Reflecting on the Trip

Before I blog about the trip in any detail (most posts are written) I wanted to reflect on what I learned... not the "What did we learn?" on a three week field trip but what we learned about ourselves on the road for three weeks, what we learned about the logistical standpoint and what we would do differently next summer and in the future.

I took a lot of notes.

Some mental: IE- we should do a homeschool project on the marketing and advertising of products start to finish so Athena can understand WHY it's ridiculous to buy massively marketed products... Riiighhht...

Things I learned:

It's difficult to plan three weeks out when the goal is learning. It is easy to miss various points of interest or historical sites when you are booking in advance.

Traveling on a schedule is not forgiving. Not at all... Food poisoning? Do you want to add in a trip to _____ place but you need to leave for your next campground? The kids want to hike at a random trailhead in the middle of nowhere but of course it is late and we need to check in!

I like my kids more when we travel!
I always love my kids but I like them more while we are on the road! The girls never fought, didn't argue, were able to play freely and explore. We had no "schedule," we quickly realized we did not want curriculum during the time spent. It was great. It was relaxed and it was nurturing to our relationships. We decided on our adventures together as a team... Well, Lex went along for the ride.

Growth is quick to come by while exploring! The very cranky and overstimulated toddlers seemingly love to be outdoors and exploring. At least mine does! Lex was able to grow coming out of her shell and pushed herself pretty far. It was a great transition and being back less than a week, she is moving back into her shell:(

The six year old found inspiration in meeting people. She learned to communicate to an Asian woman who knew no English, that she loved her hat. She wanted to go to countries of all of the people she met. A boy from Italy who knew very little English. She now insists on learning Italian. German, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, etc. She wants to learn all of them...

Overall, the trip was amazing and I'm thankful we had the opportunity to get out and explore. I'm very confident in our decision to part-full time travel in the next few years and mostly, the girls are looking forward to Jay and the dogs joining us.