Birthday Chocolates & Travel Dreams

The Tasmanian landscape blurred past our window during the forty-minute Uber ride to Hobart airport, each familiar landmark a goodbye of its own. There was something sweetly nostalgic about boarding a plane together - our last shared flight had been just weeks ago, crossing from Melbourne to Hobart, where our paths had briefly diverged before reuniting. But this journey felt different, marked with the weight of many firsts.

Despite nearly twelve years of building our life together, this would be our inaugural international adventure as a couple. The irony wasn't lost on us - how our decision to embrace the nomadic lifestyle in our bus had somehow freed us to spread our wings even further. Our home on wheels had taught us to hold plans loosely and dreams tightly, preparing us perfectly for this new chapter of exploration.

The short flight to Sydney carried us across the Bass Strait, a journey Sal had made recently on her return from Queensland. For Anth, however, the Sydney skyline was a stranger, unseen for more than half a decade. We navigated the familiar-yet-foreign territory of the airport with the experienced ease of seasoned travelers, despite our recent preference for roads over runways.

Our budget hotel might have been modest, but its location proved perfect for our mission - a birthday shopping expedition for our children. We set out on foot, the couple of kilometers to Woolworths giving us a chance to stretch our travel-weary legs and soak in the Sydney atmosphere. Our hearts were full as we carefully selected chocolates - some for Torrin's upcoming birthday celebration in Japan, others for Sophie, whose birthday tomorrow would mark the start of her own adventure. The thought of Sophie and Shea joining us in Japan in a few days, ready to work alongside Torrin at the ski resort, added another layer of anticipation to our journey.

Back in our simple room, the hot shower felt like a luxury, washing away the day's travels and preparing us for rest. As we settled into the unfamiliar bed, we couldn't help but reflect on how this modest hotel room was just the first stop on our path to Japan. Tomorrow would bring the real beginning of our international adventure - a journey that felt both thrilling and somehow inevitable, as if our nomadic lifestyle had been preparing us all along for this grander wandering.Read more