People always want to know how this trip came to be.  Here is the abridged version:

Sometime in 2007:

Akila:  Honey, guess what?  This is amazing.  There's a woman on the radio who is doing what I've always wanted to do!

Patrick:  What's that?  Write a book?  Open a restaurant?  Start eating meat?  Cause that third one would be great.

Akila:  No, don't be silly.  She's traveling around the world for a year.

Patrick:  Oh, wow.  That's really cool.

Akila:  Maybe we could do that someday?

Patrick:  Maybe.  But, we have the puppies and the house and our jobs.  So, we'll see.

A year or so later:

Akila:  Now that I'm planning on quitting my job, once I am done with this clerkship I have for a year, what do you think about traveling around the world for a year?

Patrick:  Hmmm . . . I don't know.  Maybe we could take three months off and go and see Japan, China, and Australia.

Akila:  Yeah, but we have also talked about spending more time in Europe and going to Africa, Antarctica, South America, and South East Asia.

Patrick:  Well, three months should be enough to do a lot of that, don't you think?

Akila:  Probably not.  Let me think about it and then we'll see.

A few months later:

Akila:  I've thought it all out and I don't see how we can go to our top places in just three months.  What do you think about four or maybe six months?

Patrick:  Four months is definitely doable.  Six months may be a little harder.  But, we can think about that.

Akila:  Let me tell you about how awesome Antarctica is.  And here are pictures of Peru and South Africa.  Don't you think we should take this opportunity now while we're still young?  I mean, can you imagine trying to hike Kilimanjaro when we're all hunched over with arthritis?

Patrick:  I can't imagine hiking Kilimanjaro now.  But, maybe you're right.  Six months is it, right?  You wouldn't want to go longer than six months, would you?

Akila:  We'll see.

Currently:

Patrick:  Okay, we're settled on a year.  A one year round the world trip.  That sounds amazing.

Akila:  It does.  But, ummm, we'll see how long we actually end up traveling.

Patrick:  [Sticks tongue out at Akila.]

Akila: [Smiles deviously.]