Johnny and Anna recently caught up with National Geographic magazine to talk about their upcoming trip.*
*This may or may not have really happened.
NG : So, tell me about yourselves.
J&A: Hi! We’re Johnny and Anna from Newport Beach, CA. Johnny likes concerts, homebrew and San Francisco. Anna likes boat rides, painting and ice cold Chardonnay. We’ve left our jobs, packed up our stuff and are off to travel the world for about a year beginning May 23, 2011.
NG: Wow! That sounds awesome. What’s the reason for the trip?
J&A: It’s been a shared dream of ours ever since we first met. We both love seeing new places, meeting new people, trying new food and drink, and all the other experiences that come with travel. It’s a big world out there full of amazing places and people, and we want to experience as much of it as we can before planting our roots with a house, career, kids, etc.
NG: Speaking of which, when are you going to have kids?
J&A: That’s a little personal…why don’t we stay on topic?
NG: I’m sorry. It’s just that both of your moms really want grandkids. So, where will this adventure be taking you?
J&A: Our first stop is France, and from there we’ll be making our way back home slowly but surely through Europe (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey), South Africa, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos), Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia (Bali and Lombok). More details can be found on the “The World Tour” page.
NG: Must be nice. Did you guys win the lotto? Inherit a trust fund? I mean, how can you afford something like this?
J&A: This plan has been in the works for a couple years, so we’ve been saving for a while now. We cook most meals at home, put most of our paychecks in a savings account and Johnny still drives a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. We are also adopting the “slow travel” approach to our trip, trying to stay in places for a week or so at a time to save money on transportation costs and bunking up with anyone and everyone we may know in the countries we are visiting. Last but not least, we’ve lined up a couple workstays through helpx.net where we work for host families in exchange for free room and board. Right now we have workstays lined up at a farm in the south of France, a vineyard in Italy and another vineyard in New Zealand.
NG: Sounds heady, but aren’t you worried about being gone for so long? What are you going to do about your jobs? This isn’t exactly the life plan for most people your age.
J&A: Truth be told, choosing to leave everything and travel for a year wasn’t the easiest decision in the world. We both love our home, our family and friends, and (believe it or not) our jobs. We’re bound to have our bouts with homesickness, but luckily some of our family and friends are coming to visit us along the way. Regarding work, Anna’s company Quiksilver was awesome enough to give her a leave of absence, and Johnny is sure to find something with his brains and good looks if he can’t go back to his old job.
NG: Well, he is pretty good looking. Have an awesome trip! I can’t wait to follow your blog.
J&A: Thanks!
Ciao for Now 