The two of us met while I was an undergraduate student studying computer science at Northwestern University and Proctor was a scholarship student at Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. We both had part time jobs at a local outdoor adventure retailer where we spent our evenings and weekends helping customers buy hiking boots, tents, travel gear and more. Mainly we spent those hours dreaming about a day where it would be us who were using all that gear while exploring the world. While I was helping customers, Proctor often danced over to where I was, kicked a leg or two into the air, did a few pirouettes and flipped her 3 foot long hair around generally making a scene while attempting to get my attention. Unfortunately, I misunderstood this ackward mating dance at the time. Mercifully, Proctor showed the same determination in her pursuit of me as she did in her pursuit of dance. After years of friendship, Proctor had finally followed me around enough, and annoyed all my roommates with her long voicemails enough, that I got my head out of the clouds and realized that one of the most incredibly special people on Earth had been trying to get me to notice her for quite some time.

Through the years that followed, Proctor remained singularly focused on her dream of being a professional dancer and had to sacrifice other aspects of her life to achieve that goal. She skipped getting a college education, payed little attention to current events or most anything resembling a social life. She worked relentlessly to pay for more dance classes and wouldn't accept financial help from anyone. She danced 6-8 hours per day with rarely a day off. The only time she skipped a pre-class workout was when I would pull her back into bed at 6am and not let her leave without snuggling for an hour more. All of Proctor's hard work paid off as she danced for different professional companies in Chicago and went on multiple tours throughout Europe. Her dance career culminated with eight years of dancing with the world famous Radio City Rockettes.

During college, I took a semester off and traveled mainly in Europe. That trip opened my eyes to the wonder of travel and sparked an interest that has yet to fade. When I began working as a consultant building software for large companies I poured everything I earned into paying off my enormous school loan debt. As my career progressed, I worked in numerous cities around the country and the world. I even lived in London while working for a large client for almost a year. Proctor spent as much time in London with me as she could attending dance classes there. During this time, many weekends were spent exploring different parts of Europe. I took a three-month leave from my job in 2000 to work as the webmaster for a mountaineering expedition climbing Mount Pumori in Nepal. This Himalayan expedition was being sponsored by a charity founded by a friend who worked at the outdoor adventure store where Proctor and I met.

While I was in Nepal, Proctor would wait for hours in line at the public library to check the Internet for any update that I had uploaded halfway around the world. Both of us were, once again, forced to spend those days wishing for the time where we could be together on similar adventures. After spending many wonderful years together, in 2007 we finally took our families and friends with us on a new adventure and we got married on a gondola floating throught the canals of Venice, Italy.

After Proctor had danced for years on the great stage of Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and approaching the extremely ripe dancer age of 32, she started to turn her attention to the world outside of dance and wondered what else was there for her to learn and explore. She wanted to understand more about the rest of the world and what she had missed by not getting a formal education. By this time, I had started my own consulting company with a friend and had clients in New York, but as long as I had Internet access and could upload my work, where I was physically located was unimportant. We made the decision to put our belongings in storage, leave New York and go on a nine month adventure around the world. This trip was going to be more than just travel, it was to be Proctor's education.

In those 9 months, we explored much of Central America, South America and Asia. We spent most of our time in the poorest countries and traveled and lived as close to the way locals did as possible. Proctor wanted to learn what life for others was truly like without the candy-coated niceties we had grown up with. Little did she know how hard that request was going to be to cope with. While it was not the first time I had been exposed to the extreme poverty and other problems that much of the world is faced with, it was entirely new for Proctor. It is a heart-wrenching experience to emerge from your cocoon and see what most of the world endures. We are so sheltered back home. Proctor spent many of those days with tears running down her face asking the most fundamental questions possible. The sites we saw, people we met and experiences we had, changed everything about how we viewed the world and our place in it.

Our trip ended with a month in India after which I returned home with a belly full of parasites (poop-chapati is an acquired taste.) Proctor stayed an extra month to take a yoga teacher training course and to swim in the Ganges like so many pilgrims before her. It was during this month long training course that Proctor's mind was opened even further. She learned about balance, unity, and her true self. She was forced to not speak a word until after 11am every morning. I did not believe entirely in miracles until this point. What returned to me back in the United States after her month long training program was a person who understood the beauty of quiet and meditation. She had started to process all that she had seen and done and began to make peace with the world. What she had gained, was true wisdom... the profound perspective that can only come through experience.

