Yipee! Can you feel me doing the happy dance? No? Well I am! I am over the moon excited. Today we are back on track with our Featured Travel Blogger series. I thought that I had come to the end of the line with trying to find Travelling Bloggers to featured. Yet the universe answered my thoughts and EveryWhere Once has kindly agreed to let me ask them questions and share a bit more of their travel journey.
EveryWhere Once Travel Blogger ::
Q:: Can you tell us what lead you down the road to your wandering lifestyle? And how do you travel (eg what do you travel in)?
If we had to credit one thing for getting us on the road it would be the appreciation that time is our most precious and limited possession. We eventually came to understand that we could either spend our time accumulating things or we could use it accumulating experiences. We couldn’t do both. And while American culture pushes us relentlessly toward the former, we believe pursuing the latter is really the key to living a rewarding and happy life. So we dedicated ourselves to figuring out how to make that happen, which was no easy feat.
One of our biggest challenges was figuring out how to live on the road while also honoring our commitment to our two pet cats. Leaving them behind was never an option. It took us awhile to come around to the idea that we could bring our pets with us if we traveled in a motor home. So that is what we did. And now we’re into our third year of exploring North America from our home on wheels.
(So get what you are saying! Time is limited and so very precious. And there is so much out there waiting for us to explore! It’s Funny how much stuff we think we need to live with, yet really all we need is the basics to be happy!)
Brian and Shannon at Chatsworth House in England’s Peak District
(gosh that looks gorgeous!)
Q:: What is the one thing you would do differently if you could?
We’d have started planning our escape earlier.
We’re incredibly fortunate in that our natural inclinations for hard work, planning, self-sacrifice, and thrift really got us in position to do this before we realized it was something we wanted to do. We’d always lived a simple lifestyle and that helped tremendously (both financially and emotionally) when we decided we wanted to live on the road. Even still, once we committed ourselves to fulltime travel it took us an additional five years of planning and reprioritizing to make it happen. We’re delighted with the results. Our only complaint is that we should have been doing this sooner.
Ready for Take Off: a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon ~
(look at those smiles ~ it would be such a blast to tour the Grand Canyon by Helicopter!)
Q:: Where is the one place you have travelled to that you would like to return to?
It may be a bit clichéd but we both feel like “we’ll always have Paris.” It’s the first foreign destination we ever visited and it’s just such a magical place. The culture, the language, the architecture, the history, the quite streets and bustling boulevards of Paris are all just so intoxicating – not to mention the wine, and the food, of course.
Paris is a bit of anomaly for us. With such a big world to explore, we’re generally not inclined to revisit places. Going back somewhere a second time often feels like a missed opportunity to see something new. But Paris is evergreen. Every time we go there it is like we’re visiting for the first time.
The Louvre at night ~
(Oh MY! Yep that is one amazing place at nighttime ~
Paris is one place I have always wanted to visit!)
Q:: Since you started your vagabondage adventure, have you changed your outlook on life, and if so how?
More than anything I think we’ve confirmed ideas that we always thought were true. We started with an assumption that experiences were more valuable than things. Now well into our third year of continuous travel, we feel far richer than we could have possibly imagined. With each passing day, the memories of our adventures get happier and the stuff we left behind becomes increasingly hard to remember. Whatever power our things once had over us has completely dissipated. None of it is missed.
I think we’ve also confirmed the value in stretching our individual comfort zones. We’ve long felt that people get more timid as they age. We’ve seen it in others and felt it in ourselves. Unless we push back against the natural inclination to retreat into a comfortable space, our world tends to shrink over time. Places we once ventured enthusiastically become scary and foreign. But that process isn’t inevitable. Trying new things and going new places keeps the world’s possibilities as open to us as they were when we were young.
(Yep! Totally agree….we are also finding that because we have to stay in one place a bit longer than we would like, that we are getting to comfortable in our surroundings…so we are trying to add more places to explore on our weekends)
Q:: Has there been a moment in time where you both go “Yep, it has been so worth it”? Please share that moment!
