I have to laugh silently to myself as I begin to type this first blog post, something Nick has been encouraging me to do for quite some time.
I am jet lagged.
The kind of jet lag where your mind knows its 12 o clock somewhere (back in Rome) and your body is desperate for rest. The kind of jet lag that moves you from bed at 4:30 in the morning, straight to your journal and pen, and then to your computer and blog site. Stopping for several cups of tea before hand. And oatmeal.
We are back from our two weeks in Italy and while this post is not about that, it is my introduction to our blog world.
This post is my why.
Why traveling?
Although I hope to keep the answer fairly brief it is one that feels a bit complicated in my soul. The easy answer is Nick. While my family grew up vacationing closer to home, with a few trips to Mexico mixed in between, Nick grew up traveling abroad. Married in June 2012, fast forward 5 years to today. The women writing this post has seen, and smelled, and tasted a bit more. Nicaragua, Alaska, Ecuador, and Italy.
Insert my internal dialogue wrestling with a travel blog.
Am I an entitled, millennial brat? Am I so involved with the importance of my travel experiences that I feel the need to throw it out into the web? Am I unaware of the major complexities of our time? The significance of climate change and the hideous amount of fuel consumed by us in our efforts to explore more? I am very much aware of all these conversations in my head and hope to continue to wrestle through them, maybe here.
But – back to the question. . .
For me the person I am when I travel is the most authentic version of myself I have yet to discover. She is boundary-less. Today, my answer to why traveling is simply that; I am the best version of myself when I am open-hearted, exploring, un-comfortable (often), and seeing the world beyond the States.
Why blog?
We have a romantic story in our minds that it is possible to quit our day jobs and travel for the rest of our lives, so we figured we better start with a blog.
I suppose that is the deeply honest, dreamy answer. The other is this.
Photos and stories.
Nick is taking up photography as a way to help slow him down and help him embrace the present moment. A blog is a great tool for sharing these photos and keeping him accountable to continuing this pursuit.
Stories. I have a deep love for story telling and story finding. This comes to me as a contradiction as I often struggle to articulate or share experiences with those around me. My stories are locked in the 10+ journals that hide under my night stand, and the brief blog I wrote during our first few years in Missoula. So this is that for me.
Accountability and my public outlet to share the many beautiful stories that come our way in our travels. Stories of observation, stories of places, stories of people, and of course our stories of our memories.
I am so glad you have found your way here and hope you enjoy following along.
My goal is that you feel moved.
Not necessarily moved to travel – although I am certainly happy if that is the case – but moved to discover that which unveils the most authentic version of yourself.
I also really hope your enjoy our photos and stories. . . That you keep coming back for more.
Always.
k.
Dream and a Map 