What an adventure!

100 days
3 countries
10 US states of glorious travel with
3 of my very favourite people, exploring new places, revisiting special spots and seeing them through the boys' eyes, and catching up with friends and family some of whom I haven't seen for over 20 years.

We slept in houses, campers, hotels, vacation rentals, Air BnB's, ferries, and even an overnight bus.

We travelled by car, train, ferry, horse, bicycle, gondola, monorail, subway, kayak, speed boat, raft, canoe, bus, taxi, bicycle taxi, water taxi, steam wheeler, and horse carriage.

Some days seemed really, really long (especially when Oliver flatly refused to do anything educational!) but now those three fantastic months seem to have sped by in a blink.

The boys got on out nerves (and each others), but we knew that would happen. What really surprised me was how often they amazed me.

Elliot passionately inhaled our adventures, soaking up the new knowledge and different cultures. He bravely tried all sorts of new things and convinced Paul and me (sometimes unwittingly) to try them too. By the end of our trip, El had decided that his calling in life was to be an explorer in the Amazon Rainforest discovering new creatures and cultures.

Oliver approached our travels much more hesitantly wavering between embracing the adventure and missing his friends and life back home. This is why we were perhaps even more proud of Ollie's journey. He overcame numerous fears (roller coasters, swimming in the waves or in water he couldn't see the bottom), and as we approached the end of our trip Ollie decided that maybe he wasn't 100% ready to go home. He also surprised us with his knack for picking up Spanish despite refusing to do any sort of practice beforehand.

I am heart-burstingly grateful that I've been able to live my dreams and show a part of the world to our kids. Watching them take it all in is one of the most rewarding experiences this mum has known.

P.S. I can't wait to take off again in 2019!!