Week 49

Day 324

Napa, CA

38.3047° N, 122.2989° W

So I just spent the last 15 minutes trying to find US phrases meaning to arrive and that’s harder than you would think, but long story short

Eagle has Landed!

Tom and I touched down at SFO at 11:30pm last night, waited through the longest customs line yet, and we were happily spooning on a futon at the USO lounge by 1am awaiting our airporter shuttle to take us to Napa!

What’s the first thing we did in America you ask?

Immediately upon arriving (like while taxing down the run way), I turned on my phone and smiled from ear to ear upon seeing my 4g service icon! I then proceeded to take a snapchat real time letting my peeps know I arrived. About 2 min later, Tom asked me to download Speedtest (his favorite app while we were abroad) and check how fast the internet speed on my data connection was. 3mb/s confirmed that the Verizon 4G network is indeed faster than any internet abroad. Scrolling through Facebook I felt as if I was using a whole new network…Did you know in America pictures load before you scroll to them?!?!–CRAZY!!!! Upon actually reaching our destination, the first thing I did was make a scramble.  (With some amazing ingredients–thank Mike and Denise for the fully stocked fridge!) Tom logged online and got to work, so as you can probably guess so far life hasn’t been too different than it was for us on the road. If there is anything I’ve learned this year, it’s that you can establish a routine and live how you would like just about anywhere.  The only thing missing for us were our family and friends who we can’t wait to see while we are home.

What did you miss the most about the States?

I’ve already gotten this question a lot and I expect to get it again. Besides family and friends there really wasn’t a lot that I missed. Everywhere we went either had something similar to what I would want at home or I found an alternative for the time I was there.  However, there are 3 things we did miss.

1.  Good Internets

I know, I know I bring up internet all the time, but this luxury I took for granted greatly affects my life now that my husband works online. Besides just having a happy productive husband, WIFI is my gatekeeper to doing youtube yoga when I can’t make class, communicating with friends, doing my part to help Tommorkes.com & Insurgent Publishing, and most importantly a necessity for catching up on Game of Thrones and my ABC television shows. Obviously, it’s not a secret that the Morkes household revolves around quick WIFI, but what was surprising were the areas we were and weren’t able to get it. Best Wifi:  Indonesia-Fast, Free, and no data caps!  Tommy was a happy man in Indo! Worst Wifi:  Surprisingly, New Zealand and Australia had the worst WIFI in the Southern Hemisphere.  Thinking back, it may not have been the slowest but the mb caps and 30 min usage policies made it almost impossible for Tom to get things done.

2.  Drying my Clothes

One of the things I missed the most was drying my clothes.  Since we left Hawaii, it’s been line drying all the way. Now trust me, this isn’t horrible and I sound ridiculous complaining about line drying clothes, but when you have 1 backpack of clothes for an entire year a dryer can make a huge difference in clothing life!

3.  Coffee

We encountered some good Coffee along the way.

• New Zealand – My favorite coffee!  Sorry Aussies NZ coffee won me over!

• Australia – Nothing to turn your nose up to.

• Argentina – Tom’s favorite!  Not only were coffee shops great, but the local mini marts carried gourmet coffee and some tasty creama!  “Doble espresso con crema = Muy Bien!” -Tom Morkes

• Ecuador – Galapagos coffee?  Yes please! 🙂

Other than that, it was instant coffee all the way.  They might try to trick you calling it Bali coffee or Peruvian coffee, but the Nestle Instant Coffee Container behind the counter says otherwise. Maybe it’s my Seattle upbringing or genetically wired love for caffeine, but instant just doesn’t cut it for me! Well, that’s really all I have for you now. I promise to catch the blog up to real life soon.  (I’m in the middle of uploading pics from the amazon as I type this post! + Mayan ruins and snorkeling with Reef Sharks!) Plus, the adventure isn’t over. Tom and I decided last night in the San Salvador airport we enjoy honeymooning so much we’re going to keep at it…until we find a location worthy of setting up a home base.

So until then (and beyond) I’ll continue to write our Far Away Reasons!

usa!

USA!

USA!

USA!

USA!

USA!

What did you miss the most about the states when you’ve been abroad?

What could you not live without?

Leave us a comment below! 🙂