The White Elephant

As part of the prep work for the big honey(group)moon we hosted a White Elephant Meet and Greet in January for everyone to get together and meet one another. Our total headcount has grown to 18 people including Super Nel and I. There were quite a few people that had never met one another so our gathering including food, discussion about travel and a fun game. We asked everyone to bring a travel related wrapped gift and played The White Elephant game. There were some fun gifts that were opened (and many were stolen repeatedly as part of the game rules) and everyone left with a special treat.

 Here are some of the travel goodies that were given as part of the white elephant game:


A daypack backpack from Hikpro

The best part? The backpack folds into an attached zippered pouch the size of a hand.

One lucky person went home with an asymmetrical travel pillow.  

A portable charger for phones and tablets is a must for travel. 

The best part of the party was having everyone under the same roof and talking about travel. Super Nel and I laid out all our travel gear, backpacks and let everyone test out some of our fun accessories.

We also set out some posters with travel related questions for everyone to add their comments. This trip promises to be full of adventure and for some of our friends its their first Eurotrip. Everyone was full of excitement and questions about our upcoming itinerary. 

What are some of your biggest fears about traveling to a foreign country? Top answers: Dying, losing passport and have you seen hostel?

What photo are you looking forward to taking the most? Top answers: Astrological clock in Prague and French Riviera 

What is your biggest pet peeve/frustration when traveling with other people? Top answers: Lingering, lack of organization, late people. 

What are you most excited to see in Europe? Top answers: Cinque Terre and Underground Scavi tour. 

What will definitely be in your backpack to Europe? Top Answers: DSLR camera, condoms and ductape. 

Until this evening, the main way we've all been communicating is through our google hangout chatroom. This tool along with our google document has provided us with endless amounts assistance in planning a trip with 18 people. 

(Left to right front row: Ala, Mel, Rianna, Bree, Dana, Delia, Chris, Super Nel, me, Darius and Freddy. Left to right back row: Shane, Josef, Pedro and Jose)

We were lucky to get a group photo of everyone at the party. There are three honey(group)mooners missing from the photo: Catrina , Maria and Adele. They were dearly missed but unable to make it to this gathering. The next time we'll all be together will be at the airport in LAX before we depart for London or Amsterdam or in Berlin-and it can't come soon enough! 

A few days later Super Nel and I were talking about the trip and he mentioned how lucky we are to be taking this trip with some of our best friends. He remembered that he and his friends used to talk about taking trips around the world but that they never happened. He said if we hadn't planned this honey(group)moon they may never be traveling around the world. I thought that this was true about some of our other friends. We both feel that trip will not just change our lives by making us more open minded and well traveled but we hope it can do the same for those that are traveling with us.