Here’s the final post about the first leg of our Family Gap Year: a 5,000-mile road trip from Austin to Los Angeles via Indiana, Wisconsin, Montana, Washington, Canada, and Oregon.

Exercise

Highs

My favorite exercise memory from this month was swimming with Matt in a public pool along the ocean in Vancouver and then going for a walk with each other in the woods.

Or maybe it was the time we swam together in Arcata but then I went for a walk by myself in the redwoods?

Or the time I walked along the beach by myself in Arcata, listening to a book about ikigai?

Or my solo walk … Read More

Today I share the highs and lows of our lodging and food situation during our 5,000-mile+ road trip.

Lodging

Highs

We stayed in AirBnbs throughout the entire month, and I loved it! I have loved being able to cook at home, curl up together on couches, and make things like a birthday cake, breakfast smoothies, and muffins.

Ha, ha…that previous sentence made it sound easier than it was! We had to make the birthday cake and frosting completely by hand (with not even a whisk!). And I had to buy a cake pan. And at one of the houses I had to use an immersion blender and a bowl to … Read More

Today I’m going to reflect on what our Family Dynamic was like during our 5,000-mile+ road trip. Spending more time together (and hopefully growing closer) as a family is one of the primary reasons we wanted to go on a Family Gap Year.

Family Dynamic

Highs

I’m so glad I wrangled my job into a sensible place (it took a decade!) and put together this trip for our family. I think it’s so, so good for us (even on the hard days).

We are now a family that reads aloud together. I know most of you have been doing this the whole time! I actually hated reading aloud for the … Read More