The One Year Stats

Now that we have a full year of traveling under our belt, I feel like we are getting pretty good at it. I feel like we have accomplished a lot in our first year and we have figured out some pretty important stuff. The main thing that we figured out is that we like it. I take that back, we love it. We have also figured out a good rhythm that works for us. It's a rhythm that has no rhyme or reason, but a rhythm nonetheless. We cant seem to plan anything, we freak out at the sight of a commitment, and we panic when we think of going back to work. I panic so heavily at the mere mention of the word work that I get the cold sweats, rock back and forth, and start sobbing with a combined nervous laughter that would assure anyone within a 3 block radius that I am completely crazy. It's a natural reaction that my body has come up with to make sure that if I ever did have a job interview, I would never get hired. A back to work scenario is going to involve Brenda in an office and me not.

A lot of people that we have met along the way say to us “I wish I could do that!” and then “how are you able to do that?” The first statement has an easy response. You can do it. The second part is a little bit more complicated but still has a quick answer. We made a plan, saved, stuck to it, and then we actually left. That plan took us 10 years. It wasn't easy. We worked hard, but it is doable. The moral of that little story is that if you have been dreaming of doing something similar, then do it. You'll be glad you did. Neither of us have regretted this for even the slightest moment. It's been great.

Another thing that a lot of people say is “I could never do what you guys are doing but I would still love to be able to go and have a little adventure of my own.” That statement usually comes with a defeated look and a sulk. Here is an important fact that you need to know. This adventure that we are on is ours. You can't have it. It's what we dreamed up and it fits us perfectly. You need to have your own adventure and your adventure can be whatever you want it to be. Whether it's a weekend in wine country, a trip to Spain, an RV trip down the Oregon Coast, or a scrabble marathon with your Aunt Mabel who lives in Minnesota. I don't care what your idea of an adventure is, because it's yours. Make it happen.

We are both overly passionate about what we've done this year. Brenda wants to take everyone she meets on a fifteen mile hike because she loves hiking so much and she thinks everyone will love it just the same. I have been known to try to talk people into buying a boat, quitting their jobs, and traveling the world without regard to whether or not they even have any interest in such an endeavor. I constantly remind Brenda that not everyone likes to hike until their feet bleed and she has to remind me that sailing around the world isn't for everyone either. With that in mind, I am going to give you one last friendly nudge to have a little adventure, whatever that may be. It's really fun, you'll be glad you did. Trust me.

The other big question that everyone seems to ask that means the same thing but comes in various versions is “how can you put up with each other for that long in that space?” or “how do you get any space from each other?” or “what do you talk about after that long together?” These are somewhat difficult questions to answer because people don't seem to believe me when I try to explain myself. We do get along really well and we do like to spend time together. I can only speak for myself even though I am going to speak for Brenda here, we couldn't do this with any one else. The right partner makes all the difference in the world.

As far as getting “space” from each other, this is also is something most people don't understand. Even in our little home on wheels or in our sailboat, space is relative. We can sit at the same table and get “space”. We have become pretty in tune to when the other person doesn't want to talk or needs to process their thoughts. It's also pretty easy to fall into our own world when we are hiking. We can be right next to each other on a trail and be completely in our own “space”. We have become Zen masters.

This may also be hard to believe but we actually talk about some of the same things you probably talk about. The news, what's happening with friends and family, what we are seeing on the hike, what we are going to do tomorrow, and really, whatever comes into our head is fair game. The only difference is the fact that we don't talk about work anymore. We do however still talk about how much we love not working. That topic will never get old.

Don't get me wrong, there are times when mindless chatter comes spewing from our mouths and the other person would like to karate chop the spewer of words in the throat to shut them up for just a few minutes. Sometimes I think about locking Brenda in the bathroom so we won't have to go on another one of her hikes because she seems to always pick the longest and the most grueling hike in the book. There are times when one of us is in a little bit of a funk and even ice cream won't bring us out of it. That's normal life for anyone with a partner. But most of the time, we are as content as could be. We really do enjoy each others company. We are traveling with our best friend and really, who else would you want to share this stuff with?

