"Have Children, Will Travel" provides ideas, information, advice, insights, and encouragment, for traveling with our children, young and old"
check out the free version of their newsletter.

http://havechildrenwilltravel.com/


Try a home exchange:

http://www.kidscantravel.com/tipstravelkids/kidfriendly/homeexchange/index.html

Traveling w/ Kids-think outside the box-and share love of travel w/ kids

I have quite a few friends now that have recently had kids. Having kids however doesn't have to make your life devoid of travel and adventure. It seems the opposite should be the case, children are naturally filled with curiosity. I've come across a few websites that focus on family travel. So, if you have kids, and you really love to travel too, why not share with your children your love of travel? What better way to teach them about the world.

http://www.travelwithyourkids.com/

It's seems daunting making a big trip happen. But actions begin as mere thoughts. It is amazing what we can accomplish when we set our mind to it. This article discusses making a big adventure a reality. The message is- if you really want to do something bad enough, don't procrastinate, transform your visions into reality. -Wandering Lass
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Here is the article from Brave New Traveler - Online Travel Magazine:
http://www.bravenewtraveler.com. I have cut and pasted the entire article because, I was having problems posting the direct link. Read the article below.

3 Secrets To Planning Your Next Big Adventure

Posted By Lee Lefever On March 5, 2007 @ 8:32 am In Travel Tips | 5 Comments

It may appear that money is the biggest barrier to accomplishing your next adventure, but it isn’t.

I remember the first time the trip became real to me. My wife Sachi and I were at our friend’s house and, as we planned before the visit, we let it fly…

“So, we have some big news for you guys. Starting in December of 2005, we’re going on a trip around the world for a year, coming back home in December of 2006.” I remember this moment for a few reasons.

First, I remember their reaction, which was something like “you’re gonna WHAT?” Second, this was the first time we told anyone about our big plans. For the first time, we were officially on the hook – to change plans now would be tantamount to failure.

Now that the trip is an [1] incredible memory, we are often asked for advice for people who are planning their next big adventure (whether it’s travel, business or personal).

Looking back to the event above, it is clear to us that two things came together that night that did a lot to keep us focused, excited and motivated.

1. We Set a Date

Procrastination is easy when you’re facing a big challenge. Don’t do it. Set a realistic date, even if it’s years away and plot out milestones along the way. You’ll be surprised at how things fall into place.

2. We Told People

Do not take this lightly. When you’re ready, tell your friends and family about your plans. Once you take this step, the people in your life will be interested and anxious to see you pull it off. Peer pressure will become part of the planning experience.

Lastly, we are big believers in financial responsibility and planning your next adventure often requires lifestyle changes to make it happen from a financial perspective.

A friend introduced to a new term: Monetorium. A monetorium is a moratorium on spending money.

For over a year before we left, we changed our lifestyle to save more money and called this “living the monetorium”. No new clothes, no lattes, no eating out, no cable TV, etc. The monetorium became the name of our new lifestyle and all the little penny-pinching ideas and games we played to save a little more for the trip (”Let’s make the shampoo last until we leave!”)

Living the monetorium was a challenge that made saving money fun. So the third and final point that enabled us to proceed:

3. We Lived the Monetorium

Take a good look at your lifestyle spending habits and consider what changes you could make to enable you to save more. Remember that you’re saving for a life-changing experience, not just a rainy day.

Always ask yourself: What would this buy in Thailand? From this perspective, it’s easier to make the sacrifice. Tell people about the monetorium too! They can help.

It may appear that money is the biggest barrier to accomplishing your next adventure, but it isn’t, it is commitment. Planning and time can take care of the finances, but commitment and determination have to come first.

Only after you mentally commit to making the adventure a part of your life will you have the ability to make it real. Before setting a date, telling people or living the monetorium, you have to cross the chasm of doubt and anxiety.

Once that it done, everything else will seem easy.
Lee LeFever and his wife Sachi spent a year traveling around the world, and blogged about it on [2] The World Is Not Flat. They also work on social design for the web with their own consulting company [3] Common Craft.

Wandering with your sweetie?

This article gives you some tips on how to sucessfully travel with your partner.

http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/07/the-secret-to-staying-together-on-the-journey/

I love this old Ramblin' Jack Elliot Song-900 Miles from our Home

Here is a nice rendition of it by Bethany and Rufus.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuXc-RLtblY

Here are the lyrics:

I'm walking down this track,
I've got tears in my eyes,
Trying to read a letter from my home.
If this train runs me right
I'll be home tomorrow night.
I'm nine hundred miles from my home.
And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.

