In 2018, I heard of this interesting idea to have a word for the year. You can reflect on this word and really dig into how it has a place in your life. Words are powerful because they have more than just a surface meaning.
Read more6 Ways to Respect Another Culture

I have discussed some ways to respect other cultures in many of my posts. It is definitely on the forefront of my mind when I discuss culture and traveling. I am usually willing to sacrifice bend my comfort in order to respect another culture, but by no means am I perfect at it. Through my travels I have learned a couple of things, and I wanted to share them to help you so that maybe you could have easier travel internationally and be better equipped to respect other cultures.
Read more6 Lessons from Travel Reflections

Reflection.
At the beginning of 2018, I set my word of the year to be reflection. I feel the entire year could actually be summed up by that word—truly looking at and thinking about what I do and why I do it. Looking back over all my travels and adventures, I have had the opportunity to reflect on how we travel as a family and what we enjoy in our travels.
Read more7 Types of Places to Stay When Traveling

Where you can stay has evolved thanks to the internet and people wanting more options when traveling. Honestly, people travel differently than they used to. It is more about simply visiting a place, but some have started to long to delve into the culture in their stay. If you have ever looked beyond a traditional hotel, the options now include igloos, tree houses, huts, and more! What I wanted to give you is a list of the general options for places to stay and the pros and cons for families.
Read moreDeciding Where to Stay based on What you Want to Do

The city in the middle with villages surrounding. When I went to West Africa, my main goal was to learn how the locals lived and get a taste for what life was like for them.
The small home on the edge of the farm on the side of a mountain. When we went to Indonesia, our main goal during my husband’s internship was to be close enough to be able to see him while he worked and enjoy the beauty of the country.
Deciding Where to Stay based on Price

We went to Disney World on our honeymoon. It truly was magical. We decided we wanted to go back on our five-year wedding anniversary.
Five years and three kids later, we went to Disney World. Yes, we were a little crazy, but we were so excited to take the kids! We knew it would be a completely different experience, AND IT WAS! We had a blast, but in a whole new way. Somehow taking children made it a different kind of magical. We definitely want to go back.
Where You Stay Depends on Your Location

We walked into the only hotel in the city. I was thoroughly surprised at how “normal” the hotel seemed to me. The dusty dirt roads and mud brick buildings surrounding the hotel made me wonder what I would see when I went in. While traveling in West Africa, camel rides and markets were on the docket, but I was looking forward to meeting locals and seeing what life was like! I was in college, and my desire to wander was strong! Read more
Weighing Family Needs when Finding a Place to Stay

We smelled the salty air as we got out of the car. We walked into the room, no room key needed. Immediately, we all sighed a sigh a relief. Read more
Weighing the Comfort you want in Where you Stay

We rolled out our mat. I had already washed our laundry, and it was hanging to dry. We had fresh eggs and local fruit for breakfast. I was not used to such a variety of fruit and just loved trying them all! Read more
Reflection Questions

I wanted to come to you all with some reflection questions you can ask once you go on a trip to help you learn about yourself and your family. Answering these questions may also help you improve your traveling in the future. Read more