My wife heard what many from her homeland would consider blasphemy: “The potatoes of Peru are better than Ireland.” It was a bold comment, especially from someone from Brazil. For the sake of this person, I will leave their identity anonymous. I must admit, I think her statement has some legs. Peru’s potatoes are awesome. They actually have over 1500 types of potatoes. And this is coming from two people’s whose heritages (Russia & Ireland) have the potato at the center of the

It can be hard to find things that quiet the noise of the day-to-day ups & downs. For me, I have been lucky to find things that can act like a small dampener, but also a knock you out, and wake up and the whole world is quieter. Surfing is a dampener that comes to mind. Those are important, but sometimes you need the heroic dose of quiet serum, where you wake up and the world is quieter. Giving back has been where I have experienced the effects of the heroic dose. Ghana in Ja

Yes, we’ll admit it. We used this photo as clickbait. If we had the title “Birdwatching in the Amazon”, we might’ve only had Tanya and Wilson reading this eventful week 20 blog post. While this picture was snagged from Google, it was taken at the Chuncho Clay Lick that we visited during our time in the Amazon Rainforest. The Jags, unfortunately, did not pay a visit while we were there, but we still enjoyed the beautiful colors of the Macaws. Unfortunately, National Geograp

Toda mi vida he soñado con el Perú Peru has been on my bucket list since I first made a Pinterest account in high school. I remember learning about it in Spanish class and always being drawn in by their peaceful flute music, adventure opportunities, their colorful ponchos, culture and history. I think I asked Nicky to pinch me at least 10 times in the last week because it still feels so surreal to be here. They say, don’t meet your heroes, because it will just let you down. I

There is nothing worse than waking up to a dead phone after being plugged into charge overnight… especially when you have a super busy day and expected a fully charged phone. That is what happened to me during the last week I spent in Thailand. Both Nick and I started our international travels at about 75%. We had a busy last few months in San Diego before our big move. We told ourselves we’d rest when we got to where we were going… but where we were going? We baked in some

My besties came to visit!! An ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer day. Cracking open a cold one after completing a successful day of yard work. The satisfactory first-sip when you just desperately needed a glass of wine after a long day at work. The pop of champagne, “whoo” then bubbles to follow an exciting celebration. That degree of satisfaction is how I felt while spending quality time with my girl friends, Jenna and Ciara, in Thailand. I don’t think I even realized how m

While Mary Kate's friends, shoutout Jenna & Ciara, are visiting, I have hi-jacked the blog duties again {insert evil laugh}. After the whole xanax joke thing about the cockroaches & my campaign to keep the mustache "went a little too far", I have been banished to the food reviews. Just kidding, I just had to add something at the start. Here's the blog. Plans are always changing, but we made sure to make some great memories in Thailand this week! We spent a few more days in B

#SoloTravel Inseparable for three months straight. Started off a year-long international travel by spending a month together in a very small van. We’d literally done everything together for the last three months. No separation. No privacy. Tight quarters in foreign places. We needed a break from each other. Or that is what people might think when I say we parted ways last Wednesday. The reality is Nick was flying halfway across the world for one of his best friend’s bachelor

There I was in the lineup with the perfect wave. Steep drop. Pulled into the barrel. Clipped at the lip. Flipped into the reef. 1 ft of water. It didn’t exactly go like that, but my battle scars suggest otherwise. Nick and I saw this funny postcard in one of the shops in Arugam Bay. I said I’d come back and buy it once I’ve reached 5+ cuts to my feet. I well surpassed that amount with bonus cuts on my shoulders, hands, and backside. I earned this souvenir, but hey, I’m a begi

Some lovingly call him Mr. Big Lung, others International Chef, or Foreigner. Regardless of what you call him, this week's blog post is brought to you by the one and only, Nicholas King. “I like your mustache” We will get to the India Food Review & Udaipur. But first, many of you have been asking for a live update on the mustache poll. Pro Moustache: 72 Anti-Moustache: 4 Thanks to 68 “I like your mustache” compliments from the men of India, I have secured a strong lead. We ar

