Special Thanks

Hugs and kisses,

big hearts and special thanks to…

Mom and Dad for letting us stay one night at a time but call their house “home base.”

Mom and Dad 2.0 for all the travel accessories that have become necessities.

Barbara for being our number 1 blog reader and sending CHIT CHAT every time we post.

Debbie, Jeff and Andrew for not being afraid to try eating a pretzel off your shoulder and the eye-opening Cirque de Soleil experience.

Aunt Esther, Uncle Joel, Wyatt and Lydia, what I wouldn’t do for a day in the mountains and some banana pudding.

Nana and Lynn for making sure Oklahoma was full of southern hospitality.

Molly for sharing her brand new home/city with us and her first day of school!

Alyssa, Bill, Sammy, Zachary and Hannah for giving us a day of play.

Aunt Jackie and Uncle Ernest and the cousins for real country living and a perfect Labor Day.

Tom, Amber and Natalia for putting up with us not once but twice throughout the tour (and turning us into bootlegging criminals).

Aunt Ruth for making 91 look YOUNG.

Uncle Bob for watching College Game Day.

Bea and Murph for completing our Chicago Tour and opening us up to the world of Coca-Cola.

Eric and Mary for game nights and great times. Damn, why don’t you live any closer?!

Rachel, Curtis and Maia–here’s to free babysitting, extended bed times and plenty of cheese.

Beth, Adam and Biscuit for a real SF treat!

Linnea, Judd and Niklas for giving Joshua a peek into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter…he will never be the same.

Mumsy and Pops for always being ready for us to whisk you away on an adventure, both physically and mentally.

John, Marissa and Liana for always finding a way to get together, no matter how far you have to drive.

Mike and Kathleen–making family birthdays flexible!

Danny for living in SE Washington and accepting guests at all hours.

Tessa and Erin and Danielle for making Jackson the number 1 spot to visit in the US!

Leandro for the beer recommendations and continued assistance with Argentina.

Carly and Rigo finding fun in history and beer at Sam Adams.

Brenna and Andrew for taking us in to your one bedroom on the UWS and not kicking us out when Joshua got so comfortable he stopped wearing pants.

Marissa and Pat for spending perfect sunny days cruising through DC.

Beatrice and Sean, despite crazy schedules, always being up for a dinner and drinks.

Augie for the best pizza, hospitality (even without Sandy around) and advice in Virginia!

Amanda for planning out the perfect tour of Raleigh/Durham and Chapel Hill including a top-rated bed!

Uncle Charlie and Aunt Kirsten, Kacy, and Ryka for homemade meals, game nights, and decorating cookies – UCLA style.

Sue and Dennis for making the San Diego loft feel like home more than once.

Julie for convincing us that a 50th birthday is not something to miss.

Erin and Ryan for a wedding worth coming home for!

To all the girls: Margaret, Brenna, Sarvi, Jenna, Shara, Angela, Amanda and Molly for making thousands of miles feel like none.

Kristi for a coffee and a chat, always.

Carrie and Tim for making Sacramento the best.

Scott for keeping tabs on our technology and being honest when it just doesn’t work anymore.

Lou Ann and John for picking us up when we were down and out in Utah.

Bergman, Bergman Jr., Batana, Arielka, Fausto, Jasson, Pedro and Liseth for the best homestay we could have asked for.

Irene for being such a trooper experiencing so many firsts with us in Nicaragua.

Dianne for the supportive and wonderful travel advice.

Betty for making our special delivery to the USPS from Nicaragua.

David for practicing Spanish with Joshua everyday…and to think you just wanted to learn how to say “cabbage.”

Jeff and Jane for reminding us why we miss the bay area and double dates.

German for giving us the best tour of Panama.

The Aunts (again) for treating us like royalty in Panama.

Rabbi Hensel and family for the magnificent Seder.

Carlos and Vilma for taking in two strangers and sending away family.

Thara for being so organized that we could copy your South American itinerary and not change a thing.

The un-named stranger who let us hitch hike to the bus in Bariloche. You are an angel.

Haley and Fena for making Santiago our first “home” away from home.

To the city of Buin for recognizing and awarding our outstanding grape stomping skills.

Ash and Abeeda our personal Easter Island tour guides and co-renters of a sweet Jimny.

