Friday, Sept 21, 2018 was an AWESOME day! (A #theLONGwayhome post)

By most measures, Friday was actually just another day. It just happened to be a day where I was reflecting on just how much things have changed in the 20 years since I left the euphoria of college to join the ranks of the working world. Despite the negativity we're bombarded with by the talking heads, the world is a pretty awesome place compared to 1998.

Friday was a roundtrip day from the San Francisco Bay area down to Los Angeles to deliver some training.  Firstly, how incredible is it that air travel has become as banal as a bus ride and it is perfectly reasonable to commute 800 miles for a day of work (in about the same time as it takes to commute to work in the bay area).

Upon arrival at the Oakland Airport, I strolled to the terminal listening to my discman (aka my pocket sized super computer, my pixel phone) on my magical headphones without a wire and began listening to my mix CD (aka streaming playlist from the cloud with access to not only my music, but literally all the music in the entire world). I entered the terminal and casually bypassed the ticket counter because my pocket super computer already had my boarding pass in the form of some crazy pixelated square. Not everything is as smooth as 1998 as I still waited patiently to take off my shoes and stand in an X-Ray chamber as though I was under arrest.

Flight is still a mystery to me, but planes are not inordinately different than before the turn of the century. My rental car was equally un-noteworthy, except for the fact that I could push a couple of buttons and have it wirelessly befriend my pocket super computer within about 20 seconds. My car was now able to also play all the music in the world, as well as become a mobile telephone with voices in stereophonic sound.

I then turned my pocket super computer in to a Thomas Guide with maps not only of Ventura County, but, if it became necessary, a map of every square inch of the world. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an invisible hand sketched out a route to my destination (like an AAA TripTik), and kindly told me how long it would take me to get there (taking in to account a realtime traffic report). The hand then pushed a little arrow along the route as I drove to make sure I didn't stray from my path. Nifty.

Sitting next to me was my personal stenographer that scribed a short message (aka, a text) that I said aloud, and then, at the speed of light, ran off to deliver the note to my wife. She sent my assistant back with a series of cute little faces, some with hearts. 😃😍😘

My day was spent training some new hires on, quite ironically, why we should avoid using technology to communicate. I also taught the team how to schedule a project using sticky notes.

My return trip was as seamless as my morning, except that the invisible hand found a faster way to get to the airport using back roads, as though it was a local with all the cool tricks to avoid traffic.

It's a good thing I had my 1.5lb laptop to type this on the plane as I doubt the airline would appreciate a desktop machine in there. My seat mate on my right managed to cram a VCR in to his pocket super computer and watched Infinity War, while the fella on my left leafed through all the front pages of every newspaper in the nation on his.

I'm not going to get all philosophical about whether all this convenience is actually good for us, but I will say that it freed my mind to consider penning this little post. If all this awesomeness happened just in the past 20 years, I'm excited to see what 2038 will bring.

All for now....

And That's All She Wrote... This is our last official post

Can you believe this was an actual sign we found at a random stall at the world's largest central market in Bangkok?

For those that have followed along, thank you. This blog was a labor of love, but something I was determined to keep alive so that this trip would live on forever. On to the final post....

Life After:

We're a little over one month back and the memories are fading fast. It almost feels like we never left. Work and day to day life takes over quickly. I'm three weeks in to my job and my to do list and calendar is as full, if not fuller than when I left. The boys are moving from one summer camp to the next, and Autumn is out with friends more than ever. Nicole has whipped our house back in shape and is about to launch her next chapter of work life. 

Before we get any further in to the "real world", I want to ensure we capture any final thoughts. I'd like to clear out some of my old notes to make sure those thoughts don't get lost for time.

It's difficult to describe just how important this adventure has been for our family. We are tangibly closer and more honest with each other. We can sense each other's moods better, and it is never more clear that we will always be there for each other. This trip was definitely not all fairy tales and unicorns. We got on each others nerves, and we all had our bouts of intense homesickness. On a regular basis, we had to fake it to make. But like most memories, the struggles in life erode away and leave behind those beautiful bedrock moments. 

We did it. We set out to show the kids the world and broke out of our precious little East Bay bubble. We scraped away the surface of each place, and explored one level deeper. We lived and ate like locals. We shopped at the local grocery stores and central markets. We rode every subway and bus we could find, and drove through the highways and byways wherever we could. We made new friends and connected with old. 

While we would do it all over again in heartbeat, this trip was definitely not a vacation. It was hard work. All those other travel blogs about the joys and freedom of being a nomad are only partially telling the truth with glowing praise of this place and that, of beautiful sunsets, and carefully crafted shots of worldly monuments cropped of the throngs of tourists. More time than we would like to say was spent struggling to accomplish everyday mundane things like grocery shopping, cooking in awkward kitchens, drying clothes without a dryer, keeping up with school, researching where to go next and how to get there, and, quite frankly, motivating each other to get out there and explore (when our energy levels were waning).  It's this reason that makes me even more proud of our family when I look back on the tens of thousands of photos and videos we took. Whereas we might make a fresh memory a couple times a month here at home, we quite literally explored our surroundings for 366 days in a row. Those lazy days we all enjoy in the comfort of our own homes didn't exist for a year. 

Final Stats:
# of Countries Visited: 26
# of Flights Taken: 40
# of Different Accommodations: 100 (That is not a rounded number. We actually slept in 100 different beds)
# of Subways Ridden: 15
# of Rental Cars Driven: 21 (9 of which with the steering wheel on the right)
# of Nights Afloat: 9
# of Barber shops visited: 1
# of Species of Animals seen: Innumerable

Final Map:
Click Here to see a map of every place we stayed.