I am now going to get off of my high horse and get back to the matter at hand - the stats. Since you probably know by now that I am a stupid stats, numbers, and useless information kind of guy, I have compiled another list of stats that highlight this past year. Some of this stuff is truly useless information and some of this stuff amazes me (like the amount we've hiked). Some of this list makes me feel like we covered a lot of ground and some of it makes me think that we barely went anywhere (we recently met a guy who touched all 50 states in one month....we went to 10 states in 8 months). And some of this is just for my own amusement. Let's get started.

1,421 miles traveled by sailboat

26,884 miles traveled in the car (my least favorite part of this trip has been the time spent in the car)

2,418 miles hiked/walked (way more than I would have thought was humanly possible and also just about the distance from Canada to Mexico and then back again to Canada...that's a lot of walking)

8 pairs of shoes worn out

3 backpacks worn out

472 miles by pedal power (bikes...a lot less miles than I thought would happen)

10 States visited (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California)

2 Countries visited (Canada and the US)

20 National Parks explored

26 National Monuments visited

17 National forests and wilderness areas hiked in

21 mountain peaks reached

19 days spent rock climbing

18 canyons explored

62 islands set foot on

2 new pairs of skis purchased

38 days skiing at Mt. Bachelor

12 days skiing in the back country

1 new home on wheels purchased

184 days since my last cheez-it was consumed (I had to quit cold turkey. I was getting out of control)

0 times we have wished to be working

111 places we've seen that could be the coolest place on earth

9,266 pictures taken (that is a real number and anyone who wants an exhilarating slide show that will last about 14 hours, let us know)

1 new camera purchased

36 pounds of coffee consumed

15 bears spotted in the wild (4 bears were close enough to cuddle with)

1 mountain lion stalked us (that we know of)

4 days attempting to relive my youth while surfing (all 4 days were failures. I'm not in my youth anymore although I still think I looked pretty good. Brenda didn't think so.)

3 brief stops in Seattle

3 of our friends have passed away this year (Life is short. Go have an adventure.)

3 of our friends got married while we were gone (sorry we didn't make it to your weddings)

3 naps in the past year. So sad, I still am hopeful more will occur next year.

3 caves explored

3 caves that Brenda freaked out in

3 seems to be a popular number

3 months was the longest we stayed in one spot (Bend, Oregon...we loved it)

3 hours spent on the back of a horse

3 cowboys oogled at my wife

3 cowboys ignored this city boy

42 days ago is when I started to get excited about being back on the boat (still excited)

2 professional massages have been had thanks to our friends in Tillamook and my sister-in-law in Mesa

365 days I have wished we had a personal masseuse

863 times I have told Brenda we should get some bacon

863 times she has said no

1,994 mosquitoes killed by Brenda (she had a very productive run at Sequoia National Park)

612 times our plans have changed because we found there was something cool that we should go see.

28 times I've told Brenda “I am DONE! I can't hike anymore today!”

28 times I've heard Brenda say under her breath “Stop being such a weenie. We just got started.”

60 is the amount of dollars that have been funneled into Dan's lottery pool...we still haven't won.

1 in the morning is when Dan usually texts me the bad news that we didn't win...bummer

9 is the average time I get out of bed in the morning.

12 swimming pools have been swam in

1 time we have eaten fast food since we left. It was at a Wendy's on our way to Death Valley.

1 time I wished we didn't eat fast food at a Wendy's on our way to Death Valley

18 minutes was the time the fast food from Wendy's decided it needed to come out NOW!

1 night spent in a Walmart parking lot

1 used cow lot spotted in Drummond Montana

1 football game watched (the Superbowl with a disappointing finish)

488 times Brenda said "damn you AT&T!" thanks to non-existent cell coverage

365 days we have gotten up in the morning and felt pretty lucky to be able to do this

75 times I have posted to this blog...thanks for reading and keeping tabs on us.

There you go. I have to say, it's been a great year, but we are even more excited for next year.