The Impetus

We did it.  We're committed.  We bought a one way plane ticket to New  Zealand (which isn't even legal there because in order for us to even get a travel visa we have to have an "exit plan" - which we do not) and have notified our perfectly good jobs that we are quitting - not because we are unhappy with our careers or because we found something better - but because we feel like right now, this time in our life, is like no other time and that if we don't leap into this adventure then we might regret it forever.

After 4.5ish years of living in Salt Lake City we have finally created a beautiful friend community that feels like home.  We have neighbors that we can call on in an emergency and who will watch our dog without a blink.  We have amazing friends who we get to go on amazing adventures with and who enrich and inspire us weekly.  We have adult sports league commitments and pub trivia friends.  We are so comfortable with the trails and terrain here that we could take a hike or a ride with or without a dog every day and never repeat ourselves.  We have favorite restaurants and take out Indian food go-tos.  We have it made here.  And we're still leaving.

Bill works for Petzl, a fabulous outdoor gear company that makes climbing equipment, and has a great job with a wonderful boss (what's up Michel and Bret) and an incredible work environment where he can go climbing at lunch, bring the dog with him to work, and saunter in to work in flip flops and a hoodie.
I work for a federally qualified health care clinic called Midtown Community Health Center as a Physician Assistant.  I have finally been transferred to the clinic closest to my house (a 6 minute commute by car and a 15 minute commute by bike) and have two incredible doctors to share my day with and to learn from and have finally gotten to know and feel comfortable with the South Salt Lake community.
We are both lucky beyond measure to have good jobs, to be liked and respected by coworkers, to make a decent living so that we can buy unreasonably priced cheese at Whole Foods whenever we damn well want to and have a kickass rental house with views of the mountains that is a 35 minute drive door-to-door to Solitude Ski Resort - and we're leaving.

We got married 4 months ago (highly recommend it, best day ever) after dating for 5 years.  Took our sweet sweet time.  I'm 31 and Bill is 34.  Both late bloomers.  Me more than Bill.  We both know we want to have kids some day (like before I'm 35 to avoid all those terrible states about maternal and infant outcomes, you know?) but also know that whimsical last minute trips governed by our road atlas and the nearest coffee shop will not be as easy with screaming hungry infants and toddlers.  Don't get me wrong - we plan to drag our poor children along on all sorts of dirtbag adventures - but we also kind of know that kids aren't into forgetting jackets and blankets and ending up sleeping in the snow spooning to stay warm or sleeping on the floor in a fisherman's poker shack on the spit on Homer.

So with this information in mind.  And with the knowledge we have - we've agreed that right now is basically the only time in our lives that we have to absolutely and completely wing it.

We plan to print out our wedding vows as a guide and reference them as we are nearly wringing eachothers' necks after 3 months of spending 24/7 together in a small van in New Zealand.
Traveling seems glamorous (and it is because Bill and I are both super glamorous as you know) but we also see this as a tremendous growth opportunity for us as a couple.  We have taken 2-3 week trips together in the past but have never embarked on such a prolonged trip with just the two of us and no other distractions.  We're both nerve-cited (made up word that I bet you can guess the two derivatives of) about all of the really deeply beautiful moments that we know that we'll have looking out over immense oceans and valleys and feeling like the universe is in line with us and our energies - but also about the inevitable spats and arguments and frustrations that will come and how we will adapt to deal with them.  

So this blog will be about our travels but also about us.