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Taking Time Off

July 21, 2011 By Jillian

Have you ever taken a mental health day? I don’t mean just from work, I mean taken a true mental health day, gone to do something fun and left your “to do” list for another day?

A few weeks ago we realized that we’d be in Florida for the final shuttle launch. Neither of us had ever been to a space shuttle launch and we figured it would be our first and last opportunity so we took it. That’s not to say we shirked out responsibilities for the day, but rather that we decided that we’d regret not going if we stayed home. So we took off, had a great day, and recharged our batteries.

Our philosophy in life is to live without regrets. This means taking a proactive approach to life. I know I’m not going to wake up 20 years from now and say I wish I had gone to work instead of the shuttle launch. Have you ever wished you had made the extra effort to go somewhere to do something, instead of passing up the opportunity? Living a proactive life means not passing up those opportunities. My favorite quote is from the writer, Mark Twain.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Take a page out of Mark Twain’s book, every once in a while, when the opportunity presents itself to take time out and have fun. I’m not saying take a day to go to the movies or lounge around the house, I’m saying when that music festival you’ve always wanted to go to comes around next year, go. Take a day off of work if you need to, rearrange your schedule and go. You’ll never regret it. Living a proactive life means living your life in balance.

Will you regret taking a day of vacation to run with the bulls in Spain? Even if it means taking leave without pay? Probably not, just skip a few meals out when you come home. Will you regret that you didn’t jump on that opportunity for cheap holidays in Santa Ponsa that you saw online yesterday? Probably, especially when you’re at home watching TV wishing you were there.

To help us live our life more proactively, we put together a bucket list. It’s an evolving list though, as we hear about new things we’re constantly adding to it, but honestly I think that’s half the fun. I hope it keeps us focused on living a proactive life, especially now that we’re settling into something a bit more routine.

We’re putting together a calendar of world events. Interesting, fun, unique festivals, holidays, celebrations, events, and things to do from around the world. Check it out on the sidebar. Let us know what you want to see on the calendar, leave suggestions in the comments below and we’ll be happy to add events. We’re going to constantly update the calendar, so check back often!

Traveler Talk Back: Leaving

July 19, 2011 By Jillian

A travel bug, when caught, is hard to ignore. It gnaws away at you. You find yourself looking at National Geographic magazines thinking, I could go there, or a Travel & Leisure magazine thinking I want to go there. But making the jump between those dreams and reality can be hard. We’ve been transparent about our own feelings here at IShouldLogOff, on the highs and lows of long-term travel, but a few weeks ago we introduced you to our traveler talk back series. This is the first of that series, which will deal with traveling from a perspective other than our own, the decision to leave, the decision to return, and living out the dream. One of the aspects of blogging we love the most, is the community we have. We highly encourage your participation in this series (and in general!), so if you have a question, comment or experience you’d like to share join our discussion either in the comments below or on facebook.

When and how much.

There are a lot of things to think about before leaving on an RTW, but the question we get asked most often is about money.

We asked Jill from JackandJillTravel, who left on an RTW in April, about her biggest concern before leaving on her RTW. She sums it up in one word – money. “Money. It’s all about money – how much should we save, how much should we have for re-entry, what are we going to do when the money runs out, wallah wallah…”

Where and When.

Jack and Jill, who blog under pseudonyms, started their RTW in South America in April. A long time in planning, the couple chose Colombia as their first destination. Like many long-term travelers, the couple left without a set itinerary. “We don’t really have any plan other than a vague idea of an itinerary (South America – Africa – Europe – Asia) – basically we’re going to travel until either money/motivation runs out. Whichever comes first,” said Jill.

Adam Seper, who runs World Travel for Couples, spent 51 weeks traveling the world in 2008-2009. He and his wife had an open ended itinerary. “We had always planned on coming home in about a year, but we left it open. We didn’t buy a RTW ticket, and we were open to finding a job somewhere or making this somewhat permanent. After a while on the road, though, we realized that being permanent nomads simply wasn’t for us.”

