Bryan and I have been married for 14 years now. We’re vegetarian, we love to travel and we love animals- more than anything! We love to experience the world in unique ways- most importantly, in ways that are eco & humane conscious. We don’t want to destroy- or eat- what we have gone so far to see!

Our first date involved me filling out an entry form to win a trip to Hawaii. Bryan told me I would just get junk mail- but I held the entry from up before putting it in the box and said, “I’m going to win, you’ll see”. I had recently started on a hobby of sweepstaking- I figured, worst case, maybe I could travel more without paying for it.

A few months later I was going to Hawaii (for the first time) with my parents- which happened to be around my birthday. As a surprise, Bryan bought a ticket to come meet me- and my parents. It was quite a gamble as we’d only known each other for a few months- and we were to stay in the same room with my parents! I guess he really liked me 😉

We had a great time- and my parents loved him.

When we got home, I found out I’d won that trip to Hawaii- the one I entered on our first date. I told Bryan that despite his doubts, I would take him anyway. We extended the trip from Oahu to Kauai- and we went a few months later.

Bryan forced me to pack light- only a backpack- and we were going to camp in his little tent. We had one pillow to share and planned to use towels as blankets. It was the first time I could carry everything I brought in one hand.

We had such a great time- and the entire time I kept saying “I can’t believe we’re getting along”, “I can’t believe we’re not fighting”. He found this odd- but when every family trip you have ever been on involves quite a bit of arguing, it was such a unique experience. It was when I realized too, that if you can travel with someone so well, you can probably marry them too.

Although he didn’t propose then, we did get engaged later that year- and married the following February (about a year from our trip). We have been on quite a few trips since- and we still don’t fight 😉 We really do have a lot in common- and thankfully we want to see and do the same things on our trips.

This blog is spurned by my detailed log of our most recent trip to Africa. After some friends read about our adventures, they suggested I should blog and/ or book about it…so here we are: our blog about our travels!

Our focus is on vegetarian foods, humane animal conservation and extreme adventure opportunities around the world.

It starts with Africa in 2017, but I will go back to include our 2010 Australia and New Zealand adventure, which is currently in an old, annoying format. This year we are also headed to Borneo, Iceland, Ireland and Costa Rica- which I will add then!

Bryan and I are far from wealthy so if we can do it, anyone can…it’s really just seeing that possibility and grasping the opportunity in front of you! Bryan and I just make the dream a reality by finding a way.

My biggest hope for this blog is that our adventures inspire others to finally “take that trip” they have thought about for so long- and for those that don’t travel, I hope it transports you there, either way!

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We live just outside of Seattle, with our 2 dogs and 2 cats. I am the Executive Director of a 501c3 nonprofit called, Motley Zoo Animal Rescue and Bryan is a video game artist. We have been vegetarians for more than 20 years (prior to meeting)- and will try just about any adventure activity, at least once 😉

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