2025 Year in Review

January 2025: The Bureaucratic Hoops of Panama

We kicked off the year in Panama City, Panama, to finally snag our Permanent Retirement (Pensionado) Visas. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our fantastic lawyer, Carol Gonzales, who expertly guided us through the bureaucratic equivalent of an Olympic-level obstacle course at Panama Immigration. The best part? We can now spend as much (the rest of our lives) or as little (just 24 hours every two years) time as we want in the Republic of Panama. There are a million great things to say about Panama, but it all starts with the people. We've met some truly awesome folks and officially made the decision: “We could absolutely live here!”

A quick pit-stop back in Seattle, via San Antonio for some bonus medical appointments. Got to check in with the kids before jetting off to Asia (again! Clearly, we didn't learn our lesson the first time) 

February 2025: Malaysia, Our Happy Place (and Hotel Heaven)

Welcome back to Malaysia! We were here in Oct/Nov 2024 and simply couldn't get enough. Malaysia is our happy place. This year, we were on a mission to build up our hotel rewards points, which meant three months in Malaysia, two of them living the hotel life. We fell head-over-heels for the Crowne Plaza, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, staying there for six excellent weeks. We also dabbled with some Hyatt properties (Centric and Hyatt House Mont Kiara). They were nice, but the CPKLCC truly had our hearts.

We also had some great meet-ups with fellow travel addicts, including Amelia & JP, Kristie & John, and Gary. Turns out, full-time and part-time travelers are just as crazy as we are—full of fantastic tips, epic stories, and a shared history of travel screw-ups.

Wanna know more? Check out our Kuala Lumpur/Bukit Bintang Highlight List if you are in KL, this list should keep you busy for about three weeks.

April: Still in KL (We Just Can't Quit)

Yup, still here! Linda is crushing her PT sessions (2x a week). We moved into an Airbnb next to St. Anthony’s, which meant we got to experience Lent and Holy Week. We had a ridiculously convenient three-minute walk to church. By this point, we felt like true KL veterans—and still liked it!

May: Guam, Vietnam, and 53 New Friends

Guam, baby! A quick ten-day jaunt to Guam to see family and catch up with our son and daughter-in-law. Nothing beats a perfect sunset every single night and soaking up that legendary Chamorro hospitality.

Afterwards, we zipped back to Southeast Asia to join the Rob & Allie travel group in Danang, Vietnam. A whopping 53 of us made the trek! We reconnected with familiar faces and added several new friends to our roster during this epic eight-day group encounter.

June: The 41-Hour Anniversary Flight

Our anniversary is June 5th. Since we met working at the airport and travel is literally our passion, it was only fitting that we celebrated by having a 41-hour flying day from Danang - Incheon (Seoul) - Dallas - San Antonio. It was time for a quick return to the US to see family, visit the doctors in Seattle, and inspect all of our worldly possessions in the storage unit (yup, all there... and still costing us dearly). We had a great time catching up with friends and family before the next leg. 

July–August–Early September: Panama, The Next Chapter

We returned to Panama for the summer to seriously figure out where we wanted to live. And we have! We loved our Airbnb in the Obarrio district, so Obarrio or El Congrejo are now our top choices for a long-term rental next year. We made a new circle of friends, seamlessly slipped into a very active social life, and finally got our bearings for the city. On this trip, we obtained our resident ID card (Cedula), which is basically our green card. No more lugging passports everywhere! 

September: Back in the States

Back in the States for the rest of the month. We visited our son in San Antonio, returned to the Bay Area to see friends and family, and then headed down to Southern California. We attended a SoCal wedding and Linda participated in the third annual Guam Prayer Warriors retreat in San Diego. A month of family, friends, and prayer! 

October-November: The Italian Countryside Saga

This Fall brought us back to Italy to stay with William’s Italian family and enjoy some sightseeing. We stayed with the human's (William) Italian brother and his family in the countryside outside of Macerata, in the Marche region. We spent some wonderful weeks on the farm, eating outstanding organic meals and exploring the small, charming villages. We celebrated birthdays and visited nieces and nephews in a Northern Italian town. We even took a week to explore the town of Bari in Puglia and made new friends there. As the weeks progressed, the weather grew colder, and we enjoyed the spectacular turning of the leaves until late fall. 

December: WA Holidays

December brought us back to the US. After a quick visit to the Bay Area, we traveled up to Seattle to spend time with our youngest son and handle the yearly ritual of batching together all our year-end medical appointments. We’re spending the holidays here in Washington and eagerly looking forward to our return to Southeast Asia in the new year.