Lessons Learned Before Our Epic Journey
When we first announced our epic around-the-world road trip, we planned to depart on May 22. As I write this, we’re now ten days past our original departure date.
While we would have loved to already be on the road, the reality is that preparing for a journey of this magnitude came with far more challenges than we anticipated.
We wanted to share this update with complete honesty and transparency because social media often shows only the exciting parts of travel—not the difficult work that happens behind the scenes.
And there has been a lot happening behind the scenes.
HERO PHOTO — JOHN & KRISTI WITH YOLA IN THE DRIVEWAY
Use the strong pre-departure image of the two of you with YOLA. This establishes the excitement before the story reveals the chaos happening behind the scenes.
Lesson #1: Thirty Days Was Not Nearly Enough Time
One of our biggest mistakes was thinking that 30 days would be enough time to prepare our home of 30 years for our departure.
During our travels, my brother Rob, his wife Candy, and their two daughters will be moving into our home. Looking back, we now realize we should have started preparing at least four to six months in advance.
Not only did we need time to pack, but we also needed to sort through decades of accumulated belongings, donate items, gift things to family and friends, and create enough space for Rob and his family to comfortably move in.
Rob and Candy were incredibly gracious and delayed their move-in date by a week to help us catch up. Unfortunately, even with the extension, we still found ourselves racing against the clock.
“We thought 30 days would be enough time to pack up 30 years of our lives. We were wrong.”
The lesson?
If you’re planning a major life transition, start much earlier than you think you need to.
PHOTO #2 — GARAGE / STORAGE CHAOS
Use the real photo showing the packed garage and storage overflow. Let this image visually communicate how overwhelming the move had become.
Lesson #2: We Own Far Too Much Stuff
Like many people who have lived in the same home for decades, we accumulated far more possessions than we realized.
As we packed, we quickly discovered that finding places to store everything was a challenge in itself.
We ended up using our side-yard canvas car tent as a storage area, along with the loft above the garage and our attic.
That’s where things took an unexpected—and potentially very serious—turn.
While moving storage bins into the attic, I made a mistake that could have ended very badly.
I accidentally stepped onto a section of sheetrock instead of the joists. The sheetrock immediately gave way beneath me. Several boxes of holiday ornaments came crashing down. One of my legs went through the ceiling while one hand grabbed a support beam and my other foot remained on a joist.
Thankfully, those two points of contact kept me from falling completely through onto the concrete garage floor below.
Kristi was understandably shaken and emotional. We both knew the outcome could have been much worse.
Needless to say, our departure was delayed once again.
PHOTO #3 — THE HOLE IN THE GARAGE CEILING
Use the actual damage photo prominently. This is one of the strongest storytelling images in the article.
I immediately called my longtime friend Dave, who owns a construction company, and explained what had happened.
His response was classic Dave:
“John, that was a rookie move. Promise me you’ll never step on sheetrock again. It isn’t designed to support your weight.”
Lesson learned.
The next morning, Dave showed up with his tools and got to work. In less than two hours, he had completely repaired the six-foot-by-six-foot hole.
As he packed up, he smiled and said he wanted to help get Kristi and me back on track so we could finally begin our adventure.
We’re incredibly grateful for friends like Dave.
PHOTOS #4 & #5 — DAVE + REPAIRED CEILING
Pair the photo of Dave with the repaired ceiling as a before/after or two-image editorial grouping. This visually completes the mishap-to-friendship-to-repair story.
Lesson #3: Purging Is Harder Than Packing
After the attic repair, we returned to the seemingly endless task of packing.
One of our biggest realizations during this process was just how many things we owned that we simply didn’t need.
Sadly, because we started too late, we didn’t have enough time to properly sort through everything. Instead of donating, gifting, selling, or discarding many of those items, we ended up storing them.
If we could do it over again, we would have started months earlier and focused much more heavily on simplifying our lives before departure.
“Sometimes the hardest part of a journey isn’t leaving—it’s letting go.”
That may be one of the biggest lessons we carry with us as we begin this next chapter.
Gratitude for Family
We want to publicly thank my brother Rob and my sister-in-law Candy for their patience, flexibility, and understanding throughout this process.
Moving is stressful under normal circumstances. Coordinating one family moving out while another family moves in adds an entirely new level of complexity.
Their support, encouragement, and willingness to adapt during this transition have meant more to us than they know.
Kristi and I feel incredibly blessed to have such a loving and supportive family behind us as we begin this journey.
PHOTO #6 — FAMILY
Use the warm family group photo here. This should shift the visual mood from chaos and repairs to gratitude and connection.
Full Transparency
We also want to be honest about something else.
This entire process has been extremely stressful.
Preparing for a five-year adventure sounds exciting—and it is—but the reality is that the preparation has tested us emotionally, mentally, and physically.
There have been moments of anxiety, frustration, exhaustion, and overwhelm.
There have been times when we wished we had planned better, managed our time more effectively, exercised more patience, and simply given ourselves more grace.
Major life transitions are hard, even when they’re leading to something you’ve dreamed about for years.
But through all of it, one thing has become abundantly clear.
If it weren’t for Kristi, I probably would have lost my mind a hundred times over.
Her strength, patience, resilience, and unwavering support have carried us through some very challenging weeks.
As we stand on the edge of this new chapter, I am reminded once again how incredibly fortunate I am to have her as my partner—not just for this journey around the world, but for the journey of life itself.
PHOTO #7 — JOHN & KRISTI TOGETHER
Choose a warm image of just the two of you from this period. This section is about partnership, so the photo should feel personal rather than primarily about YOLA.
Looking Ahead
So yes, we’re behind schedule.
Yes, we’ve made mistakes.
Yes, we’ve learned some difficult lessons.
“But we’re still moving forward.”
The road is waiting.
And when we finally pull out of the driveway, we’ll do so carrying not only our gear and supplies, but also a newfound appreciation for preparation, family, friendship, and all the people who helped us get here.
This adventure may not be beginning exactly when we planned.
But perhaps that’s our first real lesson from the road:
“The journey doesn’t have to go according to plan to be worth taking.”
The adventure begins soon.
PHOTO #8 — BON VOYAGE / PRE-DEPARTURE
Use the Bon Voyage image as the bridge between anticipation and the final update.