About Us: Ben and Jenna Thomas
Together, we’ve lived in a van in New Zealand, backpacked across Eastern Europe, and climbed the highest peak in Morocco. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
We met during college in Boulder, Colorado, and our adventures started out small: hiking with the dog to his favorite swimming hole, climbing one of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks on a day off, and backpacking in the backcountry on weekends. When the relationship got more serious, so did our exploits: moving to Idaho together (and then back to Colorado), roadtripping around Iceland, and training for half marathons.
That was fun, want to get out of here?
When we got married, it seemed the only appropriate thing to do was take this show on the road, full-time. So we quit our jobs, bought one-way tickets, and kicked off our round-the-world journey on New Year’s Day 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. In less than a year, we visited fifteen countries, wore sandals every day (and had the flip-flop tans to prove it), and learned that people can be wildly different and the same-at-heart no matter where you go.
Where do we go from here? We’re still figuring that out, but it’s clear to us that there’s a lot more adventuring to do.
Jenna MJ Thomas
Writer, Editor, Budget-Keeper
Jenna has been dreaming of travel as a way of life since before she can remember. Her original plan was to work for CNN in a faraway foreign bureau, and eventually become the next Lisa Ling. Now she dreams of spending enough time in one place to really get to know it, and then drifting to the next spot her heart calls her. Writing is still her preferred way of connecting with the world.
Ben Thomas
Writer, Photographer, Pastry-Eater
“Live with no expectations, a positive mind, and make sure that your own happiness is not defined by others=inner strength and unconditional contentment.”
Ben Thomas found his motto for life on the bathroom stall of a brewery in Michigan; proving once again, inspiration is everywhere. For him, the best way to keep his mind positive, is by exploring, and capturing sweet, sweet imagery that connects him to the world. You can see his personal portfolio at benmthomas.com.
How’d you come up with the name “Wild Imagining?”
Once upon a time in our previous lives, we juggled full-time jobs with freelance gigs, weekend getaways, family visits, and half-marathon training. On a rare evening when we were both at home in Colorado with some free time, we took the dog for a walk around town and began to talk about our dreams. Full-time travel, a cabin in the woods, and maybe twenty years down the road, a family. Ben uttered the fateful words, “Of course, for now this is all just wild imagining…” and we were off! We bought the domain name later that night, and here we are a year later, living what seemed like a crazy daydream not so long ago.
Thanks for stopping by Wild Imagining, and if you have any questions, please feel free to comment on any post or email us at benandjenna[at]wildimagining[dot]com.