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Q&A

Over the past month we have had so many wonderful conversations with friends and family thirsting for our final thoughts. I've assembled a list of the most common questions, with our responses. 

What was your Favorite Place? (by far the most common question)
B - Skenes Creek (outside Melbourne). I got to hold wild parrots
Z - The Safari
A - Japan. Everywhere and Everything about Japan is awesome
N - There were different places for different reasons. Italy was easy and chill. South Africa was amazingly beautiful.
S - Every place had it's special joys, but if I were to look at the entire package, my favorite was Capetown, South Africa. Perhaps it was because we settled there for four weeks; but the combination of the people, the scenery, the ocean and mountains, the food and wineries, and the side trips made it particularly awesome. (Thanks Sam for your hospitality)

Where would you love to go back to?
B - Skenes Creek
Z - I think I would like to go back to Japan. There are actually so many places I would go back to. It's so hard to say. Because I was sick for half of Iceland, I would want to go back there.
A - Japan, Iceland, South Africa, the UK, Amsterdam, Spain (but not Barcelona), Busan instead of Seoul, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Singapore.
N - Iceland and Lofoten in different seasons. Actually, pretty much everywhere (even different parts of Vietnam)
S - Probably Capetown, but that would be as a launching point to Namibia and Botswana. 

Least Favorite Place?
B - Vietnam
Z - That central market in Arusha
A - Vietnam and Dubai
N - Vietnam, hands down
S - Dubai. It's a soul-less brown mess of nondescript buildings baking in muggy air.

What would you do differently?
B - Stay in less places but for a little bit longer in each place.
Z - I don't really have anything. I suppose I would stay longer in Skenes Creek.
A - I would go for six months then come back for a little bit, then go back for another six. I would pack more warm stuff.
N - I wouldn't worry so much. Everything always works out. I did a lot of worrying for no reason. Use lighter luggage (pull kind only. We never used the backpack mode).
S - I would love to settle in a couple places a little longer. The constant packing and moving around was tiresome. I would definitely do Southeast Asia differently (and probably more quickly). 

Would you do it again?
B - Probably not. I would definitely go back to Skenes Creek though.
Z - I would if it was six months
A - Hmmmmmm, maybe.
N - Yep
S - In a heartbeat, yes (if we had never done it before). Now, would I do it again, having just done it the way we did?... Probably not. If we were to tack on another one year adventure, Nicole and I would make it a couples adventure to explore sites unfit for a family of five. So.... Bryce will be 18 in 2028. That gives us 10 years to put the wheels in motion again!

How have you changed?
B - I don't know.  (Editor's Note: In my view, Bryce is Bryce. He stays the same as the world evolves around him. He is an old soul that does what he does, says what he says, regardless of what others do around him. It's really quite endearing). 
Z - I think it made me more brave and willing to talk to strangers. It made me willing to go out and put myself out there. It made me think about how much there is around here in California to explore.
A - I think I have a better understanding of the world yet at the same time the new knowledge that the world is bigger than imaginable makes me know that I still know just a small percentage of all there is to know. I'm still a teen trying to figure out who the heck I want to be, but seeing so many other peoples and ways of life, I see what is important in a person, and I'm going to try to be those important things. I'm taller. I have noticed now how much more rich this area is. I'm a different person than I was before the trip, and in my opinion, a slightly improved one.
N - I am more patient. I appreciate the United States a lot more. I think I have more courage than before.  (Editor's Note, I've noticed a greater passion in Nicole for saving the planet...)
S - Perhaps it will fade away, but at the moment, I'm not overly concerned with the small things (or the grandiose things for that matter). We lived a minimalist life for a year and I know we don't need fancy things to get by. 

What do you miss about the trip?
B - Wesley  (Editor's Note: It's really quite amazing that Bryce met him in New Zealand, then spent time with him in Tokyo, and said his farewells in Georgia. It's such a small and wonderful world now.)
Z - The airports. And then when you step out of the plane. Especially the cold places. I miss the feeling of going like... "Haaaaaaaa"
A - I miss taking pictures everyday
N - I miss being around Steve as much as we did. Miss learning something new about cultures so frequently.
S - The freedom to choose our own adventures everyday.

What don't you miss?
B - Moving all the time.
Z - Seeing garbage everywhere in certain places, and the humidity in certain places. Foreign TV where they only have one kids channel. Doing school all the time.
A - All that homesickness. Having to unpack and repack every few days.
N - Uncomfortable beds and pillows. Conversions of money. Foreign grocery stores. Certain smells of certain places. Having challenges every single day. Keeping everyone happy all day everyday. Looking at Airbnb and finding different modes of transportation all the time. Repacking every few days. Crappy sponges and knives.
S - Actually, Nicole summed it up nicely. 

What was most surprising for you?
B - ???
Z - It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I got over my fear of turbulence and it got fun for me. I was surprised I could eat a lot more things and that I didn't get diarrhea. I didn't expect how nice it was going to be in Cape Town and that our host would become our friend.
A - I was surprised at how nice the Safari accommodations were. I was surprised to be able to see Kaitlyn on the trip. 
N - How difficult it was. How much this trip would make me appreciate America more. 
S - This was not as "fun" as we had originally expected. I was surprised how universally accepted we Americans were around the world. By in large, foreigners love Americans. Our politics don't really concern other lands, because, as most would say, they have their own problems to worry about. 

How has it been getting back in to the work world?
My coworkers seem to have an expectation that I can perform at the exact same level as before, but I find my mind is a bit mushy. It's hard to just plug back in like I was only out for a couple weeks. Even mundane things like how I used to file my emails took me a while to remember. 