We call those moments Monday morning.
More seriously, I think we experience those moments fairly regularly. Part of that is because we really try to live life deliberately. Instead of spending our waking hours dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, we make a concerted effort to take in the sights, sounds, flavors and emotions of the present. When we combine that attention to the here and now with the fact that we’re actively pursuing our dream life, it’s hard not to feel like our efforts are paying off everyday.
Still, there are specific instances, whether it’s jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet or snorkeling with sharks in Belize, where the feeling of satisfaction is just overwhelming. The high we get from doing things we never imaged ourselves doing can last for days.
Shannon skydiving in Moab, Utah ~
(Now that is one thing that I could never ever imagine doing!
But our son Zachery had a blast with skydiving!)
But we find satisfaction in quieter moments too. Most days we’re in a completely new place, and the feeling of adventure never really goes away. Ordinary errands become explorations of the unknown when we get ourselves in the right mood. And that is really what we’re striving for: to make every single day extraordinary.
About Our Author ::
Brian and Shannon are fulltime travelers who set out in April 2010 to try to see everything the world has to offer. Little did they know at the time how large the world really is. After nearly two and one half years, they’ve covered only about two-thirds of the U.S. and parts of Central America. At this rate, they expect their travels to continue for decades – which is just fine with them. Want to connect with Brian and Shannon?
They have a blog called Everywhere Once, Facebook FanPage, and Twitter! Sure will be good to keep upated with their next lot of travel adventure!
Do You Have Any Questions For Brian and Shannon?
Thanking you so much Brian and Shannon for sharing your journey!
Cheers
Lisa
New Life on the Road
PS:- Here are the Previous Monday Featured Travel Bloggers….
Monday Featured Travel Blogger :: Sherri May – Sherri May and her Son!
Monday Feature Travel Blogger :: Newschool News – Jenn and Family from Newschool News!
Monday Featured Travel Blogger :: Albany Kid – Sandra and other travellers from Albany Kid!
Monday Featured Travel Blogger :: Travels with a Nine Year Old – Theodora and her amazing son who is no longer nine years old from Travels with a nine year old!
Monday Featured Travel Blogger :: Road Trip For Families – Sherri and other travellers from Road Trip For Families.
Monday Featured Travel Blogger :: Ytravel Blog – Caz and Craig from Ytravel blog!
Monday Featured Travel Blogger :: Bohemian Travlers – Mary from Bohemian Travelers
Monday Featured Travel Blogger Travel Mamas – Colleen from Travel Mamas
Monday Featured Travel Blogger Special Needs Travel Mom – Karin from Special Needs Mom
Monday Featured Travel Blogger 1 Dad 1 Kid – Windwalker Duo from 1 Dad, 1 Kid
Featured Travel Blogger Travel Experta – Marina from Travel Experta
Featured Travel Blogger – Rachel from Our Wee Trip
Monday Featured Travelling Blogger Revealed – Natalie from Family in a Van
Monday Travelling Blogger Featured – Tracey from Life Changing Year
Travel Blogger – Jess from With 2 kids in Tow
Featured Travel Blogger – Jan from Budget Travel Talk
Featured Travel Blogger At New Life on the Road – Lisa From Gone With The Family
This Week Featured Travel Blogger – Keryn from Walking On Travels
Monday Featured Travelling Blogger Journey – Jeremy from Living The Dream
Featured Travel Blogger Monday – Suzi from Two and A Half Travellers
It’s so fun living and travelling vicariously – through this blog and through the many other travellers you bring us through this feature. Amazing, inspiring. Thank you Lisa!
Naomi Bulger recently posted..Little thoughts
Hi Naomi,
Thanking you for your great connection and kind words 🙂
Sure is fun reading about other travellers. Such inspiration.
Cheers
Lisa