A Pair of Jacks

There are many ways to travel. Some people plan every minute in advance, reading travel guides, choosing restaurants, booking tours and hotels before departure. Others fly by the seat of their pants, with nothing but a credit card, a Lonely Planet and word of mouth to guide them along the way. While we are not so footloose to jump on any train not knowing where it’s headed, we do like to plan as we travel, sometimes not knowing where we’ll be next week. This trip has become as much about visiting family and friends as it is about seeing Europe. Even before Panama and hospitality became our way of life, we often traveled with our parents to go and visit people we knew, whether it was grandparents for the holidays or siblings abroad. Because our original ... read more

Mexico, Texas, New York and Montreal “No news is good news,” Laura’s mom used to say to the parents of exchange students who had not communicated in a while. As we take the train through the European countryside we reflect on the two months that have passed since we have written and realize that in our case the expression holds true. Since we last wrote, our life continues to be full of adventure, celebration, family and friends; often with little time to spare. Many of you are probably wondering why and how we came to Europe after three months in Southeast Asia, and we are going to tell you. Others probably are wondering if this is still part of the honeymoon, and while we aren’t really sure, we are calling it “Laura and Aaron’s Great ... read more

Indonesia: Land of Diving, Dancing & Dragons With diving and resort living on our minds, we were on our way to Indonesia, our eighth and final country and the exclamation point to our already amazing Southeast Asia experience. We couldn’t believe that we would be returning to the States in just a couple of weeks, and we were not quite ready to concede our time. From Singapore we flew to Bali, an island in the Nusa Tenggara chain, known for its unique Hindu traditions, stunning emerald rice terraces, and a welcoming, hospitable culture. The original plan to visit Bali had been made after our wedding when Aaron’s parents gave us a weeklong stay at a resort as a honeymoon gift. However, before we were to travel to Eastern Bali, we had arranged to meet up with ... read more

Can we get Samui? After diving in the Similan Islands and adventuring around Khao Lak, we were eager to discover southern Thailand’s beauty. People travel from all over the world to take in the splendor of the white sand beaches, crystal waters, and spectacular scenery of the places we have visited. We are constantly humbled by this experience. We feel so lucky that we are able to spend this time together as a young couple and explore a part of the world that has so much to offer yet is so accessible. We continually plan our future adventures while trying to appreciate and enjoy every step of the way. That being said, we left Khao Lak with ample suggestions of places to go and things to do, and in the taxi on the way to the ... read more

Christmas in Chiang Mai From Seoul to Bangkok, Angkor Wat to Halong Bay, and Luang Prabang to the jungles of Laos, it is safe to say that we have had an amazing first half of our journey. Our return to Thailand was met with enthusiasm and eagerness as we began the second half of our great adventure. Coming down from our high of The Gibbon Experience, we crossed the Mekong River thus crossing from Laos into Thailand. We were pleasantly surprised when we found that our new friends Nate and Caitlin from Tree House 3 were not only on our mini bus to Chiang Rai, but also had plans to stay there for a couple of days. For us, Chaing Rai became a place to reconnect, even though we were only gone for a few nights. ... read more