Would you live somewhere else?
I'll speak for the entire family because we are unified on this front. The short answer is NO!. While every place we visited had it's appeal, there really is no place like California. We're very lucky to live here. The combination of cultural diversity, the variety of food, the coast and mountains, the perfect weather, the vibrant economy, and all the modern conveniences are truly unparalleled around the world. 

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What Does it Take to Travel Around the World with a Family?

If you googled "Travelling the World with Family", there would be thousands of results and blogs promoting how fun and easy it is - How everyone should shutter their workaday lives and become nomads. The truth of the matter is that it's not easy, and definitely not for everyone. Aspiring world travelers must deeply understand how they tick, and moreover, how the family ticks. The following are some thoughts on important traits necessary to sustain for a year on the road. 

- Patience and Perseverance
In addition to the standard ability to wait in queues, putting the pieces together to wander for a year takes time. Grinding through schoolwork most mornings is a constant test of wills. Working through language and cultural barriers can be incredibly frustrating. Living so closely with everyone exacerbates the little nuisances, and pushing through that is a constant challenge. 

- Teamwork
The group needs a CEO, COO, and CFO. Each plays a role and supports each other. When one is tired or sick, the other steps up (even the children). When one is nervous, the other one must put them at ease. Someone has to keep the trains running on time and the team fueled for action, and someone has to watch the Euros and Yen. 

- Adaptability
Change is the only constant. We were constantly adapting to our surroundings.

- Resourcefulness
Most of the conveniences of home don't exist on the road. How do you warm a meal without a microwave, or start the charcoal with just a roll of aluminum foil? No drying rack - just string a line between two chairs. Don't throw away that ham container!.. We could use it to pack a lunch. 

- Long Range Planner
Getting a family of five around the world takes planning. We were constantly 8 to 10 weeks out on booking flights, and accommodations. The spontaneity of the gap year traveler doesn't work very well with a family of five.

- Spontaneity
While looking a couple months out is critical, over-planning is a waste of time and effort. We learned to let our days be fluid and follow our mood. 

- Compromise
Five people means five different opinions about what to do, what to eat, where to go, when to go, and how to get there. Late night exploration for Nicole and I was commonly sacrificed, and we judiciously visited museums and historical sites in favor of the occasional amusement park or mini-golf outing. 

- Thrifty
With a fixed fund and no revenue, we needed to be very careful in gaining maximum utility from every dollar we spent. 

- Optimism
We learned that things always seem to work out in the end if we maintained a positive attitude. Being a poopy pants only proved to make matters worse. 
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Random Thoughts & Remembrances

- All of our trips leading up to this adventure have been the traditional one to two week sprints to see what I call the 1st and perhaps 2nd tier attractions. Our goal this past year was to explore tiers 3 and 4. While we couldn't do that everywhere we went, we did admirable work. The joy of a year long trip is being able to skip the "must see" zoo or museum because we had already done that in the last place. 
1st Tier - The absolute must see attractions (Eiffel Tower, Colosseum, Sydney Opera House, etc) that you would be ridiculed if you missed (but are overrun with tourists)
2nd Tier - Places with a mixture of locals and tourists alike
3rd Tier - Hidden gems typically only found by having a conversation with a local.
4th Tier - Doing what the locals do (picnic at the local park, trivia night at the dive bar, etc)

- Travelling is getting both harder and easier. The web has made it so easy to plan and execute a trip. The result? Huge crowds everywhere, and sold out attractions. I recall rolling in to a city in 1998 and simply queuing up to get in to the premier attraction. Twenty years later and we needed to book 2 months in advance to ascend the Duomo (which is why we ended up scaling the Campanile instead). 

- Furthering this line of thinking, because everywhere is crowded, it's getting harder to feel the thrill of individual discovery. I suppose that is why our best memories were typically the journey, not the destination. 

- The world and it's people never cease to amaze me. Every country is special in some way.

- Was the robbery in France a blessing in disguise? - Perhaps. Would I want it to happen again? - No. But I am convinced that it brought us closer together. It gave us the opportunity to finish our trip on the east coast and better understand who we are as a country and how we compare to the rest of the world. It gave us a unique opportunity to connect with friends and family. It's not where we've been or what we've seen, it's the friends and family that make life worth living.
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What's Next
So what's next for our family? The world is vast and we have only scratched the surface. We will eventually finish our original itinerary through Eastern Europe; We missed an entire continent (South America); and Spain/Portugal/Morocco are calling. It's difficult to say when and how we will check these off our bucket list, but nothing will happen unless we stake our thoughts in the ground. In the mean time, the western states affords us an endless supply of amazing places to explore, and explore we will. 

Farewell...
This blog was written for our children, and our children's children. My dream would be for this to be a yearlong bedtime story for our grandchildren...So if you've made it this far little ones: sleep tight, dream big, and make sure you face your fears head on and explore your world to the fullest.

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2@2

If you have 12 more minutes to spare, you might enjoy this video (best if you can hear it too). Every day, for 365 days, I took a 2 second video during the 2 O'Clock hour, and I stitched them all together. It truly provides a real window in to our daily lives. Sometimes we were deep in action, and sometimes we were just trying to get from point A to point B. Occasionally we had a late lunch, and sometimes we were in the middle of some down time. Suffice it to say though, every day of our year long adventure was spent exploring, it just might not have happened in the 2 O'Clock hour.

