Plans can be even better when you break them. A year ago, we were in Santa Cruz, California, planning to head home in February after a simple four month jaunt. Now it's the last day of 2014, and the picture above is certainly not from our front porch in Portland.
First off, thanks to all of you. Thanks for the words of encouragement and for cheering us on. It's never easy to find the time to share words and photos (I'm finishing this at the breakfast table, for instance), but your cheery feedback motivates me to keep it up. I'm also grateful for a splendid year of exploring, plus writing without any boundaries. I hope you've enjoyed the virtual ride!
To friends back in Portland, thanks for supporting our wandering spirits and staying in touch. We miss you, big time. To new amigos all over whom we've met in person or virtually through the blog, thanks for reaching out to say hi, not to mention inviting total strangers into your lives for bike rides, dinners, and a place to stay. We feel at home in more cities now than when we started this jaunt and are lucky to finish 2014 with additional awesome people to call friends. Y'all are fantastic.
May 2015 be filled with adventure, laughter, and energizing challenges for your body and mind. Here's to visiting beautiful places where you can breathe deep and feel at peace. Without a doubt I can say that carving out space to explore during this past year is one of the best gifts I've ever given myself. I can't recommend a free-form adventure highly enough for catalyzing a change, testing your boundaries and figuring out what makes you tick.
We'll ring in this New Year in the jungle of Belize with Chelsea's family. The two of us aren't sure what lays ahead in 2015, but we're no stranger to following our guts or listening to adventure's beacon pinging the way. I suspect it will be good.
Happy New Year! We'll see you out there.
Dakota
One of my favorite shots from a couple years ago around New Year's. Me on two cheap rental mountain bikes at once, some exuberance from Chelsea, and wide open space in southern Arizona. If 2015 is this much fun, sign us up.