family adventure travel – Page 2

Number One Rule To Travel : Don’t Be a Dick

by Jenn & Chris on March 10, 2017

When what you do represents so much more than you.

It’s a strange view from here.

We sit in the middle of two worlds. A no man’s land of sorts. Learning and experiencing travel on the road while still being able to stay in touch with the goings on at home.

Most of the time it’s great. But sometimes, not so much.

Checking in on social media feels like we are watching home from behind a plexiglass window at the zoo. We are detached. We have the benefit of not being barraged with bad news all the time except when the only thing on Facebook is bad news.

When we go on, it’s hard not to get depressed by the time you finish scrolling. We have somehow normalized vent posts, frustration updates, anger, spewing hurtful comments, judging people you have never met before or better yet telling each other what to do.

Does this kind of malaise come naturally now? When did everyone become such dicks?

Or do you think anyone ever stops to think that every time they post something shitty on Facebook they have the potential of bringing other people down due to the collective dicklike activity already happening there?

Don’t worry though. It’s not just Facebook.

They are plenty out there in real life. But there are also plenty of amazing as well.

We connected with Thomas through a Trip advisor mention and google search. He is one of THE sweetest guys you will meet driving from Hue to Hoi An

Respecting the culture locally and of tourism

One of the best ways we have learned about hidden bits of awesome is simply by chatting with other long-haul travellers. We connect when cooking in hostel communal kitchens. We screenshot recommendations via social media. We discuss must-go places and did-you-knows as we hang out together on tours.

As we have chatted about best experiences, we were surprised how often we would be presented with “don’t go to X, it’s become too touristy”.

Too touristy?

What exactly does that mean?

Well, as far as we can gather it means too busy, too common or too western. No longer that different or unique travel experience people want to take home with them.

Ok.

So a place starts getting a buzz and suddenly a massive amount of tourist economy floods into a developing or under-developed country. Travellers arriving daily, spreading money around like its going out of style and presenting locals opportunities for more. Perhaps build a business or more importanly get out of struggling to cloth and feed their family or send their kids to school. To allow dreams to take shape and to see farther than they ever thought before. That kind of opportunity lends itself to a hustle state of mind. You do what you gotta do to make it work.

Yet tourists, who were part of creating this culture in the first place, don’t like the ickiness of the hustle.

So don’t be a dick.

Tourists having cake and eating it too

You opted to go to this country. The internet is FULL of information of what its like to travel there. You can’t say you didn’t know. Not nowadays.

Sadly, we have been witness often to someone from a developed country complaining about the people, communication boundaries, conditions of their stay, the washroom, the food, and cultural behaviours WHILE they are in said country.

It’s baffling. The demand of the tourist is to have an experience that feels authentic but in the end, the question becomes, do they really? Authentic means immersing and connecting with everything the destination is providing. Yet, in doing so, it takes tourists out of their comfort zone and forces them to look (& possibly realize) that living conditions in other parts of the world are extraordinarily different and can at times be heartbreakingly poor.

It seems tourists want to view the local surroundings from a bubble. It can give them clarity into the daily life and struggles, history and future of a culture, without the necessity to getting their hands dirty or suffering from slow Dial-Up internet. They want 20 minutes of ‘life as a local’, followed by some hand sanitizer and tsk-tsking, certainly not 2 days actually working in the mud trying to coax rice to grow in an overworked field.

What Can You Do

Book local

Planning itineraries in advance is ideal but with it comes with added mark-ups at every distribution point. A big tour company typically sub-contracts to a regional or local tour company, they in turn hire the guides. The guides make very little of the actual fees charged, so the closer you can get, the more you are supporting the local community. Book and support local wherever you can. A great option to source is via Facebook search. We have connected with many local guides and drivers by simply geo searching to find them through social media.

Su was our amazing guide through Sa Pa. We connected via Facebook.

Support businesses that might not otherwise be able to market to the masses

Tripadvisor is still by far the most trusted resource in terms of local recommendations. Yet there are new networks coming on the scene. Collaborative companies like Backstreet academy in Asia helps bring awareness of local, expert businesses that can give you a genuine, off-the-beaten path kind of experience. Be sure to help local friends by reviewing their services via Trip Advisor, Google or Facebook. Search is how you found them. Reviews help search.