I'll pawn you my watch
And I'll pawn you my chain;
Pawn you my gold diamond ring.
If this train runs me right
I'll be home tomorrow night.
I'm nine hundred miles from my home.
And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.

The rain I ride on
Is a thousand coaches long.
You can hear that whistle blow a hundred miles.
If this train runs me right
I'll be home tomorrow night.
I'm nine hundred miles from my home.
And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.

If my woman says so
I will railroad no more
I'll sidetrack my wheeler and go home.
If this train runs me right
I'll be home tomorrow night.
I'm nine hundred miles from my home.
And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.

My Brother Rules

Check out my brothers tunes at this link. He does his own strumming and vocals. He's pretty talented, I think, and I'm not just biased. Make sure to bump him up. On this website you bump up muscians you digg. If you digg him, bump him up a few notches, so more people will hear his stuff.


http://www.thesixtyone.com/tristan/

The Ultimate Journey: A Trip to the Heart of Tibet--

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/travel_writing/a_trip_to_the_heart_of_tibet.shtml

(Article and Photos by Matthew Bowden)

This was transitions abroad contest winner for 2008. Beautiful writing, check it out.

It's so fun to hang out with Friends!!!

I've lived in the country for so long that I'm not used to being able to get together with friends regularly. I mean I have some awesome friends out in the country, but it always seemed like I had to drive at least 30 minutes or more to see people or to do something (unless of course it was a walk in nature-which was always an option). I'm sort of enjoying being in an area now where I can drive 5-10 minutes, or even walk and I'm able to hang out with people. Although, now I'll miss the people that used to live out in the so called "boonies" with me (and I'm sure I'll miss the beauty of the country soon too-I always want what I don't have, of course).
It's been great though. I have this one friend M., that I get to see almost every week and we will do something fun, like go to the gym, or so to Bikram yoga (you sweat like a lawn sprinkler-don't personally reccommend it-though I enjoy other forms of yoga), or go out to breakfast at Sneakers, whatever. It's great to have a close friend. And tonight I was so excited I got to see my friend R. who I have not seen in almost a year (or more). She came down about an 1 1/2 from northern vermont because she is taking classes for her graduate program at UVM. So it was fun, the three of us got to catch up and hang out like old times. I'm excited because when I move up to Northern Vermont in May maybe I'll get to see my friend R. more. But I'll miss M. It's funny it certain ways I love change, like I get really tired of routine. But with friends its totally different. You wish things could be the same forever with friends, like you could make friendships last forever. This has happened to me so many times in life, you remember these people that used to be such great friends, and you loose contact with them, and wonder how their lives are now. It's kind of sad. Thats why I think it really important to make the effort to stay in contact with friends. Theres nothing in the world like having people you really know well, and they know you. It's great. But this is getting kind of sappy, I'm starting to tear up..... I just can't continue this post......... Goodnight.

Why travel???

This article has a eye opening perspective. It is easy to take for granted, the opportunities we have in our society. The opportunity we have to travel, in fact is a novelty that much of our world population does not experience. Ironic it is that it may take traveling for us to fully realize what we have. http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0005/why_travel.shtml

I feel sometimes as though I really need to do more then I do to help the world. Some of the decisions I make are selfish, I know. But sometimes I feel apathetic as well, living in this society where you don't know what to get people for Christmas gifts because they have every physical thing you can possibly think of, and you know that in 6 months or whatever this nameless gift will make its way to a landfill (so, I think I'm starting to turn towards giving some non-physical gifts). It seems sometimes in America we have every physical thing possible but we are missing things that are of greater significance, like community, and the passion to fight for our beliefs. It seems sometimes, people no longer know where to stand (I'll speak for myself, when I say this) Maybe its just me, maybe I just need to become involved with something I find purposeful, and that I feel will actually make a difference. I guess I don't really know if other people really feel this way. Maybe its just me. But maybe not, I'm sure there are others that must feel lost in our world sometimes. So traveling makes sense for people like us. It makes us feel as though we are on a quest, searching for answers, even if traveling just raises more questions.

Video of Tuscany

Here is a video of the Tuscany region, beautiful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkG969M2Al0

Just copy this address into web browser to watch video on utube. Worth the effort, I can't copy the link, unfortunately.

