Our Cake – Didn’t it come out great!?

My Cousins & I – Kayla (left), Marisa (right)

Linda (left), Liz, and Kevin (right)

Liz & her Grandmother

Lucas & I

The Girls:  Shawna, Liz, & Lauren

Shawna & I

My Grandmother & I

Liz & Mark

Will & I

Eddie & I

Liz & I fooling around acting like we’re cutting our wedding cake…

We’d like to send a big THANK YOU to everyone that showed up to our going away party. There’s nothing better than having Friends, Family, and Food all in once place.

We’re going to miss you ALL!

We want to know who YOU are!

We’ve had so many new visitors checking out our site within the last month (approx. 3,000 Visitors!). We really want to connect with everyone by communicating on our Facebook Fan Page, conversing via comments on our site, and we’re also open to answering any questions that you may have for us. But, before we do that…

We’re curious to find out who YOU are? Feel free to leave us a comment below explaining who you are, how you found out about us, and be sure to ask any questions that you may have for us regarding our trip, travel advice, or simply anything else that’s on your mind.

If you don’t feel comfortable leaving a public comment below be sure to Contact us via E-mail by clicking on the Contact button located at the top of the website.

We’ve been featured in this week’s edition of the Bridgewater Independent Newspaper. (online version and in print)!

To see our featured article in the latest edition of the Bridgewater Independent Newspaper (online version), click on the newspaper below:

What do you think about our article? Feel free to drop us a line in the comments below.

We’ve got news, and lots of it!

Today marks exactly three weeks until we depart from Logan International Airport headed straight for Cairo, Egypt. Scary, yet extremely exciting at the same time! It seems that since we realized we had one month left, the time has just absolutely flown. These last few weeks might go a little slower for me considering I just finished up my last day of work this past Friday. I’m psyched to now be able to say that I have officially entered into early retirement. Liz on the other hand decided that her last day of work will be June 1st. My opinion? I think she’s just trying to show me up.

Okay so on to some other news. You might have noticed that there has been quite a few changes going on around here at PTM. For those who still have yet to figure out what exactly I’m referencing when I say “PTM”, just think about it for a second. (ahem… Pause The Moment).

Anyways, here’s what’s NEW!

1. The Featured Photo Album Section — A  brand new Featured Photos section that will host our latest and greatest photos form our trip. Where is it? It’s that photo collage that sits right under our Pause The Moment Logo at the top of our site. Click on it to view our latest photos! While you’re at it, check out some of our photos from our previous travels to Dublin, Dubrovnik, and Alicante just to name a few!

2. Our Packing Lists — Yes, we’ve finally posted our official packing lists and we’re getting ready for the daunting task of actually packing all of this gear into our backpacks. Seemingly stressful for Liz, and for me? Actually… not so bad! My bag weighs in at a fairly light weight of 25lbs.

3. About Us — The all new About Us section is oh-so-sweet! Here, you’ll find our bio pics with a short and descriptive blurb that sums us up in less than 11 words. Below our bio pics we explain our reasoning for this trip of a lifetime and we even share a little bit more information about our mission.

4. F.A.Q. Section — This is an area where we answer all of the questions that we’ve been asked over and over each and every time we tell someone that we’re “going traveling”. The first question we always get is “Where are you headed?” Since this was the #1 question that we’ve been asked over the course of the last year, we actually decided to dedicate an actual blog post to this question alone. Interested in seeing where we’re headed on our around the world trip? Find out the answer HERE.

5. Become a Fan on Facebook! — You can now become a Fan of Pause The Moment on Facebook! To do so, click HERE OR click “Like” on our Facebook Widget that is located on the right hand side of this site!

If you have a question that you’d like to ask us, feel free to contact us! If we think your question is F.A.Q worthy, we’ll add it to our list!

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What do you think of our site so far? Would you recommend that we add/remove any of our current features? Feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Can you believe it?

One month from today, we’ll be on a flight to Cairo, Egypt; the first of many destinations that lie ahead of us. We’re extremely excited and admittedly the nerves are starting to build as well. I can remember back to when we had NINE months left. “Time Flies”. There are no truer words in life.

To all of our readers:  What we’re you thinking when you were one month out from your big trip? Feel free to leave a comment below!

Back in May of 2009 I received an email from Jokin Bereciartu, the co-founder of Trourist.com. He had come across my website while searching for travel blogs and he shot me an email about how much he enjoyed my site.

After exchanging a few emails back and forth and Jokin invited me to be a part of the private beta version of Trourist which was going to go public within the next couple of months. I joined the beta program and I learned a lot about Trourist, and it’s main focus of being a travel community where people can plan their trips based on their friends’ first hand travel experiences.

