In front of the Louvre in Paris, France
Two years ago today we were exploring Paris, the first international stop on our family’s around the world (RTW) adventure. Today we are in Christchurch, New Zealand, the last international stop on our world tour. Next month, we go home; wherever that is.
The adventure that we worked so hard to save for and took years of planning is almost over. No more new countries. No more new languages. No more ancient ruins. No more adventure.
On January 7 we board a plane at the Christchurch International Airport and will land in Hawaii, the first time we have been back on US soil in over 2 years. The cheapest airfare we could find to get from Christchurch to Portland, Oregon was to fly to Hawaii and then book a separate flight to Portland. And since we will be in Hawaii, we figured we might as well enjoy it a little. So we will be spending 5 days on the island of Kauai before coming back to Portland.
The completion date of our around the world adventure is at 7:59pm on January 12, 2015. This will be the date and time we land at the Portland International Airport marking a full circumnavigation of the globe. And in case anyone wants to meet us at the airport, we will be arriving on Alaskan Airline flight 834 coming from Honolulu. 🙂
It will be interesting to see how Portland has changed in the two years since we have been gone. We are excited to see our family and friends and hoping to see as many of them as possible in the short time we are there. No, we are not returning to live in Portland, Oregon. We have other plans.
Portland is a great city, but we can no longer live there. We fear that if we resettle in Portland after 2 years of global travel we will quickly revert back to our old life. A life filled with busy schedules, working too much, and not having the time to enjoy life as a family. We have looked long and hard for a new place to live and have narrowed it down to one place that we think will work for us; a place far from Oregon.
Although our around the world adventure is almost complete, our adventurous spirit is not dead. In fact, 2 years of non-stop international travel has given spark to a whole list of future adventures that we plan to do. The first adventure on that list begins just one week after landing in Portland. We have just one week in Portland to purchase what we need, say hello and goodbye to family and friends, and then we leave.
Even though our RTW adventure is coming to an end, we will continue to blog about our new adventures. We aren’t called “Travel Junkies” for nothing. So be sure to keep following along to see where we decide to relocate to, what our next adventure is, and how we adjust to our new home after 2 years of being international nomads. We will once again see new countries, hear new languages, and see ancient ruins. Not on this adventure, but on future ones.
And a big thank you to everyone that has followed our journey around the world. One of our favorite things about travel is having the chance to meet new people. We have met some of you and hopefully we will have the chance to meet many more in the future. So if we are in your area, or you are in ours, let’s meet up!
Keep traveling!