Around the World in 79 days

Hey friends,

We leave to circumnavigate the globe once again in just 4 days. The last year has been full of dreaming, scheduling, planning and managing many, many details. We’re all really excited yet post-COVID, this all seems surreal and slightly impossible. I’m holding my breath if I’m honest, and working through one day at a time, as to not become overwhelmed by all that there is still yet to do.

Luna completes 7th grade tomorrow, and her being 13 years old as we embark now on some serious travel is exciting. Differing from previous trips, at this point, Luna’s worldview is quite intact. She is a critical thinker, she is a leader. She is unapologetic about sharing her views of the world. This trip feels as if it’s coming at the perfect time because Josh and I are well aware that it’s magical that she still wants to go with us at all, and she’s really questioning how the world works while actively coming up with ways to make it better. Luna is now coming to me with current events, social structures and disturbing laws in place in some of the countries we are visiting on this trip, sharing her opinions of governmental structures and how to make things better. I love this. It’s thrilling that Luna is coming to us with things she wants to do, like discovering the best Boba tea in the world and finding the most unique fashion in Tokyo. She’s even helping to pack her suitcase. YAY.  Luna can stay up late, and better yet sleep in. She can handle jet lag. For the first time, she’s appreciating how much it takes to actually pull this off.

During the Wintertime, we read books around the fireplace and dreamt of the places we were visiting this Summer. We can imagine these places in our head, but seeing a pride of lions resting in a tree in Africa in person will be something else entirely. Now we’ve counted down, day by day to this epic beginning.

At our home, our most treasured possessions aren’t really things at all, but pictures of our travels up on the wall. There are times when one of us just stands there, looking at the photos, trying to recreate a moment in our heads, feel the freshness of the world, a new place & new connections. It’s nice to know that after this Summer we’ll have created more beautiful memories to treasure. I know there will be difficulties. I know that spending almost all of your time with your family can drive one mad. I’m bringing my travel yoga mat and Luna can FaceTime her friends so those two new additions should bring some peace on the road. Oddly enough, it’s kind of when I depart that I realize just how much we have here in Nashville.

It’s been a tough Spring here, and Nashville has pulled together more than ever. We’ve showed up for one another, we’ve protested repeatedly at the Capitol, we’ve used our voices. We’ve cried together and hoped for a better future. Traveling always makes me grateful for the place I live, for the life we lead in new ways. I’m eager to go, but more than ever, I’m eager to come back too.

Even though many of these places are new to us, many of these places are like going to visit old friends. I’m looking forward to walking down streets that feel familiar, seeing friends and family along the way, and engaging the world. Travel always fills me with light. When I’m not traveling, I crave the goodness of the world. Travel reminds me of how we are all the same, how important it is to connect.

4 continents, 22 flights, 10 countries, 79 days.

Here’s our itinerary:

Italy

Greece

Turkey

Kenya

Tanzania

Vietnam

Cambodia

Malaysia

Japan

Seattle

back home August 10th!

Sending love your way,

Carly