This is why we travel and how we afford to do it at our age–

Most of our month was spent back in Chattanooga, TN, where we edited the final videos of our Egypt series, planned for our upcoming travels, and took on a handful of “odd jobs,” including filming a wedding, creating art commissions, etc.

We often get asked how we afford to travel, and in our recent Q+A video, we reveal (1) how I saved enough money for us to start traveling the world immediately after college, and (2) how much money we make from our three main sources of income. Often times, when we share how much money we make, the most common response is, “That’s it?!?” We’ve come to realize that a job and career, for us, is less about how much money we make, and more about what we’re passionate about and what we want to build our life towards. Right now, our biggest passion in life is to experience all that the spectacular world has to offer, and we hope to inspire you, not to travel, but to chase your own dreams and passions with the days you have on this extraordinary planet.

Of course, we checked up on our darling house a couple times while we were back, and I’ve gotta say, the framer and his team really outdid themselves. The house is looking more and more like a home, and we can’t wait to move in sometime this summer (fingers crossed)!

After Easter, we said goodbye to the U.S. once again and boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul, where we began our ultimate Turkey adventure. A thorough food tour video had us running around Istanbul, trying all the iconic foods of the Turkish cuisine and getting a small taste of the Turkish culture. Of course, we couldn’t come to Turkey without finding out if the Turkish bath was an experience of pain or one of pleasure, so on our final day in Istanbul, we tried our luck and gave it a go!

After getting smacked up and scrubbed at a historic bath house, we hopped on a 10-hour overnight bus and made our way over to world-famous Cappadocia.

New free resource for you—

I officially completed another helpful resource for you all– our Amazon Storefront. We have different categories listing out all the gear we film and edit with, all our travel essentials, and all our van necessities. I also included the books we keep in our home library, the products we use for skincare and self-care, and the clothes we wear on a weekly basis. (Of course, if you do decide to purchase any of our recommended items using our link, we will earn a small commission from Amazon!)

Travel hack of the month—

Getting airport lounge access using a credit card! This past month, we got ourselves a travel credit card that granted us access to over 1,300 airport lounges around the world. We chose to get the Capital One Venture X card. The annual fee is a rather hefty $395, but we were able to justify this big fee by the crazy amount in which we travel. These are the benefits of the card, and why we decided to spend the money on it:

1. 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. This is the equivalent of earning $750, which immediately covers the cost of the card for one year. Plus, you don’t have to wait until the 3 months are up for them to give you the bonus.

2. $300 statement credit reimbursement. When you book through Capital One’s travel portal, you can receive credit in return. We recently purchased two round trip flights with their portal, allowing us to receive $300 off the bill.

3. Global Entry credit or TSA Pre-Check credit. You can earn up to $100 in reimbursement when you apply for either Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check.

4. Priority Pass membership. The card grants you access to over 1,300 lounges around the world. This saves us money on meals and gives us more comfort during long travel days.

5. 4 authorized users. Each authorized user gets their own Priority Pass membership and can bring up to 2 guests into an airport lounge.

We have already earned the special offer of 75,000 bonus miles, which helped pay for round-trip tickets to our next country, and we’ve taken full advantage of the multiple cardholder option, signing up both sides of our parents under our account.

If you’re interesting in getting this credit card and would also like to support us on our 50 country goal, consider using our referral link!

Our exact route for the month—

Chattanooga, TN, USA: April 1-19

Atlanta, GA, USA: April 19-20

Istanbul, Turkey: April 21-27

Cappadocia, Turkey: April 27-30

Some “foods-to-try” (Turkey edition)—

Menemen: Tomato or pepper based scrambled eggs.

Simit: Bagel-shaped bread encrusted with sesame seeds.

Pide: Boat-shaped flatbread with toppings.

Lahmacun: Thin, cheese-free, Turkish pizza with toppings.

Gozleme: Savory Turkish pastry with fillings.

Cig Kofte: Raw meatballs (now made of bulgur).

Dondurma: Sticky and chewy Turkish ice cream.

Lokum: Gelatinous confections dusted with powdered sugar.

Manti: Turkish ravioli with a yogurt sauce.

Iskender Kebap: Sliced doner meat with hot tomato sauce.

Kunefe: Sweet cheese-filled pastry.

BEST WAY TO SEE EGYPT (Nile River Cruise)

There is no better way to experience Egypt than on a dahabiya boat, and we show you why. Watch us swim in the freezing cold waters of the Nile River, and see what it’s like to cruise in a luxurious panoramic suite. Here is a link to the video.

ASWAN, EGYPT’S NUBIAN VILLAGE (and shocking police threat)

After enjoying the wholesome hospitality and delicious food of the Nubian people, we were threatened by the Egyptian police at the Aswan airport. Here is a link to the video.

How much money we make, feeling lonely, and having kids (Personal Q&A)

You all sent in your questions, and we answered a handful of them as thoroughly as we could. Here is a link to the video.

HOUSE UPDATE (our long but rewarding process)

While we were traveling abroad, Chad’s father was kind enough to check up on the house for us, allowing workers of all kinds to swing by and move forth on the renovation journey. Here is a link to the video.

TRYING TURKISH STREET FOOD in ISTANBUL, TURKEY (first impressions)

We started our adventure around Turkey in Istanbul, and we got our first impressions of the city by eating our way around it. Here is a link to the video.

OUR FIRST TIME in a TURKISH HAMMAM BATH (hot and smacked in Istanbul)

The Turkish bath has often been linked to these keywords: “abused,” “beaten,” “brutal,” and “passing out.” We wanted to find out for ourselves if the Turkish bath is indeed an experience of pain, or perhaps, one of pleasure. Here is a link to the video.

If you’re interested—

Join our community on Patreon, where we post exclusive monthly videos and weekly updates on where we are and what we’re doing.

Support Claire’s art studio, and cheer on her small business dreams by bringing home some handmade goods.

Check out our website shop for self-designed stickers, postcards, t-shirts, photography prints, and digital downloads (including Claire’s cookbook)!

After much encouragement, we have made a little Amazon wishlist, which will allow you to choose exactly what you gift us and our home. You may also buy us coffee and experiences here.

Interested to know what equipment we use to film, what items we always travel with, or what tools we used to build out our van? See our detailed Amazon Storefront.

If you haven’t yet, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow our Instagram to keep up with all that we’re doing. We’d love to have you along on the adventure.

Claire (and Chad)