Back when we did this post full of fun charts and graphs (concocted from the results of our 2012 reader survey) we learned that you guys are just as into infographics as I am. So in that spirit, I tabulated and illustrated a bunch of random facts and figures that we never want to forget from our recent book tour. Sort of like an info-scrapbook that encapsulates that crazy time in our lives (in under 100 words) so we can always look back on it. So without further ado, here are all the places we went, the adventures we had, and even the pounds that we put on along the way. Enjoy!
* Each of the infograhics above were made in photoshop and the fonts that we used are: Ostrich Sans (free) , Fyra (free), and The Only Exception (we donated).
Oh but one thing that we couldn’t quantify or illustrate was how many fun, kind, and wonderful people we met along the way. We can’t say thank you enough to everyone who took time out of their busy lives to come welcome us to their city. It really means a lot. You made this whole wacky adventure (and all of those hours spent sitting in cars, taxis, and planes) completely worth it and then some.
How do you guys travel? Do you keep track of any stats, like a count of how many countries or states you’ve visited? My mom has a goal of seeing every state capitol in the US (I think she’s over 70% there). What’s the longest flight you’ve ever enjoyed / suffered through? Ever wear the same Target blazer to 22 events? I know some people wouldn’t brag about that, but as a husband I can’t tell you how much I love my lady for it.
Psst- We picked this week’s giveaway winners. Click here to see if you’re one of them.
Julie says
Love the graphics! Makes everything come alive.
My longest flight was when I was in college and studied abroad in Zimbabwe (southern Africa). I flew from Portland to Philadelphia (8 hours with about 2 hours of layover), Philadelphia to Amsterdam but due to fog we landed in Cologne Germany, instead. After 7 hours of waiting, we were bussed up to Amsterdam (2 hrs), where I stayed overnight because I missed my connection. The next day I flew to Frankfurt (1 hr, I think) and had about a 5 hour layover before I hopped on my connection. We had a fueling stop in Cyprus, where a tire blew out and we had to stay for 24 hrs to wait for the repair. After that, I FINALLY made it it Zimbabwe with no more incidents! I think total transit time was about a week. Thank God there was no Gagnam Style!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s a whole lotta time! Thank goodness it was Gangnam Style free!
xo
s
Jessica says
Love the picture of the books! I’m in the middle of Gone Girl right now and obsessed! Whenever you feel like you need to do a non-design post (like when John wrote about running, or Sherry talked about interviewing Eminem– amazing!), I’d love to hear more about what you like to read and where you get your books. No pressure though :)
Shelley says
I love the map pinboard! Something else to add to my to do list….
You ask about the longest flight suffered through: the hands down most awful trip I have ever done is Auckland to Amsterdam ( back to back 12 and 13 hour flights ), with an 18 month old while I was five months pregnant. I’m a kiwi, my husband is dutch, (we live in NZ) and we were off to his mother’s wedding. Total madness! I swore off ever flying again after that, but living where we do and having family on the other side of the world meant that that trip had to come around again eventually. We just visited the Netherlands again this past January. My children are now 7 and 5 and they were amazing! I even have a pic of them smiling and giving me two thumbs up one hour out of Amsterdam. Big yay!
I also wanted to say that I love your blog and like countless others have found it very inspirational, so thank you!
Jen L. says
John – I kept meaning to email you. Since you adore cycling and bikes it seems, you really need one of these cycling jerseys.
http://www.upcyclededucation.com/2013/03/cycling-jerseys-on-sale-yay.html
Yes, self-promotion, but really, you would rock it.
Ha! Jen
YoungHouseLove says
Such a cool idea! Thanks for sharing!
-John
Sarah says
Congratulations on a fantastic book and a successful tour too! Thanks for making such and effort to come out and meet us and sign our books! I hope you collected airmiles and loyalty points on the way! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Sarah! We loved the entire adventure. You guys made it amazing.
xo
s
[email protected] says
Whew! That is such an awesome little project you’ll enjoy forever. A) The most awful flight ever was to Recife, Brazil with a stop in Rio. Just uncomfortable and horrible food. Couldn’t sleep. Just bad….
B) I once wore the same button down shirt with a hole in the armpit while I ate a hotdog from a particular hotdog stand and got ready for a performance that ran for twelve shows…I couldn’t stop doing it or I was afraid the show wouldn’t go well! haha!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah!
xo
s
Kaylin Lydia says
Love the graphics! Last year, my husband and I honeymooned in South East Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand) and it was AWESOME. We live in New Jersey (represent!) so the flight was LONG. Thankfully the seats were a bit roomier and the movie selection great. It was about 16 hours there all said and done. On the way back, there was a kid screaming for a long long time. I understand – I totally get it but it was hard to remain calm, cool and collected on such a long flight with a screaming kid! PHEW.
Leisa says
I loved this infographic post!
My Fiancé and I love to travel. We love comparing stats with others, and getting ideas for new places to see.
So here are some of ours that I thought may interest you:
We are from New Zealand, but live in London, England (just about the furthest place from home you can get) which is a flight time of 27 hours (each way) not including all the time spent travelling to/from and waiting at airports.
I have done that return journey 4 and a half times! That’s 243 hours!
