Thank you thank you thank you

We're baaa-aack! Cheers to good ol' USA, what a grand country! We love it here, and a year away has made that even more clear. Coming home has also meant the end of a great journey- something that will only happen once in our lives and something that will stay with us throughout. I have spent endless hours thinking about our trip: so many images, people, tastes, smells, vistas. So many distinct memories, emotions, discoveries. Here, back home with family we are learning to sum up our thoughts and our favorite stories with all the great questions we are being asked. It is a strange feeling to come home, like we are remembering old habits. It feels so easy and clean and convenient here. We revel in the simple things.... I put my first pair of jeans on in a year!

Here are some summaries of my thoughts I am having about our trip...

Top Ten Experiences (not necessarily in order):

1. Teaching in different schools with the Global Library Project, seeing the kids excitement and learning about their lives (especially with Kelly and Skyler).
   
2. Riding bikes to remote villages in Laos, meeting a group of women and laughing with them despite the language barrier.
   
3. Seeing the alpenglow sunrise on Cerro Torre and Mount Fitzroy in Patagonia.
   
4. Waking up in a bungalow on a white sand beach in Thailand, eating fresh fruit on our porch overlooking the sea.
   
5. Machu Picchu.
   
6. Climbing to 16,000 feet in the Langtang region of the Himalaya, seeing 360 degrees of mountain views.
   
7. Steak and Malbec in Argentina.
   
8. Angkor Wat with Ben and Casey.
   
9. Scuba diving in Koh Tao, Thailand.
   
10. New Zealand mountains, and our time with Aly.

Top ten things I won't miss:

1. Wearing the same clothes EVERYDAY.
   
2. Not being able to flush toilet paper
   
3. Being wary of ALL food ALL the time
   
4. Getting sick from the food your dared to eat
   
5. 30 hour bus rides with screaming babies
   
6. Lager beer
   
7. Tourists from Texas (just kidding, but you know what I mean)
   
8. Living out of a backpack
   
9. Doing laundry in the sink
   
10. Instant coffee

Okay, now I realize I have so many more things then 10, but how can you sum up a trip like this one? This year has given us new perspective on the world and in our own lives for that matter. I have learned so much. I have learned that I am most happy when hiking in the mountains with Drew at my side, anywhere in the world. I have learned that life can be so simple. Sure it is boring to wear the same clothes everyday, but living with less, you realize how very little you need. The US is a country of excess, we have so much of everything. It is convenient, but we have to fight to keep from accumulating too much and to keep life simple. Less really is more! I have learned how important it is to spend time with family and how precious that time is (I knew this before, but being away has emphasized it). I have learned that happiness is a choice. Some people have nothing and are truly happy, others have it all, and are not. And I realize how very lucky I am: for my family and friends and Drew, for my career, for being American and having the opportunities in life we do, for my health and the ability to do a trip like this.

I also want to give a shout out to everyone who has been involved in our travels and helped us along the way. Your generosity has added so much to our trip...

To our families, who have opened their homes to us on both sides of the trip. They fed us well, shared many stories, and loved us along the way.

To Mari and Michelle, for taking care of my mail and my car... and for giving it back after a year of getting used to having two cars.

To Jen Talagrand for sharing her garage with us and taking care of most of our belongings in Boulder.

To Christina at Thorne for taking responsibility for Project BEAR during my hiatus from work and her commitment to all the students we serve. To all the staff at Thorne for fighting for my position there and your undying support.

To the Maho Bay crew in St. John, who shared many bottles of rum and midnight swims in the ocean.

To Jim and Katie in Kauai, who took care of us like family and let us camp on their land.

To Ganesh in Nepal, who guided us in Annapurna and whose family shared a meal with us in their home. And to Andy the Englishman, whose community is paying for Mindo to be in an orphanage and have an education.

To Ben and Casey in Malaysia (now Colorado), for giving us the royal treatment when we needed it most, a long term bedroom, and for all the memories together.

To cousin Johnny and wife Pim in Thailand, who took us to dinners and gave us tours of Phuket.

To all the teachers in Nepal, Thailand, Laos, and Peru who gave us the opportunity to do the Global Library ebooks in their schools.

To Aly for making the trip to New Zealand, for two weeks of time with a familiar friend, and for the resupply.

