Ville and I feel as if we are on the Whirlwind Tour, trying to see everyone and celebrate a return after such a crazy adventure. And although Ville likes to say that we are "between jobs right now," with no set time that we need to be back in Bend, we do need to get back somewhat soon. When we left Bend, on a plane with our tour bikes boxed up, heading for Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in June 2016, we were giddy with excitement over the adventure ahead of us. With no experience whatsoever, and only about 10 miles up the road put on the bikes to make sure nothing fell off, we were as Newbie as it gets. I had changed a bike tire back in the day, but had no idea even about basic bicycle maintenance. With well built bikes, a compact travel tool in hand and over 18,200 miles to go, we would have a lot of time to learn. And learn we sure did! We kissed family and friends goodbye, and knew we would see them in a few months time (riding south through Oregon), so not goodbye for too long. 

After about two and a half months ride south, we were back in Portland and Bend for a brief stop to enjoy time with everyone. But then riding away from my Sister's House in the south of Portland, Oregon, we knew it would be the last time we would see her, her husband, and my little nephew until we were finished with the ride, over a year away. Knowing the time apart would be long, was always the hardest part of our adventuring. As we continued south through Los Angeles and Orange Country, California, we packed in visits with as much family as they could tolerate of us. My Aunt Lori and Uncle Steve took us straight down to my Uncle's favorite bicycle shop, and had them completely overhaul the bikes. We got new cables, rotors, brake pads, chains, cassettes, chainrings and even a new pair of bike shoes. We could never have afforded more than only replacing chains and know that the bikes only made the entire journey thanks to their kindness. We are forever grateful to them and so many others like them who have helped us on our journey!

And so the return to Los Angeles and Orange County after finishing our ride in Ushuaia (but really Lapataia Bay), was not only long awaited visits with family and friends, it was to celebrate the completion of our ride with all those who helped us south along the way. With my Mom, Dad and Brother, Jordan, we went straight from the Princess Cruise Ship to Laguna Beach to stay with my Aunt Terri, Uncle Tom and cousin Sara where they had a giant get-together for Easter with all my cousins and their kids. Our family being as close as the mafia, almost all of them had followed our journey and many contributed in donations, meals and places to stay on our ride south. It was a giant hug fest and great time to catch up. 

After Jordan and my parents flew home, we got a ride up to Whittier and stayed a night getting to hang out with my cousin Shannon, husband Kurt, and their kids. I'm not sure even all the riding has gotten us in enough shape to chase around three young kids :) But we had a great time just spending the time together. We got a ride to Long Beach and took a bus, that's right folks, a bus, to my cousin GK's house. Now the bus system isn't great, it actually isn't even good in these parts, but boy was it entertaining! It took 2 different buses and over two and a half hours to go about 25 miles (we could have biked it faster), but we saw and met some real characters. A man walking down the street with a hospital gown flapping open, complete with a shower cap on his head. A woman got on the bus and sat in front of us yelling and babbling something about skateboarding sitting with a woman with her face completely bandaged up. A man got on with a giant boombox and was nice enough to share his tunes with the whole bus. Oh boy! It was almost more of an adventure than our bike ride.

We had dinner with cousin GK, Manon, Parker and Alexis. They were far more upset at us taking a bus than we were. We made it to Dave and Buster's, a giant adult arcade with my cousin Sara and her boyfriend, Scott and had a killer time being big children. We had lunch with cousins, Mike, Chip and wife Nicole in Newport Beach and enjoyed catching up on lost time. From there, we made our way by train up to Montrose in LA to spend a night with a great buddy and old roommate of mine from the days I lived in San Francisco, Dani. Even after all the years and time apart, we still take over right where we left off. Thanks Dani again for the ride all the way to Tustin, life in LA on the freeways is way more crazy than our lives on the road :) We made our way back to Aunt Lori and Uncle Steve's place and went for a ride (our first since the end of our long Ride) in Irvine. Uncle Steve is recently recovering from his second bought with cancer, having parts of his lungs removed, and still insisted we head out for a ride. Now that guy is OUR hero! My Aunt Lori took a day off work to take us to lunch and replace our shoes that were completely falling apart on our feet. Big thank you to all our loving family, oh we missed you all so!