Ayngelina Brogan, editor of Bacon is Magic, started her RTW trip with a one-way ticket one-way ticket to Mexico. “When I arrived in Mexico I did not speak any Spanish so it has been an adventure for me,” she said. After traveling through Latin America for 14 months, Ayngelina has recently returned to Canada for a short break before heading out on her next adventure.

Leaving travel time and itinerary flexible and open is a common theme among long-term or RTW travelers. Having a vague itinerary leaves travelers open to take advantage of in-country opportunities, like volunteering or working. Jack and Jill spent nearly a month in Banos, Ecuador volunteering with an animal rescue group started by other travelers.

You are not alone.

When we left on our RTW, the first backpackers we met surprised us. They were people traveling for months, just like us, some traversing the Americas, others aiming to traverse the world, each on their own time frame, with their own path.

“There are a lot more of people doing these long term travel thingy than we have first expected,” said Jill of JackandJillTravel. “And some of them are doing some incredible things: like biking gazillion miles across continents and things like that. It’s been quite inspirational, really.”

The idea of a career break, or an “adult gap year” as some suggest, has grown in popularity over the last five years. According to the British Confederation of Industry survey in 2005, 75% of the British workforce is currently considering a career break. Of course this is probably highly over representing the people who are actually preparing and planning for a career break, but you get the drift.

Erin Davies and Pete Schaefer spent nine months traveling around the world and blogging about the adventure at The Scenic Route. The couple, who returned to the U.S. in May, decided to take off one school year, returning home in time for Pete, a high school teacher to find a job for the following school year.

“I wish…”

We hate superlatives (they’re too hard to answer!), but we love “wish” questions. We asked Jack and Jill some hypothetical questions four months into their trip.

I wish someone had told us….
“To double and triple check our departure date. We arrived at the airport in LA only to find out that for all of those months we had had our ticket, we’d gotten the date wrong.” (You can read about Jack and Jill’s auspicious start here.)

I wish I had left behind…
“Three days ago I would’ve said our climbing shoes and harness. But then we had an awesome day of climbing here in Baños which made it all worth it.”

I wish I had brought…
“Extra ATM card. We only have one and we lose it – we’re screwed,” said Jack. “More underwear. I only brought a pair of everything and at the current rate of losing stuff, it’s inevitable I’ll have to replace them. And I’m very, very, very picky about underwear,” said Jill.

How would you answer the “I wish questions?” What’s on your mind about long-term or RTW travel? About these Travelers:

Jack and Jill Travel left on their RTW trip in April 2011. They’re currently exploring South America. You can read about their (mis)adventures on their travel blog, find them on Facebook or Twitter.

Adam Seper and his wife, Megan traveled around the world for 51 weeks. Adam currently edits World Travel for Couples, a website with destination guides, travel information and great tips geared at travel with a partner. You can find him on Facebook or Twitter.

Ayngelina left a great job, boyfriend, friends and apartment to find inspiration in Latin America. You can read about her adventures on her travel blog, find her on Facebook or Twitter.

Erin Davies and Pete Schaefer are busy settling back into life in Ohio. They spent 9 months traveling around the world in 2010, covering every continent except antarctica. You can read about their scenic route from DC to home on their travel blog. You can also check out some of their great travel pictures on flickr.

London’s Third Olympics

July 17, 2011 By Guest Blogger

The Games of the XXX Olympiad are coming to London, making it the first city to host the modern games three times (1908, 1948, 2012). For years, London has been upgrading and building to host these games, and by all accounts they’re set to be amazing. Millions of people already have tickets to see the world’s greatest athletes battle it out for Olympic gold and millions more will be doing everything they can to get a taste of the action. Whether that means watching on TV or making the effort to get into London in order to soak up the atmosphere – all of the United Kingdom, and the world, are counting down the days until it begins.

