Making a Dream Come True

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The beginning.

Believe-it-or-not, the decision to travel the world with our three teenage sons was based on a real estate appraisal.  What seemed like two unrelated events converged at a precise moment in August 2005, and provided the impetus for a grand adventure.  At the time, real estate was king and seemed impervious to the whims of the market place.  Oh how times change!

My wife and I talked for years about traveling the world with our three sons before they started college.  It was our assertion that a real-world learning experience coupled with a solid post-secondary education would give them the tools to succeed in whatever they chose to do in life.  They had been homeschooled for several years, which offered the flexibility to travel while completing their required classes.

So the die was cast - sell the house and make a bundle, put some money in the bank for when we return and use the rest to travel the world.  However, for various reasons we decided to delay beginning our trip until mid-2008.  It goes without saying that waiting to sell the house for three years was not one of our most intelligent decisions.  As we are all painfully aware, the real estate market did not just take a dip, but fell through the floor, and several stories beyond.

I was in complete denial that the equity in our modest Orlando home continued to evaporate by the hour.  My wife, however, was keeping up with the trends and predicted the chances of selling our home and walking away with a nice chunk of cash was becoming less realistic by the day.  I, on the other hand, held on to the misguided belief that we were simply experiencing a minor real estate correction and that all would be well.  That was until we finally put our house on the market in February '08, and realized our dream was in serious jeopardy.

We had no other sources to finance the big adventure aside from my retirement, a few bucks in savings, the value of our worldly possessions and $500 worth of pennies in an oversized Coke-piggybank.  We made a promise to our sons and were going to find a way make it happen.

Ultimately, my meager retirement is what saved the day.  That along with the few bucks in savings, nine yard sales, the $500 in pennies and selling our SUV, which of course was in as high a demand as our house.  Since my retirement was loosing value faster than the house, it wasn't a difficult decision to make.

We began our trek on August 25, 2008 and it ended more than a year later on September 27, 2009.  We visited twenty-two countries and logged more than 61,000 miles before arriving back in Central Florida, without a house to live in. It finally sold in February 2009 much to our relief albeit for substantially less than hoped.  In this case being homeless was a good thing, and suited our newfound vagabond lifestyle just fine.

Our travels were very basic.  Our modus operandi was staying in inexpensive hotels, camping, using public buses, preparing our own meals and shopping in local markets.  No resorts or luxury travel for us.  Living like the locals gave us a newfound appreciation and respect for our fellow global citizens.

Over the coming weeks, I will share personal experiences and observations during the trek.  They will focus on the locations we visited and highlight the culture and the wonderful people that enriched our journey immensely.  I will cover a wide range of topics from local customs to healthcare and everything in between.  Next week's article will highlight Mexico and what it was like to begin living out of a backpack and traveling everywhere by bus.

... and remember - travel is the ultimate education!

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