Travel Perspectives: An Update from the Road!!

Where does the time go?!?!

Julie and I were talking today and can’t believe that we have been traveling and trying our hand at starting a travel business/blog for more than 50 days now!  We are almost two whole months into our crazy adventure and we thought it would be a good time for an overall update.  Recently, we were nominated by a fellow blogger for something called the Liebster Award which was put together by the blogging community to assist new bloggers, introduce them to fellow bloggers, and help them get more exposure.  As a part of that we had to answer some questions about our business and blog which led me to an idea.  I thought it would be fun to do a fun series with our family by getting each of us to answer a series of questions about our experiences on the road.  Sort of like a little interview article so you can get a feel for each of our perspectives’ on traveling, home schooling, and how we are adapting to our new life on the road.

Well here is the first installment…Bryan’s interview.  We will follow up with Julie’s, Dawson’s, and Vaughn’s interviews over the next few days!!

What has been your favorite city/destination so far?

Bryan: First and foremost, we have been having a blast!  We have seen and done so many amazing things that it is hard to keep track.  If I’m forced to pick one place, I would choose Vancouver.  It is a really cool city with so many different areas that have their own unique vibe.  The people are very friendly and helpful which is really cool to experience in a big foreign city.  I haven’t spent enough time in the rest of Canada, but if the people are this nice everywhere, Canada might be the Texas of the north.  Also, the city offers so many opportunities for great outdoor activities from biking, to checking out the parks, visiting the beach, kayaking, great hiking right in North Vancouver, and that doesn’t even account for all of the amazing opportunities just outside of the city in the Squamish area, Whistler, or Vancouver Island.

Which hotel or place we have stayed did you like the most? Why?

Bryan: I really enjoyed our stay at the Inn at Lost Creek in Telluride.  It was a great combination of nice rooms, amenities, and the staff was over the top nice.  You could call down or ask for anything and they had your question or request taken care of in no time.  Since we are also traveling with our dog, it is always nice to see a property that is so pet friendly but still extremely clean and well maintained.

What has been your favorite activity, tour, etc. so far?

Bryan: Another really hard choice based on all of the fun things we have done.  Since this is my little project, I’m going to cheat and pick two.  I loved visiting the Grand Canyon and hiking down into the canyon.  The first time you see the canyon it is just unreal and truly something everybody should experience at least once.  My other favorite was a pretty simple little hike outside of Big Sur on the California coast.  It took you right down to the water where they used to bring cargo ships into a small cove and tie up to the cliffs (rumors say that pirates used the cove, too!).  There was an awesome tunnel that you walked through to get down to the water and once you are there you truly feel like you are on the edge of the world.  We were lucky to experience all of this with so little traffic (nobody else was around right before Labor Day, it was special!) due to a road blockage from a landslide and a bridge outage that has isolated about a 40 mile section of Highway 1.

In general, what do you like best about our adventure so far?  

Bryan:  I really like how traveling will change your perspective on an area, people, or prior beliefs you may have had.  No matter how open minded you try to be going into something new, you always have preconceived ideas of what something is going to be like.  So, with each new place we visit I tell myself, “even though you might have an idea about what this will be like, go in with an open mind and be willing to adjust your views based on your experience.”  Traveling gives you the opportunity to see how others live and what they value, and I think that is a very important benefit of travel now more than ever.  We are living in a divisive media environment where many media outlets would have you believe that there are only two ways to view anything and if you are not with me you are against me.  When you go out and experience new places, people, and adventures for yourself, you realize that is far from the truth.  By far the majority of the people we have met are genuinely good folks that are lot more like you than not.

What has been the hardest thing about adapting to life on the road?

Bryan: This one is easy, not having my very own bed.  You know the old saying, “You don’t know what you have until it is gone?”  Well, I didn’t know what I had in my wonderful Tempurpedic mattress until it was gone.  Mattress quality is really climbing my list on how a rate places we have stayed.  Funny enough, I had a discussion about mattresses and where we would be sleeping with my good friend who bought my beloved Tempurpedic mattress before we departed.  I kind of shrugged off his thoughts about it at the time, but now I’m really taking that to heart.  I hope you are enjoying the Tempurpedic lifestyle Dave Perez!!

What do you miss about home the most?

Bryan: Another easy one, friends and family.  I knew starting out that this would be the hardest part of our big adventure.  We have such great families and friends in Texas that you can’t help but wish we could bring them all with us!!  We are truly blessed from that standpoint and we are really looking forward to seeing everybody we can the first week of December.  We will be coming through Austin and San Antonio to visit and catch up before we head off to Europe.

Which future destination are you most excited about?

Bryan: I’m definitely excited about getting back to Costa Rica in the late spring, it is one of my favorite places on earth.  But, I am really looking forward to going to Finland for Christmas.  Not only will it be a special experience to share with the kids while we chase down Santa, but I really hope we get to see the Northern Lights, too.  It will be super cold but I think it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity that we will remember forever.