In Conclusion

As you may have noticed over the past two blog postings, I am writing these blogs in late September, and we have been home since March 23rd. I can't explain why it took me so long to finish this blog. It might have been the shock of being home and getting back into daily routinue; it might have been that the extent of the trip was not that profound to me at the time, and I thought the blog would be much easier to finish. After being home for six months and getting past another summer business rush, "The Hundred Day War", I now have had the time to reflect on this adventure and really realize its' enormity. It is easy to say that you are going to go around the world; it actually was not that hard to go around the world; it has been much more difficult to put into perspective what we did and how fortunate we were to have had the chance to do such a unique thing.

I have reread the blog; I have read Sally's dairy; I have looked at all of our pictures, and I am shocked by how much we packed into four months. We literally never stopped moving, and it is maybe for that reason that when I got home, I just stopped with the trip immediately and never finished my thoughts. I have recounted to several people that being able to immediately step back into our previous lives made the trip seem more like a dream than a part of our lives. Most of the stories I have heard about around the world trips usually involved people quitting their jobs, selling their homes and a lot of their belongings; only to have to rebuild their lives upon return. We literally awoke the next morning and had our old lives back. That in and upon itself has been very special.

I am a numbers freak and loved keeping track of all the stats. So for anyone who loves numbers, here they are:

Days on the Road - 121
Distance traveled - Approxiamtely 40,000 miles
Planes taken - 18 (including one helicopter)
Boats taken - 5
Rent a Cars - 7 (including one Campervan)
Different Countries visited - 15
Different Languages - 13
Different Currencies - 8
Bodies of water crossed or on- 13
Cities visited - 55

Even though we visited a new city every 2.2 days, every one has distinctive memories and that makes for a very full memory bank. Even the little things that we do here everyday and don't think too much about are very much etched into my brain from this trip.

A lot of people have asked me what I learned by doing this trip, and it is hard to recount everything, but here are a few.

It is great to travel with my family. The U.S. has the worst airlines. Playboy Bunnies only get better with age. Mat did a great job driving a $200,000 Bentley. The Fijian people have an incredible memory with names. They can forget to go to work, but they won't forget your name. I want to go back to New Zealand and spend at least two months there. There is something for everyone in New Zealand, and it is as stunning as the pictures you see. Australians don't party like they used to. Spending New Year's Eve in Sydney Harbor can't be beat. Snorkling on the Great Barrier Reef was not as good as Fiji. South Africa was our favorite for many reasons, except for the sharks. Interacting with the Jackass Penguins of Boulder's Beach was my favorite experience with animals on the entire trip and maybe of all time. Nelson Mandela is the most inspiring man. There is no reason to go to Jeffrey's Bay except to surf. I will never go caving again with a group of Spanish schoolgirls. Safaris are not like I remembered from watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Giza is the dirtiest place on earth, and they don't care. I will never eat pigeon again. The Bedouin people have a very unique life. The Amalfi Coast is a romantic's dream. Man has built some incredible monuments in the name of God. Venice is now just for tourists, everyone else has moved out. Germans are nice, they just sound mean. Dachau is a haunting reminder of the atrocities of war. Traveling by train is the best. The Thursday overnight train to the French Riveria sucks. Barcelona is a great city with a beautiful waterfront. I love Paris, and Charlie looks good as a Frenchman. I could live off of Guiness Beer. Don't waste your time getting traveler's checks or carrying lots of cash. There are ATMs in every corner of the world, and they give you the best rates. The U.S. lags behind the world in cell phone service and mobile internet service. Anything can be found with Google and Google Earth. Even though we get the impression in the U.S. that the rest of the world hates us, they actually like us and follow our news as much as their own. If you want to see your children grow up in front of your eyes; take them on a trip to somewhere new. I am ready to travel again...

Now for the sappy part.

It is easy to tell people how beautiful different parts of the world are, how nice other people are, what fun things we did, but I now realize that these are just byproducts of the real meaning of this trip, which is - Family. For 121 days we were together as a family, completely engaged 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Don't get me wrong; we did get on each other's nerves, we did fight, .... but we did it as a family. We relied on each other, we supported each other, and it was us as a family that made this trip possible. We will probably never spend this much intense time together again, but it has created a foundation that will support us for years to come and will hopefully give Mat and Charlie a base from which they can build their own families.