Positano

This is another town I would like to visit. Watch the video. It's a tourist video, but it has some nice shots of the town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11762uOrbuQ&feature=related

This town has a hostel-might be a good place to stay, pretty affordable and with views to boot.


http://www.brikette.com/index.html

Hill towns of Italy- Volterra

We are planning to roam around some of the medievel hill towns in Italy. I came across a few that sound tantalizing so far. The town of Volterra is a town that is not inidated with tourists, it offers "a rich -and blessedly small - array of ruins, art works and architecture from different historical periods, its pristine streets and spacious squares are relatively deserted, and it has a good choice of nice hotels and restaurants to boot. All these features make it our (current!) favorite Tuscan hill town" . The roman theartre in this town was built in the 1st century B.C. "it was first brought to light in 1950 and the excavations are still under way. You can see the proscenium and a small part of the risers, where a thermal bath building was added in the later years of the Empire" If you want to know more about this historical hill town, check out the link and read the article. I'll let you know more first hand in march or april when we visit.

Meanwhile here is the link:
http://www.initaly.com/regions/hilltowns/volterra.htm

Italy is beckoning

We (my husband & I ) are planning on flying out of Boston on March 1st for Rome. We are planning to be in Europe for 2 months. I've been researching euro rail passes, and just realized I should have bought them in December because the price jumped up 50-100 buck depending on which website you order from. The pass we want to get was already like 700. each (the global pass, 10 travel days in 2 months), ouch. But you can't put a price on experiences like this. We are very excited, as we haven't really traveled much in 5 years. Amazing since I think about traveling all the time. It's my greatest love. I mean I LOVE to travel. and so does Brian. So we are psyched. Our last trip was in 2003, where we flew into Ireland and traveled all over for 2 months. It was the best time in my whole life, and I've been dying to go back and see more. But man does life swallow you like quick sand, if you don't fight back. The biggest lesson is take on no debt, if you want to travel. Financial debt, obligations, and various other nasty entanglement have away of limiting your ability to get up and go. But we are doing it, we have sold out house, paid of Brian's school debt, and (i haven't figured out why yet) have bought another house that we got at a very good deal on, so when we come back we will still have a home. But god if I can't still have a home and travel also, this new home will be sold as well. Traveling takes precedence in my value system over home ownership. I value my freedom over ownership of anything. The ability to experience the world and life, indulge in your interests and passions, has far greater significance to me. I don't want to be part of the whole, lets see who can collect the most shit before I die game. Anyway, here's a little about the current situation. Til next time. Peace out.

Break the Routine cont.

These websites are worth checking out for the travelers out there.


http://www.bravenewtraveler.com


http://www.transitionsabroad.com

BREAKING OUT OF ROUTINE

I've been feeling a compulsive need to break out of routine, since, I don't know, birth. It's an ongoing battle between entwining myself with responsibilities and anchors, and then shaking free of the encumbrances once I begin to feel suffocated. This desire to escape the confines that I create myself, propells my life forward. It's just that I long for more (as I'm sure do most people inwardly) then the daily grind. The world I find to be a very curious place. And WORK takes up so much of your goddamn time, I never feel as though there is adequate time to dedicate to my multitude of interests, explore the many ideas I wonder about, and see the places I dream of seeing. Perhaps, (as people suggest) I may just not have found the right occupation. I just need to focus! However, I find Focus to be difficult and sometimes limiting (not always), when the beauty in the world is in the rich and varied diversity of matter and ideas. I believe, I need to reincarnate a multitude of times in order to possibly live all the lives I want to live!!

Background Information

We sold our home in October in order to travel more and to generally invite some changes (for the better) into our life. I currently live with my husband and my mother (until march) in Burlington, Vermont. Unusual arrangement, I'm well aware. But it's working out quite nicely, actually. We have all become one happy family.In March we are taking a 2 month backpacking trip around Europe, and then we need to come home to renovate a historical home we have bought in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. This will be the second house we have renovated, and it seems it is becoming a sort of unexpected occupation. We are excited about this house because it will hopefully give us a place to call home, and allow us to travel too. I don't find it advisable to get a mortgage that is way over your head, and expect to travel too, but with this house travel may be feasible because the price was right. We made an agreement together that we would not buy another house unless it was affordable enough that we could still have some freedom to see places in the world. Brian (my husband) and I are both artists. So we are excited to have a studio space to create art in.I feel very fortunate right now at this point in my life. It has not come easy, we have worked very hard over the last few years. I'm excited about 2008. And will keep you posted about how our plans occur in actuality, rather then in theory. For I learn the best through trial and error.