THE ITINERARY
FULL ITINERARY:
USA Road Trip
7/25-8/2: Breckenridge
8/2-8/3: Jackson Hole, WY
8/3-8/4: Yellowstone National Park
8/4-8/5: Bozeman, MT
8/5-8/7: Glacier National Park
8/7-8/8: Spokane, WA
8/8-8/10: Mount Rainier National Park
8/10-8/13: Olympic National Park
8/13-8/15: Seattle, WA
8/15-8/18: Portland & Hood River, OR
8/18-8/19: Crater Lake National Park
8/19-8/20: Redwood National Park
8/20-8/22: Napa & Concord, CA
8/22-8/24: San Francisco, CA
8/24-8/26: Big Sur, CA
8/26-8/27: Santa Barbara, CA
8/27-8/31: San Diego & La Jolla, CA
8/31-9/3: Los Angeles, CA
9/3-9/4: Joshua Tree National Park & Lake Havasu, AZ
9/4-9/5: Grand Canyon National Park
9/5-9/6: Driving through Texas
9/6-9/7: Houston, TX
9/7-9/9: New Orleans, LA
9/9-9/10: Tampa, FL
9/10-9/11: Naples, FL
9/11-9/15: Big Pine Key, FL
9/15-9/21: Naples, FL
9/21-9/27: Charleston, SC
9/27-10/6: Basking Ridge, NJ
Southern Africa
10/6-10/8: Johannesburg, South Africa
10/8-10/9: Windhoek, Namibia
10/9-10/11: Sossusvlei, Namibia
10/11-10/14: Swakopmund, Namibia
10/14-10/15: Brandberg, Namibia
10/15-10/16: Palmwag, Namibia
10/16-10/20: Etosha National Park area, Namibia
10/20-10/21: Waterberg Plateau, Namibia
10/21-10/22: Windhoek, Namibia
10/22-10/27: Livingstone, Zambia
10/21-10/28: Johannesburg, South Africa
10/28-10/29: Mahe, Seychelles
10/29-11/2: Praslin, Seychelles
11/2-11/4: Mahe, Seychelles
11/4-11/7: Johannesburg, South Africa
11/7-11/9: Graskop/Blyde River Canyon, South Africa
11/9-11/12: Drakensberg, South Africa
11/12-11/14: Pietermaritzburg/Durban, South Africa
11/14-11/16: Hluhluwe, South Africa
11/16-11/17: Durban, South Africa
11/17-11/19: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
11/19-11/22: Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa
11/22-11/25: Knysna, South Africa
11/25-11/27: Mossel Bay, South Africa
11/27-11/29: Hermanus, South Africa
11/29-12/1: Franschhoek, South Africa
12/1-12/7: Cape Town, South Africa
Southeast Asia
12/7-12/9: Hanoi, Vietnam
12/9-12/13: Sapa, Vietnam
12/13-12/14: Hanoi, Vietnam
12/14-12/16: Halong Bay, Vietnam
12/16-12/19: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
12/19-12/21: Mekong River, Vietnam
12/21-12/26: Phu Quoc, Vietnam
12/26-1/1/16: Hoi An, Vietnam
1/1-1/4: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
1/4-1/8: Siem Reap & Angkor Wat, Cambodia
1/8-1/12: Bangkok, Thailand
1/12-1/21: Chiang Mai & Pai, Thailand
1/21-1/29: Koh Tao, Thailand
1/29-2/2: Similan Islands, Thailand
2/2-2/6: Krabi & Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
2/6-2/12: Singapore
2/12-2/15: Coron, Philippines
2/15-2/19: Boat Cruise from Coron to El Nido
2/19-2/21: El Nido, Philippines
2/21-2/22: Cebu, Philippines
2/22-2/25: Bohol, Philippines
2/25-2/26: Manila, Philippines
New Zealand
2/27-2/29: Queenstown, New Zealand
2/29-3/2: Milford Sound, New Zealand
3/2-3/3: Te Anau, New Zealand
3/3-3/4: Invercargill, New Zealand
3/4-3/8: Queenstown, New Zealand
3/8-3/11: Lake Tekapo/Mt Cook, New Zealand
3/11-3/12: Oamaru, New Zealand
3/12-3/18: Wanaka, New Zealand
3/18-3/19: Franz Joseph, New Zealand
3/19-3/21: Oparara Valley, New Zealand
3/21-3/24: Nelson, New Zealand
3/24-3/25: Wellington, New Zealand
3/25-3/26: Ohakune, New Zealand
3/26-3/28: Taupo, New Zealand
3/28-3/30: Raglan, New Zealand
3/30-3/31: Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand
3/31-4/2: Bay of Islands, New Zealand
