Special needs travel – Mom Dad CuppaKids

Hitting Reset & The Trust Factor.

by Jenn & Chris on July 31, 2017

We Started Again. In The Middle of Our Lives.

You just gotta believe it will all work out.

We talk a lot about the universe in our world. About it aligning; putting energy into the right place; thinking positive and about trusting the flow of life.

Sure, to some it might seem all a bit Hippity Dippity (as my family/friends have been known to call it).

To me, I can absolutely 100% feel when I am fighting what should be moving along naturally in our life.

I seriously love pushing past my comfort zone. I like taking on challenges.

But trusting and letting go of what should be?

To stop worrying and let things flow to what will?

Mancora Peru beach — Letting things flow led us unexpectedly to one of the most beautiful beaches in South America. Mancora, Peru

Mancora was where we randomly saw humpback whales breaching just off the coast

Well, that’s probably one of the biggest challenges of my life.

Being totally open.

Letting things flow.

Goddamn, F#&%ing trust.

Take all of my life’s baggage, issues and protective barriers, bottle it up into one word and throw me the middle finger.

There you have it. That word is trust.

I hate and love it all at the same time.

Kids swinging swing at the end of the world — Our kids flying high on the swing at the end of the world caused me to work on some trust issues. Banos, Ecuador

Super tight spaces are not our favorite but this was a great lesson in the kids leading our trust & flow as we ventured to Pailon Del Diablo for the day

We have been home for 2 months and I have these panic moments that our trip feels like it’s floating away like a dream.

Before we came home, I cried that we were coming back to Canada.

I wasn’t ready to finish with our travels. Our family was so deeply connected and enjoying every ounce of travelling together. It felt like a special space and one I didn’t want to let go.

Yet we could sense that it was the right time. We had used up the majority of our budget, we were all starting to get tired of laundry and moving every few days and we could all feel an ache to see family & friends. (When the Acropolis came in at #27 of cool things we had done on the trip, we knew we had hit travel weary).

The kids got a chance to reconnect with friends and finish out the school year. It helped with getting ready for the adjustment to a new school, all the requisite kiss-my-ass (did I write that out loud?) IPRC, IEP, transition school meetings were had and we got things tidied up for school plans for the fall.

We came home to living a life of transition. It has felt liberating and like walking a cliff’s edge all at the same time.

We are starting our life again. Finding jobs, a place to live, and creating a plan.

In the past 2 months, I have felt like a rudderless sail, creative inspired, slightly depressed, tearfully grateful, intensely curious, over-stimulated and quiet. The quiet has been good. Taking a step back from the digital space to be fully present with people and nature has been a really healthy choice.

This is, and always will be the place that keeps me grounded – Galla Lake

But we still have had those burning questions that have been asked an infinite amount of times since we got back.

“What are you going to do now?”

This is where that damn trust & flow has played a big role in staying the course. We believed, we focused on the positive and we breathed through those moments that in the past would have sent me straight into an anxiety attack.

A lo and behold.

I am happy to share some big news for our family.

Today, Chris is starting a really exciting venture with Union Foods as the Director of Construction & Design. He will be responsible for overseeing the development of the majority of Union Station’s new food ventures with a forward-thinking, innovative company. (This is also the group that owns the ridiculously delicious Union Chicken at Sherway Gardens). If you haven’t gone for brunch and tried their Chicken & Waffles you are missing out. Trust me.

For me, I am reigniting Hart & Galla with some small upcoming events and select social strategy design for companies that fit well with our personal ethos. I am also putting it here for accountability (Gulp!) that I am working on a book proposal about our trip and plan on putting energy into MomDadCuppaKids daily. I am intent on writing more actively on this blog of personal stories, travel tips, world schooling, simplifying your life, event ideas, and special needs dialogue. My hope is to inspire people with a “hey, if we can do it, you can do it” energy and totally open to any ideas you might have.

We still have no permanent fixed address but for now that is fine.

For now, we will just Trust…& Flow.

Real Life

Hang to Dry – Taking Time to Chill On the Line

by Jenn & Chris on April 30, 2017

Downtime and Laundry Have Me in Heaven

We arrive at our latest place to stay and it feels like we have jumped into a movie set.

The view is insanely beautiful.

We keep waiting for someone to show up and tell us that we have the wrong house. That we should actually be staying in the garage, not the main villa overlooking the water in a small seaside town on the coast of Greece. It is everything you imagine a greek villa should look like, right down to the whitewashed walls and marble in every room.

We have fallen upon this place via a friend and his incredibly generous offer to use his family home. After many months of travel, through guesthouses, hostels, AirBnb’s or caravaning our way through the countryside, this feels like heaven because we are stopping for awhile.

We are chilling out. Taking it easy. No agenda. Nothing to see. Just to be.

Sunrises like these provide opportunity to reflect in gratitude

This feels like heaven because we can unpack.

Fully unpack for 10 days.

