We're Caitlin and Chris Joy, thanks for following our adventure!
Some of you may wonder where the inspiration for doing something nutty like quitting your job, selling your house, putting what’s left of your worldly possessions in storage to travel around the world for an entire year. Not long after Caitlin and I met in 2007 we started talking about taking a big trip. Cate has traveled all over the world and just before we met she was in Spain and Morocco - I was so jealous. I hadn’t really been outside the U.S. - Canada doesn’t count, eh?
Anyway, we started talking about a big trip in 2008. I always wanted to explore Machu Picchu and Caitlin wanted to see the Galapagos. Caitlin broke out the spreadsheets, made a bunch of lists (she’s crazy organized) and suddenly we were in South America for a month. We left Anchorage, Alaska on a red-eye flight and landed in Quito at about midnight - after flight delays, a crazy sprint through Houston’s enormous airport to catch a connecting flight, and 17 hours of travel. We managed to get a cab and with broken Spanish talked to the driver. We couldn’t remember boyfriend so Cate called me her “amigo especial” - the driver paused for a second and roared with laughter. Cate remembers me asking her on our second day in Ecuador, “where should we go next?” She knew I was hooked.
While in the Galapagos we met other couples doing a year around the world and just marveled at the stories about their experiences. A seed was planted, but it didn’t seem like something that could become a reality. Still we wanted to try. We decided to ask for contributions to a round the world trip fund instead of traditional gifts when we got married in 2011. The response was overwhelming - so many of our family and friends enthusiastically supported us with generous gifts. Over the last 6 years we’ve been slowly working toward a jumping off point. But committing to pressing pause and leaving your entire life behind for over a year is nerve racking. Selling just about everything you own ratchets up the anxiety a few more notches, and then buying that first plane ticket almost gave me a panic attack.
It was real. Our first leg was a cheap ticket from Tampa to Sydney. 24 hours of flying including 16 hours from L.A. to Sydney non-stop. Brutal. After so many years of talking about this trip, its a reality. Please click the links and follow our adventure. You can contact us with the email button above. Thank you!
And a special thanks to my mother for allowing us to cram all of our remaining possessions into a small room in her house, and to everyone else who helped make this trip possible.
Chris
Anyway, we started talking about a big trip in 2008. I always wanted to explore Machu Picchu and Caitlin wanted to see the Galapagos. Caitlin broke out the spreadsheets, made a bunch of lists (she’s crazy organized) and suddenly we were in South America for a month. We left Anchorage, Alaska on a red-eye flight and landed in Quito at about midnight - after flight delays, a crazy sprint through Houston’s enormous airport to catch a connecting flight, and 17 hours of travel. We managed to get a cab and with broken Spanish talked to the driver. We couldn’t remember boyfriend so Cate called me her “amigo especial” - the driver paused for a second and roared with laughter. Cate remembers me asking her on our second day in Ecuador, “where should we go next?” She knew I was hooked.
While in the Galapagos we met other couples doing a year around the world and just marveled at the stories about their experiences. A seed was planted, but it didn’t seem like something that could become a reality. Still we wanted to try. We decided to ask for contributions to a round the world trip fund instead of traditional gifts when we got married in 2011. The response was overwhelming - so many of our family and friends enthusiastically supported us with generous gifts. Over the last 6 years we’ve been slowly working toward a jumping off point. But committing to pressing pause and leaving your entire life behind for over a year is nerve racking. Selling just about everything you own ratchets up the anxiety a few more notches, and then buying that first plane ticket almost gave me a panic attack.
It was real. Our first leg was a cheap ticket from Tampa to Sydney. 24 hours of flying including 16 hours from L.A. to Sydney non-stop. Brutal. After so many years of talking about this trip, its a reality. Please click the links and follow our adventure. You can contact us with the email button above. Thank you!
And a special thanks to my mother for allowing us to cram all of our remaining possessions into a small room in her house, and to everyone else who helped make this trip possible.
Chris
The place where it all started so many years ago.
