In 2007 we decided to make a huge change in our lives and try to truly live our dream!  Many of you know our story – we sold almost everything we owned; a home, cars, all the toys and “stuff” you accumulate and traded it all in for a couple of backpacks and a round the world plane ticket.   Since that time, we have spent over a year and a half traveling the world – volunteering, working abroad, meeting some of the most interesting people and doing some amazing things.

Now we are back, but every day remind ourselves how blessed we are to have been given the opportunity, but more importantly, to have take taken that opportunity to pursue a passion and try to really LIVE our lives and LIVE our dream!

So, what’s next?  We want to help others live their dreams.  We are not sure how it will all work yet, but we are putting some plans in place to try to do just that.

Keep an eye out here – at What Boundaries – to learn more about the new project in our lives!

Remember to ALWAYS Live Your Dream!

Cheryl and Lisa

While most people across the nation were ”Springing Forward” for daylight savings time, there were quite a few of us taking a trip Back in Time! The 3rd Annual Daylight Savings ’80′s Throw-Back’ Party was in full swing in Spring Hill, Florida.

Like, Totally Awesome!

Our 80's Hosts, Ron and Donna

Most of the revelers were children of the 80’s so we were entertained with childhood memories. There were people dressed as Rubik Cubes, Ghost Busters, Preppies, lots of big 80’s hair, and of course the obligatory Michael Jackson (thanks to Tweedy who had several costumes changes, but more on that later because ONLY pictures do that justice!)

Madonna's?

The party started off with the usual introductions to new friends and laughing at all the costumes and decorations. Shortly after imbibing on delicious “Donna’s famous Sangria” and Tweetaritas, the dancing started. All those songs from the 80’s were chosen perfectly by DJ Midj Cleto, aka M.I.DJ mobile DJ.

Tweetarita’s poured by Tweedy herself!

Music Trivia, 80’s TV Theme Show songs, and dancing contests all contributed to a great night of fun. As the evening came to an end we all started to part ways already talking about next year’s event. It was officially time for us to get back to reality and “Spring Forward”.

More Fun Photos!

Tweedy showing some "Risky Business"

The Class of '84 (and a bit of '83)

I'm Too Sexy...

Dee, Jean, and Debbie

Special thanks to Jean, Donna, and Lisa for providing the pictures!  I was much too busy to take my own!

Check out the VIDEO!! Cozumel Bar Hoppers

The second stop on our Norwegian Dawn cruise this year was Cozumel! Our plan was to dive the Palancar Reef and soak up some sunshine on the beach. Mother Nature had other plans, sending the edge of a cold front ahead of the ship and leaving rough seas and VERY rainy weather in its path…so, we headed to Starbucks downtown in hopes of finding a seat on the popular Cozumel Bar Hop bus. Just their slogan alone “We Drive You To Drink” was enough to get us excited again about seeing the island.

We were in luck! Another cruise ship had made other plans and there was room for two more…woo hoo, we were in! Meeting Tom, 0ur guide Jaime, and the other “hoppers” confirmed this was a great choice for a way to spend a rainy day. Other excursions were being cancelled left and right, but we jumped aboard the bus and headed out to find the bars!

First stop, Punta Morena, where even in spite of the downpour, we enjoyed our Mexican Sambuca free shot with a fantastic view of surfers beach and background music from the roving mariachi band.

Next, we climbed the highest point on the island to the world of Coconuts, with a facinating collection of memorabilia from EVERYWHERE! Here our free shot was a concoction of vodka, pineapple juice and Sprite…with a keeper shot glass thrown in for fun. We met the cast of animals who call the bar home…Garfield the cat, Luna the chip-stealing dog, and Lorenzo, the friendly bar parrot. Our new friend Shell and Lorenzo had quite a close encounter!

Bar Three was Playa Bonita where the view from the Ladies Room was incredible…you just had to be very careful not to step out over the wall…it was a LONG way down! Shots here were Sex on the Beach…literally poured on the beach! Jaime made sure we tried the ceviche AND found us an extra tequila shot at the bar.

By now, the sun was out and we were feeling no pain. Perfect for a stop at another gorgeous beach and a visit to Rasta’s. Here the shot was a Green Iguana and the task at hand was finding a note left two weeks previously for Tanya and Shell somewhere in the bar. (Yes, they DID find it!)

Last drop off was at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville…whew! What a fantastic day!

Thanks to Tom and Jaime — this was a wonderful way to see the island!

It was great meeting new friends…Tanya & Trey, Shell & Bill, and Ann & Bill…our trip was all the more fun because of you guys!!

The e-mail stated, “Cruise for $35/day! Book now!”

That couldn’t possibly be right, my skeptical side thought. For glorious midnight buffets, chocolate fountains and baked Alaska presented in the darkened dining room with sparklers? NO WAY!

There must be a catch. Cruises are typically a quite expensive and luxurious way to travel. Exotic locales, extensive dining options, free room service, and did I mention the chocolate fountain? How is it possible the cruise line would let us on for a mere $35 a day?

