It's a cold and dreary Monday in Chicago - the coldest temperatures on record move through the area today. Last week the city was pounded with snow. Highways are a mess, the high is -29 with the wind chill, hypothermia can set in within a matter of just minutes and it's early January yet. The forecasts call it a polar vortex. Watching it on the news is an uncanny experience.

We just woke up. Bill's finishing packing his bag before we head down to breakfast. It's cold where we are, too, and damp - a high of 48. We left our coats in Chicago. Even Scotland is not that cold.

December 17th we sat at Midway, in the Irish pub near our gate, sharing a hot dog, each with a split of champage. We waited for our flight to New Orleans, and were giddy for the adventure. Just three weeks later we're here, in Edinburgh, on the first real leg of our travels.

Sometime over the past year the joke started that one day we would walk away from it all and raise goats. We were kidding, but the joke grew legs and not long after we returned from the honeymoon we got the abnormal test results. The call came just before the show floor opened at E3 and I couldn't fall apart. A dear friend helped me keep it together, and the goat joke became almost a lifesaver, some bit of humor to keep me afloat till I could get back to Chicago, to Bill, to the doctor.

The next few months were tough, the emotion borne from what we faced made focusing on work increasingly difficult. We started to research slow travel, and to read about other couples sustaining themselves on the road for extended periods of time. There were people in all too similar situations walking away from their careers to find something more in the world - a life that gave them the freedom to travel, and to do it together.

The day I crumbled in my annual review, it became real. The path we were on was not the one for us, and we couldn't deny it any longer. We did not, do not, want to spend our lifetimes catching what little time we can with each other. And we know just how short this life really is.

We hop the train this afternoon for Glasgow and are staying on the river there. We walked Edinbnurgh yesterday, spending a good hour in Giles Cathedral before heading to Edinburgh Castle, the wind wipping in our faces as we climbed to the highest part of the city. The pictures below don't do either justice. When we came down, we warmed ourselves over mulled wine in the city's most haunted pub, then strolled to New Town for a truly incredible dinner at The Dogs - a Michelin recognized restaurant we so luckily happened upon.

This is just the beginning of our adventure, with so much yet to see in the months ahead. We hope you'll join us, and travel along as we search for ourselves and plan for our future. We'll be sure to share pictures and laughs and tears and triumphs, and promise more of our story in hopes that it will drive and inspire you, too, to take action, take risk and take life into your very own hands.

Stay warm, please, and travel safe.

View of the Edinburgh Castle from Granny's Greens

Samantha in the central square of Edinburgh Castle

Little bit of street art on the way to Grassmarket

Ironwork, stained glass and the gorgeous ornate ceiling at St. Giles' Cathedral

Nowhere Native

Nowhere Native

The Journey

Nowhere Native

Just the Beginning

Nowhere Native