Be respectful

It was hard to watch as we saw women with bandeau bathing suit tops arguing to go up the steps of a Buddhist monastery this past week. We as travellers have been given a gift in being able to be in this country. We are owed nothing but we do owe something. Respecting local culture traditions like removing footwear, being covered in sacred spaces or handing over money with two hands are easy things to learn. As is the word THANK YOU. An easy one to learn in every language.

Be kind

My daughter once schooled me when negotiating with a man in Bolivia. I was getting frustrated over the added charges (when I look back it was ultimately between $5) and she reminded me of something I had told her. “Everyone is part of a family”. So when you are in the process of negotiating or speaking with someone local on your trip, don’t just think of that moment. Think of them as a father or mother or daughter or son or sister or brother. Learn something about their family. It’s amazing how much less of a dick you end up being, when you create human connection.

Sacred valley chinchero — These beautiful weaver business women in Sacred Valley of Peru are all most importantly mothers. Makes negotiations change big time.

Make a choice

You aren’t just representing yourself. You are representing your country. You are ambassadors.

You can get upset about the too touristy piece or you can accept that everyone is as excited as you are to be there and in that moment.

Choose when you go to a major destination spot. Go in off hours or off season if you hate the tourist part so much.

Make a choice to not only think of yourself but who you are representing. And what that means in the worldwide stage of travel.

So what’s our number one rule?

Don’t Be a Dick.

Family Matters Real Life Travel

How Will You Tell This Story?

by Jenn & Chris on January 10, 2017

Our WHY Behind Travelling the World

Every story has a back story and it’s not always pretty.

I never really considered ourselves storytellers until this trip.

Sure, Chris and I like to talk in stories. It’s fun and entertaining and most importantly gets people laughing by the end. Something for us that is ultimately the end goal.

Now my grandmother. She’s a storyteller.

In fact, she was the best storyteller of us all.

My grandmother was most indeed the matriarch of our family. The older sister and the “second mom” to a large family growing up in the prairies. She was given the job early in life to care for her 6 younger siblings, becoming a provider for the family at a time when she should have been playing instead of working. She was sweet, stubborn and with an incredibly strong work ethic. Her get-it-done-and-do-it-well ethic was one she imprinted on our entire family. But she loved to have fun. Her laugh was so big and contagious, it either had you in tears or one of you saying “I’m going to pee my pants!” or both.

Her life was her family and the art of storytelling was something she shared with her siblings, her children and her grandchildren. Trust me, you end up at one of our family reunions and nobody ever just recounts a moment. Vast, broad strokes of details are painted along the way. The story weaving back far enough to set the stage: providing minutiae like smells, clothes or even weather to give you the background you needed to see the whole picture and to feel like you were there.

It was an important part of my grandmother’s stories.

But Why?

So you could understand her WHY to every story she told.

As a kid, I would get frustrated. I was impatient, too young to understand the time it took to create that background, instead feeling she was going on and on. Ugh! Grandma! Always feeling she went much farther than necessary for the story’s conclusion.

As I got older, and she came close to the end of her years, I wanted to sit for hours to listen to those stories. I understood the foundation she was laying. I wanted more time to gobble up every morsel of a story she was willing to give. To hear them often, so I could remember them when she was gone. So she would stay close in my memory through all of her beautiful stories.

Our WHY

A few years ago, we adopted a mantra to Come Before Winter. The concept simple. Do whatever it is you have been thinking or dreaming about now because you never know what tomorrow brings. At that point we had known too many people affected with disease and too many passing before they had a chance to live a full life.

It changed us as a couple and as a family.

We took trips. A lot of them.

We created memories. A lot of them.

Travel became a priority.

Taking our kids to Scotland to visit many relatives on my Uncle’s 92nd birthday was so special.

Multi-generational trips to Disney World with Grandma. A trip to Scotland & Ireland with my parents. Seeing Carmen (an opera very special to my family) at Lincoln Center in New York, a 40th birthday in NYC, Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Doing a Yoga Retreat with dear friends in Nicaragua. Meeting up with childhood pals in Quebec City.

