Sunday Summary #107

Our Time in the Balkans

Hi ,

Welcome to Scho & Jo’s 107th Sunday Summary. This edition of the Sunday Summary was written in Jen’s parent’s house in northeast, Florida.

Last 3 Weeks.

The past 3 weeks were a whirlwind! In our last Sunday Summary, we mentioned traveling to Albania for some well-overdue time with our friends, Nate and Alicia from The Passport Couple. We originally planned to run the Tirana Marathon (Elliot) and Half Marathon (Jen), but in true Scho & Jo fashion we had to pivot. Due to some technical difficulties which made us unable to actually sign up for the race and Elliot had an unfortunate back injury two weeks prior to leaving for the trip, our Tirana Marathon turned into a backyard marathon. Jen and Nate ran their races around the trails and city parks in Tirana.

After our backyard half marathon and marathon, we left on what might be one of our favorite road trips we’ve ever taken. Our 10-day Balkan trip was the perfect balance of travel, spontaneity, history, culture, food, and hang-out time. There’s something about traveling to another country that speaks a foreign language, and has a different religion, and cultural norms to us that fills our cup. It’s the feeling of complete newness that takes over our senses and makes us feel like students, absorbing the smallest details of life in a new way. It’s exhilarating and exciting, and just what we needed.

On our road trip, we visited 5 cities in 3 countries:

1. Budva, Montenegro 🇲🇪

2. Theth, Albania 🇦🇱

3. Krujë, Albania 🇦🇱

4. Ohrid, North Macedonia 🇲🇰

5. Berat, Albania 🇦🇱

During our trip, we swam in the Adriatic Sea, saw the leaves change colors in the Albanian Alps, visited an old castle and market, and visited the city of a thousand windows. None of us on the trip had high expectations for our road trip, yet we all left having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. None of us expected to swim in the Adriatic Sea, thinking that it would be too cold to swim, yet we found ourselves in turquoise waters with several others enjoying the water. We also didn’t expect to see fall colors this year and were blown away by the sheer scale and rainbow of colors in Theth National Park. If theres anything we took away from this trip was the importance of surrounding ourselves with great people because no matter what was thrown at us, we all found a way to problem-solve and laugh about it.

The last part of our trip was an overnight layover in London, England - a city and country new to us. We used it as an opportunity to go into London, enjoy a great dinner, and walk around the city. I was goggly-eyed at the city planning, urban design, and overall architecture in the one neighborhood we stayed in. This short overnight layover got us thinking about the idea of possibly living abroad someday, even if it’s just for a year or two. The thought of completely submersing ourselves in a country excited us for what is to come. We filmed a video about the trip so you'll be able to catch up with all the details when it releases!

“What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do—especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.”- William Least Heat Moon

This Week.

Yesterday and today have been slow as we readjust our bodies from jetlag. This week, we’re back into the swing of things this week working on blog posts, editing videos, and working on some projects. This morning was spent organizing our content calendar. Although the next few months are jammed pack, we’re excited about the things we have planned 😊

 Videos. 

In case you missed it, here are all the vlogs we’ve released since our last Sunday Summary:

We took the LONG way to NASHVILLE

We're in Nashville for a Day! (Country Music Hall of Fame, Great Food, and Live Music)

HEADING back to the LOOP (Leaving Nashville)

NAVIGATING to CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (through one Lock & Dam)

NAVIGATING to CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (through one Lock & Dam)

We visited a Resort in Kentucky by Boat

Down the Tennessee River to New Cruising Grounds

We Left our Anchorage and hit a WALL of FOG

 Blogs. 

Doing the Great Loop is a full-time commitment. We found it difficult to research each place we visited on top of an already long daily to-do list so we are writing travel guides to some of our favorite stops on the Great Loop starting with Clarksville, Tennessee to help you better plan your journey!

 From the Eyes of Ollie. 

I just spent 2.5 weeks with my grandparents while my parents left me for a trip. I don't like it when they leave me (like that time they left me for a whole year), but I got to be spoiled by my grandparents! I got so many snuggles, walks, and treats. It was great!

 Gratitudes. 

Our trip to Albania gave us a thirst for more international travel! Although we aren’t planning on doing another year of travel as we did in 2019-2020 for quite some time, we thoroughly enjoyed this short trip that poured life into our souls and filled our hearts with joy. The time with friends filled our cups in ways we can’t put into words. Our friendship with Nate and Alicia is special. We were both abroad during the outbreak of the global pandemic (us in India and them in Cambodia). Our online acquaintances turned into a friendship beyond our greatest imagination. Nate and Alicia stayed with us for 3 weeks while we were in the Florida Keys before re-starting our Great Loop. Our friendship is something we’re both so grateful for as it’s helped us through the highs and lows of the past few years.

Peace and love,Jenn + Elliot

 P.S. 

If you are new to our Sunday Summary, you can check out previous issues here.

For any boaters or loopers transiting through the Mid-West Locks, check out our How to Lock Blog Post for our tips and tricks!While this is our "Sunday Summary" we are only sending updates when relevant until we kick off the next adventure full-time, and there may be weeks in between updates. We appreciate everyone reading!