed paths with, and was priceless to see.  Expect a video on the site quite soon!  As for the rest of Au...
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Dated 5 November 2010: Although the next few months will be an adventure for Andrew and I and viewed as crazy or exciting to many of our friends and family back home, we have come to realize quickly that our uniqueness is gone. Since our few short days here in Fiji we have made several new international acquaintances that have just chuckled ever so slightly when we told them how many days we have been travelling (3 at this point). The reality of it is we aren’t all that special anymore. We ...

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We made it to Fiji! It's only about lunch time here and we've already walked the beach, had pizza, played volleyball, re-organized our bags, and are officially relaxed. I am still in la la land, but I am happy about the heat. The hostel we are staying in is absolutely perfect for our first nights accommodations. The owners are native villagers from another island that decided to go into business together. They are only about Andy's and my age, but they have their act together. All the other h...
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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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I'm not sure how most people say goodbye to their families for a year when they leave the country, but Casey and I, we're doing it in 'baby steps'.  We said goodbye to my parents in Florida, yet we'll see them again in New York for my brother's wedding, and say our final goodbyes in Las Vegas.  We said goodbye to her parents yesterday, but are going back there after Kenny's wedding for another stop in October.  I honestly don't know who we're trying to comfort with this process, them or us!

So...
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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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Update: So it's official! We now have yellow-fever, typhoid, and hepatitis A! We've never been so excited! Aside from super sore arms, our inoculations went well. Think we were the only ones smiling from ear to ear in the place as the screaming infants and children around us weren't at all happy with their circumstances. The whole process....only about 2.5 hours...but, we did have an awesome conversation with the in-processor, Ellie, who gave us some helpful hints about taxes while abroad.

Up...
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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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