Having a fairly flexible schedule since we’ve been back in the states, we decided to see what we could find and take them up on their offer. Our goal – keep the daily cruise cost under $50 per person and go some places where we could get in some SCUBA diving as well. An inside stateroom was fine as we don’t typically spend much time in the room anyway (and after some of the hostels we’ve stayed in while traveling, ANYTHING would be a luxury!). We wanted to keep it cheap and keep it fun.

On Halloween, we found it and booked it – a five-day cruise to the Western Caribbean for $149! Leaving on November 28^th.

Woo Hoo! Anything with Caribbean and cruise in it was fine with me.  I expected we’d be on a third rate ship, but this one looks really nice! It’s the Norwegian Dawn and some of the amenties include 14 different dining options, 11 bars (wow!), fun lounges, the fitness center and spa, casino, pools and more!  We’ll be visiting Grand Cayman and Cozumel…can you say AWESOME diving?

We booked it through Continental Airlines Cruises and after all port charges, taxes and processing fees, our total was $283 per person…just a little over our budget at $56 per day.

We’re planning our own port excursions in Grand Cayman and Cozumel and meeting up onboard with a bunch we’ve already “met” through the Cruise Critic Roll Call for our sailing (gotta love the Internet!).  They’ve provided us with some wonderful insider tips on the best way to make the most out of this cruise.

Will keep you posted as we get closer to the sail date, but if you’ve ever wondered if those last minute cruise deals were for real, we can attest that YES, THEY ARE! We’re goin’ cruising on the 28^th!

Something does happen though. We grow up; we go to college or find a job. We find a partner, get married, and maybe even have kids. Life goes on and those bonds from high school get tested. I am sure that many bonds break – yes, you might reconnect at the 10th, 20th reunion, but it is never quite the same.

Debbie, Jean, Cheryl, and Tweedy circa 1983!!

I had the opportunity last night to reconnect with some of those very friends. It had been over 20 years since I had last seen them. 20 years!! That was much longer than we were actually friends while in high school. What would it be like? Many of us had connected through some form of social media like Facebook, so we all saw the one sentence updates of what was going on in our lives, but what was it going to be like to actually meet again over dinner? It almost was like a blind date all over again!

Our poor server had no idea what she was in for!

There were 6 of us at that dinner – Donna, Tweedy, Debbie, Ro, Donna, and myself. All of us were very close through junior high and high school but I had not seen any of those friends for those 20 plus years. I knew that a few of them got together every now and then so this was not such a reunion, but this was the first time we all been back together in many years.

I arrived at the restaurant and hesitantly walked back to the room we had reserved. I was the first one there! Was that really a nervous feeling in my stomach? Seriously, these were my best friends. Was I not going to recognize someone? Had someone changed so much that maybe it was going to feel strange? I sat there with yearbooks in hand looking at the pictures and found myself instantly transformed back into that high school girl many years ago.

Tweedy, Ro and Debbie

Within minutes everyone else had arrived and it was really unbelievable. Yes, we have all changed but for those three hours we were all our old selves again. It felt like we never lost touch or aged a day since we all saw each other last. We easily started laughing and talking about the days walking through the halls of our high school. I was fascinated that even after all those years we jumped right back where we left off. We laughed so hard and had so much fun last night. We relived so many memories, things I would have never recalled if it was not for all of us being there together compiling the memories. Wow, did we have some stories!

For three hours we were transformed back to 1983-84. It was the best three hours I have had in a long time.

As we all left, we promised we would get together soon, that we had so much fun and we needed to keep in touch and plan another date to get together. I really hope we do. I don’t want to wait 20 more years to see these amazing people again.

Debbie, Ro, Donna, Tweedy, Donna, and Jean – thank you so much for a wonderfully funny night. I should have known that it was going to all work out. You were and still are some of my best friends ever!

Several of our high school teachers figured this is where Tweedy and I would end up!

You’ve asked us the questions.

How did you decide where to go and what to take?

What about transportation? Vaccinations? Visas?

How can I do it, too?

Join us as we expand our What Boundaries? Live Your Dream! collection. We’re launching our new What Boundaries Travel site to cover all of your travel questions.

What Boundaries Travel will give you information on transportation, the latest in travel technology, gear, and destination escapes with special emphasis on travel health and medical tourism.

We’re very excited about our new addition. It’s taken lots of work, but we think you’ll find it helpful, fun and interesting as you Live Your Dreams!

Check it out here – What Boundaries Travel

And please, let us know what you think!

In South Africa on a ten week volunteer conservation expedition with Global Vision International, we had the opportunity to get darn close to this pretty lady. Though from the look in her eye, she wasn’t terribly happy about it!

On the tiny island of Gili Trawangan (Gili T, to the locals) off the coast of Bali, Indonesia you won’t find any motorized vehicles (a pony-drawn cart or a bicycle are the best ways to get around), nor will you find much to do other than dive the pristine waters and soak up the sun. But friendships here are strong as evidenced by this monkey and her very “own” kitten who comes to visit every day!  The kitten relaxes (or tries to!) while the monkey takes care of important matters like cheek pinching.

No fear of the vet here!

This sweet kitty finds a comfy place to sleep at the Boo Boo Zoo in Maui, Hawaii. (We think Maui is a great place to sleep, too!)

This little fella from SeaWorld in Orlando just looks so happy! Maybe it was because we’d just spent $5 to feed him a fish?