Climbing Kilimanjaro to celebrate our 10th anniversary was a milestone we both loved achieving

We pushed far out of our comfort zone and it felt really really good.

The decision to do these was very intentional. We are blessed for the rest of our years with all the special moments we created with people we love.

Watching my Dad’s joy over showing his grandkids his home was an important part of our family story.

But these last few years have not been without struggle.

In 2014, on the day we were leaving for Mount Kilimanjaro, my Grandma passed.

When she left, I felt like I had lost one of my “persons”. Those people in your life who love you unconditionally. Your biggest cheerleaders. Ones where the connection to them feels deeper. The love pure.

But 2014 was full of life. We lived and loved big. We took on challenges and celebrated milestones. We conquered, we achieved, I turned 40 and we celebrated our 10 year anniversary. The time we spent with family and friends was time we will never regret.

When one of my best girls asked if I would meet her in NYC for her 40th, of course I said yes. How often do you celebrate a milestone like that?

Then 2015 made way to become a very difficult year. Like every other family we were running like mad chickens, over-committed, and busy. Just so busy.

I challenged myself in business. To build, to create more, do more, get bigger and in doing so, created an absolute wreck of a human being. I made decisions that went against my intuition and EVERY time got myself kicked in the ass. I took on some big financial risk during this growth and didn’t sleep for months.

Then in May of 2015, I lost another one of my persons. One of my dearest friends passed away suddenly of a brain aneurysm. Always one of my biggest cheerleaders, she was a wise old owl who was able to look (& talk through) all sides of the story when considering options. Yet she pushed me to be fearless and bold. Forever answering “yes!” before I even finished with “Do you think we should..?”

I always felt lucky to have had her as a friend but I wish I had told her more how much I valued her friendship, love and encouragement. Her loss made a deep cut to many who loved her. To this day, there is still a huge gaping hole that sits open in so many of us.

Beautiful memories like this make me happy

The grief of losing her mixed with massive business ups and downs created a level of anxiety and depression that I didn’t even know I was going through until much later. Most days, I felt like I was suffocating. When I think of those times, I often picture the Sea Witch from the Little Mermaid darkening the waters, growing bigger and bigger until she took over the whole screen. An ominous black liquid cloaking over me to the point of being unable to breath.

Outwardly, I was functioning because I felt I had to. Because it was expected of me to just “get over it” and to “relax” over the money invested in the business. Privately, I was having severe anxiety attacks that would scare both myself and my husband. They would happen as the kids slept or were gone for the day because somehow one of my ill-placed measures of success was not breaking down, truly breaking down, in front of them. On the other side of an attack I would end up feeling so exhausted that even sleep (& the desperate need for it) became part of the vicious cycle.

In September of 2015, We (ok I, with reluctant family members joining in) decided to do the Kon Mari purge. It’s a process I can’t recommend enough. Not necessarily because of the “Sparking Joy” piece but because getting rid of stuff clears your mind. Downsizing and letting go of so much of our crap helped immensely in releasing associated feelings connected to the past and got us moving to the future.

To start your way through a Kon Mari purge, here’s our start.

But something was still not right.

The purge helped collectively reduce my claustrophobic feelings, the big business decisions were done for the year but we felt like we weren’t living big anymore. Just going through the routine. Just busy people.

We had always talked of a dream of traveling the world. There were HUGE signs being sent our way that kept saying Do It Now! Come Before Winter! but that notion, that idea of making the leap felt SO big.

Too Big.

Yes, it can be Scary as F*ck. It can also be the most invigorating, exhilarating decision of your life. It is hard to believe that a year ago (at the start of 2016) we made the concrete decision to travel the world with our kids.

I am telling you this story not for sympathy or empathy but for you to see you are not alone. Everyone has a back story.

It’s for you to see our WHY behind the decisions we made to get here.

We want to tell you stories through our travels so that you can come along with us. We want to paint the picture so that you might be inspired enough to head down a similar path or travel somewhere you had never even thought about.