In November 2009 Trourist held a Travel Experience Contest and I was chosen to be one of four judges along with:

Erica Johansson — Travel Blissful
Cate Dowman — The Caffeinated Traveller
Katja Hentschel — Travelettes

After judging the contest Jokin explained that the judges would be receiving a gift in the mail. Well, to my surprise a small, foreign looking package showed up in the mail today. Inside was a bright red moleskine journal with the Trourist logo on the front. I couldn’t believe it. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for! I’ve been searching around for one of these for my upcoming RTW trip and this pocket-sized one will work perfect!

"A trourist traveler doesn’t travel to disconnect; he or she seeks to connect to the world, and new worlds, instead."

The absolute coolest part about this journal is hidden inside the first page… a personalized note from Jokin…

Thanks a bunch Jokin, and to all of the staff at Trourist… You guys ROCK! Oh, and don’t be surprised if you see this journal popping up in some of my photos from around the world!

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Find Trourist on:  |  Twitter |  Facebook |  Web |

We’ve been featured!

Pause The Moment has been featured on TravelBlogSites.com! CLICK HERE to see the latest post about PTM! We’d like to send out a BIG thanks to Louise at Travelpod for making this happen!

Also be sure to check out the list of other travelers who are either getting ready to set out on the road or are ALREADY on the road as we speak.

Guess who’s back? Yes, it’s true! While I’m very sad to leave Europe and all of it’s crazy ways, I’m also happy to say that I’ll be able to sleep in my own comfy bed (after sleeping in more than 28 different beds across Europe), eat a nice fat American cheese burger with a side of fries not “chips”, drive my car again for the first time in three months and most of all be home to celebrate my mothers birthday with her. I won’t tell you how old she’ll be next week, but I will tell you that it’s a BIG one!

I’ve just returned from an amazing three month trip to Europe which allowed me to visit over 38 cities in 14 different countries during my stay. The things that I’ve seen, and experienced over the last three months cannot be justified in words, or photos.

My trip to Europe was a trip of a lifetime. It is something that many dream of, and an experience that most never get to live out. This trip has truly changed me as a person and my general outlook on life. I’m now returning with the a mind that is far more open than I thought it ever could be.

I have dreams of traveling again to many more cities, countries and even continents but unfortunately for now I will have to settle for the typical daily grind. I have no set plans as of yet for what I will do next but I’m definitely not finished traveling! After traveling through Europe, I’ve realized how many other interesting places there are in the world that are calling my name, just begging for me to encounter and explore them. I will get to these far away places one day, it’s just a matter of time.

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I’d like to send out thanks to each and every visitor from around the world that has visited Pause The Moment religiously over the last few months and even the ones that checked back in every now and then. There were many times that I contemplated on giving up but every time that I logged in to check the visitor statistics for PTM you always made me change my mind! YOU (the visitors) are one of the major reasons that I kept PTM up to date and that I now have a personal archive of stories, photos, videos and more to look back on for years to come.

As most of you know by now, I love hearing from my visitors! Over the course of the last few months, I’ve tried my best to reply to each and every email and comment that has come through my site. Your feedback has always been greatly appreciated and will continue to be. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to chat… be sure to Contact Me!

I’m sure many of you have been wondering what I’ve been up to lately and why you haven’t heard any news about me heading off on another crazy journey through Europe for weeks, even months on end. Well, after 3 jam-packed months of travel to over 38 cities and 14 countries with more than 7 flights, 10 trains, 5 ferries, and 2 bus rides… it’s time for some rest and relaxation!

I’m so relaxed that my aunt and uncle are actually worried about me. They are constantly worried that I’m bored, or even depressed due to the lack of sunshine in Dublin lately. I think it might also have to do with that this has probably been the longest period of time that I’ve been in their house since I arrived in Dublin back in April. I basically dropped my bags here and took of across Europe only coming back for a couple of days here and there. It’s been so convenient to have a home base here in Dublin and honestly, I couldn’t be more appreciative.

On the topic of being bored, I don’t even know what boredom feels like! Since Liz headed home for the states this past Sunday I have had so much work to do on the site. I’ve been pretty busy all week doing site maintenance, organizing the categories and tags to make it easier for you to search, editing and uploading new videos, fixing the subscription based email updates, promoting the website (spread the word!), and most of all captioning some of the nearly 1600 photos from the trip!

My plans for the rest of this week are really to just to hang out and relax. I think that I’ll look for some last minute travel deals for next week so that I can take off for another week or two. We’ll see what happens!

Pause The Moment is soon to be featured in the Bridgewater Independent Newspaper!

As the logistics of this are still being worked out, The Bridgewater Independent is currently planning on running a story on Pause The Moment a week or so before I depart to Europe. This is tremendous news for PTM! Not only will this increase exposure for the site but it will also provide as an avenue for myself to reach out to the community with all sorts of useful Travel Information, Tips, Tricks, Photos, Videos, and more!

I have a meeting scheduled early next week with the Reporter from the Independent to discuss and finalize the plans. I will be sure to keep you updated as this story progresses!

*There’s also a rumor that you might see a weekly column from me…