The next morning early, we got a ride from Aunt Lori to the Tustin Train Station and caught a train, with the help of two guys heading for the train to help us carry our boxed bikes. When we arrived in Union Station, we had to haul our boxes and gear down the tracks to the next Amtrak Train heading for Portland, Oregon. A journey that would take 30 hours! And after it took over a month and a half to bike, 30 hours was nothing. Unfortunately, for me, I had yet another horrible migraine and a series of bloody noses for the entire journey and it wasn't quite as fun as I had hoped. I've struggled a lot with these; before, during and now even more so after the ride and will be following up with my doctor to "work out the kinks" that arise after nearly two years on a bike. 

For anyone considering taking the Amtrak Coast Starlight, heading between LA and Seattle, WA, it is a very scenic and pleasant ride. It winds right along the coastline from LA to just south of Big Sur, before jogging inland and winding through lush pastureland littered with farms and cows. When we were chugging through a tunnel, all of a sudden they hit the brakes and screeched to a halt just outside the tunnel. As we watched a cop car come flying up through a field near the train, then followed by an ambulance, fire truck and multiple other cop cars, they announced that they thought that they had hit someone in the tunnel and were trying to get help. After feeling terrible for such a horrible thing to happen to someone, the entire train sighed with relief when they announced that they didn't find anything and we were cleared to leave. Very thankful it ended well. 

We opted for the cheapest seats and so sleeping was a bit of a challenge (along with a migraine), but by morning, as the sun broke through the windows, we saw Mt. Shasta, in Northern California towering above us dusted with snow. It brought a big smile to our faces to be back near the mountains and on our way back to Oregon. As we watched the "Welcome to Oregon" sign pass, we were hugging each other with excitement. We passed into a high desert landscape covered in ponderosa pine trees and sagebrush as we stopped just south of Bend on Highway 97 at Chemult. Originally we planned to get off here and have my parents pick us up, but since we had not seen my sister, her husband and our nephew in so long, we wanted to go first all the way up to Portland to see them. The remainder of the ride turned very green and wet as we climbed back over the Cascade Mountains into the valley stopping in Eugene, Salem, and finally pulling into Union Station in Portland. 

We had met a very nice man, Gary, on the train who lived right near my sister's house in Tualatin and was kind enough to have his partner, Pat, bring their truck to give us, along with our giant bike boxes and gear, a ride to my sister's house. Thanks again so much for the ride! We made it to my sister's house just as she (Lisa) , her husband (Sean) , my little nephew (Braydon) and my brother, Jordan, pulled into the driveway. And after all this time, we were finally all reunited! Leaving little Braydon as a baby was difficult knowing we would miss a lot of time with him as we headed south on our ride, but getting to see him after all this time as a big two and a half year old was really special. He was so excited showing us all his toys, talking a mile a minute, and then all of sudden hugged Ville's hand and said, "I'm really happy your here Uncle Ville." It made me cry it was so precious. Missed time is hard, but knowing how precious time is, is a blessing.

We are very happy now to be reunited with family. We are planning to stay until Monday, the 16th, here in Portland. We have a lot of time to catch up on. My parents just arrived from Bend this evening and we all get to be together. Life is good. Monday, we will be getting a ride back to Bend from my parents and, well, complete the circle. The entire journey, from start to end. What an adventure. Thanks again all for following along. Thanks for those who have written us, signed up for the Newsletter, helped us and continue to stay connected. For those who have requested, We Lost The Map T-Shirts are on the way and will be right here on our website, very soon! 

For Bend Friends and those who will travel, we are planning a big Welcome Home Cinco De Mayo Party, right at our house in Bend! Mark your calendars, May 5th, details to follow. As for our Bend Presentation, the planning is in the works, stay tuned for date/time/place. Bend-LaPine Schools, get ready, we will be making the rounds for presentations when we arrive home and the final video is complete (Ville is working on it as we speak). Alright, that's all for now, until next time, keep on keepin' on...

Hello Friends!! Old and new. A massive Thank You to the outpouring of excitement and positive feedback from everyone after two completely unplanned and therefore, not rehearsed, presentations Ville and I gave while on the Princess Cruise we took to get back to the United States. When we arrived on board with two giant bicycle boxes needing storage, word got out to the staff about our ride. Then, the Entertainment Director, Matt Thompson, threw caution to the wind and had these two yahoos put together a presentation about our ride in the largest theater on the ship. We had to throw it together in an afternoon at a port stop using WiFi to access photos and videos and after not much promotion (since it was planned last-minute), we expected a small turnout. Boy were we wrong. We rolled out onstage and looked out at a sea of eyes all looking at us and I realized I probably should have had a stiff drink for breakfast beforehand. 

