👋 Hello, 2023. Back on the Road!
Happy New Year
Happy New Year! We’re writing to you from Cairo, Egypt, where we’re exploring the city and pyramids before heading out to see the rest of the country via Nile cruise and car. We opted to explore Cairo on our own for the first few days and hired private guides to take us around for the rest of our time in Egypt. The weather is absolutely perfect this time of year—high 60s/low 70s during the day and high 40s/low 50s (F), and we’ll share more detailed travel and guide info after the trip if you’re interested.
Some highlights of what we’ll be seeing during our 2 weeks in Egypt:
Giza pyramids (obviously a must) and pyramids/temples just south of Cairo in Saqqarah (old historic city of Memphis).
Many neighborhoods within Cairo: we’re staying in downtown and are doing a food tour and walking tour for many other neighborhoods.
The city and temples of Luxor: Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.
The Nile city and temples of Edfu.
Aswan: the Temple of Kom Ombo and the Crocodile Museum (mummified crocodiles!).
Abu Simbel (I think this is going to be a favorite of ours).
The Red Sea resort areas of Hurghada and Soma Bay.
There’s so much more to see and do here—Alexandria, the new Grand Egyptian Museum when it opens sometime in 2023, and scuba diving in the Red Sea. But alas, we couldn’t fit it all in on one trip. We’ll have to come back and maybe couple it with a trip to Israel and Jordan.
If you want to follow along, we’ll be posting photos and videos on Instagram, and we just posted a reel of our Airbnb in downtown Cairo. Check it out!
Since you last heard from us in late November, from Oaxaca, Mexico, we spent a week in Tulum at the Hilton Conrad resort, got COVID for the first time (it was terrible), spent a few weeks recovering from said COVID (the loss of taste and smell was a strange experience), we hosted some friends in LA for a long weekend full of good food, a comedy show, a day-trip up the coast to Malibu, and window shopping in Atwater Village—one of our favorite neighborhoods in LA.
We also spent a few weeks in Georgia visiting family, prepping for our trip to Egypt, and planning our upcoming trip to SE Asia in late January (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam).
We took zero photos, watched way too much TV, didn’t get nearly enough steps in, and cooked our favorite food for the first time in a while.
2022 was a year we’ll always remember. We made the decision to travel long-term, I quit my job (Chris paused his work), we sold almost everything we owned, and we hit the road in June. We saw more friends and family than we had in the previous probably 5 years combined, spent time working through grief from the last few years, and made memories we’ll never forget.
Here’s a quick view of where went. Thank you to everyone that hosted us!
June: Oregon (Hood River, Bend), Washington (Bellingham), British Columbia (Piers Island, Victoria, Vancouver)
July: Washington (Lake Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Snoqualmie Pass, Winthrop, Spokane, Mt. Baker, Seattle, Whidbey Island), Minnesota (Twin Cities), Oregon (Portland)
August: California Coast (Northern Redwoods, Fort Bragg/Mendocino, Marin County, Big Sur), Georgia (Lake Oconee)
September: Hawaii (Kauai), France (Bordeaux, Paris)
October: France (Paris), UK (London), Czech Republic (Prague), California (Santa Barbara)
November: Mexico (Mexico City, Oaxaca)
December: Mexico (Tulum), Georgia (Augusta, Atlanta)
It’s not always easy spending every moment with your partner, but we are so very lucky that we’ve had the opportunity to grow together, to spend this much time together, to find more ways to annoy each other, and to spend time thinking about what’s next for us when we return to Los Angeles sometime this year.
We appreciate all of you and your support and hope you’re planning new adventures of your own, near or far, in 2023. Cheers to good health, happiness, and more joy in 2023! 🥂