Now that I have made my big announcement, you may be wondering what inspired me.

First, I was always so jealous of people that I met on my travels who were traveling longer than ten days or two weeks at ‘normal’ intervals of vacation time. I had written about meeting an Italian who said it’s our (Americans) fault for not standing up to get more than two weeks of vacation time.

Second, there is a very inspiring community of bloggers. The people listed below, whether they know it or not, helped me tremendously with research and further inspiration for my upcoming adventure in South America!

This is not the be all end all of blogs I have read to prepare and loosely plan my trip. But, some of the names below may be familiar to my parents, sister and the boyfriend as I sent daily email barrages full of links with great reading material.

If you still think I am crazy for quitting my job to travel, you will see that I have plenty of good company.

Since I love to make lists, here it is, in ABC order:

Warning: If you have even the teensiest bit of wanderlust, reading any of these blogs will up that wanderlust tremendously!

A Little Adrift – Shannon has gone RTW a few times and is currently traveling SE Asia with her 11 year old niece.

Bacon is Magic – Ayngelina traveled solo throughout South America for 18 months. She has been a huge inspiration for me. When I read her writing, I feel like she has taken the words out of my mouth.

Hole in the Donut – Diagnosed with Lyme Disease, Barbara says that she was ‘solid on the outside, but empty on the inside.’ Determined to find joy in life, she left with a backpack to see the world.

Johnny Vagabond – Wes goes around the world ‘low and slow’ – he is currently in Latin America.

Katie Going Global – Katie, a former lawyer, left Chicago to explore the former countries of the Soviet Union. She left in August 2011 for a year.

Legal Nomads – Another former lawyer, Jodi photographs and eats her way around the world, most notably in and around Asia.

Lost Girls World – Three New Yorkers in their twenties who left for a year around the world. Amanda, one of the Lost Girls, has been a huge resource for my questions!

Married With Luggage – Betsy and Warren sold nearly everything they owned and have been on the road for over a year. They are currently in Thailand.

Nomadic Matt – Matt started with a one year RTW that morphed into an 18 month trip, and has now had him on the road for over five years.

Otts World – Sherry calls herself a ‘corporate cube dweller turned nomadic traveler,’ also a co-founder of Meet Plan Go.

Rainer Jenss – Rainer, his wife and two young boys visited 28 countries in one year. Rainer is the one that introduced me to the Meet Plan Go group and has been a huge supporter of my plan even when I was torn between two continents!

Solo Traveler Blog – Janice traveled solo in her twenties and she’s doing it again. Her story is bittersweet but answers the question, if not now, when.

The Frugal Traveler – Seth ‘seeks first-class living at steerage prices.’ His is the Frugal Traveler blog from the New York Times.

Wandering Earl.com – Earl’s blog was one of the first I found. He left in 1999 for a post-graduation trip that was supposed to last three months. He’s been on the road for over 12 years.

World Travel for Couples.com – I found WTFC early on in the process when I was trying to convince the boyfriend to do this with me. Adam and Megan are a married couple who completed a RTW, and are still married 🙂