We are Kevin & Jessica, and our story together began in 2006.

Just two small-town kids from Illinois who found each other as co-workers. As barely more than acquaintances, Kevin travelled to Alaska, and in the pay-as-you-go text era, he texted Jessica to tell the office that he hadn’t been eaten by a bear yet (hotly debated how he even had her number).

Who could have guessed one text could change the course of our lives.

Fast forward to ‘I do’, multiple moves, a cross-Atlantic leap, and a three-year stint in Wales. All while exploring the world one place at a time.

These days we are rooted in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by the kind of nature that reminds you to slow down and unplug.

We’re not professionals. We’re just two people who found home in each other and then discovered that home doesn’t have to stay in one place. For us, travel isn’t about checking off tourist traps; it’s about the quiet magic of a crumbling castle, a meal you can’t pronounce but will spend years trying to recreate, and carrying each place home with us long after we’ve left.

This journal is our collection of the moments that remind us exactly why we started exploring in the first place.

(Bear text was sent in 2007. We’re still debating about the phone number.)

Continents

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Countries

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States

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Castles

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   Continents:

  1. North America
  2. Europe
  3. Asia

   Countries:

  1. Dominican Republic (2011)
  2. Ireland (2014, 2019, 2019)
  3. Scotland (2014)
  4. England (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024)
  5. Mexico (2015, 2015)
  6. Canada (2015, 2017, 2023)
  7. Germany (2016, 2018, 2019, 2024)
  8. Luxembourg (2016, 2018, 2019)
  9. France (2016, 2017, 2018, 2024)
  10. Switzerland (2016, 2018, 2024)
  11. Austria (2016, 2018, 2019, 2023)
  12. Italy (2016, 2018)
  13. Vatican City (2016)
  14. Wales (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
  15. Hong Kong (2017)
  16. India (2017)
  17. Netherlands (2018, 2022)
  18. Belgium (2018, 2019)
  19. Liechtenstein (2018)
  20. Spain (2019, 2022)
  21. Malta (2020)
  22. Turkey (2020)
  23. Denmark (2022)
  24. Sweden (2022)
  25. Puerto Rico (2023)
  26. Slovakia (2023)
  27. Hungary (2023)
  28. Iceland (2024)
  29. Japan (2025)
  30. Croatia (2026)
  31. Slovenia (2026)

   States:

  1. Alabama (2016)
  2. Alaska (2025)
  3. Arizona (2025)
  4. California (2018)
  5. Colorado (2013)
  6. Delaware (2012)
  7. Florida (2017)
  8. Georgia (2025)
  9. Hawaii (2026)
  10. Idaho (2023)
  11. Illinois (2006)
  12. Indiana (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
  13. Iowa (2023)
  14. Kentucky (2009, 2023)
  15. Montana (2023)
  16. Minnesota (2022)
  17. Missouri (2011)
  18. Nebraska (2023)
  19. Nevada (2010)
  20. New Jersey (2012)
  21. New York (2012, 2021)
  22. North Carolina (2022)
  23. Ohio (2021)
  24. Oregon (2023)
  25. Pennsylvania (2012)
  26. South Dakota (2010)
  27. Tennessee (2022)
  28. Texas (2022)
  29. Utah (2010)
  30. Virginia (2012)
  31. Washington (2015, 2025)
  32. Washington, DC (2012)
  33. Wisconsin (2010)
  34. Wyoming (2023)
 

Outstanding:

  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Mississippi
  • New Hampshire
  • New Mexico
  • North Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • Vermont
  • West Virginia
 

   Castles:

