We left Hanoi today and I am a bit sad. Suzanne and I both really enjoyed our time in Vietnam and especially Hanoi. We had low expectations for Vietnam and wondered how we would spend three weeks there. Now we are wondering if we left too soon! It was very authentic and beautiful. It has … Continue reading Hanoi – Beautiful Chaos
On recommendation from several people, we took an unscheduled side trip to the town of Hue (Pronounced “Whey”). We had two open nights on our itinerary and heard there were some nice sites, a beautiful train journey to get there and some history related to the Vietnam War. We agree the train journey was beautiful … Continue reading Hue too Rainy
I was very excited when my brother decided to come visit us over the holidays. We have been away from our family (physically) for 2 months now. So it was great to see Walker and share some of our adventures with him. It was a big commitment for him to fly halfway around the world. … Continue reading Great to See Family
If you have not read Suzanne (click here) and Luke’s posts (click here) yet, you should start by reading them. They did an amazing job summarizing our week at the Elephant Nature Park and what we learned about the Asian Elephant and their plight. We were all deeply impacted by what we learned about the … Continue reading Please Don’t Ride the Elephants
Yesterday we did a really great activity in Chiang Mai. We took a cooking class to learn how to cook all our favorite Thai food that we have been enjoying here. We chose the Zabb-E-Lee Thai Cooking School after reading about it and a personal recommendation (Thank you Erica!). It was an awesome experience. … Continue reading Learning to Cook Thai
The Great Barrier Reef is an indescribable place. It is very hard to do it justice with my description and these pictures. Needless to say, Luke has already booked us in to come back in four years when he is 12 and can go scuba diving. We spent two days on a live-aboard boat out on the … Continue reading Under the Sea
Wow. What a fantastic day yesterday. I have been looking forward to catching up with old friends when we get to Melbourne and yesterday was a perfect day of doing that. We spent this beautiful Sunday visiting wineries, a brewery for lunch, a dairy, and an artisan chocolate factory with our great friends The Gillies and The … Continue reading Yarra Valley Bliss….
After two days, three flights and many time zones, we arrived to spring in sunny and blue-skied Auckland, NZ. We are renting a surburban Airbnb apartment and it’s been a great way to kick the jet lag with fresh air, playgrounds and lots of walking. We rode the ferry into the city center today and … Continue reading First Days in Auckland
We want to hear from you! More than half of the places we are going are new to us. We’ve heard or read about them and want to experience them firsthand. Maybe you already have. And that’s what we’d love to know. Tell us your favorite places, memories, foods, excursions and people you know where we … Continue reading Where in the World are the Rutledges?
Suzanne: When we were contemplating this trip, it was important for Mitch and me to determine why we were going to go and what our goals were. If I’m being honest, I just love new adventures and seeing the world and all its beauty. People fascinate me, and visiting other cultures is a great way … Continue reading What’s our Why?
Out of our Comfort Zone to Explore the World 