You do You
Dare to Live the Life You Dream
Hello! I’m Kevin, the diarist of our adventures and the admin of this blog. My wife Nicole is the driving force behind our travels, she’s the bigger dreamer and planner.
We were married in 2015, a second marriage for us both. Our nest at that time consisted of 4 kids total, two each from of our previous marriages ranging in age from about 10 to 20 years old.
The housing market was, and still is, crazy expensive in the Portland, Oregon greater metro area and we couldn’t justify the expense of buying an overpriced home so we rented. At first we lived in a 4-bedroom home, but as kids went off to college we down-sized to a 2-bedroom apartment. Not knowing where our kids would land as they each started their own lives also kept us from wanting to be anchored to one location. And… being in our mid to late forties, signing up for a 30 year mortgage payment on an anchor didn’t make any sense to us.
Those combined circumstances, Nicole’s lifelong dream of traveling the world, and her ability to work remotely from anywhere are the fuel and means that make this dream of hers a reality.
Me, I’ve never dreamt that big. Living in the Great Pacific Northwest all of my life gave me access to landscapes that rival many of the great vistas of far-off places. Hiking and backpacking in our local mountains was what I dreamt of and did. I introduced Nicole to my passion for being outdoors and she has always been a wonderful companion for me.
Now it’s my turn to be a wonderful companion for her as we adventure, mostly prepared, into a bigger world.
Seize the Moment
Create a Life That’s Yours, Not a Marketing Message
We lost a brother-in-law to Covid-19, so we know that the pandemic was a horrible time for us all. However, the pandemic did force people to think outside the box when it came to working and earning a living; the viability and sustainability of remote-work being one of those realizations is what makes our adventure possible.
When Nicole started working remotely we sold one of our two cars, however, our home expenses still required two incomes. She started thinking “if I’m stuck working from home without a car here, I’d rather be stuck working from ‘home’ in another country”.
So… we sold our only car, down sized again and stored our remaining possessions. We now live on a single income in long-term AirBnBs at a cost that’s less than half of what our home expenses were.
Nicole has just about mastered the art of finding us a new “home” every 2-4 weeks. We don’t live luxuriously in hotels or resorts. We rely on mass transit, taxis, and Uber for mobility and live in affordable apartments with the people of the countries we visit- which is exactly what we wanted; immersive cultural experiences.
They’re Funko Pops! Not Dolls
Keep Calm and Have Fun, You Only Have One Life
The internet is full of 20-something people photographing their butts and deep-thinking poses in front of all the great vistas and monuments of the world, but that’s not our style. Which left me puzzled about how to document our travels without all the primping and worrying about how we looked, but in a way that represented our personalities.
One day a kiddo of ours showed us an Instagram account of a traveling gnome and said we should do that. Now I, being a collector of Funko Pops!, knew that we could get custom Pop! People made at the Funko HQ in Everett, Washington, which happens to be on the way to dropping said kiddo off for her junior year of college.
Serendipity!
Instead of worrying about how we look, I get to seek out the most creative ways to capture the idealized versions of us in all the places we go and things we do!
Keep On Travelin’
Rick Steves
First and foremost, this blog is a place for me to document our adventures for ourselves and to share with friends and family. I will happily answer any questions you may have and I welcome a conversation, but please keep in mind that this blog isn’t an income generator- it keeps me from going stir crazy while my wife works- so it may take a while for me to respond.
With all that being said, thanks for visiting and enjoy! -Kevin.