In Punta Arenas, we spent our time walking around actually seeing the city this time, and stocking up on more Yerba for Ville's new Mate addiction after traveling through southern South America. Our new friend Sylvie had been hoping to find a cool Mate cup and we scored her a cool one from a local shop. We had a couple days at sea, passing multiple giant glaciers, including a scenic spin at the Amalia Glacier, along the coastline of Chile and made our way to Puerto Montt. Having a very limited budget, we agreed not to book any tours or even have a single drink on board (everything costs extra), but thoroughly enjoyed just walking around the port towns since we had spent so much time on the go. Puerto Montt was very rainy, as was ALL of Chile as we rode down the coast, and we ducked into the market to buy up some cheap wine bottles to take on the ship. We had skipped Puerto Montt on our ride south, opting for the less trafficked roads to the east, so it was nice to see the town for the first time.

We had a day at sea, where we enjoyed chatting with heaps of new people and friends we have now met on the ship. We shared travel stories; past, present, and, of course, scheming future travel plans. Always leaving our lives open for the next adventure ;) Since there would be just under half the ship of passengers leaving the ship the next port (there are over 3,000 passengers on board), we had to say, "Goodbye" and "Until Next Time" to a bunch of new friends. And then after a day at sea, we ported in San Antonio, Chile, where my family was to meet us. We sat in the loading area right off the ship watching the newbies stream past and then somehow realized we must have missed them arrive. We climbed back on board and scoured the ship looking for the fam. We finally ran into them at the front desk trying to organize their luggage fiasco, and shared some very long awaited and much anticipated hugs. The most challenging aspect of a nearly two year journey is the time and distance that grows between those we love.

We had last seen my parents over six months ago in Cusco, Peru (very grateful they made the long trip down to see us) and it had been over a year since leaving my brother in Portland, Oregon and riding south. We had a lot of missed time to catch up on. With buffets and restaurant-like dining options, we just had to show up. None of us had to cook, clean, or plan and it was the perfect scenario to just relax together and enjoy each others company. We relaxed poolside during the days when not in port towns, watched movies on the giant big screen above the pool deck, attended live shows when they sounded interesting, sipped on wine in our cabins, feasted all day long, worked out in the big gym a lot and relaxed. Ville had a personal vendetta against the stationary bike up in the gym and after a couple weeks, was thrilled to beat the most difficult program on the bike by 8 minutes. Nerd. Save for the fact that my poor parents luggage never made it, and they had to wear the same clothes they arrived in for a few days, life was good.

We had a stop in La Serena, Chile the following day, and we spent the day together in the mall trying to buy some clothes for my parents to wear while they waited for their luggage to catch up to them. What was so frustrating for them, is that their luggage had been lost on their way to see us in Cusco, Peru as well and had taken many phone calls and multiple days for it to be found. When they had boarded their flight in Oregon, they had explained to the woman checking them into their flight of their fears of losing their luggage and she had vowed to make sure it was checked through and would arrive when they did in Santiago. Sadly, it never even left the airport of their first flight. Almost like a sick joke or prank, but I kept trying to remind them that at least they made it safe and we were all together. Who really cared that they would have to walk around the ship naked?

After buying the latest fashions American Airlines could buy in La Serena, my parents were able to stay remotely clothed and a nice lady, Anjie, even gave me a couple dresses to wear and my Mom was able to use one for dinners. Thanks Anjie! We had two days at sea to hang out and then a stop in Pisco followed by Lima. In Lima, Peru, we took a taxi to town where we walked along the ocean front watching the surfers and then around the city center to watch the chaos of Lima. We had an overnight in Lima and after arriving back to the ship in the evening, my parents were told that they were unable to retrieve their luggage from the airport during the day and that they would send them first thing in the morning with a driver back to the airport to try and retrieve the luggage before the ship was set to sail at 10am. After a back-and-forth over traffic complications, a Second Captain met my parents, along with the head chef also missing luggage, outside the ship. He instructed the driver to take them to the airport, but they would need to leave at 9:15am sharp from the airport, with our without their luggage, to make it back to the ship on time. My poor parents were gripping the inside handles of the car, while the taxi driver gunned it swerving in and out of traffic like a maniac, flying into the airport, holding their bags as they ran through security, and were able to track down someone who actually was able to find and release their luggage to them. My Dad could care less if he wore the same pair of underwear the entire cruise, but my Mom was overjoyed to be reunited with her suitcases full of her own clothes.

