Preparing for the big trip – Darren’s perspective

Seeing as I had virtually nothing to do with the wedding planning, my mind has been free to focus on this 3-month journey for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, I have been looking forward to taking this kind of time to travel ever since I spent a college semester studying in Madrid. While there, I met Europeans, Australians and other folks from around the globe who were taking a year off to see the world. When I entered the “working world” I discovered that this attitude is all but non-existent in the United States. But our marriage seems to have been just the kick in the rear I needed to simply plan an adventure and go. And, the best part is, I get to share the experience with Tiffany!

Our master honeymoon plan involves balancing our desire to see as much of the world as possible against trying to cram too much into 3 short months. In addition, I have always enjoyed the adventurous side of travel (e.g. bungy jumping, skydiving, etc.) while some of these things don't seem to excite Tiffany to the same extent – we’ll have to find a happy medium. Tiffany has always had a strong desire to live among, and learn about, local communities (a desire I share with her), so we have tried to include these types of opportunities to the extent possible.

The packing process has been rather easy from my perspective. Adhering to my usual rule of bringing as little as possible, I figure that so long as we remember our passports and some means to get money on the road, anything we forget can simply be purchased along the way. Two backpacks and a daypack should be plenty, even in light of the fact that we will be in widely varying climates during the course of our journey.

My feeling now, with our departure imminent, is one of total excitement. My only apprehension revolves around my long troubled back (as in anatomy). It recently seized up, causing us to push everything back by 4 days. Our tentative itinerary includes many strenuous activities and quite a bit of hopping around, so I pray it holds up for the duration of the trip. Only one way to find out though! Let’s hit the road ... Goodbye Chicago!

Preparing for the big trip – Tiffany’s perspective

As any bride-to-be knows, the months, and final weeks before a wedding are quite chaotic, and in our case, we also had a huge honeymoon to plan and prepare for. Although we have both participated in the honeymoon planning, I focused more on the wedding and Darren on the honeymoon. I think I actually got the better deal, since Darren and I planned together what we wanted to do, and then he and MoonRings figured out the complex logistics.

Discussing the honeymoon, studying maps, and reading about possible destinations was exactly what I needed during the craziness before the wedding. I also quit my job a few weeks ago in order to allow us to travel for three months. The most exciting aspect of this to me is not only traveling to new places, but also doing it with Darren and spending so much time together.

As we’ve been packing, I’ve begun to get a few last minute travel jitters. Three months on the road is a long time! Plus, packing is always stressful for me, and in this case, it is even more difficult since we will be gone for so long. (Darren has not been bothered at all by the packing aspect, and has employed the bring-half-of-what-you-think-you-need method). But, as I near completion of this painful task, it looks like I’ll be able to get everything into one backpack! Even with the packing out of the way, I’m still nervous about a “few” things-- getting sick, some of our hikes or other adventure activities being too strenuous, missing friends and family too much-- basically anything and everything. Darren has done a pretty good job of calming my nerves, reminding me that I have dreamed for some time of going to many of the places we will see, and that we will be together to face whatever challenges arise.

I can't believe our moment of departure is finally here. So here we go - off to see the world! See you at our first destination!

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