For as long as I can remember I have talked about going to see Europe with just a backpack and a camera. About a year ago I pitched the idea to Victoria as I had to so many people before. I expected the typical “YES! That would be awesome!” conversation. The one that ends with the harsh realizations of school, work, and rent. Instead she said, “Don’t joke with me. I don’t want to have that conversation unless it is serious.”
So we set off to planning the ultimate backpack trip. We would start in England and go west through Amsterdam and Germany on our way to Auschwitz. Then we would travel south from there seeing Eastern Europe; Prague, Vienna, Budapest, places like that. We’d check out Italy and Paris to see all the amazing art and architecture. Finally we would go through Spain to enjoy the exciting culture and bright colors of Madrid and Barcelona. We ran the numbers and quickly realized how impossible this all seemed, but still hoped and believed it could be real one day.
Less than a month later Victoria was suddenly hired to teach Accounting at LIT and Lamar. We were able to reduce our trip down to something just mostly impossible, and purchased our tickets online.
Tomorrow, I will be on a plane to fly to Rome with my beautiful wife. She has planned a ton, we have worked very hard, and through our family and friends God has provided us with so much. Thank you for joining us on our adventure across Europe. We can’t wait to see you all again.