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.
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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...
Keystone Camp Magic
Since 2017 I have attended the same all-girl camp in Brevard, North Carolina. A camp that taught me how to live in community, build strong female relationships, be confident in myself even when I am failing, and gave me strong female role models from all around the world. When I first attended Keystone Camp, I went to a school where there were only 7 girls...
10 Reasons to Visit Taos Ski Valley with Kids: The best affordable destination for a family ski trip with great food, art, and culture.
Tips for a smooth family ski trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Steamboat Springs is a quaint ski town in the Yampa River valley with ample lodging and a great selection of restaurants and shops. As a ski destination, Steamboat has a few perks over other Colorado resorts.
1. You can fly directly into Steamboat and avoid the drive on I-70 from Denver.
2. Kids under the age of 13 ski free with a 5 day adult ski pass.
3. Since it is a solid 3 hours from Denver, it doesn't get as much weekend traffic as resorts closer to Colorado’s most populated city.
4. It’s a decent sized city with a wider selection of amenities than other ski towns.
5. They get good early season snow and are known for their “champagne powder.”
Kayaking the lower Les Gorges du Verdon in Southern France
What to expect when White Water Rafting on the Lower Seti River in Nepal with Kids
As part of a 2 week itinerary in Nepal, we were scheduled to spend two days rafting the Seti River with Rainbow Adventures Nepal, including one night tent camping on a beach on the riverbank. Of all the adventures planned for us in Nepal, this is the one that we had the least information about. We didn’t know what level rapids we would be rafting. We didn’t know what we would be eating. We didn’t really know what to bring with us. We didn’t know how long we would be rafting. We didn’t know what type of tents we would be staying in
The Trials of Transportation in Thailand
One of the most alien things about Bangkok is the transportation. A foriegn license won’t cut it here, so anyone coming here must stick to walking or having someone else drive you. The city has a very large amount of foot traffic, but is the least pedestrian friendly place I have been. For one, it is always hot here. It is also a truly magical city, as the sidewalk will just randomly disappear.
When it comes to driving, you may see two differences between our roads and theirs. First of all, you will see more motorcycles here than you have ever seen before, and you won’t just see them on the roads, but the sidewalks too. It is a good sign that the sidewalk is about to disappear when an unfazed motorcyclist almost hits you. Though it seems, not just legal, but also completely normal for motorcycles to drive on sidewalks.
Summiting Mauna Kea at Sunrise
You can only be at the summit from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
You will be traveling from sea level (if you come from the coast) to 13,803 feet in around an hour. This change in altitude affects everyone differently. If you have a history of altitude sickness or health problems affecting your heart or lungs, you should sit this one out. I recommend stopping briefly at the visitor center half way up to let your body adjust to the altitude before heading on. If you don’t feel well at any point, turn around.
You will need 4 wheel drive due to the very steep and sustained grade of this road. You do not need a car with high clearance. The road was well maintained and even paved throughout a large portion at the top.
Learning to surf, week 1: what not to do…
We felt we were set up for success; however, 6 surf breaks and 7 days later, we have made very little progress. Below are 3 lessons we have learned so far on what not to do.
Don’t try to teach your kids to surf if you don’t know how to surf yourself. Looking back, I’m not sure why this seemed like a good idea. When we first started learning to snow ski and I was a beginner myself, I knew better. I sent my kids to ski school for 3 years in a row where an expert taught them the fundamentals of learning to ski while I spent the days on the slopes learning to ski myself. When we finally started skiing together, when Gus was 5, Bailey was 7, and Wilson was 9, we hired The Rev, a private instructor, to ski with us all day as well. We spend a lot of time in the water; swimming, water skiing, snorkeling, boogie boarding, cliff jumping, etc, and are very comfortable in the water and I can only retrospectively justify my decision based on this. Now I realize, however, that not hiring an instructor was the wrong move.
Snowmobiling in Yellowstone
Yellowstone is closed to private vehicles in the winter. This means that, in order to see this crazy super volcano in the winter, you must go on a guided tour. Your options for guided tours are plentiful and include a variety of snow coaches and snowmobile tour companies that leave out of West Yellowstone and Jackson Hole
Big Sky Skiing
Big Sky quote of the week: “You just need to let go of your nervousness and let yourself go fast and be free.” –Wilson to Bailey after day 1 of skiing.
The Sun Rising over Kauai from Poipu Beach. January 23rd, 2022