Hello and welcome! We are Tim and Joanne Joseph, and we are delighted to have you here. We are a little old-fashioned, madly in love, have a deep appreciation for natural beauty, a thirst for learning, and a joyful zest for life.
In 2013, we sold our home and gave away, sold, donated, threw away or stored the rest of our “things”. Our plan is to see as much of this big beautiful world as we can, for as long as we can, taking pictures along the way and sharing our experiences with anyone that wants to follow along.
Tim and Joanne
2014 came and went in a flash. January was a finalizing period where Tim prepared our son to take over our company and wrapped up some loose ends. February was a fabulous trip to Turkey with my sister and brother-in-law.
From March through October we immersed ourselves in an exhausting, exhilarating, madcap trip around the world that included visits to 29 countries and culminated in a 30 day cross-country (USA) road trip.
After a short stay at our small cabin in the San Bernardino mountains, we headed to Guatemala for almost three weeks, and then back “home” for the holidays. When the dust settled, we realized that during 2014 we managed to explore a total of 31 different countries.
So how would we top that in 2015? Well we didn’t, but still had an amazing year!
We learned a few things about ourselves and traveling that we know influenced some of the choices we made last year.
- Sometimes seeing/doing more things/places does not equal more value
- When you try to do too much, everything runs together
- We are not (quite) as young as the mental image we hold in our heads
- Travel is not only exhilarating, it can also be exhausting
- Staying in one place longer allowed us a better/deeper experience
- There are a LOT of beautiful places right in our own backyard (in the USA and Canada that is) that we want to see
So we took things a little slower – kind of anyway…
We started out 2015 with a month-long trip (mid January to mid February) to Africa where we visited South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana. We also managed a Gate 1 trip to Amsterdam, Belgium and Paris that was followed by a fantastic Uniworld cruise through both northern and southern France.
A personal highlight was spending time with my sister and brother-in-law chartering a motor boat and cruising through the San Juan Islands and into Canada.
You can click on this link to see a recap of our 2015 travels.
2016 took us to five different continents!
NORTH AMERICA – Hawaii and Mexico
SOUTHEAST ASIA – Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam
AFRICA – Morocco
EUROPE – Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands
SOUTH AMERICA – Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands
Click here for a recap of 2016 travels.
Our travel plans for 2017 were a little calmer and closer to home. Near the end 2016 we purchased a small 25 foot RV that we named “Ellie Mae Camp-it”, so road tripping was the main plans for that year. From June through mid September hit as many of the Western USA and Canadian National Parks and National Monuments as we could. Here is a link to some of our National Park stops.
There was still be some International travels as well with a trip to Mexico to visit the Copper Canyon, a trip to New York City followed with a Princess Cruise in October to see New England and Eastern Canada for fall foliage. The year ended with a return to South America over the Christmas holidays to explore Chile, the Falkland Islands, Uruguay, and Argentina.
2018 was brought in on board our Princess Cruise which terminated in Buenos Aires. From there we continued on with an Intrepid tour that included the wetlands of Argentina, Iguazu Falls and Rio de Janeiro.
We managed to take some pretty awesome RV road trips to fill out the year, including spending some time in Southern Oregon, a loop through Colorado, and our most recent exploration of Idaho and western Montana.
2019 was primarily made up of RV trips here in the USA. The highlight would have to be a seven week cross country drive from California to Illinois and return.
2020 started out somewhat normally for us with a fabulous trip to Sri Lanka. It was during this trip that we realized that the world was about to be turned upside down, but the severity had not sunk in just yet. It was not long after returning home however that lockdown went into effect. Thankfully our mountain cabin was well stocked and relatively isolated.
2021-2022 are a blur and like so many of you our lives were put on hold, especially when it came to traveling. We were guardedly optimistic and booked a trip to Japan that was scheduled for April of 2023. Sadly due to continued uncertainties, the trip got canceled. We did manage to get away for a short four day Princess cruise just before Christmas.
2023 has brought a return to, or at least a birth of, a new normal. We have packed away our face masks, gone on small local road trips, attended several plays and other performances, and visited a couple museums. We have enjoyed being a tourist in our own backyard here in Southern California.
We are very ready to start traveling once again. It may not (at least initially) be as often as I would like, but extremely grateful that we will soon be on our way to see, explore, learn and experience as much of this big, beautiful planet as we can.
