Our Six Year Travelversary!
A short reflection and stats about all we've experienced with our adventure.
SIX YEARS!! 🎉
6 years ago today, we officially sold our house and started our epic nomad journey.
In some ways, it has flown by, and in others, it feels like it's been a while. We've been blessed to do SO much in those six years and we've had incredible experiences. We've traveled different ways and pivoted many times, but we stayed on the road, and I'm so thankful for what we've been able to do.
Stats. Stats. And More Stats.
Here are a few stats that I came up with to celebrate the day:
⭐️ We only lacked a handful of states to hit all 50 when we first started, but now we've been to almost all 50 in the last 6 years! I think Delaware is the only one we've never gone back to since we first went there many years ago, so I guess we need to get over there. 😂
⭐️ We've been to 20 countries - some were before we became nomads, but many were after.
⭐️ We've visited 139 National Park sites (monuments, historical sites, etc.) and 41 of the official 63 National Parks.
⭐️ We've traveled in a pickup and stayed in hotels, and we purchased a timeshare and have stayed in resorts all over the place - even Paris! (and we've loved our timeshare despite the fact that many are opposed to them! lol!
⭐️ We have memberships with a couple of travel clubs that help us get huge discounts on places we've stayed. We purchased a rooftop tent and camped in that for a while, and then last September, we bought our travel van - what we're currently traveling in. It's all been so amazing!
⭐️ We're turning the map green (see below) by keeping track of the roads and counties we drive when we're meandering around a state.
I won't say that this lifestyle doesn't come with sacrifices - it definitely does. There are a lot of things we've given up in order to live this dream. But the things we've gotten in exchange for those sacrifices have been incredible.
We've made new friends across the country, seen beautiful mountains and gorgeous valleys, visited amazing beaches, observed incredible wildlife, watched incredible sunsets and sunrises, endured thunderstorms, and even raced across the country to beat an ice storm. We've hiked more trails/miles than I can count and enjoyed some amazing scenery.
We've traveled by bus, plane, train, ship, truck, and van. We've ridden bikes through Alaska as well as through the Everglades, and we've had fun on an ATV in the desert as well as the mountains of Alaska!
We've done some house and pet sitting, stayed with multiple friends to catch up and visit while having a great time together, and even traveled with friends!
And we've gone "home" for the holidays to be with our families - something that I truly treasure every year.
James and I dreamed of living this kind of life for over 10 years before we could make it a reality. And, I'm not going to lie, it's a lot harder currently than it was when we began in 2020. But I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm SO incredibly thankful for all that we've gotten to see and do together.
The joy I feel at getting to live this life is hard to explain. It's something I don't take for granted and something I'm truly thankful for every day.
And if you're still reading after that long spiel, I want to tell you how thankful we are for you guys. Truly, from the bottom of our hearts, we're so thankful you've come along for the ride with us, and we appreciate your support by checking out our page and liking posts or commenting with your thoughts. We treasure every one of those!
We can't wait to see what the future holds. We have no plans to stop traveling and will continue to do so until we can't or just don't want to anymore. Considering how much there is to see in the world, I can't imagine ever wanting to stop, though.
Thanks for being here for the Road Life Adventure we're on! ❤️
(And can I just say, finding pics to go with this post was SO hard because I found SO many I wanted to use!! lol!)
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Congratulations!
... and thanks for sharing.
This was SO FUN to read! 😅