Road tripping

One thing we do as a family that creates so many exciting adventures and unique learning experiences is traveling around the United States in our comfy caravan, just road tripping. I am a HUGE proponent of family travel where the focus is on education and quality family time. We laugh more, talk more, enjoy each other's company ever so much more on road trips than at any other time. Now mind you we spend every minute of every day together already because we homeschool the kids. That in itself provides innumerable hours of quality family time, but in the caravan as we drive together we bond in a way that cannot be simulated in our home. 

Road tripping became a passion of mine as I watched our sweet babies grow into precocious toddlers then into inquisitive children and now currently wide-eyed, compassionate youth. It is a way to bottle up some of their childhood in my mind's eye and in the chambers of my mother's heart. Through photos, experiences and incredible memories I capture the essence of their person at each stage in life and am able to help them learn to view the world as breath-taking, immense and awe inspiring. 

Never will I stop exposing my children to the beauty and complexity of different cultures, ways of life, regions of this country and the world. These vast differences and often many similarities we all share are what create the beautiful tapestry of humanity. Road tripping helps us bridge the gap between ignorance, for lack of a better word, and tolerance. It helps us open our eyes to all the incredible ways with which people can live most happily and to appreciate their unique influence of the earth. 

It was my pleasure to take a huge road trip with my precious kids these last two weeks. We traveled from North Carolina to Minnesota passing through NC, TN, KY, IN, IL, IA and MN. Yes that is over 3000 miles of driving, but it was so worth it! The next quite a few posts will be about our adventures on this incredible road trip. We made a point to stop at every zoo along the way and to visit as many Abraham Lincoln sites as we could. So grateful for Hotch who works hard to provide us with these amazing opportunities and for his support in going out to see the world.