Father's Day Weekend Trips or Family International Travel
June 18, 2011
On Dad's Day, lets make a tribute to all the traveling fathers who do family travel... be it a weekend getaway , a week's vacation, two week's holiday, a year's family world trip or an open ended family travel lifestyle ( like we have been living these past 5 years...almost into our 6th year of non-stop travel).
In today's busy world, just having time together to explore the world with one's children means so much to both the father and the child/or children. Some of my happiest memories of childhood were family trips...so they last a lifetime.
"The father who would taste the essence of his fatherhood must turn back from the plane of his experience, take with him the fruits of his journey and begin again beside his child, marching step by step over the same old road. " Angelo Patri
One of our primary reasons for choosing our free travel lifestyle was so my husband and child would have more time to bond and be together. As older parents we are well aware of how fast childhood passes and neither one of us wanted to miss a second of it.
She is 10 now, soon to be 11, and it seems like only yesterday that she was born. She was 5 when we began our world tour and although that also seems like yesterday, I am often shocked when I see the photos of her at the beginning of our world journey to see how small she was.
Our open ended journey has proven to be one of our best decisions ever and we are grateful that we are constantly together and she has such a rich relationship with her father, blessed with more time together than most humans get.
"A girl's father is the first man in her life and probably the most influential." David Jeremiah
I love how this inspiring story tells about the great things a father's love can accomplish.
I am grateful to my own father who gave me the gift of loving travel, curiousity, adventurousness and life long learning. He taught us to camp, do distance travel, take calculated risks, do things our own way, not follow the crowd.
"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." Clarence Kelland
This photo was taken in Wadi Rum on our recent trip to Jordan. We were doing a thrilling 4X4 trek deep into the desert and following running wild camels as I took this. We watched the serene sunset and the full moon rise in a Bedouin camp there and later ate a delicious traditional meal cooked under the sand.( More coming about that soon).
"A child looks up at the stars and wonders. Great fathers put a child on his shoulders and helps them to grab a star."
What are your happiest memories of travel or exploration or learning with your father?
On Dad's Day, lets make a tribute to all the traveling fathers who do family travel... be it a weekend getaway , a week's vacation, two week's holiday, a year's family world trip or an open ended family travel lifestyle ( like we have been living these past 5 years...almost into our 6th year of non-stop travel).
In today's busy world, just having time together to explore the world with one's children means so much to both the father and the child/or children. Some of my happiest memories of childhood were family trips...so they last a lifetime.
"The father who would taste the essence of his fatherhood must turn back from the plane of his experience, take with him the fruits of his journey and begin again beside his child, marching step by step over the same old road. " Angelo Patri
One of our primary reasons for choosing our free travel lifestyle was so my husband and child would have more time to bond and be together. As older parents we are well aware of how fast childhood passes and neither one of us wanted to miss a second of it.
She is 10 now, soon to be 11, and it seems like only yesterday that she was born. She was 5 when we began our world tour and although that also seems like yesterday, I am often shocked when I see the photos of her at the beginning of our world journey to see how small she was.
Our open ended journey has proven to be one of our best decisions ever and we are grateful that we are constantly together and she has such a rich relationship with her father, blessed with more time together than most humans get.
"A girl's father is the first man in her life and probably the most influential." David Jeremiah
I love how this inspiring story tells about the great things a father's love can accomplish.
I am grateful to my own father who gave me the gift of loving travel, curiousity, adventurousness and life long learning. He taught us to camp, do distance travel, take calculated risks, do things our own way, not follow the crowd.
"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." Clarence Kelland
This photo was taken in Wadi Rum on our recent trip to Jordan. We were doing a thrilling 4X4 trek deep into the desert and following running wild camels as I took this. We watched the serene sunset and the full moon rise in a Bedouin camp there and later ate a delicious traditional meal cooked under the sand.( More coming about that soon).