For four months everyday was a completely brand new day; new sights, new sounds, new people. Now we see the same things and the same people everyday, and it is easy to forget how special these days are as well. There is an old saying "Don't forget to stop and smell the roses" and I like to think " Don't forget about enjoying today, while dreaming about tomorrow".

Thank you to everybody that followed this blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading it, as much as I have enjoyed writing it and geeting your feedback. I want to thank Sally, Mat, and Charlie for believing in me and trusting me to make it fun, while keeping them safe. I especially want to thank my Mother and Father for giving me the curiosity to want to look over the horizon and the courage to go there.

Pura Vida!

The Luck of the Irish

After nearly four months on the road, we arrived in our final country - Ireland on March 19, 2010. This had been one of Charlie's country picks, and we had five full days of driving the southern half of the country from Shannon to Dublin. Our first night was spent in Limerick with a steady rain. We have been extremely fortunate with our weather over the last fourteen countries, and I was wandering if our luck had run out. The next morning came with picture perfect blue skies and nice temperatures. We drove up to the Cliffs of Moher and were able to beat all the tour buses. See " Where in the World are the Reeve boys". The views were incredible and driving through the Irish counrtyside was very enjoyable. Ireland reminded us a lot of New Zealand, both in its beauty and the niceness of its people. Our second night was spent in Cork, which has a small but vibrant downtown with lots of shops and music everywhere.

Our next day was spent going to the most tourist destination this country has - The Blarney Castle. The castle is famous for its Blarney Stone, which upon kissing it bequeaths the Gift of Eloquence on the person. We all took our turn hanging upside down and backwards, fifty feet in the air while the attendant holds us while we kiss this certain stone in the castle wall. I can't say that I feel more eloquent after kissing it, but both of the boys have definitely gotten more "mouthy". Why did I come here again???? Even though this is considered a "tourist trap" by many, we all enjoyed walking around the castle and its grounds imagining how life was hundreds of years ago for these people. Our next stop would be our last on this incredible jouney - Dublin.

Arriving in Dublin felt like a lot of the other towns, but once you are walking around the heart of its downtown, it seperates itself from all others. There is something about Dublin that makes it just a little better than most cities. I don't know if it is the history, the ever present music, the friendly people, or the several hundred pubs!! We were only here for two days but it quickly became one of our favorite cities. My favorite time was spent taking a three hour tour of the Guiness factory at St. James Gate. This is the original storehouse for the brewery and was the tallest building in Europe when it was built. They have just completed a multi million dollar renovation by installing the museum inside of the storehouse and in the shape of a five story pint glass. The tour ends in a roof top circular bar that has 360 views of Dublin and represents the foam on top of a perfectly poured pint. Along the way, you learn the rich history of this company and the incredible philanthopy that the founder, Arthur Guiness bestowed upon his employees. Not only was he a kind man, but also a shrewd businessman. After creating the brewery in 1759, he convinced his landlord to lease him the 4 acre property for 45 pounds/year. In 1759, this most have been a huge amount, but his lease is good for 9,000 years!!! Talk about believing in your Product. I learned a lot including how to pour a perfect pint of Guiness in their "training bar". I would have taken school a lot more serious if I could have drunken my homework. Thank God for Guiness.

Our days and nights were mainly spent roaming the downtown area and exploring the shops, restaurants and pubs, many of which date back over a hundred years. My favorite was The Temple Bar which started in 1840.

Tuesday, March 23rd arrived, and we could not believe it. We were going home. As we boarded the plane for New York, we were all excited to be returning to the States and getting back to our house, our dogs, and our family and friends. We missed our home life and felt like we have done enough traveling for awhile.

There had been many times on this trip where I felt angel eyes upon me, and as we stepped out of the plane in Norfolk, I silently thanked them for keeping us all safe and healthy on this incredible adventure.

Next and final blog - In Conclusion.