I hope you will follow along with us to see where we end up next!
Tim and Joanne
A Note From Abroad 
We gave up the lease on our apartment, gave our stuff away, and have been traveling for 10 months. We’re now in Vietnam and are truly enjoying every day.
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It is a wonderful confirmation hearing from others that are blazing the trail for us. I will take a look at your story later this evening when I have some free time. Thank you so much for stopping by. I love hearing from other kindred spirits that are living their dreams.
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Enjoy every moment… 🙂
james
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Thanks James, we sure intend on doing just that!
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There is nothing quite as exciting as throwing away the confines of things and traveling the world! Thank you for stopping by our blog! I look forward to reading more about your travels to come!
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I enjoyed reading your blog as well. We left Bangkok just as the demonstrations were getting in full swing and headed down south to Krabi. We too had a great time at the floating market.
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I have not spent much time in Krabi. I would love to go soon. It looks beautiful.
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I nominated you for a LIebster Award! Here is the link… http://wp.me/p2YQJ8-Dk
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Pingback: Saying our goodbyes to 2013 | A Note From Abroad
Hello Joanne, Great to find your blog and hope you are having great time in Rajastan 🙂
Have a great time, I’ll be following your journey closely 🙂
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Hi Sreejith,
Yes, we are having a wonderful time on our first trip to India. Thank you for following along!
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Seems like quite a few places that you have been to, looking forward to read other posts in your blog! I am also in the beginning of planning my adventure, not sure if it will work out but hope that it goes well.
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Hello and welcome to our site. I’ll pop over to your site to see what you are planning. This adventure has been an amazing opportunity. Most days have been filled with wonderful adventures, a few moments of feeling home sick now and then, but I would not trade this experience for the anything. I sincerely hope that your hopes and dreams come true!
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Thank you.. The feeling of homesick really gives an awful feel. I had it before but soo after that it went away.. and is true that nothing can be exchanged for the experiences you have had throughout the whole adventure.
As for me, I have not put up any plan to the public at the moment.. instead trying hard to stay on course and working on it to make it come true.. 🙂
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Hello Tim and Joanne,
Thank you for stopping by my blog and liking my post!! I really like your blog and your style of writing. Joanne, I liked you post on India. I must say you have described your experience very nicely. Having lived in India till my early 30’s and then moving to Canada, I know what a contrast and shock India is to the system. An amazing mix of everything you can think of. I particularly liked the part where you say you felt ALIVE! Something we are just realizing after more than a decade in Canada. There is no sleep walking through life in India. Thank you for sharing. Buon viaggio!! Rashmi
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Thank you for your kind words. Yes, India is vibrant and keeps your pulse rate up, that’s for sure!
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Lucky Duckies! I’ll enjoy joining along via your beautiful blog! ~SueBee
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SueBee, yep we are lucky indeed. Welcome, so glad to have you join us!
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Thank you for the ‘like’! And maybe squeeze in Hong Kong/SE Asia into your amazing trip!
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Hello Hong Kong Fong! We toured Thailand last November and would like to get back to SE Asia in 2015. We are especially interested in seeing Myanmar before it gets too commercialized.
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Thanks for the like on my latest post, and happy travels to you! I was struck by the Mark Twain quote on your home page, so true, and reminds me of something a tai chi instructor once told my class: “You are limited by the things you do not do.”
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Penny, I think your Tai Chi instructor was on to something.
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Wow wow! That’s quite a year you’re having. You’ve been to all of the places in Eastern Europe that we want to visit, which I’m sure we’ll get to eventually, but Tahiti is next for us.
Off to explore your blog a bit now.
Thanks for the ‘like’ on the post about the Cañari.
Cheers and happy travels,
Alison
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Thank you Alison. Yep, this year has been filled with amazing adventures, spectacular scenery, historical lessons at every turn and a lifetime worth of unforgettable memories. Sure appreciate you checking our blog out!
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Good luck with the trip. I enjoyed reading your blog in Ireland and the photos of beautiful flowers in the bog and the exhilarating Cliffs of Moher. Look forward to reading other stories from your travels.
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Thank you Veronica! The Cliffs of Moher were especially beautiful to see.
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Hi Tim and Joanne, thanks for stopping by on my blog. Your life sounds wonderful, I am looking forward to learn more from your adventures. 🙂
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Welcome Topa. I hope you enjoy seeing our pictures and reading about our journey.
