“Wow, it must be nice to be able to afford to travel so much...” I understand why people say that. I get that the question behind it stems from the number crunching going on that includes a mortgage payment, car payment, clothing, food, insurance, and luxury items that pad their existence. I know they’re thinking...

“You really have to want to do this, don’t you, Dear?” Ann’s words have echoed in my mind as her sweet, octogenarian face has pleasantly haunted my afternoon walks. We wandered slowly through the natural bridge outside of Waitomo, NZ, with her and her husband, Ross. I quietly got the kids’ attention and encouraged them...

As a fan of great museums, England, and historical stuff in general, I’m excited about a brand new museum that has just opened this week. Located in the historic dockyard of Portsmouth on England’s picturesque south coast, the Mary Rose Museum houses the sixteenth-century hulk of the HMS Mary Rose, the pride of Henry VIII’s...

Cost per day (for a family of five): $68 $18 room $25 food $25 entertainment Strangest things we've seen lately: Back home, before 2011 when we hit the road to become The Nomadic Family, we used to not move without seat belts. I would allow the kids to unbuckle only when the car came to...

This week I have a question. It’s one that’s been rolling around in several communities I participate in, and it’s one that tends to bring about heated debate. It’s also one that is very hard to separate from one’s own experience, as a child and as a parent as well. I’m open to all answers...

If you travel with kids then you’re well familiar with the gear overload that is all too easy to find yourself saddled with. Of course there’s the clothes and the toys, but by the time you add a carseat, playpen, stroller and perhaps a portable feeding chair, it’s bordering on the ridiculous. No wonder so...

Cost/day (for a family of five): Rent in the indigenous village- $3.50/day Food- $15/day (we bought and cooked our own food or picked whatever the land provided) School- kids attended for free, in exchange for us teaching English Hospitalization and medications- free Strangest thing we've seen lately: Before his wish to die, but well after...

I did not have a “normal” childhood. I was born to parents who lived in an 11x22 ft. log cabin on the back side of a lake with no road, electricity or running water. My first meat, through a baby food grinder was black bear. My earliest memories are of trapping turtles with my Dad...

Cost/day: $40/day What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately? Our family of seven is camping in Mexico beneath a full moon and enjoying a tranquil evening after crossing the border into this 'dangerous' country. Just the day before, we were warned that we were 'risking our children's lives' by taking them to such a lawless...

Nancy has done the impossible. And I don’t mean cycling from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina over three years with twin boys who broke the Guinness World record for youngest persons to cycle the continents. That’s entirely doable, as is clearly evident by their success. The impossible is encapsulating the scope of that epic...

I’m pretty sure my kids don’t appreciate the life that they have. They say they do. They recognize that their life is not normal. But really, I don’t think they get it. They have no frame of reference for what it means to sit in a classroom for eight hours a day, every day, for...

“A school day is about five hours, and that doesn’t even include homework time," a letter I recently received asked. "How can I make sure my children will learn just as much (and hopefully more) while roadschooling? I like to believe education is not as efficient at school as it can be at home (or...

The question has been asked lots of times: What do you have in your health kit? First, let me say that we have a three pronged approach to healthcare, at home and abroad: staying well, and treating illness & emergency care. I’ll share what we carry with us for all three. Staying Well This includes...

Even though many do not understand my life-style choice, I am free. I am totally, insanely free to do as I please, go where I want, and stay as long as I choose. My family has lived with the indigenous in the jungles of Peru, hitchhiked on back of pick-ups in Costa Rica, scuba dived...

There was a time when I lived a ‘normal’ life. My husband and I had the mortgage, the career, two cars and 3.5 kids. We had a house full of furniture and nice things. It was an okay way to live. I was relatively happy. Then somehow that all changed. Today you’ll find me exploring...

Air Asia has just announced that that they will be offering child-free quiet zones on some of their flights. As someone well out of the baby-toting years of parenthood, I can see how this will be appreciated by the many folks on flights who don't have toddlers and don't "hear the music" as my husband...

“You’re crazy,” one of my high school students told me one day. “I call you my crazy teacher.” “Why’s that?” I asked. “Because nobody actually does what you’re doing!” she replied. “I mean – people talk about riding a bike around the world, but nobody ever actually does it!” I supposed she was right –...

Holidays are most definitely one of the highlights of everybody’s year. We all have our little traditions we stick to and, as kids, look forward to all of them. I used to measure my years by all the holiday traditions we had: making our own valentines… putting up a shamrock tree… the 4 th of...

What do you do about your sons' education? We were asked that question a lot when people saw the four of us traveling on our bikes throughout the Americas. At first glance, it would be easy to think we were neglecting their education. Two preteen boys riding fully loaded touring bikes from Alaska to Argentina…...

They say the best gift parents can give their children is their time. I so totally agree. What would it take for you to spend more time with your child? If your son was suddenly diagnosed with a serious illness and most likely wouldn’t live more than few weeks, would you endeavor to spend every...