We're Stephanie & Tom. We live in San Francisco...and we're idealists. That's what one of our friends said when we told him about our plans to put the real world on hold and travel for a year. And we think he's right...and we're okay with that.
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| Steph in Costa Rica - May, 2009 |
I'm Stephanie.
I'm 29 (at press time) and I am in love with living in San Francisco. I'm originally from a small town called Pleasant Hill, Missouri. I'm an only child, and my mom lives in Southern Missouri. I started college at Central Missouri State University - but CMSU graduation plans were derailed when I met Tom in Jamaica while I was on spring break. A long conversation on the beach turned into shots of rum, which turned into falling in love in 48 hours, which turned into canceling my flight, dropping out of college and moving to Colorado, which turned into moving to San Francisco four months later, which turned into now...8 years later. Don't worry - I eventually finished my degree (Business/Marketing) from San Francisco State University. I've been doing public relations for technology and online entertainment companies for the past 7 years. I like it. I don't love it. My (current)
I don't like flossing, bad reality TV (which obviously excludes The Bachelor/Bachelorette), oysters, bad grammar, poor sidewalk etiquette, and the squeaky sound that wet shoes makes on tile/linoleum/the gas pedal. I'm a big fan of shoes, hot sauce, wine, cheeseburgers, witty banter, cheesy jokes, weddings, whiskey/ginger cocktails, liberals, and not exercising. I was a late bloomer in terms of travel, but now my wanderlust can't be quenched.
I'm Tom.
At the moment, I'm 36. I was born in England to English parents and moved to New Canaan, Connecticut (suburb of NYC), when I was about 3. I am the youngest of 3 kids. My sister, Melanie lives in Colorado with her husband, Brian, and my two nephews, Simon and Zachary. My sister, Zelda lives in Alaska with her husband, Jacek, and my two nieces, Iza and Zosia. My dad lives in New York City (Manhattan), and my mom lives in North Carolina. Though we live all over the country, we're still a pretty close family. I went to college at Kenyon College in Ohio, where I earned a degree in History.
I like documentaries and fog machines.
I could do without olives.
As a couple, we love costume/theme events, SCUBA diving, making fun of each other and driving around in unfamiliar places. We got married on July 31, 2010. It was the most fantastic day ever. (Seriously, look at the pics here. And read about it at Glamour.com and in Part I and Part II of this BridalGuide article.) We love living in San Francisco. Together, our international travels have taken us to Jamaica, England, Scotland, Italy, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Indonesia. (See pics here.)
Contact us:
StephanieSwain2010@gmail.com
ThomasSwain2004@gmail.com
Skype: SFSwains
FaceTime: stephanieswain2010@gmail.com
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| Tom in a tuktuk in Indonesia August, 2010 |
At the moment, I'm 36. I was born in England to English parents and moved to New Canaan, Connecticut (suburb of NYC), when I was about 3. I am the youngest of 3 kids. My sister, Melanie lives in Colorado with her husband, Brian, and my two nephews, Simon and Zachary. My sister, Zelda lives in Alaska with her husband, Jacek, and my two nieces, Iza and Zosia. My dad lives in New York City (Manhattan), and my mom lives in North Carolina. Though we live all over the country, we're still a pretty close family. I went to college at Kenyon College in Ohio, where I earned a degree in History.
Travel has always been a part of my life. As a kid, we took vacations to Italy, France, England and throughout the United States. I spent my 15th summer with family friends in Hong Kong and, between high school and college, I took a gap year to travel in Australia and New Zealand. After college, my regular schedule was: move somewhere, work and save for 6 months, leave to travel, and repeat. I took a backpacking trip through Eastern Europe, visiting Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany and spent some time in Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma. I worked on a ranch in Wyoming, a salmon boat in Alaska, and setting up snow ski and sporting events throughout North America. I picked apples in Australia and worked for spring break tour groups in Jamaica, which is how I met Steph. For the past 6 years, I've been in medical device sales - a career I plan to return to after The Trip.
I like documentaries and fog machines.
I could do without olives.
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| Biking through the rice paddies in Ubud, Bali - August, 2010 |
Contact us:
StephanieSwain2010@gmail.com
ThomasSwain2004@gmail.com
Skype: SFSwains
FaceTime: stephanieswain2010@gmail.com
Tom, you forgot to mention your love of fog machines. That must have been an oversight..
ReplyDeleteGood catch, Julia. The change has been made.
DeleteHey Guys,
ReplyDeleteJames the Aussie here, we met in Mcleod Ganj. I just found your little card in travel collection so thought I'd drop by and say hi. Hope you're having a great time. I'm in Nepal now, which I'm loving. I have been visiting a few monasterys, and am planning some high-altitude trekking soon.
Great looking blog you have here!
Hope all's well, drop me a line if you make it to Melbourne
Take Care
Hey James! Glad you touched base!Send us an email with your contact info and we'll hit you up when we're in Melbourne! Enjoy Nepal! Right now, we're in Sawai Madhopur, which is where Ranthambore National Park is in Rajasthan, India. We're hoping to see Bengal tigers in the wild, but we've been on 2 safaris...no luck yet. We'll try once more and then will head on to Udaipur.
DeleteEmail us at stephanieswain2010@gmail.com or thomasswain2004@gmail.com
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