To Norma and her family. For her parents, Ana and Justino, and sister, Veronica and Renzo and for their hospitality and generosity to two strangers in Bolivia and Peru. You really went above and beyond and we'd love to repay the favor if any of you come to the U.S. Thanks so much!

To Claudine and Wes in La Paz for sharing your apartment and giving us the tour of the ruins at Tiahuanaku. You also went above and beyond! We owe you one.

To our host family and teacher in Peru, for teaching us Spanish.

To Kelly and Skyler for coming all the way to Peru and for Kelly's work on the Global Library Project.

To Libby and Benjamin in Musho, for letting me sleep on your floor, and for making the ebook project happen.

And to everyone that read our blog, kept us laughing with your comments, and gave us support along the way. THANK YOU! It has meant so much to us to stay connected during this time. You were our link to our lives at home!

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Drew here. Just want to add a few thoughts to what Erin has said as well as give a few more thank you's.

In general, my sentiments about returning home are similar to hers. The transition from a distant third-world country to home in the US is certainly an easy one. I can't get over how plush and easy life here is. Great food, warm and wonderful homes, clean drinking water, hot and consistent showers, clean and comfortable beds, quiet neighborhoods (no roosters!), no litter, clean air, road traffic that follows lights and lanes and driving laws, Yankees games on TV, oh and the best beer in the world, too. Yes, it is an easy transition indeed. I am much more appreciative and cognizant of every little thing and how the quality of life in the US is really unbelievable. All Americans should be very thankful for what they have, and I feel I appreciate and understand that more than ever right now.

I am also super thankful for the fact that our trip went off smoothly and safely. No major illness or injuries, no big ripoffs, no stolen cameras or wallets or passports, no calamaties. Unbelievable really. Of course I wouldn't tell my mom this, but I was expecting something would happen! The trip really was a dream come true. It's a fulfillment of a major dream that I had and fostered for over ten years. I am proud to have done what we did, and I feel fulfilled and better off for having done it. More than anything, I am thankful for the opportunity to do it and for the fact that it went so well.

With my adorable nephew Braeden
(Excuse the Red Sox shirt. He knows not what he wears.)

And of course, it has been just fabulous to see and spend time with our families and friends now that we're back home. It's great to reconnect with people with whom you have a deep and long-term relationship. It's wonderful meeting new and interesting people from all over the world while traveling, but ultimately the relationships and conversation are only so deep. Seeing and talking with my family is incredible because they know me so well and have a genuine interest in who I am and what I have been up to. Not surprisingly, we've had the warmest welcomes and the best food wherever we have gone.

• fresh fruits and vegetables - Jersey corn which is unsurpassed, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, homegrown tomatoes and sweet peas, and more
  
• barbecues of steak, burgers, dogs, chicken, veggies, and salmon

Kurt doing some textbook BBQing
(No excuse for that Red Sox shirt. We see where the little man gets it.)

• all-you-can-eat sushi
  
• breakfasts such as blueberry waffles, dutch babies, fried eggs, and real coffee!
  
• and desserts of homemade chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookie bars, ice cream, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and soon-to-be peach slump (a new one for me, too!)

Kurt's homemade chocolate cake

The Fam in CT

As you can see, it's been pleasant. I think I'm starting to put back on those 15 pounds I lost on the trip. Real fast. But more importantly, it's been great to spend time with my parents and sister and her family and some friends. We arrived back in NYC last Monday after a long night from Lima, then rendezvoused with my parents for a trip to visit my sister Kelly and brother-in-law Kurt and their son Braeden in Connecticut. After a relaxing few days, we returned to New Jersey where my parents were in the midst of moving to Virginia. We spent a few working days packing their stuff and getting them set to head to VA. Now we're in Seattle visiting Erin's family and friends for a few weeks before driving back to CO mid-August. So we're not quite home and settled yet and I am still longing for my own space and bed and routine and - dare I say - job even. But we are almost there.

Final days in my childhood home with Mom and Dad

Mom on the move

A few additional trip highlights:

• Snorkeling every day in the pristine waters and reefs of St. John
  
• Hiking and meeting the locals on the Na Pali coast in Kauai


• The delicious food, fish, and fruits of Thailand - best on the whole trip


• Hanging with Ben and Casey


• Climbing Mount Pisco in Peru


• The generosity of the people throughout Peru and Bolivia who opened their homes to us

And my additions to Erin's list of won't-be-missed-not-even-for-a-second.