We all create imaginary barriers about why we can’t go somewhere. For us, we thought The Galapagos was too expensive. We are here to tell you it is entirely possible and one of the places we would recommend you to consider.

We want to tell you stories that are raw, real and honest. Ones that help you feel safe in taking that leap. Ones that makes you laugh. Taking chances to live the life you want. The one you deserve.

100% it can be scary as shit. But it means you are LIVING it.

And that’s all that counts.

So tell us, what is your WHY?

Kids Corner Travel

Did You Know The Incas Were Thought To Be the Sons of the Sun?

by Jenn & Chris on December 5, 2016

Fun Facts for Kids from Around the World

Spencer Says:

…..Guatamala, Bolivia then Argentina, and Ecuador, Chile and Brazil!!

Are you a lover of Animaniacs? Because I am! I learned all the countries of the world from one of their videos called “The Nations of The World”. It’s pretty cool since we are travelling the world as a family and have been in a number of those countries and learning new things.

One of those countries is PERU where we visited Machu Picchu.

Did you know that Machu Picchu is the home of the Incas and known to be the sacred place of the sun?

The Incas were the “sons of the sun”. Get it? Lol.

They were a culture a long time ago in the 1400’s who were very smart and made really cool buildings. The incas were a conquering tribe, whose empire stretched across modern day Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador.

According to the Inca’s, the sun gave life. When they built their city it was based on the sun’s positioning against the mountains to determine the seasons, the orientation to ensure maximum sunlight, the moon and the stars.

The Inca’s were super good at farming and agriculture. The levels you see at Machu Picchu are called terraces they used for gardening. Coca leaves, peanuts, potatoes, chilli peppers, sweet potato, passion fruit, avocados, apples, tomatoes and other foods were all grown there.

We have learned a lot about farming in Peru. Terraces are very different than what we have at home in Canada

There was a time when the Spaniards (who were called Conquistadores) came to take over the land but because Machu Picchu is high up in the mountains, they never found them. However, the Inca’s and their culture still got destroyed during that time and that was the end of the road for them.

The city of Maccu Picchu was lost for 460 years, discovered in 1911 by a professor from Yale, named Hiram Bingham. Can you believe there was only one piece of gold found after its discovery? Someone had gotten there first!

Did you know that Hiram Bingham was sponsored by National Geographic on the expedition to Machu Picchu which is SO NEAT because we are National Geographic Kids Ambassadors!!! I really love researching stuff with them and especially like facts about Blue Whales, Airplanes and cool places to go.

Hiram Bingham FOUND Machu Picchu as part of a National Geographic Expedition!!!!!!!!!

Today, Maccu Picchu welcomes over 3 million visitors every year, and must work to make sure that the site is taken care of and not effected by too many people. We don’t want the ruins to get ruined!

Spencer LOVED climbing around the ruins (WHERE ALLOWED :) — Spencer LOVED climbing around the ruins (WHERE ALLOWED 🙂

Spencer is 10 years old and 1/2 of the Cuppa Kids part of this family. He has a heart is full of gold and because of his Autism, sees the world so differently than most. He believes there is so much good out there and everyone is meant to be kind and friends. His passions include this trip, airplanes (especially the Airbus A380), family & friends. Spencer’s curiosity, generosity and kindness has won the hearts of many a person we encounter as we travel. We joke about creating the #SpencerFanClub but there really and truly is one starting to emerge.

Family Matters Travel

It’s the Journey…

by Jenn & Chris on November 24, 2016

And so ours begins.

How to stay present while traveling.

Mom Says

I wasn’t sure how we would approach writing about this adventure. Social media is so engrained in my world (both professionally and personally) that of course I want to share everything with everybody because it’s just all so beautiful and so different. We hope to spread the good word about unique places, spaces and experiences that we think you might enjoy. The kids eager to pass on lessons we have learned on the road, taking on the responsibility of sharing information with their class & friends as part of their experience.

Sea lions in the galapagos — The mere proximity we had to wild life in The Galapagos made me cry ALL the time.

