FAQ

This blog was created for our family and friends as a way to stay in touch throughout our travels. We will attempt to post an update at least every two weeks. We hope our blog will encourage and maybe inspire others to also see the world on their terms. We hope our accounts will be enjoyable and some what entertaining to follow. Parker and I look forward to meeting up with you some where in the world in the next two years!

Please email us or write a comment if you have additonal questions!

What is Spot Tracker under "Track Us"? -It is a service that allows family and friends to see where we are in the world on google maps in real time. We can send our help signals (non-life threatning - local assistance) and we can also signal international 911 for evacuation for life-threating situations. We can not receive messages, it is only a GPS Transponder. It is essetially an emergency beacon with extra (and very important) features.

Where are you going? How long?
- All the way around the world for the next two years! We are following summer or warmer weather around the world when possible. Two years is how long we are giving ourselves, then it's back to our "normal" lives. We might come back earlier but we know we'll be gone at least a year. Four major issues will end our trip early 1)we run our of money (lived it up and partied too much), 2) we get seriously ill or injured 3) we are satified with how much we've seen and will continue our travels in the future, 4) I get pregnant and need prenatals (oops)! When it is time we will know when to end our trip.

Check out or itinerary.

Why are you leaving for so long?
- We want to experience different cultures by going around the tourist spots and by living locally. We plan on staying in most places for at least a couple of weeks to a month or longer. We have a lot of hiking/climbing around the world that we want to do which takes a lot of time. But in between our hikes we want to relax and soak in the sun.

How long have you been planning? - Since our Appalachian Trail hike (which took 5 months and 11 days), we have been saying we want to go on "one more trip" before we have kids. One big trip turned into two years of trips! - Five years ago, we knew that around this time we would be ready to 1) settle down and start a family or 2) go on our world tour. It seems pretty obvious what we would do but once we had the opportunity to make this decision, it was harder to make than we thought. - We live our lives with no regrets and this dream has been too much a part of us that we could not turn away from it. So here we are!

What did you do with all of your stuff?
- We down-sized our two bedroom townhouse and a garage full of gear into a 5x10 storage unit in Austin. This process was a lot more painful for me than for Parker. The rest was donated or sold.

What about your house?
- We did not own. We have been on a month to month lease for years, just waiting for the right time to make the move for our big trip.

What about your jobs?
- We both loved our jobs so we put in months of notice. Meaning: we quit in great terms.

Are you going to pick up jobs along the way? - We do not plan on working on the trip. Innitially, we did consider this but decided against it. We do not want stress of depending on odd jobs to fund our travels. However, if we are on a beach somewhere for a month or longer and we get offered free surf board rental to work a couple hours a day, then yes, this is something we would consider.

Did you win the lottery?
- No such luck, friends! We worked for every penny!

How can you afford this?
- NO Debt, NO Mortgage, NO Kids and SAVE,SAVE, SAVE!

No, really. How can you afford this?!
- We live fun and adventurous lives but manage to live below our means.
- Our cars have been paid off for years and we just do not buy anything we don't need.
- We have both been very lucky to have great jobs we enjoy and have never been laid off.
- We have only been on a "budget" for a year. With a huge goal in mind, it has been surprisingly easy.

How much is this going to cost?
- We have no idea! Actually, it's all an educated guess. We have a "budget" but really we won't know until we get out there. We started with researching major flights for the whole trip. We subtracted that from our trip fund and based everything else on each country's cost of living, time of year and whether or not we were trekking(cheap) or sight-seeing(expensive).


Where are you going to stay?
- It depends on what country we are in and what we want to do in each one. For example, in New Zealand, we are going to be in staying in cabins (they call huts) that are in the mountains and we will also tent as we hike. In town we will be mainly staying in hostels called "backpakers". In Nepal we will be staying in tea houses. But in Southeast Asia or other countries where we will be for an extended period, we will rent rooms, apartments or cottages, etc.

What are you going to do for two years? Won't you be bored?
- I thought this questions was not serious at first but enough people have asked the same thing. The answers is: we are going to do what ever we want! When we are not hiking/climbing we can do anything and everything or nothing at all! We have no problems filling our free time.
- I plan on doing a lot of reading. I don't want to take away from my experience but I will at least read a couple hours a day. This is how much I normally read at home anyway.
- We will be meeting people from around the world everyday.
- We plan on getting our dive certification in the Philippines.
- We plan on spending a month on an island just surfing.
- We will be sightseeing and exploring.
- We will siesta at least once a day.
- I (Celeste) plan on learning cultural dances as Parker taste test all the local brew.
- Parker wants to learn all fishing techniques and catch fish around the world.
- We will be running a lot to make up for all the eating we will be doing.
- An we plan going to a lot of festivals. Meaning: Party Time!
- We can go on and on but you get the idea. We will be hiking/dancing/surfing/fishing and eating our way around the world!