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Published: July 14th 2017
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INTRODUCTION (It's all come down to this).
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Stephen and you are about to accompany me on a number of firsts, (assuming you choose to continue reading). This is my first Blog, my first foray into writing, my first cross country road trip, and my first time moving back to the U.K. My traveling companions on this adventure are my delightful Husband Antonio, and our two mostly delightful children AJ and Graciela (5 and 4 years old). I say mostly because we are only two hours into the trip and about 5 minutes into our first meltdown. This one belongs to Gracie, but I'm sure before this is all over we will all be able to lay claim to a few of our own.
I'll start you off with a little background. I am a Brit, who has been living in the U.S. for the past 27 years. My Husband and I have been together for 9 years now, and have been fortunate enough to adopt two children. By now, those of you who have been paying attention will have realized that we are a gay couple. For those of you who weren't paying attention consider this our coming out announcement! Although we had a very comfortable life in California, being closer to family is our motivation for the move. My parents and Sister all reside in the U.K., and we want our kids to grow up with family around them. My Husband is from Costa Rica, and as tempting as that move might have been, it wasn't in the cards for now.
For those of you that haven't moved from one Continent to another, let me explain the process. It's basically a series of events that whittles down your personal belongings into smaller and smaller quantities. You start with a 5 bedroom house, and then through multiple Garage Sales, Craigslist Postings and Facebook Marketplaces, you end up with only the stuff that will fit into either a shipping container (don't get too excited, it's about the size of a full size refrigerator), and as many suitcases as you can legally take on a plane. As daunting as this all may sound, I found it quite refreshing. It turns out that all that stuff we work so hard to gather doesn't really mean that much. Each round thins the collection further until you are left with what really matters. It's all come down to this. It turns out what was really important to us mostly involved pictures, art, clothes and a few coffee cups with the kids pictures on them. Then the house sells, and you find yourself standing on the sidewalk with a large pile of suitcases. This is the point where a sensible person would Uber themselves to the airport. Being practical, we opted for a four week road trip across the U.S. first.
So now you know how we came to be here. In our trusty Acura MDX setting out on one of the great adventures of life. The quintessential American vacation laid out before us. 11 States, 9 National Parks, 8 Suitcases, 4 weeks, 2 Dads, 2 Kids and one last foray into the Country that's been my home for two-thirds of my life. I hope you will join us on our travels.
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Dad
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The writing gene
Well, you obviously have the family writing gene! Great start, will look forward to following your progress towards home xxxx