Do adventures need to end when a family begins? “Absolutely not!” say families who choose to spend months or even years connecting and learning as they travel the world.

Share the wanderlust. Make travel a priority by putting value on the experience; if it’s important to you, then it’s important to show your kids.

Meet two traveling families, who share the kind of “Oh, I See” moments that can happen only on the road. They may inspire you to create your own family legacy of wanderlust.

The Bicycling Family

Chris, Julie, Leo, and Charlotte Conk began their family travels in the summer of 2011, cycling 1100 km (683.5 miles) around Lake St. Jean in Quebec. Leo was 6 (pedaling) and Charlotte 4 (pulled in a chariot).

But they did not stop there. In 2015, they jumped at their chance to travel for a year. They sold their home in Quebec, bought bicycles, and pedaled 7,400 km (4,598 miles) to Guatemala. Leo, now 11, rode his bike, and Charlotte, 8, who started in a tandem bicycle, changed to her own bike along the way.

“Can you believe a family of four sold their home, bought bicycles, put everything on their bikes and pedaled to Guatemala?” asks Chris Conk.

Julie and Chris were both travelers before they met in Chiapas, Mexico. They recognize the personal importance of travel and the growth that comes from it. Chris explains, “We took this trip because we wanted to give our kids some perspective.”

Julie adds, “It’s important to keep doing what makes you, you, as a mother. It’s important for me to share my deepest values with my kids and stay true to myself.”

Travel gave the Conk family a chance to imagine together . . . daily. For their children, it was education by astonishment, world schooling, living education. It was also the freedom to daydream.

The Conks built their relationships with each other and the world. They teamed up to choose routes, find campgrounds and lodgings, try new foods, watch out for each other, and play together.

On the road, they participated in random dance parties, drew their surroundings, wrote about their experiences, created cross-cultural connections, collected bottle caps in Cuba, and spoke three different languages across 8 countries. Most important, this traveling family came away with more dreams and fewer fears.

My Traveling Family

In 1938, our family legacy began with my grandfather, who traveled 3,000 miles around Europe by bicycle.

When my parents met, they explored Europe together, wandering through the Swiss Alps, French backroads, and Greek caves. My mother traveled overland from Europe to India (through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) in 1977. My father started a tour company that took Americans (and his family) overseas to hike and cycle throughout Europe.

Little did they know, their travels were forming a family value that my brother and I would inherit.

My first memories of travel are of hiking and sliding in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, looking up at the surrounding snow-capped mountains. I remember cycling on roads with fields of lavender on each side in Provence, France. I complained about cycle travel then, though ironically it has turned into a life pursuit and my favorite mode of transportation and travel.

My brother and I grew up among the kindness of strangers. My mother explains being wonderfully surprised at how strangers “were so welcoming and interested when we traveled with little kids.”

On one occasion, my parents were traveling with my brother as a baby. They entered a store to spend the last of their travel money. Without hesitation, the owners of the store, an Italian couple, began kissing my brother’s pudgy arms and legs. They refused money from my parents and sent them away with free snacks and souvenirs.

My brother and I inherited wanderlust at an early age from seeing the beauty of the world and being surrounded by different cultures and languages. It is a family legacy that I have continued today and that my brother intends to share with his children.

Oh, I See the Family Values

Traveling families—like the Conks and my own—see travel as a critical family value. As my mother explains, “It changed me to travel. I became much more open-minded and aware of other people. Why wouldn’t I want that for my children?”

Through our family travels, I developed a comfort with change, the kind that comes from sleeping in a different bed every night. And I hold close the legacies of my parents—the wanderlust, the open-mindedness, and that comfortable feeling of being at home in the world.

Leo and Charlotte will likely know these legacies, too. And that’s a priceless inheritance.

Want the secret to how families make travel happen? Check out 14 Nomadic Families. See more about the Conk’s trip in this video.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

$\"Three$

A family legacy can begin anywhere.\u00a0My\u00a0brother and I inherited our travel inspiration\u00a0hiking through\u00a0Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.
\u00a9 Peter Boynton<\/p><\/div>\n

Traveling Families—At Home in\u00a0the World<\/h2>\n
We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us. \u00a0—Anonymous<\/em><\/p>\n
Do adventures need to end when a family begins? “Absolutely not!” say families who choose\u00a0to spend months or even years connecting and learning as they travel the world.<\/p>\n
What does it take to get the show on the road?<\/p>\n
Share the wanderlust. Make travel a priority by putting value on the experience; if it’s important to you, then it’s important to show your kids.<\/p>\n
Meet\u00a0two traveling families, who share the kind of “Oh, I See” moments<\/strong> that can happen only on the road. They may inspire you to create your own family legacy of wanderlust.<\/p>\n

