About
Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.
Life is way too short – it’s important to make sure you are getting the most out of every day. The quote above was on my bulletin board at work. I found it, surprisingly, inside the wrapper of a piece of Dove chocolate. (The quote is attributed most commonly to James Dean)
It’s a powerful message, and we want to help you remember it.
Our goal is to share our adventures with you and challenge you to make sure you are enjoying each day and not wasting life.
We both have had very stressful full time jobs but know there is more to life. We’re making sure that we’re taking care of ourselves with focusing on health and fitness and getting out and adventuring every chance we get.
A little more about us…
Shani
When I graduated university I backpacked around Europe for 6 weeks. Sometimes I traveled alone and sometimes with friends and family. What I learned on the trip was so valuable. I realized that the world is huge and there are so many amazing places to explore. I also learned that you shouldn’t limit yourself just because other people tell you you can’t or shouldn’t do something. Had I listened to all of those people I wouldn’t have visited nearly 82 countries, many of them on my own. And I don’t think I would’ve learned how important it is to Don’t Waste Life!
I’ve been dreaming of living and working overseas for years now, but wasn’t quite sure how to make that happen. Once Todd came along, that dream started taking more shape. We lived and worked in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi). We’re now adventuring full time trying to follow our dreams.
Todd
My first International adventure took place when I was only in 5th grade and my folks decided to move us to Haiti as missionaries. We were only there for just shy of a year, living in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere but it certainly opened my eyes to how big and diverse the world is.
These days I try to have some Zen and focus on the importance of living every day, finding satisfaction in the simple pleasures and appreciating and respecting other people and their cultures.
I’m fortunate, I’ve been able to pursue two of my hobbies all over the world; rock climbing and surfing. I’m not sure I can adequately describe the joy I’ve felt being on the top of a boulder in England, France or South Africa (or a Wadi in Saudi Arabia). Or the thrill I’ve had dropping into a wave in Panama, Indonesia or Barbados (and maybe the funnest session of my life in the Dominican Republic!). At 73 countries and counting, it’s been a good adventure so far!
Meet the newest addition to our team….
We’re currently travelling full time with our mischievous, adventure dog, Sebastian.
Thanks for joining us on our adventure!
A question rather than a comment. We are Canadians planning on buying a motorhome using the services of EuroCampingCars. We are faced with the 3 month limitation of the Schengen Agreement for travel in Europe and would be interested to know how you have managed around that. Any insight would be appreciated.Thanks so much…../Garry
Hi Garry, Dealing with the Schengen Zone is a pain and it takes a lot of planning. There are some online calculators that can help keep track for you but we used a spreadsheet to keep track. Our first year we spent our Schengen reset time in Croatia before heading south and back into the Zone in Greece. After Greece we re-set again in Bulgaria and Romania before heading into the Nordics. After the Nordics we went back to Croatia before returning the van to France and a trip back to the USA. Once in the USA we applied for and got a one year French visa. We had decided that there was a lot of Western Europe that we had raced through the first time around. The French visa requires paperwork but in our case they have contracted with a company that verifies and submits the info and it wasn’t that difficult of a process. Hope that helps? Good luck and safe travels!