Couple embarks on a quest to visit all 195 countries to honor late dad's adventurous legacy

High school sweethearts Hudson and Emily Crider met for the first time when they were in fifth grade and ever since then, their zeal for going on adventures together has expanded significantly. The couple from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who have been married for 10 years, are on a mission to cover every single country on this globe by the end of summer 2024. The Crider couple has already traveled to 141 countries by now and they don't plan on stopping until their goal is reached.

However, there is a heartbreaking reason that fuels them and their planned adventures around the world. According to PEOPLE, Hudson's father passed away eight years ago from a sudden heart attack and this couple is out exploring the world to honor his father's legacy of seeking adventure. "His death was just a reminder to us that we're literally not guaranteed tomorrow and to make the most of the time we have together," Hudson told the outlet. "So we decided the next year that it was time to use whatever we had saved to start traveling."

The duo purchased an old RV from Craigslist and restored it to suit their liking. After that, they boarded their vehicle and toured all 50 states of the U.S. from 2017 to 2018. "We are blown away and wouldn't have ever imagined that this RV trip would've turned into what it has been now," Emily quipped. "We don't have a home base. We've just been living out of our suitcases and our little backpacks." Since then, they've been hopping around from one country to another.

Whether it is Thailand, Indonesia, England or Egypt, they have almost made it everywhere except Antarctica. Hudson and Emily have a lot of wild experiences in store to share with their viewers on social media. "Every few minutes there would be a huge eruption from the volcano and you could literally feel the ground shaking beneath us," Hudson recalls the time they slept near a volcano in Guatemala. "So that was definitely something we'll never forget."

The couple has also visited the Seven Wonders of the World. "I was blown away by the pyramids in Egypt. That has always been at the top of my bucket list and just to stand looking up at thousand-year-old history, I felt so small. So that was definitely one of my favorites," Emily said whereas, for Hudson, his memorable destination was The Devil's Pool in Zambia off Victoria Falls. However, extravagant travel plans like these need meticulous planning and careful budget management.

Hudson reveals that they try to live in the cheapest accommodations possible and rely on credit card points to get discounted flight tickets. However, full-time traveling isn't always as glamorous as it is shown to be by travel influencers on social media. The pair have encountered numerous health-related issues while traveling but they are not willing to trade the globetrotting experience for anything else. The husband-wife duo admitted that their trips inspired them to become better people.

"What surprised me the most is how experiencing other cultures is just a reminder that the world is so much bigger than just us. And also that it's so much smaller in that people are really similar," Emily told the outlet. "Everyone at the core has the same hopes to be loved and to find joy. We've realized that we have to make up pretty quickly and obviously we have so much fun together." They do have plans to settle down at a spot when they have met their travel goals but they are determined to keep their passion for travel alive.

"We definitely hope to have a family someday, and so we would love to be able to share travel with them and show our future kids some of our favorite places," Hudson added. "But I think travel will always be a part of us and our experience." The couple documents each and every leg of their journey on their TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pages where they go by the user name @hudsonandemily.