Time with Family: 2020 Trip Around the World Part 2

We made it to Lisbon! Woot!

It took:

A snowy car ride to Portland Maine. Though the storm was mighty, my dad slayed it effortlessly.
A Snowy and rainy bus ride to Boston. The bus was heavy enough to avoid slippage.
An easy train ride. Besides the extremely extraverted male 20something bros behind us who spoke 100,000 words in four hours, it was a pleasant ride.
A moment of confusion in Penn station. “Follow the marked path to tracks 13-21” turned into several walking circles and just happening to end up exactly where we needed to be.
A subway ride to Jamaica, NY.
A hop on the Airtrain to get to JFK.
A jaunt through unorganized and chaotic JFK airport security in our favorite terminal at JFK (JetBlue ftw!!)
A top notch red eye on Tap Air Portugal from JFK to Lisbon, Portugal.
A shuttle ride from the plane to the airport.
A first Uber who cancelled because we weren’t waiting for him in the Kiss and Fly. Oops.
A second Uber who charged us a 50 cent waiting fee, but got us to our destination.
A short walk to our new home for the month of January!!

This blog will be a look back into December of 2019 as we spent time with family, battled nasty PA and Maine weather, sold our car, and otherwise completed final preparations for the trip.

So far, I can already say we are so much more comfortable with travel and talking with other people. I was chatting it up with other people on the shuttle from the airport which is highly unlike me! I’m really excited to see how we put our growth over the last year into practice.

Some people have commented that we are living our dream. Yes we are, but it took work. We’ve been working at this for almost five years.

Nothing is impossible if you set your eyes on target and work forward. There is no such thing as overnight success, just people who envisioned a life they wanted to live and put out all the stops to make it happen.

I think you’ll find this journey opens your eyes as it’s opening mine. I share to entertain but also to uplift and encourage. You can do something very similar if you want. I’m nothing special, just ask my wife! And yet, we’ve been able to find remote jobs, cheap flights, and comfortable accommodations around the world.

No matter what your dreams are, you can reach them. Set big goals, take huge action, and watch your dream life unfold before your eyes. Nothing is stopping you.

Pics to follow at the end, along with prayer requests and other fun details of our 2020 journey.

December 2019

This was a month of reconnecting with family while still doing work, and prepping for our 2020 trip. Miranda’s mom was gracious enough to host us for the majority of the time, but we hopped between places often:

At a friend’s house in Huntersville before we left for PA.
Stewartstown at Miranda’s grandmother’s.
Then Airville for a quick stop.
A weekend in State College.
Back to Airville.
To my sister’s house for a night.
Onto Maine to stay in my childhood home.
Switch to Airbnb in Raymond Maine on the Lake.
Back to Mom and Dads for our last night in the US!

Highlights from the Last Month

We did a lot this past month. Here are just a few memorable highlights:

Selling the Corolla and waving goodbye to old faithful. This was one of my favorite moments because I was beginning to hate the car AND no longer owning any keys made it even more real how little we were leaving behind in terms of stuff.
Family time in Maine consisting of fires by the lake, the yuletide family Christmas auction, quizzo, snowstorms, and good ol’ fashioned home-cooked meals courtesy of my mother.
Family time in PA with lots of work at Freelance York, home-cooked yummy meals from Miranda’s mother, Secret Santa, Beatsaber VR, Golden milk, stromboli, Christmas lights, and just the feeling of contentment that comes from being with family.
Visiting the hill we were married on in York, PA.
State college and seeing Granny Pat and Stan.
Thanksgiving at Ashlynn’s.
Hiking with Cam and Justine and the pupper.
Halo and Ping Pong with my brother Gib.
And too much more to tell.

Prayer Requests

As we continue to move forward into the unknown we could use prayer and support in several areas:

That my next steps in building this site and reaching my audience would be made more clear.
Health and well being as we travel and our diets change and exercise is hard to come by.
To be able to mix work and play at a balanced rate. It’s HARD to do both, but we love what we do AND we love seeing everything we can in a place. This is why we love long stays in one new place so we can experience the many sights and sounds but still get work done. But, sometimes it can be hard to choose to work when it’s sunny and the custard tarts have your name on them…
That we can find new ways to interact with people and meet new friends.

Thanks for your time reading this post. For more updates and to join my list (and anyone that is reaching for a goal SHOULD join) sign up below and get some free bonuses too.

Thanks, and may your 2019 jump off to a fantastic start!! 🙂

-Jordan