Enjoy: https://youtu.be/Yj7g_zXXDts

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Post Script...
For those that know me, I'm not much of an Apple fan - The computer company, not the fruit. However, I have much respect for Steve Jobs and his legacy. Like many things on the internet, somebody faked up his final thoughts, yet it still moves me every time I read it because it so eloquently narrates why we wandered...

 "I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.

At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.

You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – "Life".

When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading – "Book of Healthy Life". Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.

Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends... Treat yourself well. Cherish others.

As we grow older, and hence wiser, we slowly realize that wearing a $300 or $30 watch - they both tell the same time... Whether we carry a $300 or $30 wallet/handbag - the amount of money inside is the same; Whether we drive a $150,000 car or a $30,000 car,  the road and distance is the same, and we get to the same destination.  Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $10 wine - the hangover is the same; Whether the house we live in is 300 or 3000 sq ft - loneliness is the same.

You will realize, your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world. Whether you fly first or economy class, if the plane goes down - you go down with it...

Therefore.. I hope you realize, when you have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, who you chat with, laugh with, talk with, have sing songs with, talk about north-south-east-west or heaven and earth, .... That is true happiness!!

Autumn's thoughts on coming home/being home (Forgot to post a few weeks ago)

Hey guys! Within the first week of being home, we have already visited many friends and they have all talked about how much they like seeing my thoughts. I have been busy, and therefore unable to write on here. However, at the moment I am just chillin' at home, eating good bread, playing with my dog, and drinking the amazing water Lafayette has.

Let's begin with the robbery in France.

I was crushed. My brothers were too. I never cried, just held Bryce's head in my lap for 5 hours in that police station. It was a sad night. The only thing I kept thinking about was how all of my journal entries were gone. I had written 3 pages a night every night of the safari. For the next few days I thought EVERYTHING was ruined. After a week, I was still shaken and uneasy about leaving any of our possessions out of our sight. I was sad about not finishing the trip outside of the US, but at the same time, I was glad to get back to America. America is really cool you guys. Seriously. People need to stop complaining so much about it. Yes, we have our faults, but the rest of the world has problems in their own countries too.

Now to the East coast:

The East coast is very different than the West. The South is also completely different. What I couldn't understand, though, was how scared many Easterners were about living on the West coast because of earthquakes. Major earthquakes are pretty rare, yet the South has had two major hurricanes in the last year, not to mention the humidity they get. I'm happy to live on the West coast. (West coast is the best coast)

Now on to home:

I can't believe it. It seems crazy that we made it through a year. It also seems crazy that a year has passed. Before we left, a year felt like forever. That seemingly foreverness is now over. Strange. It's also weird to me whenever I've hung out with my friends this week. In person! Not over a screen. I've enjoyed it. Lafayette water is amazing. Bay area produce is fantastic. Bread is great. My bed is incredibly comfortable.

Now on to other thoughts:

This may sound cheesy, but home is where my friends and family are. Truly. Home has not really felt as much of "home" as it did before the trip. Part of it might be how different it was when we came back to it than we left it, but it still doesn't feel like as much of an anchor. I realize that home could be anywhere as long as my friends and family were there.

Also:

I have been making google photos albums of my favorite photos that I took of each country. If you would like to see them all, please email me!
tealstar49@gmail.com

The Nuts and Bolts - Accounting For A Year Abroad

Occasionally some folks will sheepishly inquire how much we spent to wander the world for a year. I suspect others have wondered as well but feel uncomfortable asking. For the sake of this public blog, we will highlight the means and methods of accounting for this adventure. If anyone is interested in the nitty gritty detail and total cost, please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email: azbdad@gmail.com. We would be glad to share more directly.

Before I get in to the nuts and bolts, I wanted to touch on a critical factor that made this trip a success - Nicole and I are complete opposites in a perfectly synchronized way. She hates cold and wet, I hate hot and sticky. She can't eat seafood, I'll take it raw or cooked. I hate cooking, yet it's her happy place. Cleaning dishes is therapy for me, and a necessary evil for her. I'll push the envelope, and she will pump the brakes. She can keep the trains running on time, and I'll just go with the flow. I love numbers, and she can dance. When she's at her wits end, I will step up, and vice versa. On this trip, she was the COO, I was the CFO, and we both took turns being the CEO. It was perfect teamwork.

As my role as the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), I established a detailed budget prior to the trip, then meticulously accounted for every penny we spent. I created a spreadsheet that would make an accountant swoon, complete with concatenated formulas and sumif statements. I wanted to ensure that our fixed bucket of funds would take us all the way to the end. I'm proud to say that we were on time, and under budget!

How did I gather this data? 
Wherever possible we used our credit card to buy EVERYTHING (note, we used Chase Sapphire, which was awesome and had no international transaction fees. At 3%, that can add up quickly). We avoided cash wherever we could (although Southeast Asia and Japan made that tough). Every other week I would download our credit card transactions and put them in a Google Sheet. I would then tag each transaction with a location and a cost type.

I developed a humorous code system (so that I wouldn't forget it): L.M.F.A.O.
L = Lodging
M = Mobilization (any cost to get around within a destination - rental car w/petrol, subway, bus, Uber, etc)
F = Food
A = Activities (ie tours, attraction fees, etc)
O = Other (ie souvenirs, sundries, petty cash)

Additional Categories
G = General (expenses that crossed over all destinations - ie. travel insurance, online school, luggage, phone bills, cloud storage, computers, etc)
FL = Flights (any cost to get from one destination to the next - which sometimes meant a train)

You like pie charts? I do. Here you go...

