This afternoon, Jackie and I are heading over to New York for a couple of long days before we depart on another adventure together in Europe. We’re both super excited about making this trip that I had planted the seed for way back on January 9th when I bought two tickets from New York to Lisbon, Portugal in Europe. It’s now grown to include a few days in Lisbon, attending a wedding in Prague, exploring other villages in Czechia, and if all goes well, some time in Ireland or Greece before we head back to Portland. We’ve left the end of the trip open to allow us some flexibility, but things are beginning to fall into place as the trip unfolds.
There’s a lot to consider when traveling during this time outside of just booking flights and hotels. COVID is still very real and though we’re both fully vaccinated, we are still being cautious and following local guidelines around COVID as we all have learned that vaccinations aren’t always enough.
I will continue to update this post as the days go on over the trip, so please bookmark this page and stay tuned!
I’m going back to Oahu tomorrow! The last time I went to Oahu — or Hawaii for that matter — was right at the end of 2017 to visit my housemate David and his lovely girlfriend, Lynn. This time Jackie and I will be visiting them together, but this time David’s no longer our housemate and they’re married (we were supposed to be there last June, but couldn’t due to COVID)! Jackie and I are also super excited to go on another adventure to a place we’ve never been together. We’re not sure of all we’re going to get up to, though we know we’ll be in good hands with our friends making us feel at home. COVID is still happening at large, so we’ve had to do a number of things to prepare for the journey of going back to Oahu.
I wanted to give a follow-up to the Making Travel Plans in 2020 post I made in September. Specifically, our trip to Whitefish, Montana by Rail and give some more info while I’m at it.
With the way 2020 has gone so far, making travel plans in 2020 seems like it may lead to more disappointment as many plans will likely fall through, however, I’m happy to be making new ones again. Yes, everything originally planned for in 2020 was either postponed or canceled, but perhaps these new plans will come through!
With everything going on with regards to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have decided on postponing our trip to Catania, Italy. It’s worth saying that I am not afraid of traveling to Italy, in fact, I think it would be a wonderful time of year to go and probably much less crowded than normal (bonus!), however, I am afraid of it spreading further do to my want, not need, to visit a place that has been set to Category 3 by the CDC (Avoid Nonessential Travel). I really wanted to go to Catania and see Sicily, but it just isn’t worth possibly spreading this to my friends and family after I return.
I’m excited to share that I’ve got 136 airports down over my last 10+ years of traveling! A lot of those are small airports that I’ve flown into as a pilot usually in a Cessna 172! I’m stoked for so many more to see around the globe!
The journey to Hong Kong has begun. I started my journey by meeting Evan, Claire, and their beautiful baby, Luna, at Caper’s Café in the Portland Airport (PDX) for breakfast, complimentary of the Priority Pass Select I received by signing up for the American Express Platinum card.
After breakfast and spending some time playing with Luna, we sent our separate ways: them making the long trek to Ethiopia to visit our friends Kyle and Beckie who moved there last November, and me, headed to San Francisco for the day before making the 14+ hour flight to Hong Kong.
This April, I went on an adventure to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with my friend Cristina. I had never been to Nicaragua before so I was quite excited to make the journey happen. Along with going to a new country, I had the chance to visit my friend Brendan down there who had purchased some land in the area and had been living in the country since January. Our plans were quite loose and we just let our trip come together as natural as we could. Here’s a quick rundown of the trip with some pictures. (more…)
This Friday, I’m headed out of Portland with my friend Cristina to Liberia, Costa Rica and soon after to the west side of Nicaragua to see my friend Brendan’s property. Brendan has been out there since the middle of January and I figure it is about time to pay a visit and see what this land is all about. I’ve never been to Nicaragua before, so I’m quite excited about seeing a new country. Costa Rica on the other hand happens to be the first trip I ever did solo (2012), which I loved, and am glad to visit once again. Cristina’s birthday is the 17th and my birthday is the 18th, and I’m excited to go to another part of the world to celebrate our birthdays. (more…)
This Friday, I’m headed out of Portland with my friend Cristina to Liberia, Costa Rica and soon after to the west side of Nicaragua to see my friend Brendan’s property. Brendan has been out there since the middle of January and I figure it is about time to pay a visit and see what this land is all about. I’ve never been to Nicaragua before, so I’m quite excited about seeing a new country. Costa Rica on the other hand happens to be the first trip I ever did solo (2012), which I loved, and am glad to visit once again. Cristina’s birthday is the 17th and my birthday is the 18th, and I’m excited to go to another part of the world to celebrate our birthdays. (more…)