Who are these two clowns?

My name is Riad Bacchus and I love to cook... so over the next few weeks, I am going to cook my way through the Julia Child Mastering the Art of French cooking cookbook.
Umm err... wait a second... really? Well according to my lovely and much smarter and well read wife, this has been done already.. hmm so what to do?

In about a week, we are leaving for a trip... so in preparation for my travel based ramblings, I am going to start rambling right now.
We are going to learn about who we are? what am I wearing? where are we going and why? does my ass look fat in these jeans? So please grab a hold of the person next to you, close your eyes, and come along with us on this journey.

A little about your pilots for this flight...
Riad and Heather are a happy, fun loving couple living in Southern California.
We have been married for a few years, love cheese and Star Trek (actually only I love Star Trek).
A few years ago we spent a month back packing our way through Argentina.
Ten years ago, I spent a year backpacking around the world.
Needless to say, we're fans of travelling, especially on the rougher side... backpacking, hostels, and knife fights.