• Long bus rides - I think we had something like 15 bus rides of more than eight hours in S America. Yikes!


• Frequent stomach illness (read: constant diarrhea)


• Crowing roosters at all hours of the day and night


• Out-of-control horn honking in S America and Asia


• Mangy stray dogs


• Litter everywhere


• Asian toilets


• Flushing a toilet and just hoping it would not get clogged - again!


• Cramming my 6' 4" fame into the tiniest seats on planes, trains, buses, taxis, minivans, you name it. The world is not designed for big American men like me.

And most importantly, some more well-deserved and overdue thank you's to add to her list.

• To my parents for their love and support and hosting us on both ends of the trip. Enjoy your new lives in VA!
  
• To my sister Kelly and Kurt and Braeden. Thanks for the warm reception upon our return and especially for taking care of my business and mail and taxes and all that good stuff while I was gone. A huge help!


• To my brother Jim and Liz and Bridget. Thanks for hosting us before we left and for storing some of our stuff while we were gone. Can't wait to see you guys soon!


• To Erin's parents and sister Mari and Michelle and family. Thanks so much for hosting us on both ends of the trip and all the support while we were gone.
  
• To Ben and Casey, I know Erin thanked you, too, but I had to thank you myself. Was just awesome to stay with and travel with you guys in Southeast Asia. Thanks for opening your place in KL to us and making us feel at home. We really needed a place to crash and recover for a while and your place was perfect. See you back in the CO.
  
• To our friend Jen who is storing a garageful of our stuff in CO while we are gone. Thanks a million and hope the grizzlies were good company in the meantime.


• To Pat and Heather and Larry and Kasie for storing some stuff while we were gone. YITB.


• To Kelty for being very generous in supporting us in this endeavor - for one-of-a-kind lightweight daypacks up front and for resupplying us with a new tent and sleeping bag down in New Zealand. The support was invaluable for us to manage our gear loads. It also allowed us the opportunity to donate a tent to a well-deserving conservation organization in Hawaii and a down sleeping bag/comforter to the needy family of four of our mountain guide living in Kathmandu, Nepal. Good stuff.


• Special thanks to Kenny at Kelty for your kind help in making the above possible.


• Thanks to Peter at Kelty for his help drumming up some additional gear support in the industry. You're the man!


• Thanks to Gail at Kelty for the helping with the development and production of the daypacks. You're the woman!


• Thanks to my friends Andy and Martin for hooking us up with two puffy down jackets to keep us warm at the bottom of the world in Patagonia and on top of the world in Peru.
  
• Thanks to Marc and Allie and the folks at Sierra trading Post for the writing gig on your blog site. Added a great dimension to the trip!
  
• Thanks to Vasque for the best pair of backpacking boots I've ever worn - the Vasque Kota Mid GTX - really light yet supportive and comfortable and waterproof. Perfect for this trip.
  
• Thanks to Katadyn for the excellent water filter. Totally reliable, gave us clean water worldwide, also perfect for this trip.
  
• Thanks to Optimus for the camp stove. Bomber.
  
• Thanks to my friend Sheena for the scoop on her adopted home of New Zealand and adopted hometown of Wanaka.
  
• Thanks to our new friend Andrew Milne in NZ for coffee and beta on all the good free camping and backcountry hiking spots down under.
  
• Thanks to my friend Lucho in Caraz for helping to arrange and knock out a big climb in the Cordillera Blanca.
  

I hope we haven't forgotten anyone, but if we did give us a holler and we'll gladly give you your due thanks. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Drew

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Okay back to me, just to show some pictures from Seattle. We spent the first couple of nights with Mari and Michelle and had a wonderful meal of steak and wine. I think I have drank wine every evening since we got to the US! Then we had a wonderful day and evening with my friends Lynnelle and Brian who are expecting their first baby in September. And finally a few nights with my parents, with long walks, all-you-can-eat sushi (my favorite!), and mom's homemade cooking: salmon, corn on the cob, and blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We are getting completely spoiled here!

Lynnelle and Brian

Seattle Sunset from the O'Neill's deck

The O'Neills

The Extended O'Neill Clan