The Games already have 120 nations with qualified athletes and that is expected to rise to over 200 before the torch is lit. The sheer quantity of people means that travel will get expensive and booked quickly. Although London is doing everything it can to increase capacity; rooms, flights and tickets are selling out quickly, making it an absolute necessity to use discount travel websites. Easily accessible to the action, there are some deals to be had with a Gatwick hotel and parking package, making sight-seeing in town and on the road mega easy.

Be sure to check out more than just the Olympic Games if you do make it to town. Besides the athletic events, London is also hosting the Cultural Olympiad, which has already begun. It’s a four year arts festival that will culminate with the big London 2012 festival. Performances feature international artists from musicians to actors, dancers and visual artists from all over the world. Besides the cultural arts, the Olympics are also going green! Olympic Park will incorporate 45 hectares of wildlife (and upgrades) and organizers have even planned to run the Olympics on as much as 20% renewable power! The really nice part of these Olympics, just like many others, is that they will be spread out not just in the main city center. It’s easy to hop around and get to know parts of the country not served by the Underground (which is also being upgraded for the games). Many of the main events are outside of the center, so check out hotels outside of central London for some of the best deals. Good deals are sure to be had at Stansted airport hotels, Dublin airport hotels and even discount Manchester airport hotels, which offer quick access to transportation all over the British Isles.

The Olympics aren’t just for foreigners, either! The UK Olympic Committee has made sure that the people of Great Britain aren’t going to be priced out for events, so even if you live in the UK now is the time to find a good hotel or travel package. The Games will be an amazing spectacle and a huge portion of the country will want to be involved. Countless more from across the world will want to do the same. It’ll make London a fantastic place to be next year and beyond. Finding affordable lodging and transportation are the keys to getting to the Games.

Photo Credit: Telegraph UK

I love le tour

July 12, 2011 By Danny

The most grueling endurance event I know of, the Tour de France simply has no equal. Lasting nearly the whole monht of July, the Tour requires the best out of every cyclist almost every day for a whole month, over mountains, across fields and time trials. If you don’t know how the Tour works, better read last year’s post before going on.

Before telling out about this year’s race, first another brief primer. Every day, every rider sets out and tries to do the best they can. Most race in a pack, with racers from all teams clumped together, because being together reduces drag and makes pedaling easier. When a handful of riders break ahead the idea is to stick together and share the time ‘at the front’ doing the hard work. There is a racer who gets to the finish-line first and every day the winning racer is crowned that stage’s winner. In addition to an individual stage winner, there is also the yellow jersey which goes to the rider with the best overall time. Sometimes that jersey hardly changes hands, sometimes it changes nearly every day.

When you ride that close, you’re bound to bump elbows.

This year a TV car caused a crash when it tried to avoid a tree. At one point in stage 7 (we’ve had 9 so far) there was a crash that involved some 80 riders. Last year’s winner and this years race favorite has crashed at least four times this year. He now sits over 4 minutes out of first place. But crashes alone aren’t why I follow the Tour, I follow it because it is the best television I’ve ever seen.

Every day these men set out to ride a bike as hard and as fast as they can, around 5 hours each day, for over three weeks straight. They work as team to ‘share’ the work and support their lead riders while chasing and forcing their adversaries to work harder.

Ever since Team Garmin was created I’ve been rooting for them. The reason: they take drug testing very seriously and go far beyond what is required of them to prove they are clean. In the second stage, the team time trial, Garmin won its first ever stage. They also propelled one of their riders into the overall first place spot, which he managed to keep for the week. Thor (yes, the Thunder God) lost that lead over this past weekend but he isn’t out yet. Will he be able to rebound or won’t he? It’ll take two full weeks of riding to find that out.

Right now though, none of the riders expected to win are leading. The ‘expected’ rider doing the best is in 5th and is over 2 minutes out of first. Last year’s race was decided by well under 60 seconds. In the meantime, one rider is on a pace to set the record for most individual stage wins EVER. He has 17 so far, and needs 22 to set that record.

