Our Year of Adventure

Hello! 

Mike and I will soon be taking off on an adventure, and we've created this page to keep our family and friends up to date. I can't quite believe I'm writing this because it does not feel real yet, but it will be reality very soon so here goes...  

After graduating college, finding jobs, and getting married, and saving up to buy a house, Mike and I had a change of heart, and we decided to change our direction for a bit. Last year, Mike were two signatures away from being owners of a nice little home in Bellingham, and preparing to adopt our white puppy Tundra, our little gray kitten with green eyes, and start to consider the possibility of children. The short-sale process took several months, and we found ourselves actually feeling disappointed when the bank accepted our offer.

We decided we are not quite ready for that.  After months of talking, thinking, analyzing and researching we've decided that there are some things we would like to do first. We've decided to have an adventure this year, and we will be working, traveling, and volunteering abroad. Both of our last days at work will be this Friday, October 22nd, and we move out of our apartment by Oct. 31st. Both things are bittersweet, because we could not have hoped for better jobs or a place to live for the past three years. We'll spend the first two weeks of November packing, preparing, celebrating Thanksgiving early, and visiting family around WA. On November 16th, we're off! There are parts that are planned and sections that are not, we're leaving plenty of room for suggestions and detours, but here is what we know:

• November: Nadi, Fiji - Snorkeling, diving, catching and cooking some crab and fish, enjoying kava and coconuts 
• December & January: New Zealand - We will be working at a winery on the north island, hiking and sight-seeing the south, then some labor in the sun picking apples and living in migrant worker cabins in an orchard.
• February: Australia - Visiting my old roommate and friend Ray and her boyfriend Chris in Sydney, taking a road trip north,  a temporary HR position, and enjoying the beaches and kangaroos
• March-June: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia -  Teaching English in Chiang Mai while living with a Thai family in a thatched roof hut, biking through rice fields, taking a muay thai boxing class, visiting an elephant rehabilitation center, and building a house with Habitat for Humanity. Exploring as much of SE Asia as time allows.
• June: Maui - Reuniting with some wonderful friends to celebrate Brooke and Chris' wedding
• July: Home! 
• We're hoping that we'll have enough energy and finances to buy a round trip ticket to London and spend Summer and Fall 2011 backpacking Europe and Egypt, and work a seasonal job in Greece
• Winter 2011 - Back to reality (probably), and fully prepared for working hard, training puppies, home-ownership, raising babies, picking out paint chips, and appliance shopping :)

Most of our plane tickets have been purchased, but our plan is not set in stone, and we're planning to have allow for plenty of flexibility. Our goals are to experience life in completely different cultures, to understand the world from a new standpoint, to learn to live off of only what we need, to eat delicious foods and learn some recipes we can share at home (tourism Tuesday!), to get to know other travelers and locals, to make a difference, to grow to better understand our selves and each other, and challenge and solidify our beliefs. 

We are so fortunate to have people in our lives who have done some incredible trips, and we hope that you'll send us your favorite destinations, must-see attractions, and advice for living out of a backpack. I apologize that we weren't able to tell everyone in person. We have an unending to-do list, and we are overwhelmed with excitement. We are hopeful, nervous, anxious, and very sad to leave but we know it is the right thing for us to do. We are convinced that the experience will help us grow and learn and see things we couldn't have known otherwise. We'll take plenty of pictures and post updates here, via email, and Skype (contact info to come).  

There is no doubt that we will miss you, please keep in touch! Love, Megan & Mike