If 2023 gave us the travel bug, then the infection took over our lives in 2024. This holiday season finds us in Patagonia on what we've described as a family adventure, a sabbatical, a mini-retirement, a midlife crisis, and playing hooky.
Why? Our prior experiences living abroad formed an important part of who we are, and we want to share that horizon-expanding experience with our kids.
Why now? About a year ago, Shaunda decided it was time for a career transition, which allowed us to take a bunch of time off from work while our kids are at that sweet spot between diapers and middle school.
Highlights from before we fled the country
A visit from Grandpa Lyle and Grandma Karla in January
A trip to Arizona in February to visit David's brother Seth and his family
We met up with David's brother Nathan and wife Lisa in March for some fun launching big rockets in the desert of central Utah.
In one busy trip across the country in April, we visited Dollywood Theme Park in Tennessee, celebrated Grandma Karla's birthday, dropped in for Shaunda's 20th high school reunion, and watched the total solar eclipse in Texas. (Eclipse video courtesy of our friend and documentary filmmaker DaneTheSwede)
Summer visits from Shaunda's friend Eyren, Grandma Peggy, and the Jones family to swim in our newer/bigger pool
We managed 6 camping trips with our Casita trailer, including our third to Idaho to meet up with friends from Washington.
In August, we had the privilege of traveling to beautiful Stinson Beach, California, for the wedding of Shaunda's cousin Chris and wife Gabbi. Clara bravely delighted everyone as the flower girl.
This fall, Caleb started second grade and Clara started kindergarten. Two months later, we pulled them out of school.... It's OK because there's a fancy term for it: "World Schooling."
Shaunda's brother, Ryan, delighted us by moving to Utah in August. He is looking after our house while we are out of the country.
Some highlights from our lives abroad thus far
We chose a slow and circuitous route to South America because, unlike most vacations, we are not in a hurry!
First, we visited friends and family in Massachusetts, Maine, and Florida. We hiked 8 miles in northern Maine, explored Acadia National Park, and watched (and felt!) a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch.
Next, we took a 17-day cruise from Florida to Chile, complete with three nautical rites of passage:
1) Transiting the Panama Canal. We passed through the three sets of original 110-year-old locks, a process that took all day.
2) Crossing the equator ceremony. We watched our ship's crew celebrate the centuries-old equatorial baptism/initiation ceremony for sailors crossing the equator for the first time, which involved light-hearted hazing, silly costumes, dousing crew in bushels of colorful whipped cream, and kissing a frozen fish. We were glad passengers like ourselves were not required to participate.
3) Getting Norovirus on a cruise ship. Shaunda never threw up, so her reward was taking care of the rest of us in our tiny cruise ship cabin bathroom.
We chose this repositioning cruise because it made frequent stops in interesting places in Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.
The centuries old Castillo San Felipe de Barajas in Cartagena, Colombia
Caleb photographing a Coati near Panama City
The Incan ruins at Tombo Colorado, Peru
A beautiful doorway in Valparaiso, Chile
After disembarking from the cruise, our adventures continued in Santiago, Chile, where we experienced a modest earthquake and where a deft pickpocket stole David's wallet from his front pocket. Though both events rattled our nerves, thankfully neither resulted in serious damage. All but the $32 in David's wallet was easily replaceable.
We bought a 2017 Toyota RAV4 to take us south through Patagonia.
South America has spoiled us with the delicious fresh fruit, ice cream, and chocolate that seems to always be within a block of everywhere.
Our plan is to continue exploring Patagonia through mid-February, when we will settle for a few months in Trelew, Argentina, to put Caleb and Clara in school with the kids of Shaunda's friend Priscila. Even though we don't have a firm return date yet, we promise we are coming back (despite rumors to the contrary)! To those of you who mailed us cards, thank you! We look forward to reading them and putting them on our bulletin board sometime in 2025 when we get home.
If you're able to pop down to South America in the next few months, let us know and maybe we can arrange to meet you somewhere like Iguazu Falls, Buenos Aires, or Montevideo. Regardless, you can stay in touch with us via email, text (yes, same phone numbers), or social media. We are enjoying the adventure but do miss everyone we left behind.
¡Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad!
Created December 29, 2024
If this web page looks old school, it is! I hand craft each line of artisanal HTML myself, for better or (mostly) worse.
