About Us
About Us
We are a family of three living in the Pacific Northwest. Our plan is to quit our good career jobs, sell everything, and head off on a 2+ year round the world adventure while home schooling our daughter.
Why would we do something like that?
While growing up we were told that the road to happiness is to go to college, get a good job, get married, buy a house, have children, and save for retirement. Well, we have done all of that, and yet, our life still does not feel complete. We yearn to do something amazing during our lifetime and to give our daughter the best childhood that we can. The problem; we are working 40+ hour weeks and only seeing our daughter for an hour in the morning, two hours in the evening, and on weekends. Not nearly enough time to do anything amazing, nor spend the quality time that a parent should spend with their child. Something needs to change!
So, what should we do?
We realized that we need to take a sabbatical. Taking a break in our careers is the only way that we can set off to see the world, spend quality family time together, and to do something “amazing.” We considered sailing around the world, sailing around the Caribbean, barging through France, moving to another country, and finally decided to just become tourists. Our plan is to head eastward, circling the globe, and see all of the amazing places that we have only heard about. These two years traveling with our daughter will hopefully be the spark that will ignite an adventurous spirit in the generations to come. Someday, we hope to hear our great-grandchildren telling us of their own travel adventures.
When will we leave?
Our departure is set for the fall of 2012. We are currently fixing up our house so it will be ready to sell and clearing out anything we do not need. After years of accumulating “stuff” it is amazing how hard it is to get rid of it.
Our Route
To see our planned route and itinerary, CLICK HERE
March 16, 2010 Planning, Travelogue
This is awesome! What a neat way to keep us updated. For the record, I never thought you guys were crazy
. I’m excited for your journey!
Thank you Liz for not thinking we are crazy. Hopefully you guys can come visit us somewhere in the world during our travels.
I saw you on thorntree and had to have a look at your website. GO FOR IT! I would add that seeing certain parts of Africa, besides Morocco, could be really exciting for your kid. Kenya is very tourist friendly and going on safari would be a highlight for any child of that age. Also Uganda is beautiful, cheap, and super friendly (not the hassle of other African countries). There are lakes, gorillas, waterfalls, rafting the Nile (probably not with a 5 year old though!), islands in Lake Victoria, chimp sanctuaries, and many other things to do there. You could easily spend very little and see a great slice of Africa off the beaten track (although a fair share of backpackers make thier way here). I think it is great you take your child with you. I recently got married to an amazing African man who loves to travel too. We are working on his greencard but it may take a while. The other option is to just do it with his Togo passport (visiting just Asia/S America/Central America). However my husband has the most insane biological clock ever and wants to have a baby NOW! It will admittedly take at least a year before I can even think about it (birth control issues) but ultimatley it will happen. I am wondering on your opinon of traveling around the world with a very young baby (under 2 years)? I am keen to do it if the baby is younger as they could still sit on our lap in the airplanes. Is this advisable or just plain crazy?! Sorry, this is more of a Thorn Tree post but I did LOVE this blog and am interested to see where you get to! Have a great time and keep on truckin’!
Hi Jess. Thanks for the comment. We have considered exploring more of Africa, other than Morocco and Egypt, but we do not know enough about the rest of Africa to plan on going to other countries there. It is a big continent with a lot of political unrest in some areas, so it is hard to plan without knowing how conditions will be until we are ready to go. We are not ruling it out, just unsure. We have also heard that most safaris will not allow small children, and they can be kind of expensive. But, you never know. As for travelling with a child under 2. It all depends on the child. Sydney traveled really well, but we have seen others that did not enjoy the experience. The biggest hassle is how much extra stuff you need to bring with you. A portable crib is a must. Many places are not child proofed, and a portable crib is great for “containment” while you are sleeping. We also traveled with a car seat and small stroller which can be a real pain, but necessary in some places. People often thought we were crazy for traveling with such a young child, but under 2 is the perfect time to go. Free airfare and you get to board the plane early! Once they turn 2, airfare is the same as an adult.
We will be doing something similar in 2011. We are planning to sell it all and take a year and live in Indonesia. It will be my wife and I and our 2 sons. We also plan on doing some travel around SE Asia. So I don’t think you are crazy at all. Think you’ll make a stop in Indonesia?
Hi Matt,
As for traveling in Indonesia, we are not sure. We have discussed it, but have not decided either way. After hitting SE Asia we are heading in the direction of Australia, but we might stop in Indonesia, as it is along the way. We are trying to keep everything flexible and adapt as we travel. We don’t know much about Indonesia, other than it has great surfing, but if someone recommends a great places(s), we might go there. I look forward to reading about your travels with your family and maybe your travels will convince us to go there.
Hey Jason and Family. Exciting adventure you have got going here. I haven’t read back through all the blog posts, so I am not exactly sure where you are in the process, but 2012 is just around the corner. Hope all is going well. My family and I live in Istanbul so if you head this way, let us know and we’ll do our best to show you around a bit. Great city. Amazing country. The places we know least about always surprise us. Anyway, good luck with everything and keep inspiring people.
Aaron
Hi Aaron,
We are currently in the process of getting rid of everything we don’t need right now and getting our house in order to put on the market in the Spring. It’s hard work trying to get rid of everything you own! We are really looking forward to the day we make it to Turkey. I have heard nothing but great things from people who have visited there.
We love following families who travel together!
Hi,
We’re just starting to thing about doing something like this for a year. When are you leaving and have you planned what countries you are going to?
Hi Danielle,
We are planning to place our house up for sale in May of next year and as long as it sells, we plan to leave in early Fall. Our first stop will be France, and then Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Ireland, England, Germany, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon (maybe), Israel, Egypt, India, UAE (maybe), Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam (maybe), Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, and then who knows. We may add or omit places depending on finances or political upheavals. We are getting really excited and can’t wait to start our adventure.
If you do decide to go travel for a year, keep in touch. I would love to hear about your travels.
Wow, how great is THAT?! Not many kids remember certain days or lessons in school, but your daughter will never forget all the fantastic sights of a 2 year adventure! Even I, as an adult, would be super stoked over that; that’s awesome what she’ll learn from that, and how much closer you all will become! Too many parents just don’t realize that time with their child is so much more important than living in a certain area, or wearing certain clothes. Do keep us updated!
Hey Guys -
I just found your blog through a mutual connection on Facebook. My family and I departed Cincinnati, OH in December for a year RTW. We totally understand the urge to take the leap and all of the logistics that go along with it. We are LOVING our trip!! We would be happy to share with you how some of our destinations were. We are currently in Ayvalik, Turkey and LOVE it here! We have a perfect place for you to stay. There are cats on premise,….the owner is an American who lives here,…she is wonderful. We have gotten to know some of the locals and ended up extending our time from 1 week to two.
Our 12 year old daughter is going to a local restaurant today where the woman is going to teach her how to make tomato soup. Our son made the choice to hangout at our landlord’s business today that uses recycled materials to make cool things while also employing women.
For home schooling, check out Khan Academy if you haven’t already. Great online math and science as long as you have wifi. Australia is uber expensive just fyi. We stayed there about 38 days but it was incredibly hard on the budget. We made up for it in Indochina a bit.
Bon voyage!! Stay in touch ~ Annie
We are having a great adventure. You will never regret it!!