When we finally decided to do a Round the World trip, I was hungry to know who else had done it and how they had accomplished it!  I started researching online and stumbled upon a fantastic blog.  The authors were a family from Portland, Oregon (Jason and Kerri) who had made the same decision but were doing it for two years with their daughter, Sydney.  Their blog, www.travel-junkies.com was a fantastic resource but I also just enjoyed reading about their family, their decision-making process, and their experiences.  I soon began following their blog and eventually reached out to them.

I was super surprised when Kerri responded, and her message back was friendly and very encouraging, not to mention inspiring.  I was so excited to be communicating with her, as I really appreciated all she and Jason shared on their blog via their posts as well as photos.  We started messaging back and forth, and eventually realized we would be in Christchurch, New Zealand at the very same time!

The rest is history.  We were able to meet for a day at the park, and then Jason and Kerri had us over for dinner the next night.  They made a wonderful Mexican Burritos meal and we shared some newly discovered Pavlova with them.  It was such a fun, encouraging time of talking, sharing, and just getting to know each other.  The neat thing is…when we first met, I felt like I was getting together with an old friend, not meeting for the first time.  It was pretty neat.

Hopefully one day, they will be able to visit with us in Chicago!  Or…maybe our paths will cross elsewhere, as I am sure their travels are not over!  Jason, Kerri, and Sydney…thanks for taking time to visit with us!  It was such a pleasure getting to know you all.  We hope to see you soon.