We have visited 28 countries around the world.
We have also visited 21 US states (we did a 3 month road trip in 2008 and loved it).
And we have rcked up 1 foreign proposal (in NYC).
I have 2 pin boards at home with vintage style maps on them, and I pin all the places we have been in one colour, and all the places still on our list in another colour.
I also discovered the Pin Drop app when I was working as a sales rep, it’s a great way to keep track of places you have been or places you love to remember – such as a favourite restaurant on your last holiday.
I wonder how many books you will need to write before you can get to NZ on your tour :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ahh, we’d love to end up in NZ!
xo
s
Chrystina says
Props on these infographics. They’re incredible. I’m sad to see Pennsylvania (Philadelphia specifically) isn’t on the list though – you’re going to have to come out here. There’s so much to see and so much good food to be eaten.
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to end up out there!
xo
s
kate says
I second the request for a book post! I tried to get as many titles as I could from the picture but would love more info :)
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like fun!
xo
s
Rachel mcdonald says
I’m SO happy to see that you two take the weekend off. I’m a new reader and I keep checking back for updates, seeing them everyday makes me happy, but it also makes me happy to see that you two take the weekend off from posting. happy resting. looking forward to the next post :)
Kirsten says
FYI: Ontario is a province…but you probably already knew that. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yep! That’s why States is in quotation marks and we specifically noted that we were including DC and Ontario in that grouping.
-John
Kirsten says
I saw that you had some others ask, but didn’t see an answer of what the titles of the books you’ve read? I’m in a book club and we are looking for some new ones to read. I did try to get them to add your book to the list but it was a no go :(
YoungHouseLove says
We read Gone Girl, Room (both of these were haunting and we’re still talking about them), Heads in Beds, Killing Kennedy, Man Made, The Power of Now, How Children Succeed, Overdressed, Most Talkative, Mindy Kaling’s book (hilarious!), The Power Of Habit, Age Of Miracles, Because I Said So, Oh Joy’s blogging book, and a few more I can’t recall. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Ms Dee Owen says
You forgot to mention 1 black bra worn :P
You guys are funny. Keep having those adventures :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, true!
xo
s
Jessica says
Just wondering if you would share (or maybe you already did) where you found your US Map for pinning? I am in the market for a similar project.. but every one I find is huge! I want something a bit smaller and it looks like yours is not super grande! Thanks in advance!
and come on over to Indiana any ol’ time :)
YoungHouseLove says
We actually got that from ebay a while back! Then I just tossed it into a frame with cork tiles behind it and no glass. Hope it helps.
xo
s
Meg says
Great summary, thanks for sharing!! Thank you again for stopping by Chicago. After all those cities you visited which was your favorite? if you can’t pick what are your top three??
YoungHouseLove says
Chicago was the biggest crowd for sure! I think they said around 750 people showed up, which blew our minds! We also had a ton of fun in Toronoto (just felt more exotic thanks to french being spoken, being in another country, etc) and we loved Miami and Ft Lauderdale just for the warm weather and beachy views! Haha!
xo
s
Erin says
I apologize if I missed this, but what software do you use to create your infographics? All Adobe PS?
Love them!
YoungHouseLove says
Yep, we did them all in Photoshop. :)
-John
Sarah @ The Ugly Duckling House says
My cheeks hurt just thinking about how many smiles you must have logged on your trip.
Sarah says
3 piece of luggage for 2 people?? Did I read that right? I would never make it on that allotment! Happy early birthday to Sherry :)
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
I’m lovin’ all these nerdy graphics. Totally up my alley. You guys travel soooo much better than me. I’m the crazy chick who’s crossing her fingers quietly mumbling “please be under 50 pounds, please be under 50 pounds” when I check my bag for a 3 day trip.
Jill says
This post speaks to my inner nerd and I love it. I did something similar when we hiked for 4 months last summer and it was fun to have those numbers when it was all said and done. You can check them out here if you’re interested :-) http://www.atraillife.com/1/category/hiking%20numbers/1.html
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! All the stats are so much fun!
xo
s
Jennifer Fogerty-Gibson says
I love that you showed the books you’ve read! I love The Power of Habit! Also, John has cool bike socks.
From Oregon, Jennifer
Odyssey says
Where do you get all of your map silhouettes? Love them!
YoungHouseLove says
John searched for each state outline in google and then brought them into photoshop and traced them and filled them with the color he wanted :)
xo
s
Katie says
Petersiks! I love the map pinboard. What a neat way to track all your travels! I realize how simple and nice it looks, but have you ever done a tutorial on how you made yours? My fiance and I want to create one for our past and future travels!
Also, when and where were you in Iowa? It’s my beloved home state! If you ever do another book tour down the road, stop near Iowa City :) Congratulations on your many triumphs in life. I got your book from Christmas and love every bit of it!
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s a post about it for ya : https://www.younghouselove.com/2008/02/the-frame-game/
As for Iowa, my best friend’s whole family lives there, so I have spent a lot of time there – even a few Christmases with them! We’d love to end up there for another tour for sure!
xo
s
Katie says
Thanks, Sherry! What a great project. We will definitely be using your tips, as always :)
Enjoy your time in Iowa – what a neat connection! Have a great weekend!