About – sailawaywithdna.com

HELLO.

WE’RE JASON AND NIKKI WYNN

Welcome to our virtual base camp. Way back in the day (circa 2011) we traded in everyday life to satisfy our wear-out-your-shoes sense of adventure. Now, the world is our home and this is where we share our discoveries and lessons learned along the way.

Our first five years of travel were an epic road trip around North America with an awe-inspiring highlight being our trek around Alaska. We might live there if we weren’t suffering from Sedentary Lifeaphobia and summer lasted forever.

Then, in 2016 we decided to buy a sailboat so we could explore further. We didn’t have a lick of experience but we’re chock-full of determination. Being underqualified and overly optimistic is our norm. So now we’re on a sailing voyage and we’ve made it almost halfway around the world.

We’re cultivators of curiosity, always on the move with an irrefutable desire to search, explore, discover, grow, learn and share.

A FEW THINGS WE SHOULD TELL YOU.

We’re often accused of being overly happy (mostly by grumpy people), too clean to be real sailors (nobody told us there was a dress code), and optimistically naïve (mostly by dream crushers). All are potentially true except for the too-clean part. We’re really not that clean.

WHY PERPETUAL TRAVEL

Neither of us is overly talented, smart, rich, lucky, or retired. But that doesn’t stop us from reaching far-flung destinations, having wild adventures, and managing everything that makes living aboard a moving vessel possible. We’re two ordinary people that just so happen to live an extraordinary life.

We have zero shame in admitting we want to squeeze as much out of life as possible. For us, life is an adventure. It’s full of extraordinary moments for anyone willing, and wanting, to go after it.

HOW WE TRAVEL (HINT, IT INVOLVES COMFORT)

There are plenty of opinions about how one should go about life, travel, adventure, and everything in between. Variety, it’s the spice of life, right?

As for us, we like to travel with the comforts of home.

BUT…and this is a big but…everyone’s idea of comfort is different.

We believe comfort and minimalism can, and do, coexist. It’s not one or the other. It’s much more of a mindset and mind-shift that happens naturally as we dive deeper into this lifestyle.

Perpetual travel is a lifestyle for us, not a vacation. Vacations are short-term, a means of escaping the day-to-day. For us, it’s about creating a life we don’t need to escape.

Because our home is our vessel, it makes long-term travel more sustainable (on our pocketbooks and for the planet) and vice-versa (the more of our planet we see, the more we want to preserve it). Our rolling homes and now our sailboat Curiosity is about 1/8th of the footprint of our last sedentary home in Dallas, Texas. Yet, we feel like we have more than ever before.

HOW WE TRAVEL (HINT, IT INVOLVES COMFORT)

Yes, we traveled with two cats for almost an entire decade. They were the best travel companions in every way. You can learn more about their story here: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/sailing-pets-goodbye

HOW WE TRAVEL (HINT, IT INVOLVES COMFORT)

If you’ve made it this far, you mind as well grab a drink and hang out a little longer. Here’s a smattering of the things we like to share.

The Adventures – We’re utterly addicted to new experiences and obsessed with searching out Indiana Jones worthy adventures. Some people collect stamps or coins, we collect pin drops. Nothing makes us happier than adding a new story to our interactive travel map.

Living Off The Grid – Because our home is our mode of transportation, being self-sufficient just makes sense. We harness the power of the sun, have our own electrical grid, purify water and are continuously managing our resources (and are always looking for new, better ways to do so).

Sailing – Exploring the world like its 1492. This form of travel is all about the journey. Moving a pace set by the breeze, weathering storms and 100% prepared to discover the adventures we don’t yet know exist.

Think Local – Each place we visit our goal is to support the local community, avoiding chains and seek out local purveyors. We’re always on the hunt for a good farmer’s market, coffee roaster, distillery, brewery or local fisherman to follow into a little hole in the wall.

Fave Gear – We’re don’t like encouraging consumerism but any grand adventure requires some gear. Over our years of perpetual travel, we’ve purchased a lot of gear that has stood the test of time. We never recommend anything we don’t personally use and love.

Make Money and Travel – This series exists as a source of inspiration by sharing examples of real people around the world making money from anywhere and living the lifestyle they want. It proves that where there’s a will, there is a way.

RV’in – Hitting the road in style! While staying in a campground with lots of amenities has its allure, there’s nothing better than driving deep into the wild where the views are never ending and the sounds are au nat-ur-el! We call it Wild Camping and it’s all about leave no trace, and the best part: It’s as easy on the pocket book as it is on the environment. From tips and tricks to buyer beware, we’ve learned (and shared) a lot about RVing!

A BRIEF AND INCOMPLETE HISTORY OF HOW WE GOT HERE

At 28 years old we made a decision to make a major change in our lives because we were craving an adventure. Sure, we enjoyed our artsy careers (Jason as a photographer, Nikki as a makeup artist) and urban life in Dallas, Texas but something was missing.

As outdoor enthusiasts we felt the need for more of a “back to nature” adventure. With lofty dreams along with chatter of cross country travel and living outdoors, we came to the idea of purchasing an eco-friendly and fuel-efficient RV.

With our new found excitement, we made the big decision to close the doors to our studio and say audios to our clients (big companies too like Susan G. Komen, Exxon Mobil and the CW Network) to travel the country. We sold it all (4000 sq ft of accumulated stuff we didn’t need), packed up our 2 cats (we’re not crazy cat people, just crazy about ours), and hit the road!

Some thought we were insane, while others called us genius… the debate is still ongoing.

At first, we thought we would hit the road for about a year. We were in search of an adventure, a new place to call home and to find our very own meaning to the term American Dream. What happened instead is one very epic, long winded and life changing journey.

We quickly learned that the typical life…boy meets girl, couple gets mortgage payment, 60 hour work weeks, 2 ½ kids, two weeks of vacation a year and if you survive, retire at 60…sounds exhausting and it certainly isn’t our version of the American Dream.

Some call what we have wanderlust…but that just doesn’t seem to fit us.

What we have is more of a phobia…a straight up fear of missing out on life and not seeing the world. What we have is a full blown case of Sedentary Lifeaphobia (yep, we made that up) with no hope for a cure.

SO, WHAT’S THE TREATMENT YOU ASK?

Learn to make money while we travel, keep exploring and start a support group. And that is exactly what we’ve done! This website site has become our home base. A place to share the challenges, discoveries, ask questions, have conversations and all things related to this crazy un-sedentary lifestyle.

If you are a Sedentary Lifeaphobic, join us as we explore this little known, infectious and wildly adventurous phobia!

STAY TUNED!

We try to make it easy to keep up with us, which is why we are virtually everywhere. You can join us and subscribe by email, chat with us on Facebook, see what we’re up to on instagram, tweet us and of course virtually join the adventures on YouTube!