How did we stick to our budget? 
Coming in under budget was actually a bit of work to achieve. Unlike short term vacations where we can be fast and loose with our expenses knowing our revenue stream is still intact, we kept a close eye on our budget. We didn't live like paupers, but we also didn't stay anywhere luxurious. We cooked at home a lot, and made many picnic lunches (budgeting $100/day for food). We stayed outside of most cities where lodging was cheaper, and almost exclusively stayed in an Airbnb (or Booking.com) apartment or house. (Our target was to keep lodging to less than $150/nt, which for five people, wasn't easy). We were judicious in the activities we did, yet at the same time, I don't feel like we left anything on the table. For instance, the $500 expense to take a 20 minute trip to the top of the Burj Khalifa to look at a large swath of desert was nixed in favor of an all day trip to the Atlantis Waterpark for half the cost. We got so good at it as a family, that our kids would often say, "That's the equivalent of 10 ice cream treats per person. Let's pass...."  If nothing else comes of this trip, at least they have a solid sense of value.

How did we fund this trip? 
Patience, restraint, sweat equity, and a bit of luck. In 1998 (at the sprite age of 23), Nicole and I took a personal loan from her late grandfather to purchase a dumpy little condo in Alameda. We set about renovating it as best as we could. Little did we know that we were about to ride a wave of real estate escalation the world had never seen. Three years later we sold the condo and moved to a dumpy 4 bed home in Pleasanton. We fixed that up, and three years later, sold it, and bought a dumpy 5 bed home in the Oakland Hills. We fixed that up, and three years later (2008), with the housing market in shambles, we kept it, moved out, and started renting it. Five years later, after the market turned, and we grew tired of being landlords, we sold it. The proceeds went in to a fund titled: "World Trip (don't touch)."

Fun with Numbers:
My diligence in coding all expenses opens up an interesting study on the relative cost difference of spending time in different parts of the world. There are several indexes out there that help to bring light to the relative costs of different countries, with the most curious and surprisingly accurate one being the Big Mac index (https://www.economist.com/news/2018/07/11/the-big-mac-index). It ranks the cost of purchasing a Big Mac in every country. But what it boils down to, (in my research), the most telling indicator is the median income / minimum wage of a country or region. Labor costs drive the cost of everything, which is why it's so cheap in South Africa and most of the Southeast Asian countries, and so darn expensive in places like Iceland and Norway.

One thing to note about the relative cost difference between locations: When we found ourselves in an "expensive" place like London, Paris, New York City, we took it as a personal challenge to see how frugal we could be without sacrificing our journey. Hence, these locations are artificially low. It's actually a testament to how there is always a way to travel anywhere, as long as you're flexible. (Conversely, in "cheap" places, we actually spent a little more to live the good life).

If anyone wants the cost ranking, please reach out. We're happy to help.

All for now... Next Post: Thinking about... "How to Use Airbnb (for Hosts, and Guests alike)"

Lafayette, CA (Home) - Our First Week of "Normal" life

It's been a week now that we have been home and I thought it best to chronicle our first impressions of getting back to "Normal" life. It has been both harder and easier than we had expected. There has been a significant amount of mundane tasks like going to Safeway, Home Depot, Target, and Costco (the four pillars of what Makes America Great Again), along with the joys of reconnecting with family and friends.

This episode may get in to the weeds of our return, with a follow up philosophical look in a month or so.

I'll pick up where we left off, Sunset on Tybee Island with the Petersons....

June 21:
After being accosted by those invisible flying devils (the sand gnats), we headed back to our cottage to get cleaned up and settle down for one final slumber. Once the kids were in bed, Nicole and I took a stroll to the end of the pier for one last dance. This moment will forever be ingrained in our memories as our second "first dance" - under a gazebo, blanketed in warm air, surrounded by marshland, and swaying to a little known song, The Harvest, by Zach Heckendorf*.

For your listening pleasure (it's a really great tune), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZa10UTT8y0

It was at this point that the gravity of the trip ending hit Nicole and many tears were shed. I was holding out for one more sunrise, doing my best to prolong this journey as long as possible.

June 22, still journeying...
Squeezing every bit of adventure out of this trip, Autumn, Bryce, Nicole, and I, woke at dark o'clock to catch one last sunrise. (Zane elected for sleep). Again, more great shots (the sunrises and sunsets in this area are really quite spectacular).

Back at the cottage it was my turn to break down. As I sat silently nursing my coffee, I began reading "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr Suess (not sure why that popped in my mind at the time). It hit me like a herd of elephants. What started as a faint idea six years ago - five years in the planning, one glorious year in the making - is now over. This trip created focus and a singular purpose. Probably a little overblown, but it is similar to raising a child - It was fun, yet exhausting. It was work, but totally worthwhile. It had its ups and downs. There were arguments, and compromises. We learned how we tick. We learned how the world ticks. We learned. We struggled to eat sometimes, yet discovered new favorites. We made new friends, and connected with old. I imagine this must be the feeling parents have when they watch a child leave the nest and venture on their own. Where did the time go?

We had most of the day to fill before our afternoon flight back to Cali. We had one last lunch with cousin Stephen (all decked out in his military garb), and then squeezed in one last site seeing adventure. The quintessential shot of the moss covered tree lined lane you see in all the movies is Wormsloe, about 45 minutes in the wrong direction from the airport. Oh well, when in Rome. 

Taking the Long Way Home

June 22, back to Cali...
Our final flight back to SFO was our 40th of the year, and it was always a joy to gaze out the window as we approached a new destination. But I must admit, flying over California and in to the Bay Area, with it's pitch black bay ringed by dazzling pockets of lights and criss crossed by the bridges, is really special. As we stepped off the plane, we were met by that genuinely crisp San Francisco air, and we sucked it in like we spent the last month underwater. We landed at 10:30pm, and in true form, took public transportation (aka BART) over to Lafayette, not arriving until 1:30am! (Sorry BART, but having become worldwide subway system connoisseurs, we can safely say that you're at the bottom of the list. Hopefully one day you'll get Back2Good.)