4/2-4/5: Auckland, New Zealand
Australia
4/5-4/7: Manly Beach, Australia
4/7-4/12: Sydney, Australia
4/12-4/13: Jervis Bay, Australia
4/13-4/14: Narooma, Australia
4/14-4/15: Eden, Australia
4/15-4/16: Metung, Australia
4/16-4/20: Melbourne, Australia
4/20-4/21: Apollo Bay, Australia
4/21-4/22: Warrnabool, Australia
4/22-4/23: Robe, Australia
4/23-4/26: Adelaide, Australia
4/26-4/29: Port Douglas & Cairns, Australia
4/29-5/2: Sailing the Whitsunday Islands, Australia
5/2-5/3: Mackay, Australia
5/3-5/4: Agnes Water, Australia
5/4-5/5: Noosa, Australia
5/5-5/6: Coolangatta, Australia
5/6-5/9: Byron Bay, Australia
5/9-5/11: Brisbane, Australia
5/11-5/12: Perth, Australia
5/12-5/14: Margaret River, Australia
5/14-5/15: Geraldton, Australia
5/15-5/17: Exmouth, Australia
5/17-5/19: Coral Bay, Australia
5/19-5/20: Shark Bay, Australia
5/20-5/22: Kalbarri, Australia
5/22-5/24: Fremantle & Perth, Australia
Indonesia
5/24-5/30: Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia
5/30-6/2: Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia
6/2-6/7: Labuan Bajo, Flores & Komodo National Park, Indonesia
6/7-6/8: 12 hours in Singapore (don't ask!)
6/8-6/13: Kuta, Lombok, Indonesia
6/13-6/15: Senggigi, Lombok, Indonesia
6/15-6/22: Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia
6/22-6/26: Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
6/26-7/4: Pecatu, Bali, Indonesia
7/4: BACK IN THE USA
7/4-7/7: Volcanoes National Park, Big Island, Hawaii
7/7-7/9: Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii
7/9-7/13: Kona, Big Island, Hawaii
7/13-7/22: North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii
7/23-7/29: Basking Ridge, New Jersey
7/30-TBD: Denver, Colorado aka HOME
About Us
We're Grace and Mike.
In July 2015, we hit pause on our life in Denver. We left our jobs, packed up our apartment, sold a car, said "see you soon" to family and friends, and set out on what we hoped would be the trip of a lifetime.
Obviously, we both love to travel. Individually, we had done our study abroad stints in Europe; Mike's in Barcelona, Spain and Grace's in Florence, Italy. Mike's passion for surfing took him to Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Peru. A lover of cities with eclectic charm, Grace's favorite destinations included Paris, Montreal and Puerto Rico. Together, we explored parts of the USA, as well as Mexico, Prague, and Budapest. But there was a lot more to see.
We gave ourselves one year to check items off our travel bucket list, starting at the top. All of the places we go this year (everything after the USA road trip) are places we've never been before but always wanted to see. One reason why we decided to call this trip "The Year Between" is that it felt like something we just needed to do. Thinking about our lives as a timeline, it's everything that happened before, this year, and whatever will happen next.
If you have any travel tips, restaurant recommendations, friends you think we should meet, couches we can crash on, or anything else, please reach out. We'd love to hear from you.
Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully we'll see you soon!
Love, Grace and Mike
PS. If you love our photos and wish you could have one in your home, you're in luck! After a few people asked, we decided to create an online store where you can browse and buy photo prints in an array of styles and sizes. Happy shopping!
