As 3am rolls around I stare at the tile wall in front of me still only half built and I wonder if Anna and I will ever leave on our trip.
I have been working non stop on making our house a home that someone would love to rent but currently I’m too tired to remember the payoff I’m working towards. The work seems endless and the goal feels like mearly a dream as sleepy eyes creep on.
After our amazing 90 day sea kayak trip up the inside passage, we have talked about doing something even bigger. The thought of continuing down the Americas has always popped back up in our conversations. So we have planned out another wild trip, this time bicycling from the Canadian border down through the americas to the bottom of Argentina. We’ll have no timeline and no exact destinations, just the goal of bicycling south.
A trip this big requires more time so we’ll leave our jobs and reduce our commitments giving us the freedom to not push ourselves. It feels unreal to travel like this, and I’m not sure of it yet. Life always seems to be full of deadlines and due dates, forcing me to rush to fit everything in that I want. Its something I really appreciate about Anna. She can just sit and enjoy and has been encouraging me to allow myself to just be. To take a lazy day sitting in the shade, or a nap or just to watch a full sunset without worrying about making our miles and getting to the next destination.
The last of the details slowly fall into place, Anna quits her job of 11 years, we hire a rental management team to keep our house creating income. Maps and gear takeover the living room floor. We love to dream and now the dream as become reality.
I wish I had time to be worried about gear, our future or even our safety but the house has overtaken all thoughts. Anna the saint, has taken on the huge task of packing everything away with the amazing help of both our parents. Not sure how we are so lucky to have family like that but they always seem to be at our sides when we want to do something big. They cheer us on even when I know our trips make them worry. They cover their concern and show us only support, something I am immensely grateful for. Anna and I are bold, but we are not without fear and worry. When the doubts slip into our minds it is so powerful to have encouragement from the people that love us.
We have said our goodbyes to as many people as we can but time is short and I know people have slipped through. we rush to complete everything in order to depart for a journey we have yet to completely understand.
Jeremy Nylander