Home bases

When we got back from our 7 month adventure last year and were going through the gigabytes of photos we took, something really stood out to me. It wasn’t the photos that were there, but rather the photos that were missing. If one looks just at our photos, you’d get the impression that we just traveled from amazing scenic view and landmark to the next. And true enough, that alone would be quite the adventure worthwhile hitting the road for.

But that only tells part of the story.

We’re frequently asked what drives us to choose our destinations and stop over points. And despite what our photo album might elude to – it’s not always the landmarks we want to see. Those actually tend to be the places we stop inbetween on the journey that really inspires us. And that’s the journey of spending time with amazing people. And when you’re consumed with quality time, it’s sometimes difficult to remember to take out the camera to capture a piece of the experience.

From both of us having a wide network of friends and people we consider family prior to us meeting, we already had lots of potential stops. And in the midst of traveling together and strengthening our own relationship, we continue to add to that list. These are people, who in one form or another, have given us an invitation to stop on in when we’re in the area. They offer a sort of home base for us – a place for a hot shower, wifi, parking and perhaps catching up on laundry. And these are truly invaluable resources. Instead of couchsurfing, it’s more like driveway-surfing.

But even more so, they offer us a sense of community. A sense of belonging and an opportunity to contribute to their own household and family. Whether it be from sharing stories of the road for a taste of vicarious adventure, or helping out on projects – it’s definitely a win-win situation for all of us.

So, one definite contributor to our routing is the people.

And this adventure, I will do a better job of capturing that aspect of our story.