Our First Taste of Wanderlust
What spawned our love of travel
Our First Taste of Wanderlust
If you look up Wanderlust in the dictionary, it is defined:
Wanderlust (noun) — a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.
It was 26 years ago in 1989 and I was working as a software engineer at Perot Systems (now Dell). My wife, Lynn, had an incredible job at ABC News, working as a financial analyst for their news division.
This was before Ross Perot ran for president, he was building his next computer company after selling EDS for $2.5 billion and I was working on his first major account. We worked like crazy, normally 16 to 18 hours a day trying to ensure Ross’s first account was successful.
It was almost Christmas and Lynn and I were burned out. We decided to book our first trip out of the country, to Jamaica. We chose Sandals in Ocho Rios because it was relatively inexpensive and an all-inclusive resort.
This was our first taste of the tropics. I grew up on a farm in Georgia and Lynn in Detroit. Both of us were from hard working middle class families, so we never experienced international travel as kids. We were in our late 20’s and this trip planted the seeds for of our love of travel.
Neither of us had ever sailed before either. We booked an excursion for an evening sail with rum punch flowing and reggae blaring.
During the day, we would hang out at the pool, play volleyball, enjoy water sports and take advantage of unlimited cocktails.
We would also take excursions (like our trip to Dunn’s River Falls). Check out the huge video camera the guy was holding. Hey, it was still the 80’s!
At night, we would watch the locals put on a show.
Although we didn’t know it then, this was the beginning of our wanderlust. Since then, we have traveled to 22 countries and that number grows each year. We love learning about different cultures, seeing new things, and embracing new experiences.
That’s what lifestyle freedom is all about.
About this Blog
Steve and his wife built a software company, sold it and retired early. Steve enjoys blogging about lifestyle freedom, financial independence and technology. If you like this blog, subscribe here to get an email each time he posts.
