Our vacation is becoming a journey.

A vacation is a break from a job, school or other routine. You pack your bags for a week or two, recharge your batteries and return. Until recently, our trip felt like a vacation, even though we knew we weren’t returning to our old lives.

But now, one month since we left Durham, things feel different. We have settled into the rhythms of the road. Every day we are absorbed with how far we will drive, what we will see, what we will eat. I’ve barely looked at a newspaper. With every mile, Duke and Durham recede.

Our days have been so full. Since we left Portland four days ago, for example, we’ve hiked several times in redwood forests, explored a marsh and bird sanctuary and watched the sun set over the Pacific. We’ve seen young people smoking grass on the streets of Arcata, dodged wildfires and sipped wine in Napa. We’ve lived every moment.

Of course, we miss our family and friends — deeply. But as we near the halfway turn of our trip, we no longer feel like we are “on vacation.” We know now, emotionally as well as intellectually, that we are on an amazing journey, with at least another month to go — and that’s only for our U.S. travels. Nepal still awaits beyond that.

We hope you are enjoying the trip with us. Please do let us know.