When / Why / Where

It’s something we’ve always hinted towards, but until last year it always felt like a promise of tomorrow or something fun to think about rather than an actual possibility. Then, April 10th 2016, after a few beers and talking about the importance of being happy and taking advantage of life… it happened. Trent started the topic by saying that it was important to take advantage of their freedom, and would love to take off and travel. Michele, skeptical that Trent was serious, said this was always something she wanted to do. As they talked more, it became apparent that this wasn’t going to be just another conversation about a dream. Over the course of the next few weeks, the conversation grew from discussing where and why we’d leave, to logistics of how we’d leave, what we’d do with our condo that we’ve come to cherish and most importantly, WHAT HAPPENS WITH RUSSELL (our dog child)? After a brief Google search of the possibility of extensive international travel with a dog, it became clear that we’d need to leave Russell behind. The next question would be “when?” Would we pack it up right then and board a plane to our first destination or would be allow ourselves a year to plan? I (Michele) was hesitant that if we’d wait a year that the plan would fall through; we would become complacent with the status quo and not take advantage of our opportunity. We decided to tell some friends right away of our travels, hoping to keep the dream alive and well. It took a few drunk texts and a vague Instagram post for us to start spreading the news. There was a hint of skepticism in our friend’s eyes at first, but, as we talked more they saw we were serious and helped to fuel our excitement as we planned for the trip of our life.

So, why the heck are we doing this? Well, there are lot of reasons and either of us may give a slightly different answer if you asked us personally. Basically, it comes down to this.  If you ask yourself to do the following: Take the day-to-day responsibilities and stresses away, think about what would make you happy? Then ask, why aren’t you doing that?  For us, the answer to the first question was to travel, to see the world, meet new people, gain understanding of people and places different than what we have currently seen in our lives.  The answer to the 2nd question, why aren’t we, did not have a great answer. We love our lives in Colorado and we enjoyed our jobs. But, there was no answer that could not be picked up again in a year. Even the love our life Russell, the 90 pound ball of cuddles and love, could be very happy for a year if we find him the right situation. That is really the gist of the “why”, it’s because this is truly a dream for both of us, we had the means to make it happen, and have come to realization that jobs and material things will be available to us when we get back. We may even get to feel closer to friends and family as we share our adventures with them, an advantage to traveling in today’s digital age.  The “why” quickly turned into “why not”, and here we are.

 

 

About Us

 “When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.”

The former comes from Mark Twain and I love it. Equal parts cynicism and light. Those close to me know this pretty much sums up how I approach life. Enjoying the satire of most things, allows me to remain happy and grounded.

Hi there. I’m Michele.

Up until a couple weeks ago, I was a 5th grade math and science teacher. I love teaching, and will miss the wide-eyed bags of germs and diseases, I find solace in the fact that one year in my class is all anyone will ever need to be successful. Truth. I seek out and enjoy change, it’s not that I’m not satisfied with my current path in life, it’s just that the world needs more of my whimsy and truth bombs. This life is whatever we make it out to be, right?

Allow me to back up. I hail from upstate New York, a beautiful mundane sort of place I venture to these days to visit family and find some serenity in the rolling green landscape. Tranquil albeit slow. Fresh out of high school and bored of myself, I moved to Nashville for a change of scenery and perspective. Fast forward a few years and I had graduated with a Bachelors, surrounded myself with amazing individuals and had pursued many adventures. Life was good, but not great yet. Still a bit scattered in my pursuit of happiness, I was making decisions with no real purpose. I was living in the moment and running full speed on a hamster wheel (I run really fast). Enter pragmatic green-eyed Trent. Trent and I met a couple years prior to dating. There was an obvious spark from the onset, and I quickly fell hard for him and his love of custard. We moved to Colorado. I finished up grad school, cultivated some of the best friendships I’ve ever had and started traveling more. I’m grateful and ready for this adventure. Some things I love and will miss: laughing for no apparent reason with best friends, morning snuggles with my dog and calling Denver home.

Hello everybody, Trent here. I’m the nerdier of the duo. Not like, weird nerdy… more somewhere in between the boy in the bubble and Indiana Jones. In my life before our gap-year, I was a bit of a dilettante. For the past fifteen years I’ve studied the brain as a computational neuroscientist, taught college students the wonders of statistics and psychology (you’re welcome college students), worked with artificial intelligence and machine learning things (often to see if we can get machines to do human like things like recognize a stapler or turn a doorknob, which we know is the first step in the inevitable rise of our robot overlords… but I digress), worked in healthcare for a spunky startup company, and many less interesting endeavors.   I think the quote:

“There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”

captures a surprising bit about me personally. First, it’s from my favorite author Douglas Adams, that fact alone should give you a hint about my personality.  Second, it kind of simultaneously makes no sense and all the sense in the world. I like to think I live my life confusing and inspiring people in a similar manner. I think the thing I’m most excited about with our upcoming adventure is freedom. So, not just freedom in the colloquial sense to go and see, do, experience things when we want. But, the freedom to think and write about what I want, unencumbered by deadlines or other life distractions. I’m honestly curious about what I’ll be passionate about as the year progresses. We both feel incredibly fortunate for this adventure, and, importantly, for all of our friends and family helping us out and cheering us all along this journey we’re embarking on.  Please do leave comments, questions, suggestions, points of rebuttal, etc. if you can. We would love to hear from you and will do our best to respond any chance we get.