Edd:  Wow, as I’m sitting here starting to plan our trips for the rest of the year, it dawned on me that around this time five years ago we had just started our full-time travel adventure that lasted over two years.

Cynthia:  We sure got off to a roaring start. In the second half of 2021 we went to five different places in Mexico, came back to the States to see a dear friend and your sister in Las Vegas. Then we stayed with our kids and grandkids in North Carolina and New Jersey.

E:  We also rented an Airbnb in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for a month with side trips to Longwood Gardens, Gettysburg, and Philadelphia. Next we visited friends and relatives in Atlanta before spending the holidays with our family.

C:  Good gravy, how did we do all that? I’m exhausted just thinking about it!

E:  A lot of people would probably be shocked to know we had absolutely no grand plan when we set off. This was right when COVID restrictions were starting to lift. We were like, “OK, Mexico’s ope...

Cynthia:  In the midst of a pandemic we left behind our safe, predictable lives last March to reimagine our retirement by becoming global explorers. I’m sure a lot of people thought we were crazy.

Edd:  They probably also believed we had some kind of detailed plan for our travels. The truth is we knew we were going to Mexico for at least a month. We booked a one-way flight to Mérida and our accommodations there. The rest unfolded one stop after the next.

C:  Hmm—putting it that way, yep, sounds like we were nuts! To be fair, we did have a general itinerary. But since we were scouting locations for our website, we wanted to give ourselves maximum flexibility to stay at each place long enough to gather the info we needed.

E:  That “plan” worked out for the best since the four original destinations grew to six, and we ended up staying in Mexico for 2 ½ months. Let’s talk about some of the things we learned during our adventure.

C:  Wow, where to start. Well, I want to congratulate you...