Chiang Mai. Sumatra. Botswana. Easter Island. Kuala Lumpur. Bangkok. Bora Bora. Machu Picchu. Faraway places that evoke sights and sounds, tastes and smells that I have never encountered. I have waited 45 years and we are finally going on the trip of a lifetime. Recently retired, comfortably well off, reasonably healthy and mobile, children are grown -- it is time to go. Around the world in 138 days.
I am from western Canada and David grew up near Philadelphia. We are educators, both of us starting out as preschool teachers; we share a love of children’s books and murder mysteries; we are serious foodies who like to explore the cuisines of other cultures; and, we are gardeners who created a habitat for birds and wildlife in our backyard and grow a variety of food that we harvest and preserve.
We met and married in Vermont, worked in Michigan for ten years, and now live in the Pacific Northwest. With friends and family spread over the US and Canada, we have done plenty of traveling on this continent. However, with the exception of brief trips to France, London and Guatemala, we have not traveled to other continents.
David and I approach this trip from somewhat different perspectives. David is naturally a “home-body,” having vacationed practically every summer of his adult life until we moved to the Pacific Northwest, at the cabin he built with friends near the coast of Maine. He likes digging in to the same place over time, finding natural resources to make things from, and returning over and over to a familiar space.
But, oh, have I dreamed! Dreamed of sailing up the Nile to see the tombs of pharaohs, of riding camels in the desert, of photographing lions and elephants on an African safari, of tasting the street food in Singapore, of seeing the huge heads on Easter Island up close, of snorkeling in the coral reefs and watching orangutans in the jungle. We are going to do all these things and much, much more. So now, David is ready to take a risk with this new kind of vacation/expedition, to throw out the familiar and plunge into a wild adventure.
Our dreams of youth will finally become the memories of a lifetime. Having all of you along for the ride will make it even more special. Thanks for joining us.
And, now, 'let the wild rumpus start.'
- Maurice Sendak; Where the wild things are.
Comments