Status Check, five months traveling the world...

Happy New Year! You might be wondering, how's this year-long, round-the-world adventure going for David and Ilene? Well, you wouldn't be the first to think it so thought we’d answer some questions we’ve been hearing. Honesty here, we’re having the adventure of a lifetime and thankfully nothing terrible has happened… that doesn’t mean it’s all easy though.

First some stats... we've been on the road 164 days, taken 28 flights, driven more than 6,500 miles and been to 13 countries.

Are you ready to come home?

I signed up for a year so I’m committed (how’s that for avoidance?!?) “Home” is an abstract idea right now so I don’t have a straight forward answer. When we left on this adventure we rented our Silicon Valley home of the past 20ish years. So when we return to California we’ll be returning to Truckee near Lake Tahoe where we have a vacation home. Going “home” will be a new adventure in itself as it will take time to make that our home from a community perspective versus the vacation home we’ve escaped to.

What I really miss are my people. We’ve been able to FaceTime with some friends and family along the way and I’ve joined my book club as internet speeds allow. We text and email with friends to stay in touch, and there’s social media of course, but it’s not the same as having dinner with friends, playing canasta or just seeing people around the neighborhood.

Josh joined us in Egypt for 10 days and it was great having him with us, but too short lived. And the thought that we won’t see him until August 2025 is a little daunting.

I’m in countdown mode right now though friends start joining us along the way! Mark & Marissa will join us in Vietnam come mid-January, then Molly & Enrique in Japan in April. And, fingers crossed, we’re finalizing plans for Rachael to join us in Korea come end of April/May.

If you want to meet up with us, let us know!!!

Any duds on your travels or places that didn’t meet expectations?

We haven’t been anywhere that disappointed. There have been some places that we wouldn’t return to, but would still recommend visiting and don’t regret going to at all. For example, we’re glad we went to Croatia and saw these amazingly beautiful medieval cities, but they have become overly touristy (and we were there in October!) and I don’t see a need to return. I’d put Morocco and Egypt in that group as well. AMAZING places, but not someplace we feel the need to return to.

We’ve had a few people ask us what our favorite place has been. I can’t answer that unfortunately. Each city we’ve visited (on this trip and previous ones) offered its own unique experiences. We fell in love with the beauty of Norway, the culture and architecture Spain, the Port in Portugal, the beauty in the medieval cities in Croatia, the unreal ancient sites of Egypt, and the list goes on.

Seems like you’ve had great weather the whole time? When planning this adventure, we aimed to have moderate weather throughout the year. Knowing ourselves, hot weather was going to make this miserable and cold weather not too enjoyable for sightseeing. So as we planned, we built the itinerary to have daytime temps hover between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. There have been some colder days/evenings (S. Africa in July, Norway Arctic circle in September) and some rain days along the way, but for the most part our plan has been working. When we’ve had days that are too cold or wet, we change our plans and take the day off - we sleep in, hang out, cook, watch movies and travel plan of course. Southeast Asia will be warmer come May/June and welcomed towards the end of this adventure too - great time to join us!

Packing - given the above, I think we packed pretty well…. a little bit of everything and layers. Our puffer jackets have definitely been worth having. Scarves come in handy and are multi-purpose (beach picnic, head covering for mosques, sun protection, dust catchers, warmth!). I think I’ve worn everything I brought at least once. I have found I have a few go-to items that get very well worn. David has already pawned a long sleeve merino wool shirt off on Josh, along with a fleece that shrunk in the wash. I wish I had a big comfy hoodie, but not sure where it would have fit, so alas those will be the first things I unpack when we return! I've been glad to have my bar shampoo and conditioner and laundry detergent sheets as well. And you've hopefully seen our blog on some "luxury" items we brought along as well

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I did purchase a yoga mat in Montenegro and though it looks a bit silly on my backpack in the airport, it’s been really nice to have someplace to stretch wherever we’re staying.

What else…traveling is wearing on me, less so for David. The past four weeks in Morocco and Egypt are likely the culprit as they were really “fast travel”. Morocco touring for 13 days, a handful in a resort and then 10 fast days in Egypt. Eating out every day and being in hotels is tiring. We’ve tried to build in down time along the way and we’ve learned a few things here. Down time in a hotel where we’re still eating out and space is limited doesn’t quite cut it. The resort in Taghazout, Morocco was wonderful, but it was still a hotel with restaurants. We couldn’t eat /cook what we wanted, lounge space was limited or was in public spaces.

We just arrived in Dubai for five nights in an Airbnb and I’m SO enjoying being in an apartment. The need for space beyond a hotel bed and chair is more critical than I would have originally thought. And though food is aways on my mind, the ability to cook for myself (or just have a bowl of cereal for dinner) and not always having to find a restaurant is more important than I would have thought. We’re going to try doing some food delivery in the coming countries, perhaps that will help as well.

And fortunately we have some apartments lined up in Vietnam before we hit the road of hotel living through Laos and Cambodia - I think that might break me!

That's about it for now, other questions? Let us know. Signign off with some

itinerary updates, perhaps something will spark your adventurous spirit and you’ll come join us!

• Jan 11 - 15 - Singapore

• Jan 15 - Feb 14 - Vietnam (Mark & Marissa with us for a bit)

• Feb 14 - March 4 - Laos

• March 4 - 20 - Cambodia

• March 20 - 25 - Hong Kong

• March 25 - April 26 - Japan (Molly & Enrique for a bit)

• April 26 - May 10 - South Korea (Rachael with us for some)

• May 10 - June 27 - Indonesia (Java, Bali, Flores, Lombok)

• June 27 - July 1 - Taiwan

• July 1 - July 13 - Los Angeles Baby!

• July 13 - 31 Northern Cali visiting friends

• July 31 - HOME in Truckee!!!