  1. Arizona – Montezuma Castle
  2. Austria – Fort Claudia
  3. Austria – Fortress Hohensalzburg
  4. Austria – Mirabell Palace
  5. Austria – Ruine Ehrenberg
  6. Austria – Schloss Belvedere
  7. Austria – Schlossberg Burgenwelt Ehrenberg
  8. Belgium – Gravensteen
  9. Belgium – Royal Palace of Brussels
  10. Denmark – Rosenborg Castle
  11. England – Alnwick Castle
  12. England – Appleby Castle
  13. England – Aydon Castle
  14. England – Bamburgh Castle
  15. England – Barnard Castle
  16. England – Beeston Castle
  17. England – Bowes Castle
  18. England – Bramber Castle
  19. England – Brough Castle
  20. England – Broughman Castle
  21. England – Buckingham Palace
  22. England – Corfe Castle
  23. England – Dunstanburgh Castle
  24. England – Goodrich Castle
  25. England – Helmsley Castle
  26. England – Hopton Castle
  27. England – Kensington Palace
  28. England – Ludlow Castle
  29. England – Newcastle Castle
  30. England – Oxford Castle
  31. England – Pendragon Castle
  32. England – Prudhoe Castle
  33. England – Restormel Castle
  34. England – Skipton
  35. England – St Catherine’s Castle
  36. England – St Michael’s Mount
  37. England – Stokesay Castle
  38. England – Thornbury Castle
  39. England – Tintagel Castle
  40. England – Tower of London
  41. England – Warkworth Castle
  42. England – Whittington Castle
  43. England – Windsor Castle
  44. France – Château d’Angers
  45. France – Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg
  46. France – Palace of Versailles
  47. Germany – Burg Eltz
  48. Germany – Burg Hohenzollern
  49. Germany – Lichtenstein Castle
  50. Germany – Münzenberg Castle
  51. Germany – Neuschwanstein Castle
  52. Germany – Reichsburg Cochem
  53. Hawaii – Iolani Palace
  54. Ireland – Ballynagowan Castle (Smithstown Castle)
  55. Ireland – Bunratty Castle
  56. Ireland – Caherconnell Stone Fort
  57. Ireland – Cahir Castle
  58. Ireland – Drumharsna Castle
  59. Ireland – Dublin Castle
  60. Ireland – Dunguaire Castle
  61. Ireland – Dysert O’Dea Castle
  62. Ireland – Leamaneh Castle
  63. Ireland – O’Brien Castle (Dromore Woods)
  64. Ireland – O’Brien’s Tower
  65. Ireland – Trim Castle
  66. Italy – Castel Sant’Angelo
  67. Japan – Himeji Castle
  68. Japan – Matsumoto Castle
  69. Japan – Osaka Castle
  70. Japan – Takayama Castle
  71. Liechtenstein – Burg Gutenberg
  72. Luxembourg – Beaufort Castle
  73. Luxembourg – Grand Ducal Palace
  74. Malta – Cittadella
  75. Malta – Mdina
  76. Netherlands – Royal Palace of Amsterdam
  77. Scotland – Craigmillar Castle
  78. Scotland – Crichton Castle
  79. Scotland – Dalhousie Castle Hotel
  80. Scotland – Duffus Castle
  81. Scotland – Edinburgh Castle
  82. Scotland – Eilean Donan Castle
  83. Scotland – Linlithgow Palace
  84. Scotland – Palace of Holyroodhouse
  85. Scotland – St. Andrews Castle
  86. Scotland – Stirling Castle
  87. Scotland – Urquhart Castle
  88. Slovakia – Bratislavský hrad
  89. Spain – Alcazaba
  90. Spain – Alcázar de Segovia
  91. Spain – Alcázar de Toledo
  92. Spain – Castillo Gibralfaro
  93. Spain – Montjuïc Castle
  94. Spain – Royal Palace of Madrid
  95. Sweden – Malmö Castle
  96. Wales – Beaumaris Castle
  97. Wales – Caernarfon Castle
  98. Wales – Caerphilly Castle
  99. Wales – Caldicot
  100. Wales – Cardiff Castle
  101. Wales – Cardigan Castle
  102. Wales – Carreg Cennen Castle
  103. Wales – Castell Caergwrle
  104. Wales – Castell Coch
  105. Wales – Castell Ewloe
  106. Wales – Castell-y-bere
  107. Wales – Chepstow Castle
  108. Wales – Cilgerran Castle
  109. Wales – Conwyn Castle
  110. Wales – Criccieth Castle
  111. Wales – Denbigh Castle/ Castell Dinbych
  112. Wales – Dolbadarn Castle
  113. Wales – Dolforwyn Castle
  114. Wales – Dolwyddelan Castle
  115. Wales – Flint Castle
  116. Wales – Grosmont Castle
  117. Wales – Harlech Castle
  118. Wales – Hay Castle
  119. Wales – Kidwelly Castle
  120. Wales – Laugharne Castle
  121. Wales – Montgomery Castle
  122. Wales – Pennard Castle
  123. Wales – Raglan Castle
  124. Wales – Rhuddlan Castle / Castell Rhuddlan
  125. Wales – Skenfrith Castle
  126. Wales – St Davids Bishop’s Palace
  127. Wales – Tenby Castle
  128. Wales – Tomen y Mur
  129. Wales – White Castle