{"id":3039,"date":"2015-10-23T01:08:49","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T01:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/?p=3039"},"modified":"2015-10-23T01:08:49","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T01:08:49","slug":"where-on-earth-are-we-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/?p=3039","title":{"rendered":"Where On Earth Are We Going?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a hard question to answer. It\u2019s also the first (and usually only) question people ask when we tell them that we are quitting our jobs to travel.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s a knee-jerk response question akin to asking how old a newborn is or when a pregnant woman is due.<\/p>\n

When asked this question, I used to always start off by saying San Diego, then Hawaii, then Singapore, then up the coast of Thailand, etc in step by step detail until I could tell the person lost interest.\u00a0 Now I keep it simple and just say Asia, then Europe, then South America then back to Europe for a couple months each. \u00a0It’s too much to list otherwise. \u00a0Is it planned out in more detail?\u00a0 Ohh baby is it planned out! \u00a0I have been planning for years!! \u00a0In fact, there is a workbook of spreadsheets on my computer that is reviewed and adjusted on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

I am definitely a planner. \u00a0While I like the idea <\/em>of flying by the seat of the pants – figuring out the next place to go while on the road\u00a0–\u00a0I have always\u00a0planned a trip down to the daily destination and at least a place of stay with basic transportation, etc.\u00a0 I usually stop short of daily activities though, since these tend to\u00a0change based on the weather, mood, logistics etc. \u00a0Instead, I like to make a short list for each place of some interesting things and just go with whatever works. \u00a0 Anything I don’t get to I’ll hit on the next visit. \u00a0There is always a possibility of a next visit \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I personally think it is fun to try and optimize routes and destinations with optimal weather and cost.\u00a0 It\u2019s like a game with real stakes.\u00a0 All that being said, Elisa and I\u00a0have made a pact with each other that if we get too tired, or our relationship is too stressed, then we will stop, throw out the schedule in exchange for some downtime, and then do whatever it takes to get back on track. \u00a0Of course, life can always through a curveball\u00a0too! \u00a0We can never know what the future will bring so we might end up doing something entirely different.<\/p>\n

In terms of planning goals for our travels, we tried to find a good mix of cities, outdoors, minimal time in transit, and a chance to relax back at home with friends and family every couple months.\u00a0 In fact, we hope that at the end of a year (or year+) we will have seen our families more than in an average year back in Nashville working and whatnot.<\/p>\n

On to the schedule, here is a breakdown by month (with some maps if you just want to skim):<\/p>\n

Last week December \/ January 2016<\/strong> \u2013 A couple days in San Diego, then a week each in Hawaii big island and Maui. Then Singapore and up the western coast of Thailand island-hopping.<\/p>\n

\"leg1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

February 2016<\/strong> \u2013 New Zealand \u2013 North and south islands by rental car.<\/p>\n

\"leg2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

March 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Hong Kong, two islands in Okinawa, then a couple weeks on Kyushu island Japan<\/p>\n

April 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Three weeks of South Korea then back to the states April 20.<\/p>\n

\"leg3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

May 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Fly to Nice, France May 10. Most of May spent going north in France.\u00a0 Last week in Ghent, Belguim.<\/p>\n

June 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Netherlands one week, one week in Berlin, south into Bavaria, last week in Munich.<\/p>\n

July 2016<\/strong> \u2013 1.5 weeks Czech Republic, through Austria to the Berner Oberland in Switzerland for a week, then we hike the Tour Du Mont Blanc for 10 days.<\/p>\n

August 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Budaphest and Hungary for first week, then three weeks from there through Romania and Bulgaria.\u00a0 Fly back to states from Bucharest on August 30.<\/p>\n

\"leg4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

September 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Home three weeks and then fly to South America for last week \u2013 first stop Salvador, Brazil.<\/p>\n

October 2016<\/strong> \u2013 A week or so down the coast of Brazil, a stop at Iguazu Falls, one week in Buenos Aires and then on to Patagonia for the Torres del Paine national park.<\/p>\n

November 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Up the coast of Chile for 1.5 weeks, then a week or so in northern Argentina.\u00a0 Last week in Peru.<\/p>\n

December 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Two more weeks in Peru then fly back home around mid December.<\/p>\n

\"leg5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Spring 2017<\/strong> \u2013 We\u2019re playing this by ear right now. I\u2019ll probably break down and start planning and our thoughts as of right now are to Southern Europe, South Africa for a safari, or maybe Morocco.<\/p>\n

Summer 2017<\/strong> \u2013 We will see.\u00a0 If we are getting tired of foreign stuff and miss home but still want to travel, then we may look into a great roadtrip through the western US.\u00a0 I have been wanting to test out the RV lifestyle as well\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whew! \u00a0Reading this back to myself it sounds like just a quick trip through the world! \u00a0Maybe it’s crazy to have this much planned. \u00a0Who knows ? \u00a0I’ve never done this before. \u00a0This is gonna be interesting..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a hard question to answer. It\u2019s also the first (and usually only) question people ask when we tell them that we are quitting our jobs to travel.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s a knee-jerk response question akin to asking how old a newborn is or when a pregnant woman is due. When asked this question, I used to always start off by saying San Diego, then Hawaii, then Singapore, then up the coast of Thailand, (more…) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[255],"tags":[256,254],"class_list":["post-3039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-trip","tag-itinerary","tag-world-trip"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/crazy-planes-map.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3039"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3047,"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039\/revisions\/3047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.travelingthieles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}