We believe in sharing openly and honestly about this journey. Writing without censorship the awesomeness and the challenges of family dynamics on the road might help in planning for your own adventure. Traveling with special needs for us is not about focusing on the disability but about providing an ABILITY to see the world in a different way. The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.

Here’s the kicker. We barely ever get to ugly. It hasn’t ever really been a part of “us”.

The one bad I have been holding on to is that we haven’t written much. The truth is we haven’t written much YET because we (especially me) are learning to be present.

Swing at the end of the world views — This was the sun setting as the kids and I waited for them to venture on the Swing at the end of the world in Banos. IT was epic.

It’s so much more difficult than I realized.

I am in awe of the beauty mother nature has created here and listening intently to what the she has to say. These moments are gifts and I am concentrating on staying in the moment. To be still, breathe it in, recognize what it is and be grateful for all the beauty that sits before us. Admittedly it has brought me to tears so often that Chris is wondering if I’m going through “the change”.

Having Frigate birds soaring only a few feet away had us all choked up — Having Frigate birds soaring only a few feet away had us overwhelmed from the beauty of it all.

A dear friend gave us great advice before we left. Live fully in that moment for as long as you can, because the minute you bring a camera lens into the picture, all of the specialness you are witnessing disappears. A wise woman is she. A wise, wise woman.

Penguins in all their glory on Isla Isabella had me bawling — Penguins in all their glory on Isla Isabella. Penguins..Can we just say Penguins?

Dad says:

So here we are: all of the above is true, and now, this thing is on. Real time events, reactions, and fun times ahead.

We arrived in Quito in the evening to a never-ending river of light as the city sits surrounded by so many mountains. I am now speaking more spanish than ever, which was previously restricted to resort replies such as ‘si, yo es mucho macho’ and ‘uno mas’ and some upsizing at Taco Bell.

The city is awesome, foreign and fun. Look for more posts to come as we comb through the notes and find the best stuff for you all.

This sunset happened minutes after we witnessed humpback whales breaching a mile off shore. We all were overwhelmed with emotion — This sunset happened minutes after we witnessed humpback whales breaching a mile off shore.

I don't know what we loved more. Having an Eagle Ray float by us or the Kids singing "Oh Let's Name the Zone" from Finding Nemo on the way back. So far above everything else, being in the moment in the Galapagos has been one of those true chances of a lifetime kind of gifts. — I don’t know what we loved more. Having an Eagle Ray float by us or the Kids singing “Oh Let’s Name the Zone” from Finding Nemo on the way back. So far above everything else, being in the moment in the Galapagos has been one of those true chances of a lifetime kind of gifts.

Changing the World Travel

Who ARE MomDadCuppaKids?

by Jenn & Chris on June 28, 2016

We can all agree there is so so much noise on the internet. For us, its really important that we don’t want this blog to add to the clutter. We want it to be fun, informative, open, and genuine.

As we get closer towards to leaving on our #CuppaRTW: Round The World Adventures, we’ve been thinking a lot on how to bring fresh & new ideas here.

Our hopes are that we can help inspire people one way or another and we do believe we can do it ways that will truly provide value.

But we realized first and foremost that you might not really know us that well.

To keep it simple, this is us.

We’re a bit goofy, awfully fun and a pretty easy-going family who like to dance and who want to live life to the fullest while we are here.

To decide if you would like to follow along on our journey, here are a few

FUN FACTS on #TEAMPOWELL

Chris has a dry, sarcastic, witty sense of humour. Jenn is more silly, cheeky and out there raw.

We met at the airport, during an ice storm at which time Chris convinced the airline to fly me all the way across the country to turn around to get back to the middle as it was the only flight (his by the way) leaving that night.

We love the outdoors and grew up at the cottage. Water is our peace place.

We are the couple that gets put at the table to keep the conversation alive at a wedding or an event.

We were on the Marilyn Denis Show ( a national TV show in Canada) for the Couples Weight Loss Challenge and both lost 40lbs in 5 months. They dubbed us #TeamPowell and its stuck ever since.

We truly are a team and have supported each other through careers, entrepreneurship, extensive travel, special needs and more. Family is key and our rule is don’t ever keep score.