"A child looks up at the stars and wonders. Great fathers put a child on his shoulders and helps them to grab a star."
What are your happiest memories of travel or exploration or learning with your father?
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My dad never spent that much time with me when I was growing up. But, when I turned twenty-three and wanted to go to Hollywood to pitch my screenplay at a conference full of agents, I was shocked that my dad wanted to come with me to the conference. We spent three days together and even rented a car to drive around LA while we were there. Doesn't make up for him not being there growing up, but I'm glad I have this memory of us together.
Posted by: Christina Pilkington | June 18, 2011 at 05:17 PM
Happy Father's Day to DaVinci! I love the picture of the 2 of them in the Wadi Rum desert and the 2 of you in Paris at the beginning of the trip. Wow, quite a journey, in so many ways! Happiness and pride jumps out from both snapshots. He is quite an inspiration and I am sure he is dearly celebrated, not just by the 2 of you ladies, but by many others fathers and grandfathers around the world.
Now, to answer your question at the end of the post, my happiest moments with my dad were indeed when we traveled together. While there are a number of particular moments I remember and cherish, there are 2 things, travel related, that are very dear to my heart and shaped who I am today.
Firstly, my father did not put any limit on our budgets when we traveled (as a family or when I traveled by myself). Not even once I remember him having any reservation about spending money for an experience while traveling. He certainly was not an over-spender at home and he always tried (unsuccessfully mostly) to make my mom and I live on a budget, but when we traveled he was totally different. And we did travel every chance we got.
Secondly, my favorite memory and gesture he did about 20 years ago, was when he signed a paper by which he relinquished his passport and swore not to travel out of the country ever again. He was forced to do that, for my safety and well-being. He was a political dissident (during the times when Romania was a communist country) and he was approved to emigrate to the United States (based on his activities against the ruling government at the time and being an active contributor to Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, etc). But because he could not leave me and my mother behind and because they threatened my safety, he did not only give up fulfilling his #1 dream (to come to the US), but gave up ever leaving the country. The last trip he was allowed to take was to the USSR, I remember he went with my mother and I could not understand why he would not take me with them. Luckily, a few years later the regime changed and he got a second chance at fulfilling his dream and traveling as he pleased.
The quote that encompasses my father the best is actually your very last quote in this post. "A child looks up at the stars and wonders. Great fathers put a child on his shoulders and helps them to grab a star." No star has ever been out of reach for me, and I know now why ...
Thanks and Happy Father's Day to everyone!
Posted by: Violeta | June 18, 2011 at 07:11 PM
The memory of us traveling with our father to Newport, RI. It wasn't too far but that feeling of adventure and exploration still resounds with me to today.
I love what you're doing. I wish my mom had done the same. She's now ill and I've asked people to send postcards to help her feel like she's travelled the world. I guess if you can't live Plan A do Plan B, right?
Posted by: Halley | June 18, 2011 at 07:36 PM
Great post!
Posted by: Mikayla B | June 18, 2011 at 08:26 PM
Thank you for reminding me what it means to be a Grandfather AND a father!!
Posted by: Steve | June 18, 2011 at 10:18 PM
Christina - Wow..a screen play that is cool! Sorry he didn't get time to spend with you when you were little when it is so needed, but at least you have that precious memory!
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | June 21, 2011 at 01:34 PM
Violeta - thanks so much for your kind words and sharing those amazing things about your father. He sounds amazing..no wonder you are his daughter!! ;)
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | June 21, 2011 at 01:40 PM
Sweet memory Halley! So appreciate your kind words and I am sorry to hear about your mother's illness. Send me her address and we will send one from Barcelona!
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | June 21, 2011 at 01:43 PM
Appreciate that Mikayla!
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | June 21, 2011 at 01:43 PM
Thanks Steve! Grandfathers are so important two and we are sad that we lost two this year...but the love they gave us will be with us forever!
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | June 21, 2011 at 01:44 PM