Bleary eyed and totally exhausted, we were greeted at our house fully decked out in welcome home regalia. Feels great to have such wonderful friends and family.

As much as we wanted that comforting feeling of coming home to something familiar, we actually felt like strangers in our own home. After a year of someone else living in our home it was understandable that things would have sprouted legs and wandered to another part of the house. As it was now 2am, we resigned our anxiety to tomorrow and finally settled down for some rest.

Day 1 - June 23
After an incredibly sleepless night, it was time to piece our lives back together, day by day, hour by hour. But before we set to work on our home, we set off for a much anticipated trip to our favorite donut shop, Johnny's Donuts - still the best donuts in the entire world (which we can actually say now).

We continued to live out of our suitcases on this first day as we scratched our heads over where we stashed our underwear, shirts, and pants for the year. In the process of uncovering our long lost things, we would ask... "why do I still have this thing?"  Yet at the same time, it was like Christmas for the kids as they found toys and things we simply couldn't lug around for a year (an arsenal of Nerf weapons, life sized stuffed animals, legos and more). We also cracked open our packages we sent home from Japan and New Zealand with all our collected trinkets and souvenirs - both brought back wonderful memories.

This is what two months on a cargo ship from Tokyo looks like. 

We found Worgee!

Today was also our day to re-unite with our furry friend, Hilo. His expression was one of confusion at first, then elation. His crew had returned and all was well.

Fortunately Nicole's Dad had the forethought to make sure our pool was in shape for our return, and, given our glorious California weather, the boys took their first dip of the summer.

Not quite clean yet, but certainly swimmable. It'll get there. 

First dinner back... Mangia! The kids love the crust. Today was also the day that we bid a fond farewell to our house sitter, Aunt Trish. She is off on her own little adventure as she road trips back to Texas. Thank you so much for tending to our home (and your big brother!).

We had been running on adrenaline all day and this time we finally crashed the moment our heads hit the pillow.

Day 2 - June 24
Oh man, we have a great bed. After having spent a year on every make shift hand-me-down bed you could imagine, we grew keenly aware of each spring, noise, and transference of movement. Thank goodness for memory foam.

Yesterday was about starting to get our house in order. Today was about starting to get re-acquainted with friends. Autumn went off to visit with Molly, Zane to Julian's, and Bryce with Finley. Nicole ventured to Safeway and Target, leaving me with an empty home. After having spent the past 365 days together, being home alone was frankly a bit sad. I really love being with everyone.

Nicole continued to pick away at getting our kitchen back in order. Where did our coffee mugs go? Have you seen our Tupperware?

We spent dinner at our friends, The Burrows, and really enjoyed retelling stories of our adventures. We love the questions as it makes us think about all the crazy places we've been and seen.

Did I mention how awesome the weather is here? The heat is dry and only has a shelf life of a couple days before nature's air conditioning flows over the Oakland hills. We love that regardless if it hits 100 degrees during the day, we always need a light jacket in the morning. 

Day 3 - June 25
There is nothing like a dose of reality than a trip to the DMV. My license expired during our trip and my renewal required a physical visit. Thankfully I booked an appointment while still in France, so I was in and out before my chauffeur, Nicole, had a chance to settle back in at home.

That line stretches around the corner, down one side, then down another. I walked right in!

Another dose of reality... registering Autumn for high school. We have a HIGH SCHOOLER! How did that happen so fast. Fortunately Autumn's efforts over the past year, diligently sticking to her online schooling, paid off, and she will be well prepared to be a freshman.

Go Dons!

After another long day of getting our house in order (throwing away and collecting things for donation the entire time), we sat down for our family dinner. I'm quite thankful that we are continuing our evening ritual of going around the table to talk about thankful and happy moments from the day.  The conversations they spur are always a treat. This is something I hope will never end.

Day 4 - June 26
After an early morning airport run to drop off my parents, I took the opportunity to run the Oakland Hills, and it remains as beautiful as ever.

Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland Hills (near Chabot Space and Science) is a hidden gem. The old growth redwoods are otherworldly and so very accessible. Running through them is as good as any place we have been around the world. 

Today was the first day where we feel like we're getting the upper hand on unpacking. This has taken much longer than expected and we still have some major things to get done: Get a car; File our Insurance Claim (for the France robbery); Buy a new couch and chairs; Build a carport; and renovate Autumn's bedroom. And for posterity sake, our list of projects inspired during our trip includes: Install a living roof; Enhance our fountain with Zen garden; Turn our bonus room in to a Multi Bang (a Korean game room). Let's see if those get done.

Another mundane milestone... Nicole and Autumn got their first haircut in over a year! And they were ecstatic.

The Rest of the Week - June 27 to 29:
As the week wore on, and the novelty of the return began to wane, things became decidedly more domestic. Nicole got a pedicure, we went couch shopping, Autumn went to a Funkmode class again, and we began to tackle the front and back yard. We spent several glorious hours at the bastion of American commerce, Costco. Nicole met with her entrepreneurial boss to talk about her next phase of Nurse Practitioner life.

Testing to see how this rug would feel if we laid down on it.

Nope, too slouchy

Costco is selling a shade sail that just might work... They are also selling attractive sun hats too.

