January 11, 2011Off the Beaten Family Path – Worldly Vacation by the Rebers

Skagway by kimberlykv - Click the picture to see the original on Flickr

This summer, our family met Alex on a ferry trip from Sakgway, Alaska to Prince Rupert B.C. As is typical with travel, people gravitate to each other when situations create commonality (in this case ferry boat top deck sleeper chairs). After spending a couple of days enjoying the coastline and villages that dot the inside passage, fellow travelers shared their experiences and travel plans. Alex suggested that I post blogs about our family and our upcoming travel adventures.

My wife, sons (aged 8 and 11) and I have the feeling the time  is good for a walkabout. We arranged things at my work for a 11 month sabbatical, pulled the kids out of school and are traveling to various parts of the world. Our children are at an age that is between the times of complete dependency and complete parental alienation and we realize this is a precious fleeting moment in our lives. We have the opportunity and we are in our "prime" (insert not getting younger or any better)

I have always envisioned touring with my kids for longer than a vacation and the stars have luckily aligned for us to enable this to happen. We are filled with excitement and some angst on our upcoming journeys. Many What ifs? are popping up. What if.... someone gets hurt?, What if... I dont have a job on return? What if... there is political trouble? These, of course, are countered with What if.... we dont go?

Over the next year I am going to try and post occasional blogs that piece together our experience and help us answer some of the what ifs in our lives.

We have concluded a portion of our trip to Western Canada. First off Canada is an amazing place and we now have opened the can of worms of wanting to see more.
Our family was on a bit of a mission. My youngest son is named after Tagish Lake in the Yukon territory. We have always told him that as he gets older we will see "his lake"

Tagish Lake, Yukon Territory by Alan Vernon - Click the picture to see the original on Flickr

We rented an RV and drove from North Idaho through BC to the southern Yukon, down the inside passage and then through central and southern BC. We drove 3300 miles (5500 km) and saw an array of natural wonders. Glaciers, wildlife, hot springs, Agricultural regions, great fishing, majestic mountains and extremely friendly and helpful people.

We are heading to the West coast of the states, back to Wyoming (our home) for a short change of gear and then off to Fiji.
Kids are doing well, no homesickness. They think they are really getting away with something by not being "in" school. We are trying to homeschool and slowly making progress with overcoming the natural sloth of inertia but even as a parent it is hard to motivate (man teachers have a hard job)

Thats all for now

Peace

The Rebers

---

If you liked this article, you might like these:

Ideas to Reality – Jasper National Park: The long way through – Intro

The West Coast Trail: My Experience – Jean-Yves’ Adventures

I’m in Heaven or in Africa or in a Hot-Air Balloon – Share and Save