
Caitlin is from Kentucky and fell in love with traveling when she studied abroad in Belfast. That love was one of many reasons she joined the Peace Corps and shipped off to Zambia, home of Victoria Falls, following college. Traveling and living in Africa for two years was the adventure of a lifetime and only whet her appetite to experience as many cultures as she could.
Jed is from the Albany, New York area and is an attorney/former rock band member/Shark Tank fan. He was bitten by the travel bug when he first heard Toto's "Africa" at age six. 25 years later, he is following through on that dream to visit the continent.
What: We quit our jobs (I repeat: WE QUIT OUR JOBS) and will be traveling first around America to see family and friends. Just our first six weeks will be as diverse as the Clinton Presidential Library, Bourbon Street, Harry Potter World, two weddings and Caitlin’s friends’ brand new baby!! Hopefully, the trusty Honda Accord will make it through the end of May when we ship out for our first International leg…Johannesburg, South Africa.
When: April 1: Adios, Chicago…
May 21st: South Africa!
We plan on being gone for a year!
Where: The ultimate Question!! I’m literally interested in going EVERYWHERE, so this was quite the difficult task. Afghanistan? Sounds beautiful minus the whole Taliban thing. We won’t make it there, for obvious reasons. However, we have a pretty great itinerary lined up and you can view it here. We are keeping it open though and will add or remove places as we go. To make it feasible, we’re trying to stick to more budget-friendly countries.
We would love love love to see any and all of you around the world! Let us know if you can make it happen and we’ll do what we can to meet you there! After spending 24/7 together, I have a feeling we would love some fresh conversation. ;-)
Why: Why not?? (amirite?) Insert your choice of many reasons here. All of those.
How: So much planning has gone into this. Admittedly, Jed’s the planner and spent a lot of time crunching the numbers and maps and seeing how we could make it work.
Deciding to quit my job was a major decision. Probably the biggest decision of my life. Most forks-in-the-road so far have been pretty lopsided; this is like chugging along at a solid 60 mph and throwing it in reverse. Considering that, it wasn’t really the most difficult decision. From the time I started my job, I started a savings account specifically for travel, fantasizing about the day I would be able to do exactly this. I’m not sure I ever expected it to happen but here we are, unemployed with a one way ticket.
-Caitlin