Travel is an eye-opening experience and is often the source of many people’s fondest memories. And it often leaves people with a feeling of gratitude for the time they’ve had in their favorite travel destinations. I’m very thankful for all the travel experiences I’ve had over the years, and in particular, during my Year Off.

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve come up a list of the top 9 things I’m most thankful for from my Year Off.

So in no particular order, here they are!

1. The free time to do what I love doing.

Arguably, the thing I’m most thankful for from my Year Off is the free time to do what I love doing. I love hiking, climbing mountains, and backpacking. And I love traveling and trying new fun activities. It’s hard to find the time for this when I’m working full-time. So I’m thankful for the full year I had to pursue these interests of mine.

I believe that free time to do what we love doing is one of the most valuable things we can pursue in our lives. I think overall happiness and satisfaction with our lives increases exponentially with the amount of time we have to pursue our own special interests and dreams, whatever they might be.

Because of my Year Off, I had the time to do what I truly love doing, not what society says I’m supposed to do or what I need to do to survive. I met several big goals of mine that I would not have been able to meet if I didn’t have the free time to pursue them.

2. The good health to do the activities I love the most.

We often take our good health and young youthful bodies for granted. Many people are unable to travel or hike or climb mountains because of health issues. I’m very thankful for the healthy body I have and the ability to do the activities I love the most.

Without good health, I would not have hiked the hundreds of miles I hiked out west. I would not have climbed to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I would not have climbed 11 other mountains that are higher than 14,000 feet. Rock climbing in California and mountain biking in Utah would have been impossible. Wandering around the countless city streets and cathedrals in Europe would have remained an unfulfilled dream.

I’m thankful that I was born healthy and that I have the motivation to make my health a priority.

3. Rarely having to set an alarm for a whole year.

There were few times when I needed to set an alarm during my Year Off. During the 6 months I spent traveling around the western United States, I would wake and go to bed with the sun. I was camping and backpacking mostly, so there was no need to set an alarm.

In Europe, I occasionally set an alarm if I planned an activity for the day, such as when I had my Vatican and Sistine Chapel tour early one morning. Other than that, I would wake when I wanted to and head to bed when I got tired. If I felt like staying up most of the night, like when I partied the night away in London and Madrid, then I did.  I got to choose what I had going on the next day, so sometimes I chose to not get out of bed at the crack of dawn. The choice was always mine.

During my three months in Africa, I rarely had to set an alarm too. Once the jet-lag wore off and I stopped waking up super early, I had to set an alarm on occasion to make sure I was up for my volunteer work for the day. But the Muslim calls to prayer and the roosters usually woke me up before the alarm went off so it wasn’t necessary.

4. The new friends I made along the way.

When you travel full-time for a whole year, you meet lots of new people from all over the world. And the best part is many of these people share common interests with you. They love traveling and visiting the places you love visiting. And they love the activities that you love doing. It’s really easy to form a common bond and make friendships along the way.

Many of the new friendships you make will fade away over time. But several of the friendships I made have lasted beyond our initial time together. I still keep in contact with many people I met along the way through Facebook or email. Two of my closest friends from my Year Off, John and Krish, even flew in for my wedding. It’s a special thing to make such good friends in such a short amount of time while traveling and pursuing common interests. So I’m very thankful these people are a part of my memories and my life.

5. The time to travel with friends and family from home.

I was lucky enough to travel with several of my friends and family members from home for an extended time during my Year Off. My friend, Tony, met me in Colorado for a week. I spent another week in Colorado with my friend, Sam. My sister, Lauren, and I traveled to London and Paris together for a week. And my wife (girlfriend at the time), Alanna, met me in Wyoming for two weeks and in Kenya for two weeks.

The times I had traveling with them were some of the highlights from the whole year. The time we had together would not have been possible without the time I had away from work. You learn so much about a person and form a special bond with them when you travel together. But it’s hard to form this special bond when you only see each other briefly at home.

Travel and new experiences bring you closer to people. You learn things about them you never thought you would know. And you learn to trust them like no other people in your lives. I’m very thankful Tony, Sam, Lauren, and Alanna were able to join me during my travels.

6. Our National Parks and public lands

When I was traveling around the western U.S., I spent most of my time in national parks and public lands. After visiting many of them, I have never been more thankful for them in my life. The beauty of the places and the quiet and solitude you can find in them is invaluable. And they’re a big reason I had such a positive experience during my Year Off.

I visited 18 different U.S. national parks and countless other national forests and national monuments during my travels.  I’ll never forget camping in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park with Alanna or climbing to the summit of Mt. Whitney in Sequoia National Park. The sunset I saw in Olympic National Park and the sunrise on Mt. Rainier will forever be etched in my memory. The five days I spent in the backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park on the John Muir Trail will forever be five of the best days of my life.

It’s easy to forget how valuable these places are. But once you experience them first-hand and make some incredible memories in them, you will appreciate them forever. So I’m incredibly grateful for all of these protected areas.

7. The ability to travel around this incredible world of ours.

It wasn’t too long ago that the world was in turmoil and travel was a complete afterthought for most of the world. We live in a time of relative world peace and stability, so safe travel is possible to many places all over our great big globe.

I visited 12 different countries in Europe and 3 different countries in Africa. I couldn’t imagine my Year Off without the memories I made in all of these incredible countries. I’m thankful I had the time and the means to do it. And I’m thankful for the incredible people who call these countries home and who make them such welcoming and amazing places to visit.

8. The differences in our cultures.

When you travel, your knowledge about how other people live their lives and how they find happiness expands. It forces you to think about your life and what you have. And it creates a feeling of appreciation for your life at home. If every person in the world lived the same way, it would be an awfully boring place to live in.

But more importantly, we would have no reference points for how best to live our lives and what to give thanks for and cherish. When you meet people in Africa who are extremely poor but hear them talk about how thankful they are for everything they have, it forces you to think about your life and everything you are thankful for. It makes that new iPhone seem silly. It makes you realize you don’t need fancy clothes or to eat at fancy restaurants to feel happiness. Happiness is something that you can achieve no matter what your situation.

So I’m thankful for the opportunity to spend an extended amount of time in foreign countries with completely different cultures. And I’m even more thankful for everything I have at home.

9. The love for my wife that grew during my Year Off.

There’s nothing I’m more thankful for now than the love I have for my wife, Alanna, and the love she gives me. I met her a few weeks after I decided to take my Year Off. I knew that I liked her from the get-go, but I also knew that I had to take my Year Off. If I didn’t go through with it, I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life.

Alanna was somewhat taken aback when I told her about my plans after our second or third date. But she quickly recognized how important it was to me. From that point on, she showed me nothing but support and encouragement along the way. She wrote me love letters to open at various times through-out my travels. She was always there to give words of encouragement if I was second-guessing myself or lonely.

The two weeks we had together in Wyoming and the two weeks we had together in Kenya will forever be some of the most cherished memories from my whole life, much less my Year Off. I knew I loved her by the time she met me in Wyoming. It was during that trip, in the mountains of Grand Teton National Park and along the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park, that I realized I wanted to marry her.

We’re now happily married. Loving life together. Planning future travels. And thinking about starting a family to share our knowledge of travel with. There’s a lot to see and do in this great big world of ours, and I’m thankful I have Alanna to share it all with.