One of the reasons we travel is to reach across cultural boundaries and experience the world from a different perspective. It’s that genuine human interaction between different worlds, within the same space that is the essence of the value of leaving home and “seeing the world.” That connection is the moment that makes all of...

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...

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...

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” --Mark Twain The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It It’s an interesting thing to be a...

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...

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...

Christmas this year find us on the edge of the jungle in Borneo. Hiking yesterday I found a pocketful of nutmeg and remembered making a Christmas phone call years ago, with my brother who was here in the Spice Islands while I was “at home” changing diapers. He told me about the orang utan he’d...

This year we’re celebrating Christmas in Borneo. Last year we were on Cape Cod, in the USA, the year before that, Guatemala, the year before that, Canada, the year before that found us in Tunisia, camped in the cold on the edge of the ocean of sand. One of the most interesting parts of our...

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…...

I was chatting on Facebook one day with a fellow traveler. She made a comment that left me speechless, horrified, and quaking in my boots. Her daughter had not been immunized. Against anything. Ever. “People get sick because their immune system is weak,” she told me. “My daughter is very healthy.” Now here’s the thing:...

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...

I’ve heard it all. Some people feel travel is the best experience kids can have. Others feel kids are better off staying home and going to school each day. I say there’s good on both sides of the equation. There is benefit in giving kids a stable home where they can sleep in the same...

Kids are naturally curious and have an innate desire to make sense of the world around them. In other words – they want to learn. Have you ever seen your child out digging in the ground, trying to pull earthworms out of the dirt? And then that same child proudly shows you all the segments...

Travel has reached an all-time high on women’s priority lists. According to a poll by Bing , women listed traveling the world as their highest priority. Numbers 2 & 3 were having a family and living in another country respectively. I propose that we don’t have to choose. Live in another country with your family...

“Once my kids are out of the house, I’ll…” I’ve heard that more times than I can count and I cringe each time. You don’t have to put your dreams off until your children have left the house. Living your dreams with children is a rewarding, exhilarating experience, and will build unforgettable memories for both...

Education is a huge concern to parents, as it should be. When we travel long term, it can be even more of a concern. Will your travels handicap your child? Will he keep up with his peers? Is this travel idea a good one? As a long-time schoolteacher and roadschooling mom for four years, I...

The time is always right to travel with kids, despite what some people would have you think. Barbara Adam, who is currently traveling the world with her husband and toddler, recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post about that very thing. Many would have us believe that children don’t take anything away from travel...