The kids are still spending a lot of time getting re-acquainted with their friends. Zane has been particularly happy that he is just as tall as most of his friends, and that his fifth grade buddy said it wasn't all that hard.

Pool party at the Hodges

Kids in the pool, parents talking about nothing in particular. It was wonderful.

On our last day of the first week, we hauled off a carload of clothes, toys, and household goods to Goodwill, and it feels like we're officially kicking off a new Long Family era. 

The Last Week:
With one more week left before I head back to work, we headed for the hills for a little 4th of July R&R. I start back to work on July 9 (tomorrow!). Same time, same place. Admittedly, I am quite nervous. The moment I step through the doors of Dome, this fantastic journey will have officially ended.

The mornings at Serene Lakes are so.... Serene. Yep, that's the word. Serene.

Fireworks over Donner Lake with friends. Can't beat that. 

Can't beat the Truckee Trickle either

All for now... Next Stop: ???  

* We first discovered Zach about 7 years ago as a kid (was 17 at the time) phenom opening up to O.A.R. in Napa.  We've been fans ever since.

Charleston, SC & Savannah, GA - OUR LAST STOP!!!!

This post comes from the luxury of our desktop computer in lovely Lafayette. We're home! For now, I'll stick to our final week of travels, with a follow on post about our first week of reacclimation in to normal life.

June 15 to June 22

Our last week! Where did the days, weeks, and months go?

Our final week was split between Charleston and Savannah. We had originally thought we would choose one or the other, but our research revealed fervent and bipolar opinions about which town is better - People are either Charleston, or Savannah fans, but never both (like the A's or Giants, 49ers or Raiders, Bruins or Trojans). To be able to weigh in, we decided to split our time between the two areas.

If you were to have us sum up the area in two words - Hot and Mossy. It hovered around 95 degrees and 90% humidity during our stint, which, according to the locals, was just warming up. How do they put up with it? It's oppressive and dictates daily life. Apparently they hate it too, just deal with it for 8 months of their lives. Even at night the sticky air just settles around you like an invisible wool blanket.

Draped from nearly every gnarly old oak like the beards of ZZ Top is Spanish Moss, and I love it. The moss lends a somewhat eerie yet peaceful character to the landscape, and is surprisingly hard to capture well in pictures. It is so much more interesting to see in person (I suppose like most things).

Charleston: (June 15 to June 18)

Our lovely little home with curious African decor.

Fort Sumter: 
In one last effort to torture our children with our violent past, we took a morning trip out to Fort Sumter, the catalyst of our Civil War. It's a small island in the waters just east of the Charleston peninsula and is only accessible via ferry, which doubles as a convenient way to see the town from a different angle.

We're a sucker for adorning ourselves in period pieces....

Another cool Autumn pic

I'm nearly certain I was looking up something historically important like.... was it this hot in 1861 as well? 

Charleston Town Wandering:

Charleston is a really quaint town with church spires everywhere. It's quite charming.

We found ourselves at a nice pop up street fair. Good food, good gifts.

We picked up these handmade engraved art pieces.

The Charleston Central Market is a fun stroll that runs several blocks with lots of handmade straw baskets, bowls, and other clever trinkets. 

Just some random shots around town. One of the main streets in town is East Bay. Of course the photo op was compulsory. We loved that so many of the old homes still have real gas lamps adorning their entries. They also have a curious entry door that goes from the outside, to the.... outside. Many of the homes have beautiful window boxes.

Anything for the perfect shot. Autumn cannot pass up a lone Vespa in silent repose.... especially when the backdrop is old colonial homes. 

Rainbow Row

During our wanderings, we bumped in to a young couple that was going around town taking pictures of themselves facing different walls. We took a queue and pilfered their idea.

Did you know the pineapple is the international symbol of hospitality? I didn't until we sought out this icon of a Charleston fountain. 

It also doubles as a wading pool. There are actual signs giving permission to do so. Admittedly, the water looked a bit grimey for my taste.  

Another fetching spot along the waterfront. 

This cemetery is right smack dab in the middle of Charleston city and looked like the epitome of Hollywood creepy.  I mean check out that moss and caddy wampus head stones of various size and shape.

Southern BBQ. Yummy.

We walked in to the tourist center and asked the lady for the most iconic street in Charleston with moss and such. Her initial reaction was to send us to the handful of tourist spots in downtown. When we reiterated our goal was to find a place only the locals know about, she stuttered, and then her eyes lit up... "You've got to go to Wappoo Rd!" It did not disappoint. It's incredible that this street is lined on both sides with regular homes. One of them was on the market for $400K. 

This is how hot people walk. 

Folly Beach:

Charleston is a beach town. Well sort of. The beach is a convenient 25 minute drive from downtown. It's a lovely east coast beach. 

Somewhat felt like sitting on the surface of the sun. Good thing we still had our Home Depot umbrella from D.C., and we found a beat up umbrella on the side of the road to complement our shade requirements. These are the perils of travelling the world without the comforts of a garage full of beach gear. Gotta make do with what you have. 

Beaufort:
Charleston and Savannah are conveniently 2 hours apart. However, when you have to check out by 10am in one town, and can't check in until 3pm in another town, we needed to find something on the way. Fortunately, there is a tiny old town at the midpoint - Beaufort, pronounced "BYOO-fert" (as in "beautiful")

A slice of southern Americana. 

Upper left: One of many porch swings we saw in the south (within the year, we will have one at our house - I promise). Lower Right: we have never seen a house with more American regalia than this masterpiece. The other side was equally plastered in Red/White/Blue.

Left: Future Potus;   Middle: Future Broadway Star;   Right: Future Natgeo* Photographer
Any guesses? 

