Jen and Kevin's Travel Blog!

The journey starts in a few days!! We are packing up at home this weekend and getting ready for the big trip!
Gracie's

Jen saying goodbye to co-workers! 6 years of great times!!!
Oakland airport

Taking off!! Getting on an early morning flight to start off our trip. Sqeezed our entire lives for the next 9 months into two big back packs, and said goodbye to Kevin's parents.
Seaside, Oregon

Had some great waffles at the Waffle Window... But that is not the highlight of the day. Call us crazy, but our first stop is to catch some crabs at Seaside, Oregon. We cannot believe how easy it was.Read more
Portland, Oregon

Leaving Oregon today. The hostel we stayed at Seaside was ran by a cute little Vietnamese lady. She even has vietnamese coffee at her hostel! Portland itself was pretty empty saturday for some reason.Read more
Seattle, WA

Hanging out with Ulla and Bobby + doggy Nash in Seattle! So good to catch up with old friends and enjoy this beautiful city.
Jericho beach park, Vancouver, BC

Watched sunset at Jericho beach park. The place is filled with wild rabbits and purple clams. The weather was a little gloomy, but you can still see the city. Too bad my sunset photo caught 2 crabRead more
Stanley park

Had a beautiful bike ride in Stanley Park today and ate at food stands all day. JapaDog is awesome and they need to open one in San Francisco!
Middle of Nowhere

We are on the cruise and in the middle of nowhere. Kevin has been pretty sea sick and I am getting some cabin fever. Otherwise, can't wait to be on land in Russia soon!
Petropavlosk, Russia

This town is land bound and can only be reached by boat and planes. The locals are not friendly to tourists though...
Otaru, Japan

We are so happy to get to Japan! After being on the cruise for so long, we were looking forward to some good Japanese food. We had our first of many real Japanes Ramen to come, and a really reallyRead more
Morning market at Hakodate

The famous morning market at Hakodate. Can't wait to get some sushi in a few minutes!!
Ryogoku Sumo Wrestling Arena

Thanks to Yumi who got us the tickets, we are watching the fall Sumo wrestling finals right now. Amazing!!!
Masa and Sakura's house

Listening to Michael Jackson on a 40 year old LP machine, in a Japanese home filled with antique furnature, and drinking some kick ass Japanese whiskey with the locals. This is one of the most uniqueRead more
Kasadake hill

Hiking up Kasadake with our guest house host Marina and Allegra from Conneticut. Japanese outdoor Onsen after. The Takayama mountains are changing colors in the fall. It was foggy yet still beautiful!
Jigokudani snow monkey park

These snow monkeys have good lives here with hot springs! They are not scared of humans at all. Also stopped by the streets where the movie "spirited away" used as the movie back drop.
Megumi and Shotaro's house

Spend a weekend with my friend Megumi and her new husband Sho in Tokyo. Hiked in Ooyama and went to their cute home for sukiyaki. Sho is a big "foodie". All the restaurant he brought us to, and theRead more
Kyoto

Visiting Kyoyo again after 12 years. It is Still a very special place. We have 1 more week in Japan and so far we have stayed well under budget--only $82 per person per day. Doing lots of cooking atRead more
Kyoto and surrounding area

The last 3 days in Kyoto had been really great. We've done quite a bit of biking around the city, and saw many shrines and temples. The best was the Inari shrine with the numerous red gates. At thisRead more
Osaka

So since Kevin did not do well on the cruise, we scratched the idea of taking a ferry to Busan. We decided to fly out of Osaka instead, and ended up staying with a really nice family for a few days.Read more
Busan Haeundae beach

Taking a few days of break in Busan, Korea's second largest city. The weather is starting to cool down but it is still beautiful. Perfect for eating these spicy Korean food!
Udo island

Jeju island at the southern coast of South Korea is one of the world's 7 natural wonders. Udo island is a small island off of the east coast of Jeju. Both islands have a matriarchy system where womanRead more
Jeju Island

The typical weather of Jeju island includes rainy and windy days. Good thing yesterday was at least partly sunny. The island is filled with black lava rocks. We saw a school of dolphines playing whileRead more
Mongolia

Made it to Mongolua two days ago, and now on an old Russian van to see the country side!
Central Mongolia. Batar's brother's ger

We drove all day yesterday to arive at our driver- Batar's brother's family ger. We had some dinner and had a cold night sleep. The next day we woke up to the family herding their cattles. The brotherRead more