Caribbean Fever: the intense desire to live the tropical lifestyle

We’ve officially been bitten by the travel bug and there’s only one cure for it’s persistent appetite – designing the ideal lifestyle.

In honor of our 5 year anniversary, JP and I decided to book a trip to somewhere warm and tropical. We landed on St John since it’s a mellow island known for it’s national forest and killer, white sand beaches.

My intention for this trip was to be as present as I could be, in the hopes of it making the experience last longer in my psyche. By creating space in my mind and my heart, I was inviting the experience to guide me, rather than forcing a direction with the experience. That’s when I got bitten.

The truth is, we get nibbled on each time we get out on the water. Every time we go sailing or find ourselves in the tropics, JP and I start wondering what a life like this could be like. Even at home in Seattle, we’ve been exploring the option of a floating home.

But something happened this trip. A switch was flipped somewhere in the first few days where we unanimously decided that in 5 years we WILL be living on the sailboat that takes us around the world.

It’s gone from being a fantasy to an actual, clear vision of our future. We know what we want for ourselves, now it’s time to figure out how to get there. We’re talking about designing our lifestyle. Taking the time to note what we love about our lives now and consider what else can be incorporated, or released, to make it represent who we are as people.

When you look at what we’ve accomplished in the last 5 years, it’s easy to feel excited about what we can create in the next half-decade. Our entire relationship has been one big leap after the next. We’re both consistently charging towards new challenges and adventures. Together we’ve lived in 3 states, gone from college students to business owners, and have tackled limiting beliefs. For us, nothing feels out of reach.

When the vision of what you want becomes clear, it becomes easier to figure out the steps necessary to get there. Designing a lifestyle takes intentional focus but also requires knowing that the right pieces will present themselves when they’re supposed to.  In the meantime, breaking it into bite sized pieces makes it within your grasp.

For us, we’ll start by learning how to sail. I grew up sailing the San Francisco Bay and out along the California coast but that was many moons ago. JP is the first to admit that he knows nothing about sailing except for what he got out of Captain Ron. So together we’ll take classes and start logging hours.

I’m excited to share the journey here. But for now, I invite you to peruse through pictures taken on this inspiring adventure. I think you’ll get an idea of why we got bitten so badly.