Why Strange? Why Benevolent?

Strange (adj) : Not normal, odd, unusual, surprising, out of the ordinary; Unfamiliar, not yet part of one's experience

Benevolent (adj) : Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love for mankind

It was two summers ago, shortly before our wedding, that Sarah and I first saw Circus Contraption. And, at the end of that amazing and (Dare I use the word?) magical evening, the ringmaster wished the audience a night of "strange and benevolent dreams." It would be a phrase that would remain stuck in my head until this day.

So it wasn't surprising that, when scratching my head and trying to brainstorm a name for this travel log, I would find myself revisiting that phrase. But, what is surprising is how well that phrase matches our feelings and hopes about the coming Round the World Trip!

As Sarah and I pack up our lives and place the boxes neatly into storage, and as we prepare to quit our jobs and say goodbye to friends and family; our lives have already become strange and surreal. And this is only the very beginning! Ahead of us still lies seven months of traveling, away from home and visiting more than a dozen countries on five different continents.

In addition, while we have no doubt that the coming months will be challenging in ways that we can't even begin to predict, we both also have no doubt the experience will ultimately prove to be benevolent. It will be something that will expand our views, knowledge and opinions of the world and mankind; and something that will not only improve us both individually, but also as a couple.

Speaking of being a couple, while I had been chronicling some of the early planning for the trip on another Blog, General Travels, Sarah and I decided to create this new blog to cover these final weeks, and then to use over the course of our trip. The main reason to do this was because, while General Travels (like General Admission) was distinctly my Blog, we wanted this Blog to by both of us, for both of us… and for you. To this end, you’ll be seeing entries by Sarah too in the coming months; which will allow you the opportunity to see both our perspectives on the various misadventures that lie before us.

So, while future entries of this log will hopefully lay out our itinerary, and do a better job of laying out the practicalities of the trip, I'll end this first entry now, with a cheer:

Here's to our trip, may it indeed be strange and benevolent!