Week 11 ~ Thailand (4 days) -> India (3 days). The remainder of our time in Thailand was spent relaxing at beach resorts and Nick catching some surf. I even found myself on a longboard in Thailand with the motivation of “now you can say you’ve surfed in Thailand.” Thankfully, the waves were small, and the Thai surfers were really friendly. Prior to leaving Thailand, spotted an Eagles fan. #GoBirds A fun little animal sighting at our resort in Thailand! Thailand didn’t feel wa

To my surprise, our guest writer, now known as Mister Big Lung, wanted to share his creative writing with the readers this week. I think it is because he didn’t want me including a poll on his mustache review. (Despite being frequently discussed by readers). Thankfully, I always make the final edits and photo uploads, so stay tuned and enjoy this week’s blog from the one and only, Nicholas King. We arrived in Bangkok and had the first taste of home in a month. That taste of

Happy Mother's Day to the new moms, old(er) moms, and grand-moms! We have spent 3.5 wonderful weeks in Vietnam. While week 9 is technically being split between Thailand and Vietnam, for this post, I am just going to write about our experience in our final days of Vietnam. Our favorite guest writer is going to add his food notes at the end. :) Week 9 started on my 29th birthday, so HBD 2 Me! The only people who might like celebrating birthdays more than Kath Gibbons are the

The week of perspectives. Here I was, within my first five minutes in Ninh Binh, hopping on the back of a grab, where me and my bags outweighed the driver and his scooter, looking back over my shoulder, yelling to my husband, figure it out, I’ll see you at the hotel! Grab is the Uber equivalent in Vietnam. No cars available? Order a motorbike. Thankfully, at our own pace, we both made it to the hotel safely, despite the risk of a sneeze ending it all while on the moped. As al

Week 7: Second week in Vietnam - The week of multiple modes of transportation. Missed a week or two? Click HERE to access each weekly blog post. Seatbelt on - safety first. If you look closely, you can see the breathtaking view outside the window. I am currently writing this on my first ever sleeper bus in Vietnam, on the way to Ninh Binh from Phong Nha. While there have been times on this trip where Nick and I have felt like giants, we have been humbled that we are actual

Xin Chao from Vietnam I’m sure everyone enjoyed hearing from the infamous guest writer last week. Rest assured, he will be sure to grace us with his creative writing again in the near future. I mean, who else is better to be writing about the food in these countries than our one and only international chef?! Speaking of food….. While I will leave the details of the Vietnamese cuisine up to the professional, a few eventful activities in the last week did revolve around food, w

Guest post time. This one goes out to the fat boys, the drinkers, and the tummy-problem warriors. I like to eat. Who doesn’t? And I can really eat a lot. I am known in Pittsfield, New Hampshire as the King of Pittsfield because of my ability to eat. I like to drink, responsibly. When traveling to new places, I feel it is my responsibility to drink like a local. For those of you who are my fellow tummy-problem friends, I am happy to share that the reports are true. It is not o

Flight from Santiago, Chile -> Buenos Aires, Argentina 4 weeks of ~vagabonding~ completed. I had to check my math to make sure I was correct with my weeks, because time has been flying! The Recap Week 1 Recap: Flew into Punta Arenas from Santiago. Adjusted to the camper van life while creating some funny memories. Amazing boat tour with glaciers & very active whales. Week 2 Recap: Punta Arenas -> Puerto Natales -> Torres Del Paine National Park (completed W Trek), crossed

Mt Fitz Roy Weekly Recap: (Can click the Underline Week Recap for the previous week's blog post) Week 1 Recap: Flew into Punta Arenas from Santiago. Adjusted to the camper van life while creating some funny memories. Amazing boat tour with glaciers & very active whales. Week 2 Recap: Punta Arenas -> Puerto Natales -> Torres Del Paine National Park (completed W Trek), crossed from Chile into Argentina: El Calafate -> El Chalten (cutest little mountain towns). Week 3 Recap

Sunrise view of Los Torres from our camper van morning of day 2, wk 2 Overlander : An overlander is a person who engages in a self-reliant, vehicle-based adventure travel to remote destinations, where the journey itself is the primary goal, rather than the destination. The IOverlander app has been one of the most helpful resources we’ve had on the road. The app & starlink have actually both been equally helpful. This isn’t a sponsorship but just the honest truth. We have been