"The world is a book and those that do not travel read only one page" - St. Augustine

It is no secret that I love to travel.  Like LOVE to travel.  I enjoy the whole thing, deciding, planning, packing, flying, customs, arriving, exploring, tasting, seeing.  It makes me feel alive in a way thats hard to explain. While I love being home there is just something about exploring another place that is unfamiliar to you and especially a culture that is completely foreign to my way to life. 

I think it all started when I was 4, my parents used to take tours to Israel and made the mistake of asking a 4 year old where she wanted to be baptised.  My answer "in the Jordan River where Jesus was", my parents thought "great this child will be 20 before that happens". But later that year my Dad baptised me in the Jordan River :)  I went back to Israel with my family twice more when I was 6 and 11.  Then it was 7 years until we went to Europe as a family.  I remember vividly green country side rolling by on the train from London to France and thinking "I want to see more, I love this".  This spark also caught my sister and between us both we have been to 5 Continents and 28 Countries. We have backpacked our way through Central America, Australia and Asia, Snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, Hiked the Great Wall of China, Skydived out of a pink Airplane in New Zealand, hiked a volcano in the dark in flip flops in Costa Rica, been volcano sledding in Nicaragua, slept in the back of a van for 2 weeks and eaten PB&J for every meal for weeks to save money.  The experiences are worth more than anything I could put a price tag on.  And after every trip it only leaves me wanting to see something new.

Now this brings me to my husband...He was born in Italy (his parents were in the Navy) but returned to the States when he was 3 months old.  He didn't even have a passport when we met, but since we have been married he has been to Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas.  But we are leaving for a trip to Japan and South Korea this week.  He will never be the same!  I cannot wait to share this experience with him!   And the best part and reason for the trip?  My sister moved to Japan in September and we are going to see her and she is going to travel with us the whole time :)  can't wait to see her!

Want to stay updated on our trip?  Follow me on Instagram to see pictures on our trip http://instagram.com/rvasquez

New Zealand 2010

"the Three Sisters"  Australia, 2010

Barcelona, Spain 2007