Mystery couple who picked up our lazy butts off the side of the road near Anakena.

Zen and Loon for making traveling forever seem easy and realistic.

Mom and Dad for sponsoring a sick Chilean cooking class and the fabulous, Boris, for teaching it.

Senora Lucia for the most wonderful stay in Vicuna.

To the Chilean softie who gave us a free ride to town from way up in the Elqui hills.

Dan and Genevieve for making sure our rugged trip was full of laughs.

Jubert, our “Death Ride” tour guide, for making sure I lived to see another day.

Oscar for ripping us off, but making sure our trip through Puno was spot on.

Javier, at Chaski Hostel, for giving us the best of the lot (which wasn’t so good).

Mr. Darcy for SAVING our Machu Picchu experience from Edwin.

Astrid & Gaston for reminding us what fine dining really is.

Nilton, Wilza, Daniela and Bea (and Sue and Millie) for being insta-family.

Colombian travel partners with whom we slept all day and traveled all night.

Deaf baggage collector for the airport bus who made sure we had tickets and ran to buy them when we didn’t.

Tommy, for the sweet-ass apartment and Rome Blue Guide…we fell in love with the city with your help.

Lynn, Zenna, Ella and Shel for saying yes to every request and encouraging us to push our own limits!

Mom and Dad, you’ve made this list a few times now, for lugging 3 cameras and countless Amazon items not to be found in South America, across oceans…and lugging more of it back.

Irene, for not only inviting us to stay at your apartment but giving it to us for 5 nights.  Who does that?!  And, Dutch apple pie for breakfast.

And to Irene’s parents for welcoming us to Amsterdam with a walking tour and having us on your boat for dinner and drinks.

Lesley and Maddy for a great lunch and even better recommendation to see Table Mountain immediately.

Hanni for incredible Cape Town recommendations…we haven’t stopped going to Nando’s since.

Shark Lady for the opening your doors after 8pm and getting us on a tour the next morning (despite a full boat).

Ronnie for taking us in, feeding us dinner and breakfast and then sending us on our way with clean clothes.

Hanni and Gavi for opening your home to us and really preparing us for Africa.

Lucky for the Mozambique survival guide and ride in the Beemer.

Shravanth, first for our walking tour of Maputo, second for our $6 seafood feast and third (most exciting) for the wedding invitation in India.

Nicole and Lindel for making a potentially disastrous situation actually enjoyable and “once in a lifetime!”

Jordan for giving us a taste of Africa’s greatness…and impala poo.

Kizito for teaching me the game of bao.

Antonis, William, Eduardo, Raziki, Emmanuel, Dona and Freddy for making sure we kicked Kili’s butt.

Bart and Monica for a traveler’s dream, being picked up and dropped off without having to think.  And introducing us to elephant love!

To the mystery safari operator who offered us good deeds and good advice.

Alice for offering two straggler’s a way home.

Sue and Dennis for an entertaining and rejuvenating trip to Turkey.

Margaret and Geoff for the sound Turkish advice.  Sending love to doners everywhere!

Clyde at VacationsToGo on the monster cruise deal and changing the whole landscape of our trip at the most needed moment.

Brenna, Shara and Beth for legit Paris suggestions and itineraries.

Hugo and family for an amazing reunion–20 years later!

Christoph for the sick apartment and last minute support (the only person who would take us in with less than a day notice).

Toni and Omarr for sharing their Mediterranean Cruise vacation with two hobos.

Ram for the endless (I mean three years) support and encouragement to get us to India!

Visha for our first home cooked meal in India.

Sunanda for inspiring the Christmas spirit in all of us, despite being so far from home.

Ragu for sharing world travels with two people who love to talk about it.

Bhala for incessant smiling and damn fine honking.

Raja for a deluxe meal and a sweet apartment.

Prabaker for interesting theories and endless amounts of food.

Francesca, Gabriel and Karthik for an escape from the big city.

Shravanth for giving us a taste of the rich and famous in Bangalore.

Elaine for taking a chance on two sad looking strangers!

Ella for becoming our personal moment capturer and travel companion.

Nicolette for making Delhi friendly.

Safraz for the warm room and speedy internet.

Shell for making travel without internet possible (just need someone looking out for you near a computer!)