New Friends & The Next Big Thing(s)!!

May 24, 2011 in North America, Travelogue, United States

Marshmallows- by our friend, Bryan Powers

There are nothing like cool nights, sticky marshmallow fingers and music around a camp fire.

 

The rain let up just long enough for us to have a quiet weekend. We did plenty of laughing, played a few games, bounced a basket ball and hiked the celery green spring forest.

The best part was making new friends.

That’s the best part of our whole lives, really, the people we love and who love us back. Because we move around so much we’re always finding new friends and we’re always missing the old ones.

This particular family is just our kind of crazy. They’re in the middle stages of planning a major life change that will move them around the planet as a family of nomads. We like that.

There was a lot of gypsy “geek speak” going on:

  • Where we’ve been
  • Where we’re going
  • How to juggle education and work on chicken buses or Chinese trains
  • What to do about toddlers and adjustments
  • Gear comparison
  • Simplicity struggles
  • Healthcare abroad

 

It’s not often we find families that live in the same world that we do and actually get to MEET them in the real world.

 

The Mussler Family is nothing if not inspiring. Listening to their dreams and their plans, the action they’re taking now and how far they’ve already come just got our creative juices flowing again.

 

We’ve spent the last mont on re-entry, which is always a tough process. Now we’re ready to think about the next big thing.

 

It’s not just one big thing, actually, but two, and they’ve been in the works for a while now.

1.  The Mama Bus Adventure

My friend Lois has had a long term dream of taking a cross country road trip with her kids. She has seven of them, aged 2-15. Last fall she and I started talking about the feasibility of doing that trip together, which would bring the kid count to ELEVEN aged 15 and younger. I’m about to remember what traveling with toddlers is like, again!

My backpacking friend pointed out, with an incredulous stare, that we were Bat $#*! crazy. Perhaps he’s right, but we’re going anyway.

June 1st we’ll launch the website for that adventure and there will be lots of exciting ways to get involved. Needless to say, it’s a road trip of epic proportions and you’re not going to want to miss a moment of this adventure.

If you’re in the USA, then perhaps you can meet us somewhere!

2.  Asia!!!

There’s been a lot of talk this winter about “what’s next.” Our overarching goal has always been to get the kids’ feet on all of the continents before we launch them into the world on their own paths.

Asia is definitely next and we’re ALL wildly excited!

 

The big question: How to get there?

  • The Trans-Siberian Railway is our first choice. We’d like to fly into St. Petersburg, Russia, doodle around the west coast a while then take the train Moscow to Beijing through Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Talk about the trip of a lifetime, but we’re not sure we can swing it financially… it’s not cheap!!
  • Fly into India. This seems the most likely secondary scenario. Air travel is not our favourite and it’s always our biggest budget item. We just need to get on the ground somewhere for as cheap as possible and from there we can walk, bus, train, ferry, or whatever. If you have experience or thoughts on this that would save us some foot work, SHARE THEM PLEASE!!

 

The next big question: When?!

As soon as possible!

  • If we get our wish: this fall.
  • If not, then perhaps January.

 

It all depends on how much work Tony has over the summer and how quickly we get our financial ducks clucking happily on our nest egg again. Either way, it won’t be long and there is MUCH to arrange before then, not the least of which is sorting the visa situation, country by country. That will be a new rodeo for us!

So those are our big announcements! Let the flood of questions begin!!

If you have any thoughts, ideas, contacts, or input on either of the aforementioned projects, PLEASE contact me and enlighten me!! We’re in full on planning mode over here!