After she returned, we spent a few weeks with family and friends for the holidays and we noticed that while we had changed completely, everything we left behind had not. Our belongings were still in storage. Clients were still happy. Good friends were still good friends. The decision was made to perhaps travel for a few months around the United States to bring our newly found perspective back home and to explore more of the country in which we were born. I had managed the unlikely feat of living until I was 36 years old in the United States without ever owning a car. In an attempt to make up for lost time, we bought a car and drove the entire circumference of the United States in a few months. We were living on the road, visiting friends and making new ones all along the way. We camped in every national park we encountered and Proctor learned about my love of staring at the stars in front of the biggest campfires we could muster without alerting any talking bears.

With our butts numb from the long road trips, we started to realize that we still had the same freedom we did on day one of this journey and we started dreaming of all the places left for us to explore. We once again left the country and continued to explore our world. Our 9 month trip turned into a 1.5 year trip. Then a 2 year trip. Then 3, then 4 full years of travel. We returned to the US every six months, or so, to visit friends and family, to attend the weddings of dear friends, visit new babies and for me to run the Chicago Marathon. Each year I ran the race with what could only be called, "less than ideal marathon preparation." In the later years of the trip we grew weary with moving from hostel to hostel every few days and so started to rent apartments in different cities around the world and stay for a month or two every time we needed a little break. This allowed us make friends and to get a more intimate feel of a place. We continued exploring more of the North America, South America and also spent a lot of time in Africa, the Middle East, and finally we went back to Europe. We had been avoiding Europe for most of this trip because we had both spent so much time there previously and we wanted to keep going to places we had not yet seen.

Travel may look glamerous from afar, but often, especially how we travel, it is an uncomfortable, trying, scary experience. We had spent many 16 hour bus rides through extreme heat or cold smashed together while standing in the aisle with 50 other people while day-dreaming of spending time in my favorite city, Paris. We dreamt about drinking wine, eating amazing cheeses and taking walks along the Siene. So, after a wonderful, but long and tiring stretch of travel in Africa and the Middle East we decided we would rent an apartment for two months in Paris and really just enjoy ourselves and relax. On our first night in our Parisian apartment, I wanted to share some of the best of France with Proctor and to prepare a dinner she would never forget (especially since a dear friend from Chicago was in town visiting). I went to buy a full spread of different wines, cheeses, meats and pasteries for an amazing dinner. Upon my return, and before the first bottle of Côtes du Rhône was opened, Proctor discovered that she was pregnant. While it was, indeed an unforgetable night, it also meant I had to pick up Proctor's slack on those French wines and cheeses. Challenge accepted. As it turns out, Paris is about the worst place on earth for a pregnant woman to eat. If you don't believe me, the next time you are in Paris go into a Fromagerie and ask them which of their cheeses are pasteurized. The look of horror you will see on the faces in the room is always good for a laugh. In addition, it turns out that the soil in all of France is similar to a kitty litter box and so toxoplasmosis is so common that pregnant woman can not eat any vegetables that grow in the ground without a full detoxification regement. After years of me talking up the food in this city, Proctor finally got to live there and all she could eat was chocolate crossants and eclairs. In hindsight, Proctor was not too upset about that after all. It basically is her dream diet (minus the wine).

After a few more stops around Europe and with our son half-cooked, we finally headed back to the United States with the intent of getting our stuff out of storage and moving into an apartment to start our greatest adventure with the world's newest Wanderer. After much deliberation we decided to move to one of our favorite places in the country - Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman is the place that, more than any other in the lower 48, captures the spirit of what it means to us to wander far. It is a place where heards of elk still walk through town and yet you can get the best espresso martini and foodie delights you will ever try on the picturesque Main Street. It is a place where a man's beard is not intended to be ironic. In Bozeman, the gear we used to sell all those years ago gets worn into the ground. One adjustment that will have to be made will be for us to start running trails with cans of bear spray on our holsters. (That is, until my grizzly wrestling skills improve.) The truth is that we can not think of a better place for our son to explore the wonder of nature and to learn respect for the elements. We want him to grow up in a world were people stare longingly at mountain peaks or secluded streams instead of at their smartphones. We want him to learn the joys of wandering this Earth and to start that wandering in the raw, untouched beauty of Montana.

That being said, having not spent more than two months in the same place for years, it remains to be seen how long it will take for us to get itchy feet and want to take off once more. We are excited to see what the next leg of our journy brings and are excited and thankful to our wonderful friends all over the world for all the support that has enabled this increadible ride. For now, it is time for us to turn our focus to writing it all down... stay tuned.