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Thanks for stopping by my Czech Republic blog today. Your blog looks great and I look forward to exploring it.
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Your welcome, and thank you for checking my blog out!
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Wow! This is the way one should live life. All the best to you both for a beautiful Journey.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Its so nice to know people like you.
May your each coming day be blessed & filled with smiles all along.
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Thank you Priyanki for your kind wishes.
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hello there, thank you for visiting jodysscribbles 🙂 I think your blog is amazing and would love to follow along your journey
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Thank you Jody. We would love to have you follow along with us!
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Thank you for dropping by Tim and Joanne, Your blog is amazing, will you make it to Australia one day? All the best!
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We visited New Zealand (both islands) and Australia about 10 years ago – Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney. Hoping to get back someday to see the Great Barrier Reef and Ayres Rock.
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Joanne and Tim, this is fantastic! I’m a big believer in selling it all to hit the road – and we’ve done it several times. 🙂 I just checked out your itinerary and you’re having a grand adventure – I love all the great places you’ve been experiencing. I applaud your intrepid spirits and look forward to your journey. All the best, Terri
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Thank you Terri! Yes, we are having quite the grand adventure. So glad you popped your head in to see what we have been up to, and welcome!
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My pleasure. We used to live in London and I was a consultant to all the museums throughout the UK. York was one of my favorite stops. Have fun! ~Terri
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Thank you for visiting my blog – I don’t know how you found me.
I love reading about your travels. You have turned me onto a few places I might not have thought of. But the world is so big, isn’t it? Yet, so small in other ways! Always interesting. Don’t forget South America!
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Susan, South America will be a probable destination for 2015. So far I have only been to Peru. Any recommendation to add to my wish list?
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Thank you for stopping by Storyteller. — Ray. Your travel sked looks brutal… and I thought ours was hard. Whew. 🙂
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I think our constant traveling is catching up with me. Looking forward to slowing down for a bit when we get back home mid October. I love your storytelling style and photography Ray and just subscribed.
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Thank you so much. We do it to earn a living. So happy when we are home. 🙂
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Tim and Joanne,
First of all, congratulations on throwing off the bowlines! Many people do not come this far in their lives.
What a busy travel schedule! It must have taken a long time to put it together. I have followed this blog and will look forward to reading through your posts during your journeys.
Thank you for liking my recent post with an image made on the island of Levanzo off of Sicily as well.
Bon voyage,
Jean
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Thank you Jean, and welcome to our blog. Our travel schedule has overwhelmed us on occasion, but for the most part, had given us tremendous joy. So glad you have joined us!
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I just have one word: Wow! What a life you lead, I am so envious. I would love to be a ‘professional tourist’ living out of a suitcase, but not sure if I am brave enough to sell my home and travel alone. Kudos to you both, I will be following your blog for sure, and…thanks for checking out mine. By the way, have you come across any of my travel journals? See link here: http://sendmybookaroundtheworld.wordpress.com
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Jaclyn, it does indeed take a bit of courage and some preplanning, but the rewards of long term travel are huge. I am just now returning to shore and have use of my computer again, so hoping I can check out your link over the next couple of days. Sure appreciate your stopping by!
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The Galapagos are so unique, but highly regulated. I suppose that keeps them as pristine as they are. You can actually fly into Santa Cruz and plot your own excursions. Try not to miss the very lightly populated Floreana Island. Only 1 restaurant!
I loved traveling through the Sacred Valley between Cuzco and Machu Picchu. A Spanish dictionary would come in handy when talking to the locals. Even though some speak other languages. We liked hiring a local to drive us around. Found many places we would not have on our own.
Quito, Ecuador is quite modern. We found interesting local hotels on Trip Advisor, that led us to other interesting places to visit. Enjoy!
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Some day 🙂
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What a beautiful second chapter the two of you are writing! Some day I hope I can embark on a similar journey with my husband. Your blog is so inspiring…thank you for giving readers like me a sneak peek into your world!
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My pleasure. Thank you for joining us!
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Thanks for noticing our Fall Foliage from Ontario. Your fall foliage images are great. It’s exciting how you are traveling the world.
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The colors were so pretty this year. We are having a blast seeing the sights!
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Another thank you for viewing and liking Ontario fall foliage. I appreciate your visiting my blog.
it’s very cool that y’all are so open to adventure. All I did was visit Paris. Oh, and this Texas native moved from Texas to Canada.
