As you know, we have started introducing you to our favorite traveling couples and decided to make this a series. Next up in our spotlight are Katie and Kevin of the amazingly creative blog Postcards from yonder, two American artists who left California behind to go travel the world, at the beginning of 2016.
Katie and Kevin: The artists on the run
When I started writing posts about couples who travel and blog, I never thought I would ever get to write about such diverse people. Almost a year after starting this series, I still get amazed by the life stories and adventures of the couples who reach out to me or that I discover randomly. Katie and Kevin are no exception to the rule, and I loved the concept of their website as soon as I discovered it! I liked how they both had their , I enjoyed their hilarious posts like , and I became a fan when I discovered the !
Katie and Kevin met in San Francisco a few years ago, one fateful day during a lunch break (they happened to work in the same building) as they shared overpriced salads in a public park near their offices. Who knew, back then, that a few years later, they’d be exploring the world together? At the end of 2015, they decided to leave California and to fly towards the unknown. When I ask them what led them to this decision, they answered: “We actually talked about our mutual interest in extended world travel on our very first date (seriously!), so truly, it felt like an inevitability for both us. And after about two and half years together, we started planning in earnest. It was hard to decide on a time to leave, though — we both really loved our lives in San Francisco, our friends, our jobs, our rent-controlled apartments — they were all very compelling reasons to stay, but at 30-ish, we knew it would only get harder and harder to make the leap, so we decided 2016 would be the year as we slowly packed up and sold everything we owned…”
Since January, they’ve visited places as diverse as Ireland, South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and India! And if they had to pick the highlight of their trip? “Two things come to mind,” they say. “One, our road trip through Namibia where we saw animals we didn’t even know existed roaming around a terrain that at times, looks celestial, and two, our time in Ubud, Bali, where we set up for about 6 weeks and got to soak up the culture, food, people, and do a shit-ton of yoga. Honorable mention goes to Koh Pha-Ngan, which of course, is known for its Full Moon Party, but we didn’t even do that, and still fell in love. It was our first real Thai island experience, and we were there during low season, which meant it was SUPER hot, but also quiet, and we lived like kings for so cheap — scooting around, playing in the sand, doing ocean-side yoga and eating fresh fish. Katie thought she hated the beach until this trip and has since been converted!”
After reminiscing about the best part of their trip so far, I ask them about their travels as a couple. What are, according to them, the main advantages of traveling as a duo? “Well, you have double the people to plan things, which is great!” they answer. “Katie is usually in charge of where we sleep, and Kevin handles how we get there. But we think the true value is always having your best friend to share things with. It can be hard to make spontaneous decisions because you have to gauge two preferences, two moods, and two perspectives with pretty much everything you do, but we rarely feel lonely, which, when you’ve been away from home for a long time, is an inevitability at times.”
When they planned this trip, Katie and Kevin created a blog together, so that people could follow their adventures. “Writing, photography, and simply creating is a passion for both us,” they explain. “We felt very strongly that this time abroad was about travel and experiences — yes — but it was also an opportunity to explore our own artistic interests. A time away from “career” to follow our creative curiosities and a kind-of self-produced and self-guided “grad school” if you will. And within that framework, the blog has become a little digital canvas for our ideas, ponderings, and work along the way. As for the name and concept: it’s funny, it’s only been 6 months since we left, and I can’t even remember where the name came from. I think that we had the idea to send postcards, so that was always a theme, and then we just brainstormed for a while to find something we could both agree on. We like the way it’s worked though, because in addition to the actual postcards we send, we spend a lot of time on the cover images and ideas for each post, so it always feels like a new (digital) postcard every time we update the blog.”
Their blog is one of the most original ones I have come across in a while, and I particularly like its unique content. Far from the top 10’s and other typical advices on what to do in each city of the world, Katie and Kevin give their individual touch to each article and fill their blog with amazing drawings and photos. “One thing we’ve learned while doing this blog is that our creative processes are actually much different from each other, which has yielded a teeeeensy bit of drama at times” they admit. “Kevin is a perfectionist, and will spend many hours perfecting each photo and each post, while Katie tends to work fast (and maybe a bit more sloppily) to achieve plentiful variety. But, generally we let the places we go dictate what we write about, brainstorm some themes, and agree on a schedule. Some of our concepts are consistent — for example, if we’re in a place known for food, Katie will usually do a “Rainbow Food Challenge” (finding food for every color of the rainbow), and if we do an animal activity, Kevin will write haikus about them. But, as creative people, we want to give plenty of room for inspiration, so we also like to arrive in a place and let our daily curiosities guide what we write about (like when Katie illustrated dragon fruit in Bali, or when Kevin captured the endlessly entertaining translated Chinese signs).”
And what about the “get a postcard” section, how did they even think of it? “We did this so we could easily collect our own family and friends’ addresses and write to them, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit that this partly stems from Katie’s background in direct marketing schemes (shameless, we know). People love getting STUFF (and who doesn’t love getting MAIL?) so we decided to try engage our readers beyond pure content consumption and break the through the computer screen to share our experience in a physical realm. It’s been a fun project, too, scouring each place for great postcards, and sharing them with people all over the world!”
In the next few weeks, Katie and Kevin will be spending their time in between Asia and Africa. I am sure they’ll find amazing postcards in places like Nepal, Rwanda, Kenya or Tanzania! Before leaving them, I have one last question: Will they ever come home? “Eventually…” they answer. “The Bay Area is definitely home for us, and we look forward to going back at some point, but we already have a very different outlook on how we’d like to live our lives. Ideally we’ll find a way of making money that allows us enough flexibility to move around a bit. In the meantime, we are trying to stretch our current budget as looooong as possible before having to make money again.”
Well, enjoy it guys, and make the most of it. I will keep following your crazy adventures and reading your posts. And if you want to do it too, make sure to check out their , , and !
