I didn’t start out thinking of this round-the-world trip as a gift to our children. It seems likely that the kids don’t think so either. But plenty of people have said that ‘I hope your children appreciate what you are doing for them’ including friends, family, REI associates, excursion buddies and other near strangers. I credit Kristin with taking the lead to ensure that this trip suits the kids' academic needs and provides the right learning environment for homeschooling. As school begins in earnest, my contribution will be focused on the marvels of the physical world as well as real world math contextualized within the framework of financial literacy - something missing in most schools today.

I find myself checking my pockets for my keys - keys to the house, to the car. This instinct is a surprise to me and I guess it is part of the process of letting go of stuff. What we have now is each other, the kindness of friends and family and our mountain of gear. We are in our third iteration of whittling down our gear to the essentials. We left our house with enough clothing and equipment to buckle the legs of a pack mule. We found more we could let go while staying at friends’ in Illinois and we will make one more attempt to prune the backpacks during our visit with the Garcias in Puerto Rico before Spirit Airlines does it for us on our way to Costa Rica.

Thanks Amy, Tara & Chris.

Time for a schooling

No More Keys