I look forward to travelling around your blog. Safe travels!
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I absolutely love what you are doing. Good for you getting out there and doing it. Also love the Mark Twain quote. I plan to continue traveling as much as possible. The things you see while traveling are priceless as are all the things you learn and the people you meet. Happy travels to you both!
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Thank you Mama!
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Hope you found some COLOR and SEAFOOD 🙂 I spent all mt life out on the roads enjoy yourselves 🙂
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Hello Nuts for treasure, and welcome to our blog! YES, we were fortunate to win in both categories. Ate some amazing lobster, oysters and clams along the way, and saw lots of yellow, orange and red leaves. Traveling the roads of America offers up amazing variety.
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I loved the views from my BIG RIG but now with my man beside me and our little pup I am OK with the small truck rides when my pets have lived out their lives I will once again hit the road as well 🙂 for now I will enjoy every moment with them
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Dear Tim and Joanne,
I’m very happy to nominate you for Liebster award. Wishing you good luck!
Here is the link: http://jollyprivy.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/happy-to-receive-my-first-award-the-liebster/
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Just wanted to say thanks for stopping by and liking my post. I appreciate it.
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You are welcome.
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Oh sounds so colorful! Wishing you a fab trip, just started following you guys and can’t wait to read up on your adventures to date 🙂 Thanks for the share, Bella 🙂 x
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Hi! Thanks for stopping by & liking my Egg Tarts post! I just love what you’re doing. There is nothing quite as rewarding as travel. Enjoy every minute & experience all that you can.
Best Wishes!
Lauren
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Hi!! Thanks fro stopping by our blog; It appears we you guys only perhaps a few years younger. How refreshing after the first 33 followers of my new blog to finally see a couple our age or older doing the same thing we hope to do.Our travel plans will have to be restricted to SE Asia for awhile until we figure out if we’ll really have enough to live and travel without working for 15 years until we’re ready to start using our retirement funds. That’s why ours is an experiment. I hope your trip was awesome; I suppose we may have done it the same way had I not gotten laid off but seeing all these kids of this generation “live with online income” or have a “career as a blogger” I’m confident we’ll be OK with our actual real currency
Good luck in the future and happy travels
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So happy to have found your blog! We are on similar paths and may well be in Guatemala at the same time! This big world can be so small at times. Looking forward to reading your travel adventures! x
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I checked out your blog as well and I’m so glad the three of you are living your dreams. Cheers!
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Thanks for liking my travel notes. I like the layout of your pages. What WordPress Theme are you using?
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I’m using the Twenty Ten theme. It seems to be a cleaner, more simple layout than others I looked at.
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Hi Tim and Joanne,
Thanks for stopping by my blog on your recent trip to the east coast. And thanks for the like and introduction on my sea glass record. I love that you’re traveling together! It’s obvious how much you enjoy each other. Please visit again sometime.
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Sounds like quite the year. I have been to Ireland and the rest sounds just as amazing. Looking forward to reading more.
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Kerry, I was so impressed by your manifesto. To walk the edge of the CN Tower would literally take my breath away and you did it being blind. I have no doubt that your persistence will get you a LONG way toward fulfilling all the items on your list. I’m one of the lucky ones with my vision. My uncorrected vision for many years was classified as “legally blind”, but through the miracles of improved eye surgery and the skills of a talented doctor my vision was restored. I salute you and your determination to live your life to the fullest!
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wow! That’s a great and brave decision. ? Well done.
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Thank you Angielynn – When you are doing something you love it does not seem frightening. We took a leap of faith and our experiences have been amazing. No regrets!
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What a wonderful adventure! A few years ago, we sold our house and moved to Philadelphia so my husband could get a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies. We spent three years on our city adventure. Although it didn’t take us around the globe, I loved every minute. We have moved again to live near grandchildren. That is a different kind of adventure.
P.S. After you liked one of my posts, I clicked your Gravatar, which took me to your Gravatar page. However, your website is not on that page, so I had to find you with a Google Search. I just thought I’d mention it. If your website is on your Gravatar page, people can link right to it.
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Hello Robin and thank you for the heads up regarding my Gravatar page. I thought I had my website already listed on there, but when trying to check, the “profile” information keeps defaulting back to a yahoo search page. Not sure if the site is having issues, but I will definitely follow-up later.
