Our trip is underway as we wake up in Hawthorne, Los Angeles at a hotel near the airport! We left the Mid-west yesterday with all of our gear for the next four months by our side. We made a final farewell phone call to our parents before we disconnect our cell phone service from our respective carriers later today. Soon, our iphones become regular ole WiFi devices. Now, we are double checking that we didn’t forget anything and re-discovering where we’ve packed everything. To our delight, we have tons of room left to spare. And our travel clothes are amazingly comfortable. Plus, not to brag, but I think we look pretty sharp.
Dayton International Airport
First two flights down and we’re hoping everything can be this easy. We showed up at the Dayton airport yesterday, thanked Orville and Wilbur for their aviation contributions, and boarded two seamless, enjoyable Delta flights heading west. But this part is easy. This part is fun and familiar. This part is almost predictable. Brooke and I are quite adept at riding in planes across the country. We’ve had some practice. It’s all relatively simple travel when you have GPS guiding you to the hotel, signs that are clearly marked, friendly counter agents that speak English and Good Morning America on in the background while you enjoy a continental breakfast. The real thrill begins when we land in Auckland, turn to look at each other and say, “Now what?” followed by “What the hell time is it?” (And then “Where can Phil go to get that haircut he’s been putting off for three weeks?”)
Four Months of Travels in two suitcases each
We woke up this morning in the first of many, many hotel rooms. Everything was comfortable enough but the shower only gets a B-. I’m sure we’ll have better as we go and I’m sure we’ll have worse. With money now only in spend mode moving forward, we’ve started watching our budget: Grabbing some plastic spoons and bananas from breakfast for the road, getting shaving cream from the clerk and gulping down cheap, bad coffee. On our to do list for today: Enjoy a day in L.A.and then head to the airport around 8:00 PM for a 14 hour flight!
-Phil
Our plane from MSP to LAX
- Our first travel obstacle!
luggagetagtravels.com 
So excited for you both! I can also hear Phil making a corny joke about those Do Not Enter signs being the first travel obstacle and making Brooke pose in front of it.
Thanks for the comment and,yeah, you are mostly right. But if you don’t leave your name or email…we have no idea who you are!
-Phil
Hi Phil and Brooke,
This is Lauren Williams’ mom, Glenda. I am following your journey with great interest and inspiration. Can you tell me travel guide book you are using as a reference for the Round the World trip? Wishing you both the best of times!!
Hey Glenda!
Glad your enjoying following our blog and journey. So far, so great on this end.
We used a ton of books and resources, but our main “go to” books were the “Culture Shock” series of books for different countries and Rough Guide’s “First Time Around The World.” The second one really served as our bible from time to time: http://www.roughguides.com/website/shop/products/First-Time-Around-the-World.aspx Of course, we will be picking up more travel guides as we go. Lonely Planet, Let’s Go and more. Once were done, we’ll hand ’em off at the airport and start fresh in the next country!
Thanks for the well wishes!
-Phil