Back in January, I told you about Nate and Jessica Baumgart’s elaborate plan to see the world in 365 days.
Newly married, the trip was part adventure, part extended honeymoon.
Indeed, they say, the trip has been more interesting than anything either of them ever imagined.
“In addition to seeing so many amazing places and doing so many great things, we have also been exposed to new ways to live: to be a spouse, parent, citizen,” said Nate Baumgart. “Beyond that, it’s incredible to wake up each day and have complete control of your own time and priorities. It’s the ultimate luxury.”
Jessica, you may or may not recall, grew up in Peachtree Corners and graduated from Duluth High School and the University of Georgia. Her husband, Nate, is from Evanston, Ill., where he graduated from Evanston Township High School and Wesleyan University of Connecticut.
When they hatched this plan, Jessica, 29, was director of education and development for the Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University. Nate, 34, was a voice-over actor and corporate events planner. And I was surprised to learn that a lot of people do it.
Even before their marriage last year, they knew they would be leaving Chicago and decided to take a short trip before starting over in a new city, so it didn’t take long before Jessica had sold Nate on the idea.
First, though, they’d need to save $75,000, the amount Nate figured they’d need both during and immediately following the trip.
Nearly two years later in December, they hit their goal, quit their jobs, packed their 2010 Hyundai Sonata and drove here to drop off their black Lab mix, Lily, with Jessica’s parents, Jon and Cathy MacLean.
On Jan. 8, they boarded Spirit Flight 1376 to Cartagena, Colombia, the first leg of their journey.
The first three months, they traveled in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia; then spent two months in southern Africa.
“We hiked the Inca Trail for four days in Peru,” Jessica said. “On the last morning, we woke up at 3 a.m. and had slept in our clothes to get a quicker start to the entrance. We sprinted to the Sun Gate in time to watch the sun rise over Machu Picchu. That was pretty spectacular.”
They rented a car and drove through South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana and Namibia. On the Wild Coast of South Africa, Nate got hit by a surfboard and split his face open. While a goat munched on grass outside a rural mission hospital, a doctor stitched his wound and sent them on their way.
Nate was as good as the countryside was beautiful, and from there they headed to Bolivia, where they took an overnight train to the southern part of the country to explore the salt flats, a massive expanse of white salt desert.
“We had no idea Bolivia was so beautiful,” Nate said.
At this writing, they were in Italy, trading daily work for accommodations and meals at a cooking school in Tuscany.
Both sets of parents plan to join them there later this month before the two of them head off on a 28-day Mediterranean cruise to Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Turkey, Montenegro, Monaco and Greece.
The only downside to think of, they said, has been trying to find a balance between seeing new things and simply enjoying the landscape.
“There’s a push to try to see everything,” Jess said. “But on the flip side, that’s an exhausting way to travel and not conducive to really absorbing a place or culture.”
And, as would be expected, they've discovered being together 24/7 every day isn't what it's cracked up to be either.
“We are each other’s closest friend, but at times, we need alone time,” Jess said. “We snap at each other and have silly fights. We’re working on recognizing when one of us needs space and allowing them to have it without any judgment or ill feelings.”
They’ve also learned they don’t need much to be happy.
“I’ve realized that I am more of a homebody than I thought and that I need a quiet and comfortable place to return to if I want to be productive,” Nate said. “I have learned that being a good partner mostly means taking good enough care of myself so that I can show up as the best version of myself for my partner.”
"I've learned that despite all the negative stuff we see on Facebook about terrorism and mass shootings, that there is a lot of good going unnoticed in the world," she said. "That people are generous and kind, that we all want the same things in life despite very different cultural upbringings."
But would they do it again?
Absolutely, they said.
“We’re already convinced that this is one of the best things we’ve done in our lives,” Nate said.
It all ends six months from now, when they will settle in Denver to see what life is like out west.
They want to rent an apartment and start a family, but the rest is “up in the air.”
If nothing else, you know Jessica and Nate Baumgart will figure it out and it’ll all be good.
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