Competition, drama, teams, what isn’t there to love?

Final Shuttle Launch

July 10, 2011 By Jillian

It was dark when we left the house and still dark an hour and a half later when I woke up in the car, mumbled something incoherent and fell back asleep. Fortunately I must have only been half asleep for I woke up five minutes before our exit.

Four, three, two, one the crowd across the river inlet shouted. We scrambled to get our cameras and video equipment together as the hundreds of people in the river excitedly surged forward.

We watched the final shuttle launch from Space View Park in Titusville. To be more precise, we actually watched it knee deep in the river that separates Titusville from Kennedy Space Center. With little space left on the shore by the time we arrived, we followed the lead of others and headed into the water. Surrounding us were families, groups of college students and friends all who had driven through the night to be at the final shuttle launch. Everyone waded into the murky water with rolled up pants and shorts, clutching cameras and tying cell phones to drawstrings and straps. It was so crowded in the water that one guy near us joked that we should scream “Gator” to give us some breathing space.

31 years after launching the first shuttle into space NASA launched its 135^th flight, 33^rd on the space shuttle Atlantis, on its final journey. It was a momentous occasion according to the newscasters. The end of an era they said on NPR. The end of our space age, said others. In truth, it was no different than any other shuttle launch; we were the ones that gave it sentimental significance. We were the ones who bought “grand finale” t-shirts, grilled hot dogs for breakfast and shuttle keychain necklaces.

We were hoping to see people dressed up like aliens, astronauts or at the very least a few star trek characters. We expected to see new age space hippies and perhaps even a few protestors. In the end the crowd was disappointingly normal. Plenty of parents with half-asleep children sprawled out on the sidewalk. Small groups of high school students who were only half absorbing a teacher’s lesson about gas in space. People spoke of space tourism and Virgin Galactic and how for the next few years our astronauts would be riding home with the Russians. We met a group of twenty-somethings from Atlanta who had driven through the night playing trivial pursuit in the hopes of keeping the driver awake. The only people we saw dressed up were kids in orange astronaut costumes. Otherwise it was a group of remarkably normal people, most admitting to be shuttle launch virgins, all eyes trained on one glowing orange ball 12 miles in the distance.

From where we stood we had an excellent view of the shuttle. As we saw the yellows and oranges of the blast, the crowd cheered for a moment and then got quiet. It took less than a minute for the shuttle to disappear quietly into the clouds, leaving behind it a trail white smoke. Even from 12 miles away it was beautiful and although I’ve seen a space shuttle up close before it was remarkable how big the shuttle looked jetting off into space.

For a few moments after Atlantis disappeared from view the crowd was silent, waiting for the noise of launch. It crept up on us, so subtly that at first we thought the fighter jets were overhead again. Quickly the rumbling grew into what was unmistakably the shuttle. For a few second the water rippled and the ground seemed to shake. The silent crowd exploded in congratulatory cheering as families hugged and couples kissed.

It took us two and a half hours to get back to our car, but despite walking it the whole way, we made it out of Titusville well before those that had parked near Space View Park. Some news estimates report a million people converged on Cape Canaveral- if that’s the case then each one of them drove their own car. We parked nearly five miles from where we wanted to watch, afraid we’d be hit by the $60 parking I’d read about online. (We could have watched the shuttle from less than ½ a mile from where we parked, but we wanted the atmosphere of Space View Park).

Editors Note: While this was NASA’s last shuttle flight, there are still plenty of other launches, like satellites and scientific equipment that occur at Cape Canaveral. You can read more about Obama’s decision to end the shuttle program and encourage private, commercial space programs here. What do you think? Should space be a commercial industry?

Taking Time Off

Traveler Talk Back: Leaving

London’s Third Olympics

I love le tour

Final Shuttle Launch

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Banking on the Road

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