Beyond The Trail

First Week Home

Rob — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:01:11 +0000

Our first week back to Minnesota was great. Catching up with friends and family while enjoying the local flavors of Minneapolis. We decided to frame the outfits we ended up living in for the past 2 months. It was that or burning them in the back yard and figured Saint Louis Park might have an issue with starting a fire. To the right is a shot of our new roommate “cowboy”

Some have asked if it feels like we even left and I would say definitely yes. While the past 6 months have gone fast, we covered a huge amount of land and the things we experienced will forever be with us. We learned a lot on the trip and both feel we have grown up considerably. Not to say we were kids when we left, but I personally have a far better global perspective of our place in life. Our true goals and dreams have changed immensely and we have a much clearer plan on how to reach them.

So what’s next for Beyond The Trail? While we have realized we’re not ‘live out of a pack-backs for 6 months’ kind of people, we still love to travel. South America is calling and we are already planning some weekend get-a-ways in the future. Next comes the task of jobs. If you know anyone that needs a project manager with 10 years of experience, throw me a line. As for the blog, we’ll keep the adventures coming.

Halloween in NYC

Rob — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:13:58 +0000

Last night we made it to NYC around 7:00pm and met up with our friends Matt and Lisa (and Sara and Matt) in South Manhattan. Matt and Lisa were Power Rangers and I think Sara and Matt where some kind of Japanese warriors…. We had a great time hanging out in NYC, enjoying some Pizza and admiring the carved pumpkins.

Farewell Costa Rica

Rob — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:06:49 +0000

Yesterday we said farewell to Costa Rica and had another 12 hour travel day. For our last night in Costa Rica we relocated to Ocotal, a sleepy beach town about 20km from Liberia. A wise choice indeed. The hotel we stayed at was all but empty outside of us. The view from the front door of our room was sweet. We even had a couple Iguanas guarding the area for us. The next morning we hit the road by 5:00am and landed in LGA (New York) at 7:00pm (given a 1.5 hour delay due to the ice storm). We figured our Mount Everest clothes would keep us warm in the ice storm but no dice . This place is freezing…but great to be back. NYC is our home away from home. Great friends and food, you can’t ask for anything more. See you all soon.

Surfing and Sunsets at Playa Tamarindo

Debra — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:26:15 +0000

I caught a wave! Actually it was 4 or 5 waves and even stood up on my second try! Surfing at Playa Tamarindo was awesome. The waves are perfect for beginnings and Reuben, my instructor from Iguana Surf School, was great. I did get worked once by a wave and the surfboard smacked me in the face but thankfully only have a few scrapes and bruises and a little sunburn from the day. The rest of the day was spent wandering the beach, hanging at the pool and enjoying the sunset. You gotta love Costa Rica!

Everyone here is super friendly and it is so much easier to communicate than other places we have traveled. Even working with the police and the insurance adjuster for the car accident was relatively painless because we could understand their Spanish and they could understand our English — it is much easier to understand someone else than speak it yourself! Today we are planning to head up north to check out a few other beaches that are supposedly even more beautiful than where we are at (if that’s possible). Adios!

Pura Vida!

Debra — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:06:38 +0000

Pura vida is the best way to describe Costa Rica. Technically it means “pure life” but everyone around here uses it to mean life is good, living life, hello, goodbye, thank you…..the list goes on. It sums up the chill atmosphere of Tamarindo, which is the beachy town we are in. We’ve spent the last few days enjoying the sun, sand and pool along with some good food and local beer. I introduced Rob to Imperial (the local brew) and he may just have to get himself another Imperial t-shirt to replace the one I got him last time I was here and that sadly didn’t make the cut to our storage unit in April. Today I am headed to the beach for a surf lesson and Bobby promises to take lots of pictures so hopefully he will catch me standing up for the first time! Pura vida amigos!

Day 1 Costa Rica

Rob — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:13:57 +0000

Okay, Costa Rica has been less than the relaxing place we had thought and more crazy then ever. After a quick flight from Dallas, we landed in San Jose and headed to Thrifty Car Rental for what we thought would be a quick rental. After 45 minutes and an increase from $175 to $371, we hit the road. I am normally a lover of National Car Rental and now I understand why (no hidden costs). Nonetheless we all need to make a buck.

