Nearly eight years ago, I met the most remarkable person I’ve ever known. Today marks the occasion of her thirty-third birthday, and I wanted to celebrate by telling her a few of the things I love most about her.

Part of the fun of traveling is delving into a country's underbelly, those places that are just so damn odd they defy explanation. And Tim and I are big fans of quirky travel sights, so when our best friend asked if we wanted to go on a road trip to see the world's largest arcade (and the location of The King of Kong documentary), who were we to say no?

We found Nicaragua to be incredibly affordable (and super friendly), but we definitely splurged while we were there. We spent an average of $110 per day on this trip to Nicaragua. If we were on a long-term trip around the world, though, we believe our daily average would be closer to $65 per day for both of us.

Whether at home or abroad, travelers have to decide if they'll lend a helping hand to the homeless people they pass along the way. What follows are the approaches we take when traveling which have helped us navigate this very sensitive and emotional topic.

Tim and I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel of "travel experts" last night at Boston's Meet, Plan, Go event! It was a nationwide conversation with meetings taking place in 12 other cities with a goal of not only encouraging more folks to take a career break and travel the world, but to show them it can be done!