Exploring the World
One Trip at a Time
So Many Places, So Little Time
Why travel? Why explore the vast world we reside in? Perhaps to satiate our curiosity and return to a child like state of wonder and awe. Where did this insatiable desire to experience new cultures and absorb each new sight come from? I don’t know the answer. Maybe I was born this way. Maybe it’s just me hoping the world is bigger and better than my little home town and my own small life. Regardless the cause, travel is something I long for and look forward to all year long. Be it a local state-side trip or somewhere beyond our borders we try to fit in as much exploration as our busy lives allow.
Local USA Travel
The USA offers innumerable choices. East vs West and South vs North with all the varieties in formality and attitude each region is known for. Desert vs rainforest? City vs nature? As a life long resident of the Pacific Northwest, most of my travel is West coast based. It’s easier to fully utilize our limited American vacation time if we don’t waste precious time in flights. I’m drawn to mountains, lakes, coast lines, our National Parks, Monuments and generally the outside world. I prefer it with a smattering of delicious food and drink.
Travel Abroad
When the fates align, otherwise known as our budget and time off, we love to head beyond our borders. The difficulty lies in choosing where. A tough choice in itself. My preference is to see one country and immerse myself in the sights and customs. Join us as we share our adventures, the good, the humorous and a few mistakes along the way.
How Do We Afford It?
That’s always the tough question. Simply put we budget for it. As in every single month we take out a portion of what we earn and set it aside for travel. Once we have enough banked we go.
It comes down to what we choose to spend our money on. Luckily both of us are naturally savers. We choose to live simply at home, rarely eat out (something made easier by the lack of choice where we currently reside) and make our coffee at home. I don’t need to eat at the fanciest restaurants while traveling, we normally pick one or two nice places and look for well rated local places the rest of the time. We look for deals on lodging.
When looking at a trip we budget everything. The big costs are flights, rental cars, lodging and food. Smaller costs are tickets, entertainment, shopping and souvenirs. By this time we know exactly how much we budget of each meal per day. We budget on the high side so as to avoid any surprise costs. Doug loves spreadsheets and makes one for every trip. No joke. Do this a few times while traveling and you’ll have your average costs on meals and just about everything else.
“The mountains are calling and I must go”
John Muir
Good Spot For A Sandwich 