I love Mondays. It’s the new beginning of a new week. It also means that we have a new Featured Travel Blogger to share. Last week we had Jan (and family) from Budget Travel Blog. This week Featured Travel Blogger at New Life on the Road is…..
Keryn from Walking On Travels. Keryn and her family take as many journeys as possible, travelling together when ever they get the chance. Thanking Keryn for sharing your journey and passion of travelling with little ones!
Q: How long have you and your family been traveling for?
As a family we have been traveling together off and on for over two and a half years. When my son Dek was 3 months old we got on a plane to travel across the country to introduce him to his extended family. We have been jumping on planes and hopping in the car any chance we get ever since. My husband and I have been traveling for much longer than that, both as a couple and separately.
Dek and his Dad ~
Visiting Beijing
Q: What it the biggest tip you could give to a family that is travelling with young children/babies?
Don’t let the little things overwhelm you. Parenting can be tough no matter where you are. Staying home won’t make sleeping, temper tantrums and teething any easier. I have changed diapers in just as many disgusting restrooms in the USA as I have in Asia. I’ve ventured into potty training, dealt with illness and carried a sleeping baby across countless miles. For our family, we would rather be doing something we love than sit around at home all year as we tackle the ups and downs of parenting.
Visiting Hawaii ~
Love the freedom Dek has 🙂
Q: Do you think that travelling is a good education for children or would they receive a better education living in a house and going to school?
Travel is a great experience and education for children. Even if they are living at home and going to their local school, the knowledge they can gain by traveling over school holidays can only enhance what they learn in the classroom. Places children are reading about jump off the page and are staring them in the face. They can walk the ancient roads the Romans marched down, inhale the sweet scent of a Bougainvillea they read about in biology class or check out the geometry used to build the ancient pyramids. Anytime you can add a practical side to learning, a child will remember it all the more. I know I sure did.
Dek Visiting Hong Kong ~
Love how he is sitting and taking time to just “Look”!
Q: You are about to give birth to your second son – will you continue with your plans to travel at least twice a year?
With our 2nd child on the way I am even more convinced that we can continue to travel. I already have 2 trips planned this year, including a month-long adventure visiting friends throughout 4 countries in Europe, part of which I will be doing without my husband. We have a few weekend trips we are figuring out for this summer and I’m trying to convince my husband to ditch our usual holiday plans and go sit on a tropical beach before the New Year. I don’t think it will be very hard to twist his arm on that one.
Keryn with a sleeping Dek in Kyoto and Dek in Seattle
Q: Did you travel before having a family? If so, is it easier to travel with or without children? Or is it just a different way of travelling?
I started traveling long before I had a family of my own. As a child, my parents would drive us 9 hours up to New Hampshire to escape the summer heat in Philadelphia. When I was 16 I went to Mexico (and out of the country) for the first time to visit friends. Once I was married it took us a while to get into our travel groove. It’s not because we didn’t want to go anywhere, we just weren’t sure how. We were starting our careers, we could barely pay the rent and didn’t see how we could spend a small fortune on a trip that we would only be able to enjoy for a week. Thankfully I quickly learned that it doesn’t take a fortune or even a lot of time to enjoy an escape from your everyday life. After 3 years of marriage we finally took our honeymoon to Italy. The travels just kept coming after that.
Having Fun in Whistler ~ Visiting Osaka Castle
Traveling with our son isn’t any harder, it’s just different. In a lot of ways it is better. I am a person that has to constantly be in motion or doing something. We have to get there, get this done and move on. My son Dek has literally made me stop and smell the roses with him. You can’t rush a toddler. If he wants to check out every rock on the road he is going to make sure I know it. This is honestly one of my favorite parts of being a mom. I finally stopped checking sights off my list and actually started looking at them.
Q: Do you have one place that you have been to that you liked so much that you would like to return to once your children are a bit older so that they can experience the place and let you know what they think about it?
For me it is a toss-up between Beijing, China and Kyoto, Japan. Both were such momentous trips for our family and sights that hold so much history. Dek loved them both as a toddler, but he loved them for such different reasons than we did. While we appreciated the art, food, people and history of each city, Dek loved that he could walk on his own, flirt with every local in his path and examine every twig along the way. I do wonder what he would think if we went back in 10 years. Will he be as excited as we were on our first trip to each city or will he see one temple and then be bored to tears? Time can only tell.
Keryn and Dek in Seattle 🙂
About This Week Featured Travel Blogger:-
Mom and active blogger, Keryn Means left the publishing world in 2011 to take care of her growing family and follow her passion for travel. A native of Philadelphia, she spends her days exploring her new home in Seattle with her toddler son, planning their next trip abroad and anxiously awaiting the arrival of her second born due in late April. When her son is asleep you can find her editing photos and writing away on Walkingon Travels. Keryn follows the mantra that just because you have kids doesn’t mean you have to put your travel dreams aside, if anything they just get bigger and more exciting.
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Thanking Keryn, Mike and Dek from Walking On Travels for sharing your amazing journey with your passion for travelling with a young family. It’s so good to read about your family travelling – sure is a great inspiration for others to think outside the square! Please connect with WalkingOnTravels and read more on their about page!
Cheers
Lisa
New Life on the Road
Good Interview Lisa ! Hi Keryn and Mike – I love the way Dec is taking photos. How long before we see a DecBlog?
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Hi Jan,
Oh that would be so cute…a blog by Dek 🙂
He is such a cutie! I know that he takes good photos!
Thanks for reading their story about their journey of travelling with a young family.
Cheers
Lisa
Oh I feel so sad reading what amazing trips they are taking and not being able hop on a plane like that!! I’d love to read a post on how to plan your finances to include international trips for a family!
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