This has been the fun part. With all the hassle and trauma of selling the house and downsizing, researching travel blogs for where to go and what to do has been a delight. It’s naive to think we are the first couple to do a trip like this, but in fact, we’re in a long line of adventurers who have given up their “normal” life to live out of a backpack and explore the world. And many experienced travelers are more than willing to share what they’ve learned. It’s been inspiring to read their stories. I’m also lucky to have my old friend Bruce Stanley, who currently lives in Phuket Thailand and has been a world traveler for as long as I have know him, to advise us on our options.

Our basic plan is to travel slow; a minimum of a week wherever we end up (unless we hate the place), and more than likely we’ll stay longer. This pace will be good for our budget and our sanity. Once we have a general direction, we want to get into the pattern of deciding ‘on the fly.’ Our thinking has been to follow the sun and avoid monsoons and crowds.

So where to start? We close escrow on December 10th and want to leave town that day. Kelly and I agree our first stop will be a relaxing beach to decompress. With so much stress these past few months we deserve a beer, a shot of tequila (or mezcal) and a bowl of ceviche sitting and staring at the ocean.

So we’ve decided on Yelapa, Mexico. Just a short boat ride south of Puerto Vallarta - a quiet village devoid of cars and high rise hotels. The perfect place for Kelly and I to start our adventure.

From Yelapa we have a general idea where we’ll go, but we’ll surprise you.

Don’t forget to check out our map on this site to see where we’ve been. We’ll be keeping it updated, so stay tuned.

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