Family Travel Blog : travel prep

All you travel and photography enthusiasts out there know the deal. Not all camera bags are created equally!

There are a million camera bags on the market and if you are like me you've tried a variety of them. I find there is always something off. Sometimes its the size of the bag, too clunky or too small to fit all your belongings, sometimes its the aesthetics, and more often than not its the quality that seems to be the issue.

My camera bag takes a beating so I need it to be tough! Between the actual travel days of being crammed in the overhead bin and dragged through airport after airport most bags I have tried just do not hold up. A few months is typically all I get. That is until now!

The Ari Marcopoulos Camera Bag, by InCase, is in an entirely different category when it comes to camera bags. It was exactly what I was looking for. It is multi purpose as it can carry my laptop, Ipad, phone, and camera with all it's lenses and not feel bulky. These are vital components when traveling I think, less is more when traveling!

The bag is a durable canvas material that has water propellant coating, another necessary component to any traveler's bags. How many time have you gotten caught out in the rain, dropped off by a bus with no taxi around, or simply at the beach when a rogue storm or wave rolls in? On top of that this bag comes with a built in rain cover that conveniently stores into a small pouch at the bottom of the bag. The straps are strong, sturdy, and padded with one-handed adjustment slack pull and large side release buckle. Even the buckles are sturdy and honestly look like something that could make it to the moon and back.

The interior is even nicer. Carefully thought out padded compartments and plenty of pockets to keep everything organized for ease of access. Just look at all the storage possibilities...

So what do you think? Ready to take home one of these beautiful bags for yourself? All you need to do is enter below. Leave a comment here with the answer to the question: What do you love most about taking pictures while traveling? I threw in a few more options so you can put more entries in, there are even a few you can do daily so be sure to check back in.

The contest will be open from August 24th to September 7th when it will close at midnight. Winner will be selected and contacted the following week! Good luck everyone!

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Traveling is in my blood, it's in my core, and seems to be the thing, aside from my boys, that feeds my soul best. It is a nirvana that I hope never ends for us. Whether it is travel at home, exploring your backyard, or international full time travel you have to start someplace. And I have found that someplace usually includes a fair bit of, "how the heck do we get started?", type of questions.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what it was like when we started out on this current adventure. Some times when I see these questions on how to get started I think, jeez it's not rocket science, nothing to stress about. But that, of course, is coming 8 years after leaving the comfort of our home in CT. When I think back to how I felt in the beginning I am pretty sure I could have won some kind of, most over the top and stressed out mom, award. So I get it, I really do.

There is so much to think about especially when leaving the life you've always known behind. So what are the most valuable things you need to have/sort out in order to start traveling? Everyone will tell you something different but I thought I would share what we find to be the most important things.

Passport
It may be a no brainer, but a passport is vital to any international travel. It is best to get one at least 2 months before you have any travel scheduled so you do not run into any delays that could lead to changing your plans. When air travel is involved this can be an expensive procrastination.

It is also a good idea to have copies of your passport, multiple copies actually. Some visa on arrivals will require it yet do not have a copy machine to use so I have found bringing my own is best. I also copy any visas I get in case some one, such as myself, launders said passport ruining the pages inside.

For super duper, extra protection be sure to also have a back up of the passport some place other than on yourself. If you get robbed and lose the precious folder where you keep all important documents you will be so glad you took the time to scan them and store them in a cloud.

Financial Security...at least a little bit
Whether it is set job, a blog up and running, a savings account, or travel insurance you will want to make sure it is all dealt with before you take off. Be sure your accounts will work all over the world and if you can try to use a bank that will allow you transactions without incurring a fee each and every time. If you will be using Paypal for anything be sure that it is all set before you leave your home country. Trust me, connecting accounts and dealing with them in general is far more difficult when you are not there in person.

Leaving with a good chunk of savings is great but in my opinion it is even better to have a steady income flow of some sort. The savings will run out eventually and most likely faster than you anticipate. If you have a blog or some type of income stream that is steady you will have far less financial headaches during your travel.

When it comes to travel insurance some people use it while others don't. There are pros and cons to both sides of that debate but the bottom line is that if something happens, injuries, stolen items, etc you will never be upset that you have it. It is super easy and many policies are not even that expensive. You can get online travel insurance or go through whatever provider you currently use for house/accident/health insurance at home.

Patience
It may go without saying but I am going to say it anyway...it's that important! If you leave with nothing else leave with as much patience as you can muster. Travel is amazing, beautiful, inspirational, and endearing but it can also be wrought with heartache, gut wrenching sadness, mishaps, and downright frustrating situations.

Having a good attitude and a healthy dose of patience will go a long way when confronted with one of the more difficult aspects to travel. Start with as much as you can and I guarantee that when your trip is done, you will walk away with even more. You can fight any situation you want but at the end of the day being impatient with people is not going to help or get you anyplace. Sit back and relax and save the irritation for the few moments where it may just do your cause some good.

Computer/Smart phone
Traveling with a computer has its ups and downs. Sure it can be heavy and cumbersome and also something you constantly have to worry about but what it gives you back is vital in my opinion. We use our computers for everything from work to research to photo sharing and communication.

You can stay in touch with loved ones, do schoolwork, and find out the best place to eat in any given area. Of course a smart phone or tablet can also get most of that done so choose which suits you best and go for the smallest thing that will cover all your bases.

I know a lot of people equate a true travel experience with getting disconnected from technology but as someone who has traveled extensively with and without it, I would not travel without it ever again. Life is substantially more easy and connecting with friends and family helps in many situations be it loneliness, advice gained, or just sharing the adventure, however remotely.

Camera
For many people taking pictures is a great way to make and keep memories, for others, such as myself, it is an integral part of any journey. After my family and friends, I think cameras are the thing I cherish most, so it absolutely had to make list.

Smart phones have come a long way in picture taking capability and it's an easy way to connect on Instagram but sometimes you just need more, lots more in my case. We have an older smart phone that I have with us a lot, it is an IPhone 3 so as you can imagine the photos are just OK. I also carry with me a small point and shoot, which I keep on me for the just in case you see something awesome at a strange time pics.

My pride and joy though is my Nikon DSLR. It is bulky and heavy so I do not carry it all the time but the photos I can capture with it are immeasurably better than those I get with the phone or point and shoot.

I regret very few things but one thing I do regret is that I waited so long to buy a nicer camera. If you have the funds get one before you leave so you can enjoy great pictures your whole trip through. They will be your favorite and most lasting mementos!

What do you think is essential to any trip? What types of things do you secure before you take off?

Do you have a dream that you just can't seem to get off the ground? Do you feel a lack of a dream and need helping finding exactly what it is? Do you just feel that if you had some type of a guide along the way it may help you to achieve whatever it is you want in life?

If you are like so many people out there stuck in your life but wanting to make a change I have some great news for you....

Two wonderful friends have decided to try and make those dreams a reality for 20 lucky people. Jennifer Miller from edventureproject and Nancy-SathreVogel from familyonbikes are both extraordinary women who have great knowledge of how to target their own dreams, and do exactly what it takes to make them happen.

Jennifer Miller has managed to create a location independent life and travels the globe with her 4 children. She also piled 11 kids in a bus with 1 other mom and traveled around the country last summer, mama bus was a real inspiration! What amazing courage. Nancy Sathre-Vogel has done the unimaginable and cycled from Alaska to Argentine with her husband and twin boys. That was after her journey across the US with them at 9 years old. She has also written 2 books, one of which I reviewed here about her US journey. It seemed like an impossible goal but Nancy and her family made it happen.

The things that both of these women have accomplished is astonishing and honestly they are things that most of us think we could never accomplish. They both understand that feeling and are honest about their own fears and worries before setting out on their adventures.

I feel confident that they can help you achieve your goals because of the no excuses, can do attitude they both have. They don't let anything get in their way!

I highly recommend this course and I don't go out of my way to do that very often. I believe in these 2 women because of the amazing accomplishments they have already achieved. I believe that they can and will help you acheive your goals no matter what they may be.

Registration is now open, but they only have 20 slots available! It will be a 12 week course, and it is 100% guaranteed, all that they offer is available for you to see now at the dream big dreams website, where they explain week by week what the course will entail.

Start living your dreams today with help from the DREAM INITIATIVE! Head over today to sign up!

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Yeah, I don't have homework tonight! Or ever!

Unschooling is a term that John Holt coined in the 70’s, after years of extensive research regarding how children learn and what was causing them to fail. What he discovered was that school pushes many children to fail via a fear inducing sub society and actually seemed to slow the learning process in most.

One of Holt's strongest beliefs was that children did not need to be forced into learning and anything that resembled school at all was counterproductive to their success. Unschooling, child led life learning, was born.

When I first heard about unschooling 8 years ago I thought it seemed crazy. I thought all the things that some of you are thinking right now. What about socialization, grades, college? My children need to go to school to be “on track” with everyone else. I thought it seemed lazy and neglectful and couldn’t imagine going against the grain in such an “extreme” way.

Flash forward to today and you see a very different philosophy in my home. I have spent the past 6 years homeschooling my oldest son. I have since had 2 more children, traveled with them extensively, moved to a foreign countries, and experimented with almost every type of homeschooling you can imagine. Then I discovered the mind opening experience that is unschooling and now I can’t imagine living my life in anything but this “extreme” way.

My oldest son started out life in a mainstream fashion. He attended 2 years of preschool and then went on to half-day Kindergarten. We lived in a wonderful small town with an excellent school system and were lucky enough to get an award-winning teacher for his Kindergarten experience. She was fantastic but through her own admission she could not provide the experience that she felt all the students deserved. It wasn’t a bad experience but we wanted more for our son. What more did we want? That is easy; room for independent thought, creativity, an ability to question things without being in “trouble” - and the freedom to run our household without the demands of the school system intruding.

The nagging question that remained was what could I, as a parent, do? After talking to that very same teacher and a lot of soul searching I decided to withdraw my son from school. She not only encouraged this, she was almost as enthusiastic as I was about the idea. I found that there were many philosophies to choose from within the realm of homeschooling. Since I was still caught up in the “school” mentality, we started by doing a canned curriculum at home. We tried this in many different ways for 3 years until I realized that we solved some of the issues but not all of them. Simply put, we were not enjoying it as much as we thought we should.

At this point I opened up my mind to the thoughts of unschooling and started reading book after book about it. I realized that I needed to throw away conventional thinking and open my mind up to the possibility that what I thought of as learning may not be the only path to knowledge. My discovery took place because of pioneers that came before me, Holt, Gatto, Kohn, and Sandra Dodd. They all showed me, through their writings, a new reality that I will forever be grateful for.

Reading books and opening my mind were the first steps in the process of de-schooling that Wikipedia defines as “the mental process a person goes through after being removed from a formal schooling environment, where the school mindset is eroded over time”. This step is vital for the entire family but for the parent it can be very difficult. We have far more baggage in regards to school and the added feeling and stress that we are responsible for our childrens’ education and, ultimately, their future. I struggled with what seemed like an ingrained need to follow the norm.

I did go to public school after all, and in his book Dumbing Us Down, John Taylor Gatto says “we are schooling children to merely obey orders…” Although I was a bit rebellious in school, I was still conditioned by societal norms and allowing myself to beak out of the box is where I struggled most on my journey to unschooling.

Ivan Illich first coined the term de-schooling in a controversial book called Deschooling Society, published in 1971. In this book he enlightens his readers to the fact that “universal education through schooling is not feasible”. He goes on to explain that the institutionalization of education means an institutionalization of society as a whole. And that it isn’t until we change the way we view education that we can change the way all institutions function. There is a corrupting impact at the institutional level but it is particularly damaging to society when this happens in schools, and it is happening in schools as we speak.

Another big hurdle for me was in understanding that authentic learning happens all the time. I realized over the past few years that you really can’t stop someone from learning no matter what you do or don’t do. My middle child has never been to school or even attempted anything remotely resembling school, yet at 7 he can read because he wanted to. Through simply living our lives he has learned numbers, adding, subtracting, percentage, fractions etc. How? We play war, poker, exchange money, let him do some shopping and all of those things are necessary for him so he has learned it. School puts our children in a box and real life cannot be found within it. I would prefer my children spend their time outside of that box, learning in the real world.

Everything my kids do shares an equal value because they are always learning, whether it is a walk in the jungle, playing video games, or reading a book. I love that my children have a say in what they want to discover. We offer them ideas and show them various paths to knowledge and support their enthusiasm, but ultimately it is what interests them that's most important to us. And don’t we all learn better when it is something pertinent in our lives? I know I do and I know my kids do as well.

De-schooling is an ongoing process and something I will be actively doing for many years to come. It has profoundly changed me as a person and there is no going back ever. It reaches beyond schooling and into our lives on every level. There is a new intensity of respect, equality and unconditional love for all members of the family. We all know now what authentic learning is, it looks nothing like school and we are all happier for it.

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Before we left on our perpetual slow travel trip we researched all the must have items for travelers. Then we researched all the must have items for families traveling. The result was a comprehensive packing list for extended travel that has, after three months of travel, proven to be well worth the planning effort. We owe a huge debt of thanks to all the other travel bloggers that wrote great articles on packing lists.

One of the things that we have found to be extremely valuable is our external hard drives. We have 2 of them: 1 (750 gig) for pictures and music, and another one (1 terrabyte) for movies and games. Some people rely on cloud storage for these files. We back some things up online as well, but while traveling it's much more convenient to have direct access to these programs and files without the need for internet.

Having our entertainment libraries on external hard drives allows us to stay at some pretty inexpensive hotels that are clean and quaint, but that don't have TVs or a solid internet connection. Besides entertainment, they serve many other useful purposes on the road.

I also need to back up my pictures in various places due to an incident a few years ago when several pictures were lost. The online sites are great but often times I find it time consuming to upload and retrieve photos, especially if my Internet connection is shoddy. My camera and PC get full with pictures fairly quickly and there is always the worry of either breaking it or having it stolen -- so having external hard drives is 100% necessary if you're a picture freak like me.

So before we left I knew photos would be coming in at a rapid pace (somewhere around 1000 pics a month so far) and I would need something larger than a flash drive to store them all. After a lot of research I went with the Passport brand and chose a 750 gig for the photos. It's been working GREAT so far.

When traveling you really need to streamline everything in the interest of carrying less and saving your back. We no longer own any CDs or stereos of any kind, just iPhones, an iPad, and our computers. But these devices don't have storage space for all the music we carry (our whole library). iTunes is a great cloud storage site, but if you have a lot of music that originally came from CDs, or if you download music not on iTunes, iTunes storage capability is cumbersome and limited. There is also the additional challenge of retrieving them if internet is inconsistent on the road.

Find 1TB Passports Here

So along with the pictures I find there is plenty of room for my music back up, as well as some video games that are used for the DS that also need to be stored. Rather than take up space on the computer these also go into the Passport for easy retrieval.

We've lived the last 3 years with no TV signal, so we've acquired a good amount of movies. With the boys' age differences being so large (4 yrs to 12 yrs), you could imagine the scope of movies needed to fit the everybody's tastes. We almost never watch anything during the day, but we all enjoy watching them to relax in the evenings. Besides being heaven sent for use in rustic cabins or budget hotels, they're also one of the only antidotes for children's "are we there yet" syndrome during long travel days. Our 1 terrabyte Passport holds our movies and can probably hold twice as many more.

We also carry a couple of thumbnail drives with us for easy file transfer when we want different movies on different devices, or if one of us need pictures while the other is paying music, etc.

So, when you're planning a long family vacation or extended journey make sure you remember external hard drives on your packing list. You'll be really glad you did.

Additional Tip: Be sure to buy a case for whatever storage device you choose. One of my older hard drives was dropped and didn't fare well. Had it been in a case I may have saved thousands of photos. The passport brand has it's own cases that store the drives perfectly.

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I used to think Jet lag wasn't a real thing! I mean suck it up, right, just catch up on your sleep or deal with being a little tired. Seemed so easy...that is before taking a trip halfway across the world crossing more time zones than I can even keep straight.

After we started travelling a few years ago I realized that even a short time difference can really make a difference. Even a 2 hour difference effects our sleeping pattern, keeping us up later in the day and sleeping a bit later in the morning. But 2 hours doesn't make or break a trip and for a week we just let it go and stay on that pattern. that way when we return home we will be back on our normal schedule.

What about a long distance trip?

Well we started out in Costa Rica and flew to LA, no problem there! Then we flew from LA to Taiwan and immediately on to Bangkok. We even slept quite a bit on the plane, which surprised me. We landed and got to our hotel around 330am, that was the first mistake! It felt a bit like a baby that has their sleep cycle reversed. We tried to sleep at night, even tried forcing ourselves to stay awake during the day but all to no avail. We would inevitably sleep a bit during the day, and then no matter how tired we were, we just couldn't sleep the whole night through! I think the toughest part was trying to entertain, and keep quiet, our somewhat rowdy troupe of boys, in the middle of the night. It wouldn't have bothered us so much had we not been in a hotel where, I am sure, we were heard at all hours! When all was said and done it took us about 1 week to all switch our gears and get on schedule. Some of us made the transition earlier than other but it wasn't until we were all on schedule that we were really getting a full nights sleep.

So what can you do to ease the suffering?

It seems that we made a few mistakes before we even left home! Following a few simple tips would probably have helped so I will list some here in hopes that you can "switch over" quicker then we did!

Try switching your schedule little by little the week before you leave. Go to bed later or earlier and try getting used to either sleeping in or getting up earlier in the morning. Depending, of course, on which way you are crossing time zones.
Book a flight that lands during the day rather then in the middle of the night, stay awake until a decent sleep hour and hit the hay. This worked wonders for my friends that landed around noontime. They seemed to be on track within 2-3 days.
During your first few days be sure to get outdoors and get plenty of sunlight. It will help regulate your internal rhythm.
Be sure to get some sleep on the plane, but not too much so that you are unable to sleep once at your destination. Neck pillows, eye covers, and earplugs may help!
Stay hydrated and walk around often while on board the plane. Dehydration and lack of movement seem to stifle the "switching over" process. This also means NO ALCOHOL! I know it is tempting especially on a long flight but this will only speed up dehydrtaion making the entire process more difficult to overcome.
Be prepared mentally! Part of the jet lag, that I found most difficult, is a really overwhelming feeling of exhaustion at times. I think being ready for it helps.
If you are jumping 12 time zones, the mother of all overhaul trips, do yourself a favor and stay at least 2 weeks!
Some say the natural remedies of yoga stretching or deep breathing also can help by facilitating relaxation and ultimately sleep.

If you follow these tips and accept that you need to take it easy the first couple of days it should be an easier transition. The more people you have the harder it seems it is to get on track. Either way it will pass and you'll be enjoying your new destination in no time!

How do you fight jet lag?? Share your tips below.

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Bangkok this way

The days leading up to our big trip to Thailand from Costa Rica were very busy; saying goodbye to so many wonderful people, cleaning, packing, taking care of last minute things, and for me in particular...worrying! For those that don't know me, I can be honest in saying that I do this regularly. I try not to but I just can't seem to help myself. This time the main worry was not about setting sail across the world, but instead that the flight itself, all 30 hours, was going to kill at least one of us. I worried about sleeping, keeping the kids entertained, fighting off my own boredom, not irritating the other passengers, and a slew of other things.

Ready to get going

Sunday morning came and we were off to the airport at the crack of dawn. First day was the easier of the 2, Costa Rica to Los Angeles by way of Arizona. The morning started off with our first glitch at the airport when they had no confirmation of our tickets. A few phone calls and we were all set thanks to the patient staff at U.S. Airways and our good friends. Exit taxes paid, permission to leave the country for our youngest son who's a Costa Rican citizen, security done with only one loss (a playdoh tub) and off to wait for the first flight. We had little time to think about this momentous occasion as in only a few minutes we were set to board. Yeah we usually cut it pretty damn close but luckily no missed flight yet! Well, there was that one time....

We always board LAST, not sure why the airlines ask that people with children board the plane first. To me it seems crazy to coop up kids any longer then necessary, so we opt out of that insanity. Soon after getting settled we heard the roar of the engines and it finally sank in that this may be the last time we see our home. Tears start to fall for myself and my middle son as we watch Costa Rica become a tiny spec in the distance. It was the first time that I cried, or really felt sad, about leaving at all and it felt great to finally have that rush of emotions! The landscape outside our window for the next few hours helped us to feel better, as it was so beautiful! Volcanoes, snow capped mountains, and crystal clear lakes. Having never flown this route before, we were all amazed at seeing the stunning Central American landscape from the air. We know we'll be back at some point!

Beautiful volcanoes in Central America

The flight went smoothly, we were able to meet up with some old friends in Arizona, and onto our connection for the last leg of the day to LA. This flight was completely packed! I thought, if the long flight is like this we are in big trouble. My 2 oldest are real troopers, but our 4-year-old was a bit restless, as he's an active guy with admittedly a fresh streak. He may or may not have gotten from yours truly. Again, thankfully it was a short flight and when we got to the hotel, we relaxed by the pool, ate some amazing salad, and got a great night's sleep.

Hollywood sign during our decent!

Next came 15 hours straight on a plane with 3 children, a husband who's a smoker, and me, a anxious flier! I was really nervous, but right away there was a sense of peace with my clan. Everyone knew it would be a long flight and settled in. The airline, EVA Air, was amazing! Really I can't find a single bad word to say about their service or actual plane. They set us up with toys and coloring books and served food and drinks practically every half hour. Each seat had a touch screen system of TV, movies, and video games to help with entertainment. There were so many options that my children never even opened their own DS's or iProducts.

Once the lights turned off after dinner, all 3 boys seemed to fall fast asleep. They sort of dozed off and on as did my husband and I. 13+ hours passed and every one was still doing great. I am so proud of all of us. The last hour was tough as the baby was sick and tired of being on a plane. We also hit some pretty strong turbulence that sent me straight to anxiety alley but I pulled through and didn't throw up, hit anyone, open the plane doors, or cry...well maybe a little bit of crying but lets just call it welling up! With the lights on and the strong turbulence it was hard to relax but we made it!

Our "big" plane from LA to Taiwan

The 1 hour layover in Taiwan was pretty easy. The airline moved the bags themselves and we didn't even have to remove our shoes going through security, good thing because the screaming toddler I was holding had fallen asleep. Of course it had to be the minute the plane touched down. No one wanted him woken up again! When he did wake he was pretty cranky and seemed to find every opportunity to push our exhausted buttons. Luckily, when we boarded the plane to Bangkok he and I fell fast asleep, only to wake up 20 mins before landing! I mean does it get any better then that? I was sure this would be the toughest leg of the trip but, thankfully, I was proven wrong. Although it was 2:30am in Bangkok, we were there!

We were tired but super excited to finally be in the country that I had spent so many countless hours researching. We headed to immigration where, again, I was a bit nervous. No questions were asked and we got our 30 day visa. Luggage all made it and the hotel staff was there ready to help us. Five minutes later we were on the shuttle and within 15 minutes we were raiding our min-fridge in our hotel room! Sleeping at that point is a whole other blog post. But it would be fair to say that jet lag and being on the opposite side of the world felt a bit like being an infant that has their days and nights reversed.

All in all, the travel day was a great experience thanks to a great airline and an awesome family. I was able to see a couple things that surprised me; one was that my children are even more adaptable then I ever gave them credit for, two is that my husband is amazing and maybe not quite so addicted to nicotine than he lets on, and lastly, that I should never worry about things until I need to. What a waste of mental space! We all rocked the 30+ hour trip to Bangkok and I am so proud! Everyone we encountered was kind and helpful. Although this was a really long travel day, it wasn't so hard after all.

If a long day of travel is holding you back from seeing the world, don't let it. But make sure you have a couple weeks to tackle the jet lag and enjoy!

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After a month of research and shopping we have decided on our packing list. We consulted just about every travel site out there and really took our time deciding what would work best for us. I am so grateful for those traveling families that have come before us as their information is invaluable to those of us just starting out. Here is our list:

Backpacks

Our packs

-L.L. bean large multiday pack, this thing has seen better days as my husband has owned it for over a decade but we are hoping it will last at least a year.
-Camp Trails vagabond pack, for me, used on one trip years ago but a solid pack still
-Osprey Porter 46 for my 12 year old
-Dueter Fox 30 for my 8 year old
-2 day packs with electronics compartments
-1 small daypack for my 4 year old that will house a small assortment of toys, legos, etc

Electronics
-2 netbooks
-Ipad
-2 Iphones
-Nikon camera
-Nintendo DSI
-Nintendo DSI XL
-1 terrabyte passport hard drive for movies
-1 750 gig passport hard drive for picture and document back up
-4 headlamps with extra batteries
-4 sets of good headphones
-2 deluxe step down converters
-3 universal adaptors

Kids things
-various coloring books and new crayons/markers
-small tubs of playdoh
-small toys for 4 year old (small dinosaurs, "guys", various animals)
-small container of legos
-playing cards/uno cards
-Dominoes
-jump rope
-inflatable balls
-notebooks/workbooks for roadschooling

-->Toiletry type products
-2 aluminum free sticks of deodorant (not sure how hard these are to find, if so we'll switch to crystal sticks as they last much longer)
-favorite eco friendly soap bars (good for washing us and our clothes)
-razors
-3 chap sticks
-toothbrushes
-non fluoride toothpaste (not sure if we'll find this on the road so we will bring a few)
-white flower analgesic balm (works wonders for headaches and motion sickness)
-First aid kit (separate blog post about the contents here)
-safety pins
-Natural remedies/oils (Tea tree oil, lavender oil, eucalyptus oil, emu oil salve, vitamins for all)
-extra contacts for my husband along with saline
-glasses for husband and middle son

Clothing
This will be the bulk of what fills our suitcases. I am usually quite the over packer but am working hard to stick to what we need only. Each person will take the same list of items and every child (except the 4 year old) will be responsible for carrying their own things. So times everything in this section by 5!
-many pairs of underwear/bras
-2-3 pairs of shorts
-5 t-shirts
-1 pair of pants
-1-2 long sleeved shirts/sweatshirts
-couple of pairs of jammies for Theo and mom (dad and big boys never wear them so I stopped buying them years ago)
-hair holders for me
-rain jackets/wind breakers
-3-4 pairs of socks
-2 pairs of shoes each (1 pair of crocs and 1 pair of sneakers/keenes)

Miscellaneous
-1 amazing smelling candle for those not so wonderful smelling rooms, and to purify our area when arriving some place new:)
-Acquapura personal water filter straw (invaluable in places where water is not potable)
-pop up hamper, for when we are staying put for a bit
-sink stopper (some say they use it, others say it is a huge waste, but since it takes up such little space we decided it was worth it)
-stain stick for clothes
-lots of attachment clips
-3 reusable bags (for carrying groceries or anything really)
-sarongs to be used as towels, sheets, cover ups, etc
-duct tape/markers
-earplugs/eye mask
-dry sacks
-laundry line

Wow after typing this all out it seems like I should lessen our load but it all fits quite nicely into our packs. We may end up dumping stuff as we go but for now I feel pretty good with what we are taking. Any advice for us please feel free to comment below.

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Part of our first aid kit

Bohemian Travelers

The first aid kit for any world travel trip is extremely important. No one wants to get stuck without bandaids or Tylenol out in the middle of nowhere with 3 kids. In a past life (read as 5 years ago in the US) I was a nurse so I feel that being prepared with a good kit is vital and I take it quite seriously. You can buy a first aid kit already put together but I really wanted to assemble one myself. I researched ideas for what to bring in the first aid kit right alongside searching for tips on our packing list in general. The following are the things we will be bringing with us just in case, feel free to add any insight.

-3 bottles of lemon eucalyptus natural insect repellent
-small box of medical gloves
-superglue which can be used for many things but in a first aid capacity it will be a last ditch option for closing wounds
-2 instant cold packs
-band aids of various sizes
-gauze of varying size
-1 roll of medical tape
-gauze roll
-Tegaderm
-thermometer
-blister pads
-suture/syringe set (for use when at a facility without clean tools)
-Neosporin with pain relief
-Vick's chest rub (works wonders on a cough if applied to the feet before bedtime)
-Ocean nasal spray
-2 tins of Suuthe skin repair cream (this stuff is great and natural for any skin issues; itch, fungal infection, etc)
-1 bottle of ibuprofen
-1 bottle of children's liquid Tylenol
-Immodium
-adult and children's Benadryl (we have used this many times in our travels around Costa Rica, great for scorpion stings)
-A full round of Cipro for everyone in the family
-tea tree oil (too many uses to list)
-ace bandages
-steri strips (for help in closing minor wounds)
-anti fungal cream (my boys seem to find the yuckiest things to attack their skin)
-blood pressure cuff as I have high blood pressure that I like to monitor myself

Believe it or not almost all this stuff fits inside of the compact kit in the picture. I believe it will be well worth the trouble of carrying it even though I hope to not need any of the things in it! With 3 boys, wild animals, and hiking, I can almost guarantee that I will and that it will be part of the journey that they talk about most!

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Bohemian mom
Bohemian Travelers

So, we are getting closer to our tentative departure date, about 2 months to go. And although we are really excited, I have to admit to having some mixed feelings about the entire move. After sitting down as a family to talk about it, I discovered that we are all feeling this way. It is a strange thing to feel pulled in such opposite directions. I mean, I am absolutely thrilled about our plans to travel the world with our kids for the next few years but I guess some of it is a little scary for all of us. We know everything will be fine because we have made a huge jump like this before when we moved to Costa Rica and the positive changes from living abroad have been immeasurable, but the worries are hard to push aside some days.

We all seem to be focused on different things. My husband and I are not too worried, rather concerned about how everyone will do with the languages and overall cultural differences. We are used to living in a foreign country, but our first stop, Thailand, will bring a new type of challenge, tonal language, completely different culture, and big cities.

There is also having to leave the amazing community of friends that we have built up over the last 5 years. I believe that this is where I am having the hardest time personally. It won't be holding me back from travel but it sure is something that elicits sadness from time to time. In the end, my husband and I know that there has been a bit of stagnation in our lives here over the past year or so. We both feel very strongly that for ourselves and for the kids personal growth it is time to move on. One of the reasons we left the US to begin with was due to this feeling that our personal growth had severely slowed in relation to being in the US. Although we know that personal growth happens all the time, we find ourselves in a similar situation, where in relation to us being in Costa Rica, our growth as individuals and as a family has stagnated.

The kids really go back and forth with it all. It seems to be hardest on my oldest son, who is referred to as Supertramp in this blog. He is 12. For him, more then for the little guys, the connections to our community are quite strong and he is really feeling the tug at his heart when thinking about leaving. He also is struggling with the loss of his pets, as are all our children. Interesting that the things we worry about they do not seem concerned with in the least. The smaller boys don't really seem fazed by all this at all, aside from already begging us to get a pet elephant in Asia, and feeling sad when we say that is not happening. Worrying doesn't seem to be in their nature.

So what do you tell yourself, and what do you tell your kids to help alleviate some of the anxiety about it all? Well, we tell them often that learning to cope in a foreign situation is one of the best ways to overcome fears and insecurities. We explain that we will make new friends to add to our ever growing list of people throughout the world that care about us. We also remind them (and ourselves) that if we had never taken the leap to move to Costa Rica, we would have never even met the terrific people that we are expecting to miss so much. Life is about the journey, we say!

At the end of the day, we know we will miss people and we know there will be some challenges in our future, yet we now understand that's how we grow as people. There will be challenges and we will have these mixed emotions, but at the end of it all I can only see positive for ourselves and our family as a whole. Stepping outside of our comfort zone is when we will truly take in the world and learn the most from what is around us. Our complacency has run its course and adventure is ahead. It will be quite a journey, be sure to stay tuned!

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Five years ago, our young family moved to Costa Rica from the Northeastern United States. Costa Rica is a small peaceful, developing nation in Central America. Since this was a big move it required lots of planning and preparation, including researching jobs, schools, housing and international moving companies which I was able to check out here. The plan was to give it a try and re-assess how we all felt after a year. One year turned into two, then three, and now going on five years. There have been difficult times, but overall it has been such an amazing and enlightening experience for our entire family. We have learned many things, including a new language and culture, but some lessons run much deeper into who we are as humans and what we offer to the world in return.

After five years living abroad, here are 5 important lessons for our family:

1. Living more simply:
Before moving my family to Costa Rica we were living the “American dream”. We had a large home, two new cars, and every toy that we could want. Our children, likewise, had rooms loaded with toys, including go-carts and extravagant swing sets. Although we worked hard, we spent money without giving much thought to it. If we were “bored” we would go shopping for things we really didn’t even need just to pass the time. After living abroad, I feel a huge amount of embarrassment over our gluttonous lifestyle, but now I can look back and see how far we have come. Our children also seem to understand now the difference between what we need and what we want, something that seems to be completely lost in American society today. We live in a house just perfect for us, nothing fancy at all, but everything we need. The kids have very little toys (electronics are still in full force of course) and they are just as happy spending more time outdoors and making toys themselves. We spend less money, have far less “stuff”, and it is probably the thing that I am most proud of.

2. Patience:
I admit it, I am a type-A person through and through. I don’t want to wait for anything and I do not share well (only child as well). I can be construed as rude, and definitely do not even think of slowing me down EVER! Did I mention that WAS me? I still have some issues with patience and it will always be a work in progress but after living here in Costa Rica where everything requires some amount of waiting, and no one is impatient there. I have learned to slow down and accept that I can be in the moment rather then just hurrying to the next task. Because of it I feel more at peace then I ever have. Now when I return to the US and witness the impatience and rude behavior that I am sure I used to exhibit, I am appalled at it and so grateful for my time in the “Pura Vida” society.

3. Improvement in health
In the US, we were totally reliant on prepackaged convenience food. This is obviously unhealthy not to mention a real drain on your finances. When we moved to Costa Rica I quickly realized that those foods we were so used to weren’t even available and the convenience foods that we could get were so exorbitantly priced. In short, we had to find another way. I learned to cook and realized I am actually pretty good at it. If there was an item we were craving I would search online, figure out a recipe, use healthier ingredients, and cook it up! 5 years into living here we eat healthier by choosing mostly whole foods and fresh fruits and vegetables. We also have gotten most chemicals out of the house and use all natural products for cleaning and personal care. Living here helped me to step away from the accepted norms in the US and make healthy changes for myself and my family.

4. Tolerance to different people
In my US life I now see that I really missed out on meeting new people. I had a core group of friends that were very much like myself and that was really the extent of it. When you live that way it’s hard to learn from the people around you. I have friends from all over the world and people that I never would have given a chance to in the US are some of my best friends. I see now how amazing every person is in their own way. When I began to look beneath the surface, I discovered some amazing things about my friends that I never would have known had I not opened my mind and heart to embrace their differences. Living here has shown me the way of tolerance.

5. Confidence
Having confidence in yourself and your ability to make it through the world on your own terms is an invaluable thing. It felt like a huge leap when we moved here not knowing how it would all work out. I, in particular, spent a lot of time worrying about how we would get by. I still worry a bit as that seems to be part of my role in the family but it is so much less then ever before. I now know that we are in control of what we want on this planet and know that we are very capable of not only getting by, but of making all our wildest dreams come true.

There have been many lessons learned and many trials and tribulations personally fought through but I would not change a single thing. These lessons I have learned have forever changed me in such a positive and profound way that I will always be so grateful to this small, peaceful, and beautiful country and its people.

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Leo Babauta
ZenHabits

For almost a year now, my wife Eva, my six kids and I have been walking and riding mass transit almost exclusively.

We have bikes but we’re still new to them, and we also use City Carshare for longer trips out of the city. But for everything else, it’s walking and mass transit — for meeting with people, going to restaurants and movies and museums and parks, for grocery shopping (we only buy what we can carry), farmer’s markets, fairs, visiting relatives, and more.

It’s been one of the best things ever for us.

We’ve adjusted from being car users when we were on Guam. I love walking tremendously (I can walk anywhere in the city), but I also love the mass transit … for the lessons it has taught my family.

Some of the lessons we’ve learned so far:

1. How to wait. Mass transit isn’t always on time (surprise!). But rather than look at that as a reason why riding buses and trains suck, we learn how to see that as an opportunity. My boys climb trees while I do pullups and (admittedly rudimentary) gymnastics from a low branch. We tell jokes and I swing the little kids around. We share things with each other, make each other laugh. It’s a good time.

2. How to walk. Mass transit doesn’t take you everywhere, so we walk more than most families. That’s a great thing. Even my little ones are in pretty good shape and rarely complain about walking. We deal with the weather, which is something most people don’t do, as they’re cut off from the world in their glass and metal boxes. Truthfully, we don’t always walk — we love to race each other up hills and be out of breath. It’s wonderful.

3. How to deal with humanity. We’re often shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, which is something you never experience with a car. We deal with smells, with annoying people, with those who talk loudly, with the mentally challenged, with plain crazy people. In other words, with people. And this is a great thing. We learn that we come in all shapes and sizes, that life isn’t the perfect picket fences you see on TV, that the world is real … and that that’s OK. We’re learning to celebrate differences.

4. How to live sustainably. We haven’t cut our emissions to zero, but by the simple act of giving up a car, we’ve cut our use of resources and our emissions down more than most people will by recycling, buying less, using less heat, using less paper, etc. I’m not saying this to brag, or to judge others. I’m saying we’re learning, and while we have a lot to learn, I think we’re making progress.

5. That transit can be more convenient than cars. Sure, it’s nice to be able to hop in your car and go somewhere quickly, no matter the weather. That’s convenient. But there are inconveniences with cars that we forget about: the frustrations of parking (especially in San Francisco), traffic jams, rude drivers, car accidents, flat tires, car maintenance, having to stop for gas, having to actually drive instead of relaxing on the trip, sitting all the time instead of moving around, and more. Again, I’m not judging cars, but all of that, if you think about it, makes riding on a bus or train actually seem nice.

6. How to live frugally. My kids aren’t poor, but I want to teach them that there are good ways of living that don’t have to cost a lot. That spending money for conveniences isn’t necessarily a good thing. We shop at Goodwill, ride transit, cook in big batches, eat little meat (my wife and I eat none). We’re not the most thrifty ever, but we’re teaching the kids that it’s possible. (Read more.)

7. How to live with less control. When you have a car, you feel that things are under your control (forgetting about traffic, accidents and the like). But when you’re riding mass transit, things are not under your control. You’re at the mercy of the schedule, of drivers, of other people slowing the system down, of trains breaking down and backing the system up, and so on. You learn to let go of the illusion of control, and to deal with changes as they come. This is a miraculous lesson.

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Bohemian Mom
Family Travel Blog

In 1998, I took a 3-month backpacking trip around Europe. No computers, no digital cameras, nothing high-tech at all. Looking back on that trip I quickly realize how much easier a lot of it would have been with the tools we have today. In my opinion, a modern traveler would have to be crazy to not have at least one i-something, or at least an android equivalent. It just makes too much sense, and this is coming from a mom of 3 boys that doesn’t even have TV.

In this age of rapidly advancing technology it is near impossible to exist without such things as an e-reader, iPod, iPhone, iPad, or other smart tablets and phones. They are amazing tools in everyday life and indispensable for those of us that travel with kids.

The following is a list, in no particular order, of the apps that we’ve found make life just a little bit easier when on the road:

1. Google Translate
This is just simply a great tool for translating. Google translate is available in 57 different languages. It can be used with voice recognition or simply by typing a phrase in. The voice recognition could use some work and is not available in every language yet but I expect it will close soon. It is available on any android, ipod, itouch, iphone, and ipad.

2. Iconvert
If you are like me, an American, the thought of converting anything from the metric system to the only system we are accustomed to, the standard system, can be taxing.. Sometimes the brain can just hold only so much information. Enter Iconvert; it will convert basically any form of measurement, weight, area, pressure, energy, speed, etc. It even has some currency and a fuel options. This one is a MUST for us North Americans.

3. All subway HD
Subway systems are often times confusing and not necessarily something you want to wait until the last minute to figure out. This app gives you the subway layout, complete with maps, for over 128 cities worldwide. Although it is not an interactive tool, it is a great component to any travel and can even be used offline. It is available in HD for the Ipad and non-HD for the iphone and ipod.

4. Flightboard
If you are incorporating any air travel into your journey then Flightboard will be a great tool. On it you can keep up to date with arrivals as well as departures and even communicate those findings via Twitter or Facebook. If you are picking friends up or have a friend picking you up, this is a great way to quickly see if there are any delays. For an added cost you can add Flight tracker which will track the exact location of you plane. Flightboard is available on iphone, ipad, ipod, and android.

5. Free Wi-Fi finder
Oftentimes free wi-fi can be tough to find. Just because your hotel has it does not necessarily mean it is free and sometimes there are HUGE charges to use it. No need to go through internet withdrawal. Simply use this free app to scout out where the closest free wi-fi spot is in your area. It is updated every week and at this point includes over 550,000 free wi-fi areas in 144 different countries. If you find a new spot not in the list you can add it yourself!

6. Gowalla
If you want to avoid traveling with heavy guidebooks then this is a great free app for you. This app will allow you to review places like hotels and restaurants, as well as search any area to find the must see places and any current happenings. It also allows you to build a virtual passport, follow a pre-planned trip, share photos, and even earn rewards. Available on all systems and free of charge.

7. Word lens
This app needs to be included for the sheer brilliance of it. Word lens is a translation app that worked via the camera function using optical character recognition. Simply hold the camera over the words or phrases that you do not understand and it automatically translates it for you. This is a newer app and is only available in Spanish to English and vice versa but more languages will be added in the near future. It also is not 100% accurate especially when the camera is shaky. For those traveling through Spanish-speaking countries, at $4.99, this app is a must.

8. Sit or Squat
This free app sounds like some silly parody but trust me, especially traveling with a toddler or multiple kids, a good beat on where a clean bathroom is can be a lifesaver. This is a spot where travelers can rate bathrooms and even include photos. The database includes over 100,000 toilets and more are added everyday. All it takes is one bad experience to realize the value here!

9. National Parks maps HD
If you are traveling inside the US, national parks will be a big part of your must see list. Aside from getting a yearly pass (something I also recommend) to the parks, this app is a great complement to the parks. At the moment, this app offers trail maps to 15 different parks including Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. This allows for ease of trip planning, what points to see in these enormous parks, and can actually pinpoint exact locations so that you avoid detours or getting lost all together. It can be used offline for those areas that 3G is not available. The app is $4.99 and works with ipad, iphone, and ipod.

10. Pack TM
Pack TM is a packing tool that helps you organize and keep track of what you have packed. This $2 app (they also have a free version with less frills) is a godsend if you lose your luggage or have the feeling that something is missing after a TSA search. Well worth the trouble to easily keep things organized.

There are tons of apps out there and many that are fabulous but not included on this list. There is only so much space on a top ten list! In addition to these useful travel apps, smart phones and tablets offer endless games, books and other educational applications to keep the kids from crawling out of their skin during a long flight or train ride.

Do yourself a favor before your next extended outing and invest in a smartphone or tablet and get these apps. The savings in time and frustration will be worth the cost and then some.

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Labyrinth garden in Zarcero Costa Rica

As the world rushes by at an ever-quickening pace, most of us tend to feel safer conforming to a stationary lifestyle. If given the choice, most would stay in the town they currently reside in and endure incredible challenges to do so. After all, living with what is familiar no matter how difficult can be more comfortable than the unknown. And, of course, it doesn’t hurt to be around loved ones, close friends, or colleagues.

At one point we bought in hard to all the trappings of the ‘American Dream’ with the big house, two cars, bills and debt, two rat-race jobs, family functions, golf league, little league, poker night, etc. It was all well and good, and certainly we found much joy in that life. But life still felt somewhat empty and pointless as we ran on society's hamster wheel.

Our journey began the fateful day we simply pondered the question of “what if there was another way to spend our time on this planet than grinding out a “normal” life?” The mere thought was as if someone had unlocked the small reality box we felt trapped in. You know, the box whose walls read; work, consume, and obey because there's no other way.

When we realized that we wanted more; not more stuff, but more experiences for our children and family, we began to brainstorm about the possibilities -- which are endless when your box of perception is opened. This made us wonder about what experiences were feasible for our family.

After much consideration, dropping out, selling everything and moving to another country became our goal. We felt that we only live once and we wanted to make the best of it. Besides, we figured, we’re young enough that if it doesn’t work out, we’ll either move back or figure something else out.

Already being homeschoolers of our three kids, we had the liberty of traveling during the regular school session. And incidentally, we had less concerns for leaving a good school district in pursuit of our new foreign journey – which is one of the biggest challenges for families considering long-term travel.

Naturally, we were primarily concerned that if we dropped everything, how would we support ourselves financially? Where would we go and why?

Much thought went into these questions and shaped our research. Ultimately, we decided to move to Costa Rica for the experience of a new culture, language, and scenery. Costa Rica was attractive because of the terrific climate, peaceful government, stable economy, quality healthcare, and close proximity to the United States.

We spent the next five years living in and exploring Costa Rica with visits to neighboring countries Panama and Nicaragua. All three of these countries offer a tremendous experience for family travel and should be high on anyone's list of foreign attractions.

So far, we have been technically jobless for over five years, but have managed to always make our living expenses, sometimes with frills, many times without. We have primarily made our living as writers which allows for extreme flexibility.

However, our original goal was to not acquire more than we can carry in case we wanted to explore something new on a whim. But after five years we realized that similar rooting habits were beginning to lock us there.

We now had good friends, a full schedule of classes and other activities, and business interests to attend to. Although we had dramatically simplified and downsized our lifestyle in Costa Rica, we still accumulated furniture, appliances, vehicles, pets, tools, books and toys. Consequently, we once again felt somewhat stuck.

That is when we decided to embark on this new adventure where the goal isn’t a place necessarily or business opportunities, but the journey itself. Again, faced with unlimited ideas and challenges, we begin our research. Where to go? What to see and do? What will be the richest experience for three young kids? How will we afford to travel extensively with a family of five on a modest income?

These challenges don’t frighten us as we have conquered them before. In fact, they only invigorated us with newfound enthusiasm for unknown opportunities. The main difference this time is that we don’t plan to stay in the same location for longer than a month or two.

Indeed, this will present many unique logistical challenges any family travelers will face like functioning in multiple languages and currencies, keeping an affordable roof over our heads and healthy food in our bellies, balancing work with sight-seeing and family activities, managing transportation and destinations, and much more.

As our journey unfolds, stayed tuned to learn from our mistakes and triumphs.

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