Would you go with me?

December 8th started an adventure. Eli and I left our lives behind and jumped on an opportunity to see the world together. We left Seattle after 8 years and, as expected, our goodbyes to our friends were difficult. In the 3 weeks that followed we quickly toured our country, visited family and friends, feverishly packed and before we knew it time to leave. On New Year's Eve, with only a few hours to spare in 2013, we boarded a plane headed for South America.

I can't speak for Eli but I wanted to go on this trip for one reason. Don't get me wrong. I love traveling like I like to breathe, so any trip would be hard for me to turn down. But I wanted to take this trip to experience something completely new. I have my favorite person in the world, Eli, and my favorite pastime, travel, but I have never gone on an extended international trip with a companion before, ever. I'm usually alone and while that's not something I'd recommend, I can't say that I've actually minded it too much. But some of the greatest experiences I have had in my life have been while I've been traveling and I've never had anyone to share them with. I wanted to go on this trip to travel with Eli! We've shared many experiences together but never something like this before. There is the anticipated good (sunrise over Machu Picchu), the bad (irritable bug bites) and the ugly (exposure of all of my hidden travel traits I typically hide- i.e. I can be very shy) that like it or not we are going to face together. There is also your best friend being by your side, helping you overcome silly things, and growing together. There are amazing sites to visit, a new language to learn and some crazy mishaps to rehash later (or vow to never share again). In the end I realized that I have never been so excited for a trip to begin in my life! I believe you have to continue to push yourself to grow and this, for me, is the greatest kind of adventure. I'm so happy Eli is with me for the ride.

The Trip

Eli and I are planning a loosely defined circuit of South America to hike in Patagonia, learn Spanish, visit friends and experience different cultures. The trip started in Montevideo, Uruguay on the first day of 2014 after we rang in the new Year on our overnight flight. This blog will be our attempt at documenting the trip for others and to capture the experience for our memory. I titled the blog after a song we heard while on our cross country road trip in Nashville. The author of "Would you go with Me?", Shawn Camp, is a successful songwriter in country music and we heard him sing that song at the Station Inn with his friends. Within minutes of the performance starting I knew it was exactly what I had hoped Nashville would be- insanely talented musicians, captured audience, experienced performers and a great show. He sang this song first and afterwards I turned to Eli and said, that is what we are doing! We are traveling for the sake of traveling, to travel together, to get lost and if we're lucky we'll make it so far we've hit the edge of the sea. *

Like the artist sang at one point, "if you would accompany me/ I'd be so happy", traveling is best to be shared. I'm very excited for this adventure to start. Speaking now on Eli's behalf as well, we are so grateful for the opportunity.

Shawn Camp's Would You Go with Me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM1vCV4lsrg

* Edge of the sea = End of the World ? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushuaia)