Some gifts are useful. Others become part of the journey itself.

While visiting our longtime family friends Rae and Bill in Penryn, California, Rae spent time helping John understand his new Sony mirrorless camera and sharing some of her photography knowledge.

Then she surprised us by gifting John a NEST professional tripod to take on our around-the-world journey.

What makes that gift so special is thinking about all the places it may eventually go — perhaps beside YOLA capturing a sunset in South America, a landscape in Africa, a beach in Australia or some little corner of the world we don’t even know exists yet.

Rae and Bill, thank you for opening your home, bringing old friends together and giving us such a wonderful send-off. Rae, thank you for your patience, photography advice and incredibly thoughtful gift.