Month: February 2012

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Having an amazing time in New Zealand! Internet time is brief and expensive, and I’m most often able to update my Twitter and Facebook page. Follow those for more frequent travel updates!

Not much running to report, but I’ve been hiking, swimming, kayaking, etc. I love how active Kiwis are!

Here are some pics from my trip up to Paihia and the Bay of Islands. I’m back in Auckland tonight and heading down to Hahei tomorrow. So far I’ve had nothing but sun and warmth in New Zealand, so let’s hope that continues!

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First NZ run

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I ran 3 miles along the water in Auckland this morning! It’s another beautiful, sunny day. I applied plenty of SPF 50 beforehand since I got a bit burned yesterday.

My route was kind of crazy because I didn’t know where there was a good running path. I ended up following an extremely tan woman running with her dog for a while, and that did the trick.

It was slowww and felt tough.

Gotta go!

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Hi from New Zealand!

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Auckland is sunny. Auckland is warm. I’m not hating it!

I walked around a lot today and scoped out a good running route along the water. It reminded me quite a bit of Vancouver’s waterfront/cruise ship area. I plan to get in a nice run tomorrow morning!

In the meantime, I just put up a post on Answering Oliver all about what I packed for my trip. Click through for exhaustive pictures and excessive detail:

My RTW Packing List

And if anyone in NZ wants to meet up, just send me a message! I can tell that this solo traveling thing is gonna get lonely at times.

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My older brother, Brandon, asked me to take some nice photos as my Christmas present to him. Clearly it’s February and I waited until the day before I left to do them!

Luckily, Saturday was a beautiful day in Woodinville, and I think we got some nice shots at Cottage Lake Park (where I did my first triathlon).

I don’t have much experience with shooting portraits, and I hardly ever post pics of my brother, so here ya go.

And yes, we are fully brother and sister even though we look nothing alike!

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I’m gonna need to change my Tumblr name to DevonEating.

My dad took me out to a wonderful lunch today at Purple Cafe & Wine Bar in Woodinville.

I had the Farmer’s Lunch with a housemade demi-baguette, rosemary-infused goat cheese, fromager d’affinois, parma prosciutto, molinari sopressata, grapes and tomato soup. Also, hilarious little gherkins in stone-ground mustard.

My dad had baked mac and cheese with campanelle, lobster, gruyere and fried carrots.

So much yum.

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I have a bigger question than how you could afford it, is….how are you going to afford life when you get back? Thats the part that would scare me most. I have no debt, and the money to travel the word for a year, but…when I got back, and had no job, no place to live, no way to cover living expenses, food, etc, then what? That would scare the crap outta me!

by devonpassLeave a Comment on I have a bigger question than how you could afford it, is….how are you going to afford life when you get back? Thats the part that would scare me most. I have no debt, and the money to travel the word for a year, but…when I got back, and had no job, no place to live, no way to cover living expenses, food, etc, then what? That would scare the crap outta me!

I have literally no idea. Leap of faith!

OK, that’s not entirely true. My family would never let me go homeless, and I have multiple places I could stay while I get back on my feet.

Job-wise, I’m not sure exactly what I’d like to do. If all else fails, I can work retail, be a barista or take care of kids — there is no shortage of families who need nannies with good references, I’ve found!

You’ll never have all the answers before you do something big like this. Sure, it can be scary, but I’d much rather take a chance on doing something awesome than do nothing and always wonder, “What if…?”

Leap, and the net will appear.

Edited to add: Two years ago, I had no money and nearly $9,000 in debt, and I got out of that just fine. At the very worst, I’ll have no money and be back where I started, but I’ll have so much more knowledge and will have enjoyed an epic adventure. : )

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Three miles of hills

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I’m crashing on my mom’s couch for a few days before I leave on my trip, and holy hell, her Woodinville neighborhood is full of hills.

I was huffin’ and puffin’ during the first 30 seconds of my run today because no matter which way you turn on my mom’s street, you go up a hill!

So this run was a little slower than usual, but trust me, it was challenging and a great workout! I so appreciated the huge downhill at the end of the last mile.

I also enjoyed the clean air, empty roads and massive trees. I ain’t in Seattle anymore.

Now that I’ve moved out of my townhouse, all I have left to do is organize my travel gear and PACK!

And of course I wrote a bit about that and other things on Answering Oliver:

Final Days at Home: Couchsurfing, Packing & Eating

It. Is. REAL!