Traveling the Globe Starts with Lists and Questions

Kathy and Ted's Big Adventure: Week One

KathyKatz

Posted: Dec 20, 06 4:06pm

Kathy Katz and Ted Pushinsky went on a nine-month journey that took them from China to France. How'd they make it happen? They're sharing the big and little details. Sometimes their narrative will take a "he said/she said" format (because we all know that two people traveling together experience the journey differently). Along the way, we hope their story inspires (and instructs) you to plan your own "big adventure".

Kathy:

How do you begin planning the trip of a lifetime? Throughout the process there was a balancing of the dream and the reality, the ideal and the practical, but always lists, lists, and more lists (times the two of us). First I made a long list of all the places I wanted to go, but then there would be the inevitable confrontation-negotiation phase. All my life I'd dreamed of going to China, but Ted said no way (but we did go there). Needless to say, we spent hours reading, discussing, negotiating, watching Globe Trekker and renting travel videos. The weather and the seasons were a major factor in our planning—as was the timing to be in certain places in order to catch some local amazing festival.

Ted:

Lists? Look, her lists were endless. 'Tape heater switch… lengthen light chain… quit 24-Hour Fitness… haircut…' But we needed them. It was necessary to rent out our house to finance the trip. Of course before putting it up for rent, all the long-neglected problems plaguing the 100-year-old home had to be fixed. And we were going to China and India—she's right: I'd sworn I'd never travel to either country—so her list under MEDICAL, which included 'get shots' and 'malaria' and 'antibiotics' and 'homeopathic meds,' helped alleviate my fear that visiting those countries could only result in sickness, loss of limb, or death.

Kathy:

My biggest question was would we get along together. We had taken the usual short vacation trips to more familiar places. Now it would be just the two of us, 24 hours a day, sharing the beauty and excitement of new adventures—but totally dependent on one another to get through the difficult times that inevitably come with traveling. We're talking about two people who normally live very independent lives. It was unfamiliar ground that we approached with some trepidation.

Week One: Traveling the Globe Starts with Lists and Questions
Week Two: Financing the Trip
Week Three: Finding a Helpful Travel Agent
Week Four: Last-Minute Concerns

Return to Kathy and Ted's Big Adventure Index Page