We are currently empty nester with no grand kids (yet). I’m sure that when we do get some, our travel days will change drastically.
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Hey, you guys. Thanks for liking my site, ‘The Traveler’s Guide, to life or anywhere.’ It’s my first post, ever, and I had three likes on it – amazing. I sold out everything, when I was 27! I had an epiphany early in life, that less really is more, and that I didn’t have to wait a long time to do what I wanted, I only had to modify my wants – if you know what I mean. I’ve been to many of the same places and it was really wonderful to see the recent images you’ve posted. I’m trying to figure out how to build up the site, and want to post some travel stories/lessons learned and info. on my suburban subsistence. If you have time, let me know what you liked about The Guide, and what you might like to ad from your experiences. I’d love to hear some current wisdom from the road. Cheers, and all the very best, Barbara Jean Hollywood.
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Barbara Jean I enjoyed reading your Traveler’s Guide. You are off to a good start with your blog. Since you have not created an “about” page, that may be your next step. On it you can explain a bit more of your back story, dreams, and goals for your blog. Sharing travel pictures and stories seem to be well received and I would love to see that in future posts. Thanks for checking out our blog. I wish you all the best – both with your blog, but even more following your heart.
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Pingback: Picture of the day ~ Santa Cruz, Guatemala | A Note From Abroad
Truly an amazing process to go from owning everything to tossing it aside to adventure! I too am just starting the “adventure” part of my life. It’s wrapped up with working at the airline so when I get a chance I GO!
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I think the word “process” sums it up well. It took some planning, strategy, soul searching, in-depth conversations, a lot of “to do” lists, patience, a bit of luck and a lot of hard work to make it all come together. But boy-o-boy has it ever been worth it! Wishing you the best as you move into your “adventure”…
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Thanks! My adventures started a year ago when I started working for the airlines. I’m only starting to really GO as I’m figuring out how to make all the pieces work together. I feel blessed because most people wait all year to vacation for a week. I get shifts covered and GO. No approval needed from management. 😉
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Thank You for the like! We will check your blog for inspiring travelling hints.
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Hi guys! Thanks for stopping by – hope you enjoyed reading about my travels! Just to let you know, my trip to Korea was 9 days long so you can be sure to hear more from me!
You guys are living THE dream! I’ve always aspired to travel the world, but right now life as a college student says otherwise. Look forward to hearing more from you!
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Douglas, I look forward to reading more about Korea, and yes, we are living the dream. Thank you for joining us!
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Hello,
I nominated you as Very inspiring Blogger Award
Please check http://garasi82.com/2015/02/03/2nd-award-very-inspiring-blogger-award/
Regards,
Risty
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Hello Risty and thank you so much for nominating our blog for a Very Inspiring Blog Award! We are currently in Zimbabwe with rather slow internet service and not a lot of free time, so please forgive our slight delay in participating with nominations of our own. We will be back in Southern California the middle of the month and I will be delighted to do my post at that time.
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Thank you so much for the likes. I admire the decisions you have made and wish you the very best of luck for your future journeys. I’m going to follow along by following your blog if I may!
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I appreciate that and YES, we would be honored to have you follow along!
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Fantastic journey you guys are on and I am so happy because you are different than most and you aren’t sitting around waiting for your health to fail. Life is an adventure and the only way to live is to attack it with full passion and energy.
Love the idea of taking a year and exploring the USA. I wonder how everything you have seen compares to Alaska? I have been to some places around the world and Alaska is still my favorite. Northern Italy is a very close second though. Venice is an amazing city and Paris is also beautiful. I found a great spot on one of the Marshall Islands called Kwajalein. I could sit there forever and watch the waves crash into the atoll. The south Pacific is so beautiful and makes Hawaii look pedestrian.
I look forward to following your travels and adventures and I can’t wait to get my family out there and show them the world.
rob
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Rob, I agree with you that we are far from ready to simply sit in our rocking chair and wait. This planet is huge and contains such variety, both in nature and her people. We are enjoying our lives to the fullest. We have not been to the Marshall Islands yet and will put that on my “to research list”. I have been fortunate to have traveled to Alaska on several occasions. It is still raw and unblemished in many areas, and yes, breathtakingly beautiful. I’m so glad that you have joined us and welcome!
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Exciting!
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