When we were planning this trip one thing we wanted to bring with us were water bottles. To be honest, actually only Samantha wanted to bring them with us. I thought they were too cumbersome and would only take up valuable packing space. But to be fair she was totally right on this one.

When we first booked our flights to Amsterdam, both my wife and I were sure we were going to see and experience some new things. From the rows of beautiful houseboats and the rows of red-lit windows filled with the working girls in the Red Light District, to the endless line of Amsterdamers on bicycles and the infamous coffeeshops, every corner we turned brought a new experience.

We have decided to share some more of our favorite pictures from one of our favorite cities in the world; Chicago. We are getting ready to leave again but thought we would take one more chance to look back on the place that my wife and I met. Hope you like them!!

One of the biggest inconveniences we have found while we are out on the road is finding drinkable water. Whether we are staying somewhere that only has access to well water or we are walking around exploring a new city, having clean water is important. Nothing will derail your trip quicker than picking up a stomach bug from the local water. Simple tasks, such as brushing your teeth or rinsing off a piece of fruit, can become dangerous if you use the local tap water. 

The hardest part was leaving our friends and family. The second hardest part, at least for me, was leaving the city I grew up in. I love Chicago. Like most cities it has its problems but it is also an amazing place. The people are friendly, the food is outstanding and the culture is second to none. I consider myself lucky to call it home. No matter where in the world we end up living, ill always call myself a Chicagoan. 

As we have mentioned in previous posts, this trip we are trying to reduce the amount of clothes we are bringing with us. On our first long-term travel adventure we both had a small carryon bag plus an additional shoulder-bag/backpack each. We learned that we routinely wore only about half of the clothes in our bags, forcing us to carry around stuff we never wore. This time we are preparing better and we hope we can help you do the same. We already know we will be packing a Travel Laundry Kit which will allow us to do laundry wherever and whenever we need. 

One of our favorite things in the world is fried chicken. We've enjoyed it in New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah, Chicago and all places in between. About a year ago though, we tried some that has changed the way we will think about chicken for the rest of our lives. Its called broasted chicken and if you've never had it before, find it. Whatever you have to do to get some, do it. It is really that good. Its juicy and crispy and really one of the best things we've ever eaten. Broasted chicken is similar to fried chicken but it uses a pressure fryer instead of a traditional deep fryer which cooks the chicken faster and prevents it from drying out. 

As we prepare for our next 3 month adventure, we find ourselves reflecting back on the last time we traveled. Not just about the wonderful memories we shared but also about the gear we brought with us. We did a pretty good job the first time but now, with a little experience under our belts, we want to do it smarter. A few months ago Samantha discovered a store on a trip to California that has really impressed us with their products, not just for traveling but for everyday use as well. Clothing, electronics, stationary and travel gear are among the many things they offer. The store is from Japan and its called MUJI and now we can't walk past one anywhere in the world without going in. 

I've always been a runner. I used to run track and cross country back in my more athletic days (about a half a lifetime ago). Whenever I go on a health kick and start to exercise, I get out my running shoes, throw in my ear buds and hit the pavement. Now i'm not talking about training for a marathon or anything like that but going out and running a couple miles always makes me feel good. I've never been one for the gym or liked working out in a class with a bunch of other people, but my wife recently convinced me to go to my first yoga class ever. And it was awesome! 

As we get ready to hit the road again, we have been working to refine our packing list. We would like to reduce what we bring with us by a third on this trip by eliminating some of the clothes we rarely wore and by having the ability to wash the ones do. We often found ourselves asking each other often if they were sick of looking at the other person in the same clothes. This was because we constantly wore the same clothes.

In the past two months we’ve learned a lot about the Twin Cities: the people here love the outdoors. they have some of the best Asian food we’ve ever eaten, and the locals from Minneapolis and St. Paul love to compete with each other. One of the most heated debates comes from who has the best cheese-stuffed hamburger, what they call a Juicy Lucy (or Jucy Lucy depending on where your loyalty lies). The basic idea is to take two hamburger patties, put a hunk of cheese between them, form it into single patty and then grill it until the cheese inside becomes nearly as hot as the sun.