Loose of Limits

We are a short 12 (TWELVE!!!) days away from beginning our cross-country roadtrip ( Part I , Part II , Part III ) that precedes our one-way flight to India ! Our roadtrip includes a stop in Cleveland to see our friends Emily and Terry. Terry is one of Tom's best friends from college and was even the best man at our wedding . Terry has always been one of my favorite people, so it sweetened our friendship even more when, several years ago, he introduced us to his new girlfriend, Emily. To say that we loved her instantly is no exaggeration. And, just like that, one of our favorite people became one half of one of our favorite couples, and we were thrilled when they got engaged and planned their wedding for October 1, 2011. Terry and Emily at our wedding

There have been a zillion things we've been doing to prepare for this trip - boring things that don't deserve their own post. But I thought maybe you'd like to know a few of them anyway. Actually, that's probably not true. You probably don't want to know. But I need to tell you anyway. Some of this stuff is from the To Do List , and some of it's just extra crap that I thought up to make life more complicated. Somewhere on the Web, I read that it's a good idea to make contact cards for the road. (Once again, the Internet introduces me to brilliance.) I am highly susceptible to influences regarding cuteness and unnecessary crap, so I ordered some, obviously. I have secretly wanted a reason to purchase Moo Cards for a few years now, and this was the perfect excuse.  I had also read that it's a good idea to put your pic on the cards instead of just your info because, after you give your info to some random person you meet on the road, they're going t...

First - new here? Get acquainted with our blog: Our first post (explains The Trip) The Route-ish (because we really don't have a plan) The Blog Name , explained Pics So...where were we?

It's getting to be that time...it's that time when we start going through our packs and reevaluating everything we've chosen to take - Do we need it? Does it weight too much? Is there a better/lighter version? Tonight, for example, our conversations have included a lengthy debate about flip flops, and walking around the apartment in one of the 3 pairs (each) of walking/hiking/water shoes we purchased to try. Exciting times at the Swain residence. You know what else is exciting? 3-day juice cleanses. We've done the Blueprint Cleanse  before and we tried a more intense version of it this time. We're at the end of our 3rd and final day - I'm not nearly as hungry as I expected to be, but I'm really looking forward to my veggie omelet tomorrow morning and I'm even more excited about dinner with my girlfriends this Friday at Boxing Room  - there's no better way to break a cleanse than with gourmet hush puppies, fried chicken, jambalaya and beignets... Rig...

Comfy place to hang out for 9 hours.... One of the less obvious things we've been doing to prepare for the trip is getting in shape. Traveling for a year is a great adventure, but it can also be mentally and physically grueling at times. To keep ourselves mentally healthy, we are purposely taking a slow pace for The Trip and allowing ourselves longer stays to regroup if we get burnt out from the constant moving, packing, unpacking, trains, and packed busses. And, physically, we're about to put our bodies through the ringer; the overnight trains, cramped buses and lumpy hostel beds, the foreign foods and contaminated water, the constant walking and heavy backpacks. This part is especially concerning to me, as I have always had slight scoliosis and I also herniated the L4 and L5 discs in my lower back about three years ago (and trained-for and completed a triathlon without knowing it). Since then, I've had two major flare-ups that were pretty debilitating for a few weeks...

People have no idea how much Steph and I have discussed The Trip. We've weighed the risks personally, professionally and financially. This was a very well-calculated decision. The first decision was deciding to take "a trip." Then, we had to decide where to take it. After a lot of research and discussions, we decided on India, SE Asia, etc... And when it has come to buying things for the trip, each purchase has gone through the same process of calculating, researching, and deciding. We discuss what we want/need to take, research it, budget for it and make a decision. This has worked for us. (A full post about our gear list is coming up soon!) But the thing that is giving us the most headaches to purchase isn't gear or even tangible... travel insurance. Me, less responsible and uninsured When I took big trips before (ages 18 and 23), I just took the chance and assumed that nothing would happen and, thankfully, I was right. Travel insurance, like most insurance...

Okay, this post is strictly about lady business. Men, if you're uncomfortable or not interested, don't read ahead. 

Imagine every medical decision you'll have to make over the next year - eye doctor appointments, prescriptions, annual check-ups, teeth cleaning, over-the-counter meds, insurance coverage, birth control, etc... And now imagine that you have to make all of those decisions in advance, at around the same time. That's basically what we're doing in preparation for our trip. We know we don't have to have everything we need before we go - you can certainly buy headache medicine and Bandaids nearly anywhere, and we're almost always 100% on-board with any remedies offered by locals. Side note: One time, when I had a bad cold and had lost my voice in Jamaica, I accepted a home brew from a local Rasta Jamaican I had grown to know and respect very much while living in Negril. It didn't look great and appeared to have small twigs and leaves floating in it, so I held my breath, pinched my nose and took it like a shot. It tasted surprisingly good - like a thick fruit juice, l...

Holy vaccinations. I had an appointment with the SF Adult Immunization and Travel Clinic today. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to be filled with more vaccination fluid than blood when they're finished with me. Apparently, this trip puts me at risk for a crapload of diseases for which they'll happily take (a lot of) my money and stick me with needles repeatedly. That's all I have to say now...details later.