BOISE, December 15, 2011–Most family travel blogs are filled with tips and advice for taking your children on a short vacation and it can be hard to find those families who actually live full-time on the road. If you’re like me and enjoy following along with the adventures and misadventures of families slowly making their way around the world, this list is for you!
1) The Dropout Diaries
Barbara tells funny stories about her post-career life after dropping out of the rat race for a second time. With a toddler and a bewildered husband in tow, Barbara is now traveling slowly around the world seeking out street food - and trying to get her toddler to eat.
2) DiscoverShareInspire
Rachel and Greg Denning, along with their five children, are slowly making their way south toward Argentina in a veggie-powered truck. They are normal people who were living a normal life – until they decided they wanted something more and began designing the life they really wanted to live. Now they’re homeless (on purpose) and extremely nomadic. Their website shares their family travel adventures and inspire others to live their dreams, no matter how crazy.
3) Edventure Project
It all started with a little bike ride: from London to Tunisia and back. The Millers and their four children, aged 9-15 are now in their fourth year of full-time travel on a quest to combine education and adventure. They're all about moving slow, diving deep, living education, dreaming big dreams and inspiring others who would walk a similar path that anything is possible. They are passionate about education, sustainable travel, literacy projects, social justice causes and simple living. Having spent half of this last year in Guatemala and the other half exploring the USA from coast to coast The Edventure Project is headed for Asia in the spring.
4) Raising Miro on the Road of Life
Lainie, a single mom, and her son Miro began their eight year adventure in 2009, starting in Central & South America. They are traveling slowly around the globe allowing inspiration to be their compass. The pair is most interested in exploring cultures, contributing by serving & connecting with humanity as global citizens.
5) The Great Family Escape
After years spent behind a desk and shuffling the kids off to daycare, the Mussler family decided they wanted more from life. They knew they loved to travel, but never really had the time or freedom to dig deep and experience the world with their children. One day they decided to take a shot and change every aspect of their modern, American life in order to travel as a family for as long as they wished. Their blog tracks the entire process of how they are simplifying their life, learning to work from the road, and spending as much time as possible wandering the globe with their kids. They plan to visit Central America and Europe in 2012, but are still debating if they will drive, cycle, or find some other adventurous way to experience the world.
6) Travels with a Nine Year Old
Theodora and Z are a mother and son from London who have been slow travelling Asia for the last two years, largely overland. They've trekked into the jungle to meet hunter-gathering nomads, dived an undersea volcano, watched buffalo sacrificed at a funeral, climbed the highest mountain in SE Asia, rafted rivers and visited most every theme park in the region.
7) Our Travel Lifestyle
The Burns family decided they weren’t happy with their lives in suburban Australia and set off to explore the world, perhaps endlessly or perhaps in search of a place they would be happy. At this point, they still aren’t sure which they’re after, but that’s half the adventure. Both Tracy and Colin had careers that weren’t reliant on being in one location so they headed out with the kids in tow. They’ve been on the road since January 2010. Tracy said, “Travelling with young kids has been a bigger adventure than we anticipated. Some days we wish we never got out of bed. But then there are the magical days that make it all worthwhile!”
8) The Nomadic Family
Gabi Klaf and her family dumped their (really lovely) modern lives in Northern Israel and dared to live with no boss, no mortgage payments, and no hectic routines. Rather than answer to someone else, now they decide how to spend their precious time on earth - exploring, volunteering, bonding as a family, and discovering themselves. They now travel on a budget of $1200 a month
For the Klaf family, being a nomadic family means living their dreams today, not 'some day'.
9) 1 Dad 1 Kid
Talon Windwalker is a single dad traveling around the world slowly with his young son. After traveling through parts of Mexico, Cuba, Belize, and Guatemala, they planted themselves in Honduras for several months living on a small island in the Caribbean. Their journey began while planning a 20-day trip to Africa. It rapidly evolved into an indefinite, slow, around-the-world nomadic lifestyle. Talon’s goal was to get more living into his life, to spend more time raising his son, to create special memories with him, and to raise him as a global citizen. His motto of “Live Without Regrets” is a great one for many of us to remember!
10) Got Passport
The GotPassport family is a family of three (psychologist, social worker and 8-year-old) living and serving in Chiang Mai, Thailand and the US. They travel to explore, discover, learn about people and their cultures. No matter where they live, they feel a duty to give back and offer support to the local community. They don’t need a justification, it’s just the right thing to do. “We Travel. We Volunteer. We Learn. We Teach. We Inspire Action.”
The GotPassport blog is about preserving their experiences for their daughter, M, and sharing stories about family travel, discovering and learning, and seeking out educational and service opportunities for themselves and others who are interested in serving a meaningful cause.
11) Family on Bikes
I know this makes eleven, but I’ll add my own personal blog. We recently completed a three-year, 17,000-mile bike ride from Alaska to Argentina. Our passion has now led us to Boise, Idaho where we’re living a very different sort of adventure. Our goal is to inspire and empower others to live the life of their dreams - whatever that looks like!
Nancy Sathre-Vogel is just a mom who decided to take a bike ride. On the longest road in the world. Some people say she's exceptionally brave. Others say she's outrageously foolish. She doesn't think she's either. She's just a mom who wanted an adventure and time with her kids. Her most recent adventure was cycling from Alaska to Argentina, a journey she documented at www.familyonbikes.org
Follow her on Facebook Family on Bikes
Twitter Follow @familyonbikes
This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
