Have you heard of the game Civilization V? Well, it is one of my favorites. For those who aren’t familiar, in this game you guide a chosen historical civilization from the beginnings of history into the future by building great cities, armies, and magnificent Wonders to spread your civilization and achieve victory. My strategy was always built around the Wonders, which gave huge bonuses for your civilization. For example, The Great Library increased your science production and gave you a free technological discovery. All the Wonders are actual historical sites or structures such as Machu Pichu, The Great Pyramids, The Great Wall, and The Statue of Liberty. It has long been a dream of mine to see these Wonders in real life and figure out how accurate those bonuses are. Is Alexandria really just oozing with scientific production? And what did they use their free technological discovery for? Are construction projects completed 25% faster in Giza? My wife, while fairly certain that Civilization IV is the most boring game ever invented, is completely on board with travelling the world. So what better backbone for our trip than visiting all the Wonders from Civ V could there be?! None.

So, as of September 30th, 2015 Nikki and I will leave our jobs, put all our things in storage, and venture out into the world. Our journey will take us to all continents, save Antarctica, and take around 18 months.

I announced this plan to my boss and colleagues at work and they were stunned but happy for us! I was worried about how crazy things at the office could get until they would be able to hire more people so I decided to give them nearly 9 full weeks notice so that they can have plenty of time to handle transition of duties and hire a replacement. Despite my wanderlust, I actually really enjoy working where I do and offered an option for remote part-time work while I travel and possibly returning to full time work after the trip is completed. They haven’t made a decision about that yet.

As our departure date approaches I am filled with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Preparations for the trip aren’t 100% complete but we are getting there. Over the past several years as we shared our dream with family and friends we kept hearing the same response over and over; ‘That’s amazing! I wish I could do that.” Well, in response to that collective response (a reresponse?) I say “You can! And we’ll show you how.”

Therefore, the purpose of this blog is not only to chronicle our journey and provide proof that we are ok for our parents but also detail the costs and planning involved so that anyone can follow in our footsteps. The blogging format might be a little disjointed for this but we plan to also compile our notes into an easy to follow book upon completion of the journey.

We are looking forward to the challenges ahead!