After all this we hit the road for a 5 hour drive to Tamarindo. Well luck would have it we got in a car accident in the middle of nowhere. As we drove 60kph (40mph) down back roads a truck towing a car lost a wheel and it struck our car. I mean picture this, your driving at 40mph (not fast) and a wheel flies off the car next to you and bounces towards your car. With that we are lucky the tire hit the corner of the car and not the window.

Also lucky for us the guys that hit us where nice guys…..not really. They ran past us to get the tire, quickly put it back on and fled the scene before we could find a cop. These guys are off the christmas card list. After showing the pictures to the cop that arrived, he continued to asking Debra to ditch me and leave with him (dirt ball). Yup, sweet. To the right is a shot of the guys running to put the tire back on before the police arrived. After about 15 hours of travel (flights and 5 hours of driving) we made it to the hotel. A swim in the pool has never felt better

Dallas PMI Conference

Rob — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:40:09 +0000

We landed in Dallas from Debra’s three continent birthday and hit the ground running. After a quick dinner at 6:00pm, the jet-leg hit us at 7pm and we almost fell asleep at the dinner table. I woke up around 7:00am for the conference and we started the circuit From about 7:00am to 10:00pm we were “full go” for three days, but had a great time. To be honest it was the best time I have had professionally over the past 6 months. Meeting the other PM’s and community leaders was great. I know dorky, but fun in a dorky project manager way .

During the conference we had a great time with Valdery and Lidia, our friends from Brazil. They will be moving to Boston this February for an awesome opportunity for Lidia as a neurologist. Best of luck and much love!

Birthday on Three Continents

Debra — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:53:13 +0000

The birthday on 3 continents was a success! It started out a little shaky since we had a 2:30 am flight out of Mumbai and decided that instead of carrying our bags all over the city we would just hang out at the airport for the day. Big mistake! The Mumbai international terminal does not let people check in until 4 hours before your flight so we spent the day in a waiting room that had one coffee shop, uncomfortable chairs and Hindu only television programs. But we somehow survived 8 hours in purgatory and made it into the actual airport and thru security an hour before midnight. A couple of beers at the airport club (thank you American Express) and a cheesy Bollywood bar before we said goodbye to India. But not before I took a short nap and the woman behind me woke me up by pulling my hair and pushing my head back. Love you too India

Quick stop in Heathrow and some strange looks when I drank a beer at 9 am at the gate…..but I had a mission to drink a beer on 3 continents and I wasn’t going to fail! And then we were in Dallas and back in the good ole USA where we can drink the tap water and eat raw veggies, need to remember to tip (sorry guy that drove us to the hotel), and shouldn’t try to negotiate for everything (again, sorry guy that drove us to the hotel). A little bit of jet lag since we arrived in Dallas at 1:30 pm and it was midnight in Mumbai — after a couple beers and some American TV (yea!) and we found ourselves in bed at 8 pm, up at midnight and finally back to sleep at 2:30. We’ll see how today goes….. Thanks everyone for all the birthday love!

Classing It Up In Mumbai

Debra — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:49:16 +0000

So after we booked our flight home (yup, you read that right – Nov 1 for those of you that haven’t read Rob’s last post), we decided to upgrade our accommodations a bit. Now we’re at The Oberoi in Mumbai enjoying the five-star treatment and pool with a view. Today we wandered over to Chowpatty Beach but saved the swimming for back at the hotel Enjoy the views and we can’t wait to see everyone in a few weeks!

The Bear Returns

Rob — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:53:46 +0000

Yup, we have booked our return flight to the Minni-apple. Okay so the year long trip is closer to 6 months, but it has been amazing! We haven’t run out of money, but have come to the conclusion that living out of backpacks and hostels may be better suited fro college kids. We still have a couple more placed to visit before the return but will be arriving home on November 1st.

This trip has afforded us a once in a lifetime opportunity to truly step back from our lives and re-assess our goals and needs. And yes there will be a project plan. We are very excited for what our lives hold next for us and seeing our friends and family. It also means we can upgrade some of the hotels for the rest of the trip, sweet. Can’t wait to see all of you! Cheers.