Savannah - June 18 to June 22
Two things defined our final stint in Savannah: Family, and Sunsets & Sunrises

Let's take a quick philosophical tangent and talk about friends and family. When we were violated in France back in April and we elected to change course back to the States, I was very upset that we couldn't finish our world tour abroad. I was in a deep funk for several weeks. In hindsight, this tragedy was probably the best thing to happen to us and this trip. Like hardened steel, we grew stronger as a family. But moreover, our journey along the east coast was mostly defined by reconnecting with old friends and family - something we couldn't do in Eastern Europe. Our time here in Savannah finished on a perfect note, spending quality time with my cousin Stephen and his wonderful wife, Julie, and their three children, Ella, Eliza, and Evan. Our families blended so well.

Our cottage in Savannah was actually on a resort island called Tybee Island about 25 minutes East of downtown. Our budget couldn't afford a beachfront property, but we lucked out to find a place overlooking a tidal marsh that created the perfect stage for a terrific nightly sunset show. We will always remember Savannah as the home of the best sunsets and sunrises.

That's our 2 bedroom cottage at the front of the dock. We're in low tide now. High tide saw the water up to the grass.

Most common mode of transportation for the locals... Golf Carts!

First Sunset from our Balcony. 

Fossicking for Shells:
Bryce was determined to collect himself some shells. The tide off the Savannah shore is pretty extreme, and during low tide it exposes a large swath of beach to extract crustacean homes. It just so happens that the best low tide as at 6am. That meant Bryce and I had an early morning date. What a wonderful time that was...

As we approached the beach during sunrise, this lady was taking a break from an early morning run and taking it all in. 

Bryce was scanning a tidal pool for wee hermit crabs. 

Captain Mike's Dolphin Adventures:
Later in the morning, we boarded a ship to spot dolphins off the shore. The coastline in this area is chock full of dolphins (keeping the sharks at bay apparently).

Bryce was not pleased with the safety precautions. 

Yep, lots of dolphins frolicking about. They would often play tennis with the fish they ate. 

Beach Afternoon:

Bryce and Eliza; Zane and Ella - Both pairs inseparable after about 30 minutes of getting to know each other.

Eliza caught a shrimp. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty (or slimy).

This was a particularly funny sunset. As the sun dropped past the cloud we thought it was over. Then it started reappearing below. It was like two sunsets in one shot.

That's our pier and dock extending out to the deep water channel. 

Bonaventure Cemetery:

On our way in to Savannah town to meet with the Stephen Peterson clan, we stopped off at the Bonaventure Cemetery, a picturesque spot with mossy oaks over centuries old graves. 

This place was on our way to the cemetery and stopped us in our tracks. It was the quintessential slice of americana, complete with trailer, tree house, sharing library, mossy oaks, and antique trinkets everywhere. 

Was really eye catching to see the trees overhang the graves.

An Afternoon with the Petersons:
My cousin Stephen has been stationed (Army) in the Savannah area for a year and became our personal guide for the afternoon. We took a bus tour then headed of to his home in the suburbs for some good ole fashioned home cooking.

Like no other city we have visited, Savannah has a really nifty layout with 22 squares situated in a perfect grid pattern. Different squares had their own character and architecture surrounding them. 

Family picnic in Chippewa Square (made famous as the location of the Forrest Gump bench scenes)

Can't go wrong with a nerf gun battle.

Zane's Birthday cake. In true form, cousin Stephen subjected poor Zane to fake sparkler candles. Well done. 

Guess Who?:
This day, June 21 is Zane's birthday. While it wasn't the perfect targeted surprise for Zane, it was a wonderful surprise nonetheless... Our new friends we met in New Zealand, then spent Bryce's birthday together in Tokyo, just so happened to be in Savannah this week! Can you believe that? Ali, Wesley, and Griffon (no James this time) joined us for breakfast. What a small world. More friends, more memories. 

We truly hope this is not the last time we see each other. 

Back on Tybee:

Zane wanted one more afternoon and evening on the beach, so we headed back to the coast. 

Last Afternoon on the dock. 

High tide on the marsh

Quick stop at the souvenir beach shop. My greatest regret of the trip was not buying that hat. 

The Tybee Pier is pretty

Zane's happy place for dinner - Poke and Avocado Toast. (Oh, and really powerful air conditioning)

Final Sunset of the Trip:
The Stephen Peterson clan made the one hour trip to meet us for one last sunset on Tybee Beach. This time we chose the South end, which gave us the best of both worlds, ocean frolicking with sunset views. This was a wonderful and memorable evening.

All for now, Pleepleus II. 

Was hard to hold back the tears...

Julie taught me how to cast a fishing net. 

I caught this little guy, a blue crab

Hey, Hey... Back off buddy. 

Bryce was in heaven catching jellies, crabs, minnows and anything else he could find in the tidal pools.

Life is Good

Last sunset of our grand adventure. 

Our Verdict - Charleston or Savannah:
We think we're Savannah people. Between having family there, and the depth of options of the Savannah downtown, it just seems like there is more to offer for us. But in the end, you can't go wrong with either (just don't go in Summer...)

All for now... Next Stop: Carl Rd, Lafayette, CA

PS: Do you know what Sand Gnats are? Hopefully not, and hopefully you'll never need to know. As we bid our relatives a fond farewell, our legs began to itch and burn, if by magic. These invisible devils apparently micro slice your skin and leave you burning for several hours. Geez, how do people live here.

* Autumn found this classic nat geo issue in a random used book store in Beaufort. We couldn't leave the store without it.