We are a family of five that decided to leave our normal lives behind and travel around the world for 180 days. Joey and I are both physicians back home in Lexington, KY and our kids are Wilson (a smart, funny, pragmatic 14 year old who approaches life with the wisdom of an 80 year old and the mischievous grin of someone who gets the inside joke), Bailey (an opinionated, strong-willed, compassionate 12 year old who never misses anything and may rule the world someday), and Gus (an energetic, passionate 9 year old who lives every second of his waking life with everything he has and would give the shirt off his back to ease the suffering of an earthworm). We love traveling, trying new things, meeting awesome people, eating good food, and adventure sports. In this blog, we will be sharing the stories of the places we experience along the way. We will share our successes and our failures in hopes that this is inspiring, helpful, and entertaining to our friends, family, and anyone else who happens to discover us. For more on why we decided to do this, see our blog post on “Traveling is my favorite thing”. Read More About Our Philosophy.
Click below for blog posts on specific regions…
Click below to share the blog on social media…
Hiking to Hanson’s Point in the Red River Gorge with kids
In November of 2019, we took our first family backpacking trip in the Red River Gorge to Hanson’s point. This was a great trail for our first overnight stay because it is easy, there are ample places to camp along the trail, and the view at the end is spectacular. Star gazing at Hanson’s point on a clear fall night was magic, but it wasn’t for the faint of heart. The drops along the point are huge and scary, so keep your kids close and please do not...
How Tyler Childers helped me remember how much I love Appalachia
Every time I read an article about Tyler Childers, and I have read several since he has been neck and neck with Taylor Swift as my favorite artist over the last seven years, I think “I could do better.” Shockingly, since I have absolutely no authority as a music critic, no one has asked me to write one. After listening to his new single “In your love” on repeat for two hours yesterday, I have decided it is time to put these feelings into words. So here is my attempt at explaining why I love his music so much, why he sold out two nights at Rupp Arena in a matter of minutes, and why going to his concert where every single person around you knows all the words too feels like going to church
On Mushroom Hunting: “The Art of Stillness” and the Morel
If you aren't from Eastern Kentucky, you might think that mushroom hunting involves some sort of weapon, such as a bow and arrow, but you would be wrong. Mushroom hunting is what we call foraging for morels. Morels are a wrinkly, rare and delicious fungi that only pop up for a few weeks in the spring, when conditions are just right. Technically, the morel is the fruiting body of a much larger mycelium that lives underground in a symbiotic relationship with tree roots. One of my most clear and fond memories of my childhood is searching the hillside with my Mamaw Mary in the spring looking for morels.
The Sun Rising over Kauai from Poipu Beach. January 23rd, 2022