The Bicycling Family<\/h4>\n
Chris, Julie, Leo, and Charlotte Conk began their family travels in the summer of 2011, cycling 1100 km (683.5 miles) around Lake St. Jean in Quebec. Leo was 6\u00a0(pedaling) and Charlotte 4\u00a0(pulled in a chariot).<\/p>\n
But they did not stop there. In 2015, they jumped at their chance to travel for a year. They sold their home in Quebec, bought bicycles, and pedaled 7,400 km (4,598 miles) to Guatemala. Leo, now 11, rode his bike, and Charlotte, 8, who started in a tandem bicycle, changed to her own bike along the way.<\/p>\n
$\"Four$
Here goes the Conk family, spinning around the world on self-powered vehicles.\u00a0
\u00a9 Bicycling Family<\/p><\/div>\n
“Can you believe a family of four sold their home, bought bicycles, put everything on their bikes and pedaled to Guatemala?” asks Chris Conk.<\/p>\n
Julie and Chris were both travelers before they met in Chiapas, Mexico. They recognize the personal importance of travel and the growth that comes from it.\u00a0Chris explains,\u00a0“We took this trip because we wanted to give our kids some perspective.”<\/p>\n
$\"A$
Through cold mountaintops, dry deserts, and humid jungles, the Conks pedal forward.
\u00a9 Eva Boynton<\/p><\/div>\n
Julie adds, “It’s important to keep doing what makes you, you, as a mother. It’s important for me to share my deepest values with my kids and stay true to myself.”<\/p>\n
Travel gave the Conk family a chance to imagine together . . .\u00a0daily<\/em>. For their children, it was education by astonishment, world schooling, living education. It was also\u00a0the freedom to daydream.<\/p>\n
$\"A$
Studying on the road takes on new meaning
\u00a9\u00a0Bicycling Family<\/p><\/div>\n
The Conks built their relationships with each other and the world. They teamed up to\u00a0choose routes, find campgrounds and lodgings, try new foods, watch out for each other, and play together.<\/p>\n
$\"A$
Charlotte and Leo splash in Lake Remate, Guatemala
\u00a9 Sam Anaya A.<\/p><\/div>\n
On the road, they participated in random dance parties, drew\u00a0their surroundings, wrote\u00a0about their experiences, created cross-cultural connections, collected bottle caps in Cuba, and spoke\u00a0three different languages across\u00a08 countries. Most important, this\u00a0traveling family came away with more dreams and fewer\u00a0fears.<\/p>\n
My Traveling Family<\/h4>\n
In 1938, our family legacy\u00a0began with\u00a0my grandfather, who traveled 3,000 miles around Europe by bicycle.<\/p>\n
When my parents met, they explored\u00a0Europe together, wandering through the Swiss Alps, French backroads, and Greek caves. My mother traveled overland from Europe to India (through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) in 1977. My father started a tour company that took Americans (and his family) overseas to hike and cycle throughout Europe.<\/p>\n
Little did they know, their travels\u00a0were forming a family value\u00a0that my brother and I would inherit.<\/p>\n
$\"Kids$
Playgrounds, from Switzerland to Africa, make traveling families feel at home in the world.\u00a0
\u00a9 Peter Boynton<\/p><\/div>\n
My first memories of travel are of hiking and sliding in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, looking up at the surrounding snow-capped mountains. I remember cycling on roads with fields of lavender on each side in Provence, France. I complained about cycle travel then, though ironically it has turned into a life pursuit and my favorite mode of transportation and travel.<\/p>\n
My brother and I grew up among the kindness of strangers. My mother explains being wonderfully surprised at how strangers “were so welcoming and interested when we traveled with little kids.”<\/p>\n
$\"A$
My brother hitches a ride with my dad in Montignac, France
\u00a9 Normi Burke<\/p><\/div>\n
On one occasion, my parents were traveling with my brother as a baby. They entered a store to spend the last of their travel money. Without hesitation, the owners of the store, an Italian\u00a0couple, began\u00a0kissing my brother’s pudgy arms and legs. They refused money from my parents and sent them away with free\u00a0snacks and souvenirs.<\/p>\n
My brother and I inherited\u00a0wanderlust at an\u00a0early age from\u00a0seeing the beauty of the world and being surrounded by different cultures and\u00a0languages. It is a family legacy that I have continued today and that my brother intends to share with his children.<\/p>\n
Oh, I See\u00a0the Family\u00a0Values<\/span><\/h4>\n
Traveling families—like the Conks and my own—see travel as a critical family value. As my mother explains, “It changed me to travel. \u00a0I became much more open-minded and aware of other people. Why wouldn’t I want that for my children?”<\/p>\n
Through our family travels, I\u00a0developed\u00a0a comfort with change, the kind that comes from sleeping in a different bed every night. And I hold close the legacies of my parents—the\u00a0wanderlust, the open-mindedness, and that comfortable feeling of being at home in the world.<\/p>\n
Leo and Charlotte will likely know these legacies, too. And that’s a\u00a0priceless inheritance.<\/p>\n
$\"Two$
My brother and I return as adults to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.\u00a0
\u00a9 Eva Boynton<\/p><\/div>\n
Follow the adventures of Bicycling Family<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
Want the secret to how families make travel happen? Check out 14 Nomadic Families<\/a>. See more about the Conk’s trip in this video<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
Comment<\/a><\/i>\u00a0on this post below, or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":26757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221,190,227],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure-travel","category-art-travel","category-worldwide-mappoints"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26754"}],"version-history":[{"count":85,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40779,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26754\/revisions\/40779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Traveling Families—At Home in the World

The Bicycling Family

My Traveling Family

Oh, I See the Family Values