Welcome to Draft Itinerary!

In May 2016, at the ages of 34 (Craig) and 37 (Charley), we made an incredible decision. After over a decade in the 9-to-5 world and 40 to 60-hour work weeks, we decided to give ourselves a “timeout.” Work will still be waiting for us when we get back, but for now, we’re taking a year to ourselves to indulge a real passion of ours: travel. We’re beginning in May 2016, and this blog will follow everything we do. There are a few things we want to accomplish here.

First and foremost, we hope that this blog is a fun experience and one for us to document our travels. Our friends and family have been so supportive of this once-in-a-lifetime trip that we wanted to have a nice venue where they can follow along, see what we’re up to, and offer suggestions for what to do and where to go next! We take our name, Draft Itinerary, pretty seriously. It’s a “draft” because it’s a work in progress, and while we have a general idea that we want to see the whole world, we aren’t sure yet how or when we’ll accomplish that. If you’re reading this, and you know something off the beaten path that you think we’d get a kick out of, send it along. Even more than places, it’s really people that make up the world, and we can’t wait to see what everyone’s got in store for us!

Secondly, we want to document some of the things that we’re passionate about along the way. We’re fascinated with the mechanics of how things work, and what better logistical challenge is there than planning a trip around the world? We’ve got some pretty extensive travel experience, but to have a year away, there are all sorts of new logistical problems. Where do we send bills and mail? How do we do things like getting new shoes, cleaning our laundry, and having periodic haircuts along the way? How much is it going to cost to spend an entire year traveling? We’ll be documenting all of this and more.

We’ve done some studying up before the trip, and before we forget, it’s worth passing along some massive thanks to The Points Guy and Matt Kepnes, whose blog/book How to Travel the World on $50 a Day was incredibly helpful to study. You should expect to find plenty of posting on this blog about credit card and airline points and miles, as they’re going to be saving us a pretty penny as we go, and our own tips for stretching our dollars! I’ve had the privilege of meeting The Points Guy Brian Kelly himself a couple times, and I can only hope I’m as good as he is one day at making sure I really get the most out of all my points and miles.

One other thing we’re passionate about is something I think plenty of people can get onboard with: beer! 2011 was a pretty formative year for us, where we discovered craft beer for the first time, but that realization that beer didn’t have to taste fizzy, yellow, and watery was a real epiphany. We’re big fans of the app Untappd, where we can track and keep records of all the beer we’ve had, and it is going to be fully updated at all times with all the fantastic beer we’re having as we go. You might even want to expect some entries for our draughtItinerary as well!

The third and third and final thing on our radar is shining a light on people like us around the world. We’ve been together for ten years. We’ve had the good fortune and privilege to live in New York City, part of the United States of America. In 2014 and 2015, a pair of Supreme Court decisions fully effected marriage equality in the United States, and our friends and family couldn’t have been more pleased. In a lot of places around the world, the Middle East, Russia, and much of Africa among them, any men who are gay (or even perceived to be gay) can be in for a heap of trouble. To date, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the murders of over thirty gay men, and they show no signs of stopping. If we get the opportunity, we intend to talk to the LGBT people we’re lucky enough to meet around the world. Please take a stop by Outright Action International to learn more.

Without further ado, let’s start traveling!

Cheers!