On February 26, 2013, James and I set out on an amazing, incredible, and life-changing one year journey around the world. Throughout Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, and the U.S. we immersed ourselves in the fascinating culture, experienced many beautiful landscapes and monuments, had a lot of crazy adventures, and met and traveled with SO many […]

Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Inspirational, Personal Life, RTW Trip, Scuba Diving, Travel
Tags: airplane, Angkor Wat, around the world, Australia, bungee jumping, Cambodia, Chicago, China, dance, dancing, French Polynesia, fun, Great Barrier Reef, Great Wall of China, Hong Kong, Iceland, international, japan, Kenya, kids, Kruger National Park, Life in Los Angeles, love, Malawi, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Norway, one year, scuba diving, South Africa, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, Travel, understanding, Victoria Falls, video, Vietnam, Zambia, zanzibar, Zimbabwe 1 Comment »

After traveling for 330 days, you may have a LOT of “statistical” questions for us, such as: How much money did you spend? How many countries and continents did you travel to? How many flights did you take? And you may like to know some random facts/statistics as well, such as: Did you know that […]

Posted in RTW Trip, Statistics, Travel
Tags: Africa, Australia, automobiles, best, budget, buses, Cambodia, campervan, camping, China, count, countries, favorite, French Polynesia, funniest, hitchhiking, Hong Kong, Iceland, James, japan, Kenya, Malawi, motorbikes, Norway, per day, planes, round the world, round the world trip, scuba diving, South Africa, South Korea, spend, statistics, Tanzania, tents, Thailand, trains, Vietnam, volunteering, worst, Zambia, zanzibar, Zimbabwe 10 Comments »

As an English-speaker, you may think going to Australia means you’ll be able to understand the people and communicate easily 100% of the time, right?  Well, not completely, actually.  The Australians also have a LOT of slang words and phrases of their own that can leave an American standing there, dumbfounded, and often repeatedly saying, […]

Posted in Australia, RTW Trip, Travel
Tags: accent, Aussie, Australia, brekky, budgie smugglers, chock-a-block, english, guide, guide to aussie slang, heaps, jim jams, jumper, maccas, overtaking, rubbish, singlet, slang, sunnies, trackies, trolley 5 Comments »

From Port Douglas to Cairns, Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay, and Brisbane to Gold Coast, I quickly discovered that the state of Queensland, Australia has some of the MOST amazing beaches, reefs, and national parks in the whole country. Located on the northeastern side of Australia, Queensland is known as “The Sunshine State” – apparently […]

Posted in Australia, RTW Trip, Travel
Tags: Airlie Beach, Australia, Brisbane, Burleigh, Burleigh Heads, Byron Bay, Cairns, diving, Fraser Island, Gold Coast, Great Barrier Reef, Hervey Bay, island, James, kayaking, lagoon, Magnetic Island, ocean, Outback, Port Douglas, Queensland, Scuba, snorkeling, Sunshine Coast, Surfers Paradise, top places, top places to visit in Queensland, Townsville, visit, Whitsunday Islands, Whitsundays Comment on this post »

Free? Huh? I bet you saw this post title and wondered how it was possible that we got a FREE campervan rental!?  Well… let me go back to August 29th. So there we were in Cairns, Australia, saying goodbye to our good friends, Marty and Ann, and totally unsure of what was next to come. […]

Posted in Australia, RTW Trip, Travel
Tags: adventure, Airlie Beach, Animals, Apollo, Australia, bed, Brisbane, Cairns, camper, campervan, campground, camping, campsite, car, drivenow.com, Fraser Island, free, Hervey Bay, imoova, imoova.com, James, Kangaroo, Koala, Kookaburra, Lone Pine, McDonald's, motorhome, Queensland, refrigerator, relocate, relocation, rental, road, Sanctuary, sink, stove, table, tasmanian devil, transfercar, van, vroom, WIFI, www.transfercar.com.au Comment on this post »

With everything going on in the world and the United States, nowadays, you might wonder what the rest of the world thinks about us. Not only is this interesting information to know, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, it’s essential for you to personally know how other countries generally view the U.S. if you plan to travel somewhere […]

Posted in RTW Trip, Statistics, Travel, World Views
Tags: Africa, AIDS, americans, Argentina, Asia, Asia Pacific, Australia, bombing, Brazil, Chile, China, dislike, Egypt, El Salvador, enemy, Europe, favorable, France, Germany, Ghana, Global Attitudes Project, Greece, hate, hates, Israel, Italy, japan, Jordan, Kenya, Latin America, Lebanon, like, love, loves, Mexico, Middle East, Pakistan, Palestine Territory, partner, Pew Research Center, Philippines, Poland, report, Senegal, shooting, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, statistics, Syria, Travel, Tunisia, Turkey, U.S., unfavorable, united states, US, views, war, world 5 Comments »

When James and I flew into the state of Queensland in Australia (on August 23rd) we were SO EXCITED! Not only were we about to scuba dive in one of the most beautiful and world-renowned reefs in the world, but we were also meeting up with our good friends from back home, Marty and Ann! […]

Posted in Australia, RTW Trip, Scuba Diving, Travel
Tags: Agincourt, Ann, Australia, Barcelona, boat, Cairns, certified, cuttlefish, fish, Great Barrier Reef, James, maori wrasse, Marty, moray eel, pet, Port Douglas, puffer fish, reef, Scuba, scuba diving, snorkeling, swim 1 Comment »

You might think Australia is much like the US, and in some ways it IS. However, the more research I did about the country (and finding out about their minimum FOUR weeks of vacation per year!), and the more time I spent in everyday life with friends in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, the more I […]

Posted in Australia, RTW Trip, Statistics, Travel
Tags: aboriginal, Australia, capital, climate, compassionate leave, conomy, continent, currency, drinking, Driving, education, facts, foods, GDP, gun control, gun laws, happiest, hours, island, Koala, language, life expectancy, literacy rate, long service leave, Melbourne, paid vacation, population, religion, sick leave, smoking, snakes, statistics, time off, unemployment rate, vacation time, work day, work environment 3 Comments »

So, let me catch you up to speed with our current travels…  I realize it may be slightly confusing, as I’m always about one month behind in my blog posts, but here it goes: James and I flew from Thailand to Australia on August 23rd, and then spent a couple weeks along the east coast […]

Posted in Africa, Australia, RTW Trip, Travel
Tags: Australia, Cape town, Capetown, career, editing, editor, James, job, Johannesburg, Kenya, Melbourne, opportunity, South Africa, Sydney, TV, TV show Comment on this post »

Hey friends, family, and blog readers! As you know, James and I are traveling for the majority of 2013, all around the world. We have experienced many different living situations: homestay, camping, hostels, hotels, all from luxury to the bare minimum. When we visit Australia, we would like to housesit and/or dogsit as well! With […]

Posted in Australia, RTW Trip, Travel
Tags: Australia, dog sitting, help, house sitting 3 Comments »