We are warrior advocates for our special needs son who put far more emphasis on the “special” than the needs, working hard to make life more about managing through Autism than Autism leading the conga line.

Our kids have picked up our love of dancing, adventure, exploration and sarcasm.

We climbed Mt. Kilimajaro as a way to celebrate 2 milestones- Jenn’s 40th bday and our 10th Anniversary. It wasn’t as hard as we thought but man were we awfully smelly/put our marriage to the test in the long run.

We love hosting parties (Jenn & Lauren have a particular love of turning everything into a theme) and it would be normal to find people dancing in our living room at 2am.

We believe that we are all one. That one of the essential values to pass on to our kids is to give back & pay it forward wherever we can. To always stop if someone needs help.

We have no idea where this part of our lives will take us next but we are hoping that by journaling this we can create something amazing & positive.

Please let us know what you would like to see so that we can make this the best blog it can be.

And if you have friends who you think would enjoy our energy & sense of humour, please pass us on!

WE CAN ALSO BE FOUND HERE:

Snapchat: JennPowellLive
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/MomDadCuppaKids
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/JennPowellLive
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JennPowellLive
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/momdadcuppakids
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/momdadcuppakids

Family Matters

We’re Not Dead Yet

by Jenn & Chris on November 27, 2014

There is a classic skit in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” called Bring Out Your Dead. Set during the Black Plague, it portrays a village collecting up dead bodies that had passed on from the plague. A man approaches the cart full of dead bodies with has his grandfather (oh so alive) slung over his shoulder and tries to add him to the pile.

While the grandfather keeps protesting with the likes of “I’m not dead yet!”, the man works on convincing him that he is near death’s door. The skit plays out, ultimately he gets clubbed over the head and that’s the end of that.

Those words keep noodling around in my head these days. I’M NOT DEAD YET.

Facebook helped me stroll down memory lane this year as myself and the majority of my friends celebrated turning that epic age of 40. Birthday notifications popped up and many a TBT pic took me back to simpler times.

We have gotten older. Wiser. We give far less of a shit in terms of what other people think.

That part of 40 is awesome.

But we’ve kind of hit this no man’s land. This funk.

Not so awesome.

Our sense of adventure has somehow atrophied.

Going out dancing means sourcing a club that won’t make us look (or feel) like cougars.

Going to see live music has become a REALLY big night out.

A movie is the activity of choice if you can get a babysitter to come during the week and we are already Rock, Paper, Scissoring for New Year’s on who will get to be hungover in peace the next day and who will get up with the kids. (AND it takes 3 days to recover from said hangover)

I see so many of us settling into a world of domestic drudgery. Groundhog day in, day out of dropping kids off at activities, making dinners, making lunches, staying home to watch TV, living but not really living any more. We’re tired. We’re surviving. We are overwhelmed.

We have somehow accepted our fates that as parents, this is our life.

And it is.

But it doesn’t have to be so….in the middle.

WE’RE NOT DEAD YET.

We are at a time in our lives where there has been many losses. Parents, friends, family. Our constant now seems to be going to more funerals than weddings. The word cancer is so prevalent in our sphere. People I love and adore facing this in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.. and not just a few. A LOT.

So why when life is reminding us how precious it is, are you not taking more moments to feel grateful for what you have? Why are you not going after life with fervor and excitement?

What is stopping you from going after something you want to do? What is stopping you from taking that trip? Trying that class? Checking out a new hobby?

It requires effort. Yes. SO MAKE THAT EFFORT.

Take one step forward in doing something different every day. GO on that trip you have been meaning to go on. DO IT.

Because having this beautiful life of ours should be filled with moments not things. Mountains of moments and memories not mountains of money owed and debt to be paid.

CHECK YOURSELF before you WRECK YOURSELF.

Teach your kids the value of solid friendships. Not quantity but quality. Encourage your kids to go for what they want, not let them see the inability of their parents to do the same. Create those important moments with those you love. You are not taking any new appliances to the grave with you. You are leaving a legacy of you as a person.

Make a mark.

WE’RE NOT DEAD YET.