They had a return journey much the same as the journey to the airport and found all us kids at the back of the ship eating breakfast, arriving with four thumbs up and grinning ear to ear. Now the next three days at sea would be decked out in all their own fashionable threads instead of Princess Cruise Robes. By our next stop, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Ville had come down with the death-hack cold circulating the ship and we had to leave him behind when we ventured out to go zip-lining. My brother, Jordan, is an avid climber so zip-lining was a much milder form of an adrenaline hit for him, but it was a first for both my mom and dad. They were champs. They zipped down all 12 cables, the longest being 450 yards, and didn't even need to change their pants after. Our buddy, Laurent, made the journey there with us and we met another couple from the ship to go with as a big group. We all had a blast!

Felt bad having to leave behind my partner-in-crime, but luckily we had been able to do another zip-line tour years ago when backpacking through Central America. We found him still sick back at the ship and then Dad, Mom and I opted to simply walk the beach in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua the next day while Jordan took off with Laurent to explore Granada (we had the privilege of staying there on our bike journey south). We had two more days at sea, followed by a sunny beach day, Ville in tow and feeling much better, in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. The following day, on March 28th, our 10 year anniversary of meeting in Vietnam, Ville and I had our second presentation. And it was a big hit.

The picture above is from the stage at the end of the show. A massive Thank You to all of you who came, many of you twice (and you say WE are crazy :) who shared in celebrating with us the end of our ride, for asking some great questions, inviting us to your homes, sharing your own stories with us, and telling us how much it inspired you for us to share our story. Giving back is super important to us, for all that have helped and continue to help us do this, we want to share and inspire others to be the best selves they can be. Ville had been introduced to the Captain while on board and invited him to our presentation. He in exchange, invited us to the Bridge for our own private tour what a cool opportunity  to get a tour by the Captain himself! Thankfully, they wouldn't let Ville steer the ship, who knows where we would have ended up. We had a great dinner after with Mom, Dad, and Jordan up in the Share Restaurant and celebrated 10 years together that has felt like an eternity. Cheers to the next eternity stud!

We reveled in our last day on the ship together, soaked in the hot tub, played some overly aggressive and competitive games of ping pong (the entire family was in on this), cracked a bottle of Champagne that was gifted to us by a kind couple on board, Lynda and Jeff, danced, chatted with new friends, and said our goodbyes. For all of you who we met, please follow up with us (if you haven't already) and make sure we have your contact info. You never know when our paths will cross again. And if anyone finds there way to Oregon or anywhere near Bend, please reach out to us. We will stick you in our tent in the yard. Only kidding, we have rooms and would love to have friends visit. On our last morning, the disembarking process got harry and took hours longer than planned, but after all the challenges we faced in the last two years, this was not one of them. Ville even got his butt squeezed by a kind old lady, and really, I can't blame her.

Thanks Aunt Terri and Uncle Tom for picking us up and your patience waiting for my immigrant husband to get cleared back into the country. Always a process, but more so once we have been gone for a while. We plan to hang around the Los Angeles area for a week or so visiting all our family and friends here and then planning to take the train up to Portland, Oregon next week to get to see my Sister, Lisa, her husband, Sean and my little Nephew, Braydon. Thanks everyone for continuing to follow this traveling circus. Please reach out to us, we love hearing from you. And until next time, keep on keepin' on...

P.S. If you were with us on the Princess Cruise and enjoyed our presentation, please remember to comment on the Princess Cruise Questionnaire or email them directly. Both our talks were voluntary, but we would love it if they ask us to share again on future cruises. Thanks!

Follow our journey:    On Facebook - Kristen Grund Jokinen & welostthemap2    AND Instagram - welostthemap     And please check back, we are working on the book and we will be hoping to get it in your hot little hands soon! Promise. ​