Two girls. A $250-budget. 15 days of blissful vacation.

Sounds like these categories got to be mutually exclusive, right? Well, not quite the case for the Lee sisters. As a matter of fact, we pulled off a trip that even our travel agent deemed “simply impossible.”

The summer before I went off to college, my best friend and sister, Grace, decided to empty her savings and treat me to a once-in-a-lifetime trip to an exotic location. Of course, my excitement upon hearing such glorious news skyrocketed! Before we could even choose our destination, however, we realized that it was the summer of my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary. After days of contemplation and dilemma, my sister’s tender heart led her to spend that money on sending my parents on an Alaskan cruise for their special day, which left her with $243.05 in her savings, to be exact. As thrilled as we were for our amazing parents, Grace could not help but to feel sorry for disappointing me, even when I expressed my support for her decision. Therefore, I came to a rather spontaneous – and somewhat reckless – decision to plan a trip with the limited funds. Instead of flying out to a far-away island, I proposed a place where we could do what we love the most. Since we have always shared love for the outdoors from a very young age, we planned a 15-day journey to Alaska where we could explore and delight in the wondrous creations of God.

After making several phone calls, we soon settled on driving out to our uncle’s house in British Columbia and having our cousin drive us up to Alaska! All we needed to prepare was two bikes and two backpacks with a sturdy tent, rain jackets, and some minor supplies. Yes, we were more than ready to make it happen!

So began our “Wild Wild Alaska 2005”. Riding our bikes for hours at a time was unimaginably challenging as our level of fitness was nowhere near that of Armstrong’s. Yet, we continued with excitement and dedication. Unfortunately, we did not get to see every major city of Alaska nor did we engage in expensive excursion activities such as dog-sledding. Nevertheless, the times we spent hiking in the Wrangell National Park, sitting out by the bonfire and watching the northern lights, trying food samples for lunch at a farmer’s market, and sharing our hearts’ utmost joys, tears and laughter in our tiny tent for two were far better than sitting out on an exotic Hawaiian beach. As a bonus, we even surprised our parents by intentionally staying in Anchorage for an extra day and welcoming in their cruise ship! The lunch they bought for us that day – smoked salmon, Alaskan style! – was perhaps the most scrumptious meal I had ever tasted. In the end, we had lost 16 lbs. between the two of us, had rather obnoxious farmers’ tan-lines, and had thighs that were the size of an elephant’s leg. Nonetheless, our escapade left an indelible impression in my heart by allowing my sister and I to not only bond but to share an irreplaceable and unrepeatable memories before I started a new chapter in my life.

Soon enough, my sister will enroll in a medical school in her pursuit of becoming a compassionate doctor, and she will be locked down by her studies for good four years before I get to see her for more than two weeks at a time. As we look ahead to our last summer together before she commits to her serious studies, I would like to treat her to a fabulous trip of a lifetime. No, I don’t quite have a big savings account nor do I expect a travel scholarship anytime soon. But, this adventure contest seemed like an amazing opportunity for the two of us. A chance to “make up” for the originally-planned international trip and to make precious memories in the Wild Wild Australia.