Another Adventure Upon Us
Dear Adventurous Reader,
It has been a long time since we last wrote, and we have missed you. Time passes by, leaving us to take care of the immediate things, and neglecting those that don't yell enough for our attention. While there has been plenty of things yelling for our attention, writing a new post to give you an update was not yelling loud enough. Sorry.
Hopefully we can make it up to you. We have plenty of tales to tell.
Empty Corner of the Internet
This little corner of the internet has been void of stories containing adventure in the past months. Adventures have been less-grand, and more day-to-day, slipping in between the gentle flows of life. Work, school, sport and other things have taken our time. But, in the quiet, since we last spoke, an adventure has risen and taken us in.
Travel is something we always wanted to do, using the world as a form of education, and seeing the places where people around the world live - either by birth or by choice. Since our first trip in a car we have wanted to see some of the world with our children, but have never had a way to do it. Then, in the past few months a trip was planned, and the way became clear.
And so, we are off on another adventure. Not the short kind where we pack in ten days to drive around half of Australia with friends we met two months before. Not the second kind, where we cycle unsupported around some of Tasmania. The long kind, that had lots of planning, and tickets to foreign countries.
Yes. We are heading overseas. With six children. It will be fun.
Offshoring Our Adventures
We returned from Tasmania in March, summer passed us by, autumn came, and we begun hibernating. We wanted to start planning our next adventure, but decided that it would be great if we could keep saving our money to head overseas. Living in Australia can be expensive, and while we live cheaply at home, being on the road and limited in what we can carry, means that traveling (either by car or bike) brings our cost of living up.
So we waited, and talked about what we could do.
As our talks started to move past “thinkings” and into “plans” we started sending emails back and forward with friends and family, first gentle questions, and as time passed, more serious questions about visas, and clothing. New Zealand, Canada, United States, all covered with our first thoughts, and all within our first lot of tickets purchased.
From Talking to Tickets. It all happened so fast that it seemed strange to talk to other people about. I would say “We have tickets booked to Canada.”, and then feel guilty about mentioning a “plan” out loud. Like I was breaking an oath.
When it is a plan, all words and thoughts, things can change and not effect life, as you “try a thought on to see how it looks” (as John Roderick would say). Once the tickets have been purchased though, it takes on a new and different shape. From Plans to an Inescapable Truth. It sounded like the right thing to do before we made the purchase, how can it feel so strange after exchanging cash?
The Yelling. The Yelling.
Where did I start? Oh yes, the yelling.
We have been surrounded by yelling. Yelling for passports and checking on the visa situation. Yelling for work, and organising what we would be doing. Yelling for saying goodbye to family and friends. And what should we pack?
We have made lists, and we have forgotten them. Creating new lists in their place. Lists quell the yelling for a time, but it is still there in the background. Behind the kids, and the birds, if you stop long enough you can hear it. “Are you ready?” Eventually the panic rises enough, and quiet is filled with more yelling.
Everything has been yelling for our attention, my head hurts and I want to find a dark and quite room just to write. But, as of tomorrow, the yelling should change, because we begin our adventure.
Change. But not stop. It might even be a little different. I might even get the change to write to you a little more, Dear Adventurous Reader, and that would make me feel happy.