The World is Our Oyster

After the whole love thing was realized, it was time to start exploring the world. We started by heading back to Ocean City to remodel Jason’s condo and worked hard to save money for our first big trip.

Our goal was Europe, but our savings led us to Central America. We had a little over 7 weeks, so we flew into Costa Rica and out of Belize. We took every possible mode of transportation to get us from one country to the next, and we absolutely fell in love with Central America.

Traveling through these countries, speaking a different language and working on a tight budget can really be a test of your patience. After surviving those 7 weeks together, we knew we really were great for each other.

Home Sweet Home

Since it turned out our relationship was the real-deal, we took a huge step forward in adulthood and bought a house in Boulder, Colorado a few years ago. We were both working “real jobs” and felt like we had reached a stable point of our lives.

The house was great, but it needed some finishing touches. We spent countless hours painting the house before we moved in, but it was worth every second because we really felt like we were home.

However, just a few short years later, our jobs had put us in a rut; and we were getting the travel bug again!

The Proposal

It’s official…

Unbeknownst to Kelly, Jason had been planning a proposal for several months. He bought a ring in September, and had been waiting for just the right moment. Kelly didn’t know about the ring, but the couple often spoke about marriage. Jason even used to joke about how he would propose, asking Kelly in very inappropriate times and places, like the supermarket checkout, or while fixing a toilet, “would this be a good time to ask you to marry me?”

Jason and Kelly visited the East Coast for Christmas, and Jason had the ring just in case. The Law family got together with the Whitefords in Delta, and everyone thought an announcement was coming. They were wrong. Christmas came and went, and Jason still hadn’t found the right moment. For New Year’s Eve, the couple headed to Ocean City with Jess, Ben and Suzie to spend the holiday with Kim.

Well after midnight the group found themselves at Fagers Island. Kelly disappeared for a moment, and Jason saw her walking out towards the gazebo at the end of the dock. On a whim he followed, still not aware of his intentions. Once he caught up with her they shared a kiss, and Jason asked, “Would this be a good time to ask?” As they were standing alone beneath the stars on the bay in the town they first met, she said “Yes”, not actually expecting anything. To her surprise, Jason dropped to one knee and proceeded to unwrap a package he procured from his shirt pocket. As Kelly began to cry, saying over and over, “Are you serious? Is this real?”, Jason, also with tears in his eyes, asked, “Kelly Day, will you be my life buddy for ever and ever?” And the rest is history.

On the Road Again

It wasn’t long until we had landed jobs in Honduras helping someone open a restaurant. In February 2010, we packed our bags and moved to Central America. Honduras was great, but we knew this wasn’t where we wanted to run a business for the rest of our lives. After 2 months, we headed further south to Guatemala. We lived in a great town (San Pedro la Laguna) for almost 3 months. We both took Spanish classes, Jason played in a band, and Kelly worked at a couple restaurants around town. Before we had to fly back to the states, we did return to Honduras – but this time to become certified scuba divers in Utila.

Back in the U.S.A.

We returned to the states in August, and we were actually able to enjoy a vacation in our own country. Our first stop was Ft Lauderdale, where we visited Jason’s parents and had some time to adjust to being in a developed country. We took a great road trip from Pennsylvania to Colorado (and back) – visiting lots of great friends along the way. We spent a couple months in Delta, PA, and managed to plan almost our entire wedding while having a lot of quality time to spend with Kelly’s family. We had the pleasure of visiting Jason’s sister, Kim, and Kelly’s Aunt Sonnie a couple times in Ocean City, MD. And we even managed a trip to Connecticut to visit Jason’s Nana, Uncle Bob and Aunt Diane. SHEWWW – all in all, we hit up 23 states in just a few short months. It was a whirlwind.

Southern Charm

As much as we enjoyed being back in the states, we had another amazing opportunity to live and work in another country. This time, we headed to Ecuador to help our friend Nichole (who just recently became a part-owner of a hotel and restaurant.)

As luck would have it, Nichole owns an amazingly beautiful hotel in an incredibly fun and gorgeous town, Montanita. We have had an incredible experience helping to manage the hotel and bar since November 2010. We are so blessed to have the chance to really experience a life where we feel like we are getting younger every day – learning how to surf, being introduced to yoga, taking Nia classes, learning Spanish, and traveling to yet another inspirational part of the world.

How Lucky Are We?

The story continues, and hopefully it will for years and decades and … and for forever as we know it. “Jelly” is now married, and we are still traveling – and we hope to share all of this with the world. If we inspire just one person, then we’ve accomplished our mission. Thank goodness it’s a big world full of lots of people  – the dream can continue.