Not just our personal packs but the 1 big yellow backpack that encompasses our travel cubes, souvenirs, shoes, cosmetics and usually a big honkin’ bag of laundry.

It’s funny how perspectives shift on the road.

To us now, a chance to unpack could very well be one of the biggest luxuries we enjoy on this trip.

We typically don’t plan any more than a couple days ahead. We like travelling as the day takes us but lately its sped up a bit. I can’t quite tell if it’s because we now have a return date for our trip back to Canada or if we are in places we want to see so much of that we toggle back & forth between “tourist” and “traveller”?

When a travel days wipes out the whole crew

We seem to intuitively anticipate each other’s needs now. We can tell when one (or more of us) are travel weary and start making space and time for relaxing.

Reflection, quiet and sleep are our medicines required to get back on the horse (or camel or tuk tuk) and keep going.

We have all changed, I know that. My OCD on keeping things “neat & clean” has relaxed from a 9 to about a 2 on the peripheral stuff. Those things don’t matter so much anymore. What matters really is us, these experiences and being together.

As our priorities shift to focusing on being present, I can see a shift in everything we do.

For an absolutely incredible book on the practice of being present, I can’t recommend highly enough the book You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh. It has brought a calm and peacefulness to my world that I have never experienced before.

This book will change the way you look at life.

One of the most evident is in how we pack. What we thought we needed and what we really do is so completely different than when we started.

We have 3 distinct styles of packing. They all seem to be focus on eliminating extra time, energy and unnecessary opening of bags.

Here is a quick breakdown of how we roll:

The overnight/carry on travel pack

This includes 1 change of clothes, always a swim suit (thank you Drew Dudley and his tip that a swimsuit is “fun insurance” it has come in handy more than once), flip flops, a pr of PJ’s, toothbrush, and deodorant.

The 2-4 days city pack

1 extra pair of shorts, 2-3 shirts (depending on the mean temperature and how sweaty or smelly we might get as we travel), swim suit, flip flops, sarong (this can go a long way between beach, temple coverage and sun protection), small bag of deodorant, soap, conditioner, brush, and toothbrush.

The 4+ day in one stationary location

This gets me so excited you can’t imagine. Laundry, homemade meals, naps, even being domestic (like establishing some element of “home” for a few days) feels really really good.

Down days are some of my absolute favorites

For awhile, when we started talking about going home, I would picture Fred Flintstone putting his feet down in his car to put on the brakes. I wasn’t feeling ready yet. We still had so much to explore. What I realize now is that I had in my head that this was a singular defining moment for us. Yet life isn’t over after this trip. We can start planning the next one. We can relish in all the adventures we have had. We can cherish the beauty and the specialness of Canada for awhile. We can reconnect with family & friends. We can create & savour new memories back home.

Perhaps we can even welcome some of the amazing people we have met on our adventures to our home land and show them why we are so proud to be Canadian.

Come on over guys. The door is always open.

Family Matters Travel

Last Night I Cried…

by Jenn & Chris on March 31, 2017

Not ready to head home from a life-changing trip around the world.

Last night I cried.

For a person who is quite synonymous with tears, I think my track record over these last many months has been pretty good. There have been only a few crying moments on this trip.

Apart from tears of joy.

My Happiness is all about being around these majestic animals

We knew at the beginning of this adventure that it would change all of us one way or another. Shifted perspectives, maturity/growth in the kids, a deeper understanding of how our world works.

What we didn’t know was exactly how or when we would start to notice that change. If I am being honest, I kept searching for it in the beginning months. I was waiting to be enlightened. Waiting to “feel” different or suddenly have that moment of clarity of where our life would lead. I thought FOR SURE it would be revealed as I sat on the beach and gazed out at the sunset.

You have to admit this sunset IS pretty inspiring. Taken on Koh Lanta, Thailand

Admittedly, I MIGHT be a bit of a hopeless romantic.

The truth is, it didn’t quite happen like that.

What happened instead was the realization that we actually had to go THROUGH this entire journey before we could figure out what it was all about.

Along the way I had the deepest desire to write. To share the experiences we have had with you at home. Hopefully as a source of encouragement, inspiration or to satisfy that travel bug for you in the midst of those bleary winter months. I wanted to write countless tips & travel hacks that we have learned along the way. And post more videos. And pictures.

And we will. Just not yet.

You see one of the biggest a-ha’s we have had on this trip is the difference when we are fully and totally present. We are practicing mindfulness in the moments and with that comes a delay of sharing all the things. I felt guilty for awhile, for not sharing enough. Now? Now I’m good because I believe BEING PRESENT is a big part of our story.

The real reason I started crying last night is because we started planning on when we were going to come home.

Granted, it is almost exactly to the day from our third version of our adventure timeline (initially we were going for 3 months, then 6 months and now it will be closer to 9 months). But we actually started talking and PLANNING how we were going to get home. Yuck.

Our kids (actually, our whole family) have thrived in this choice.

We are healthier. An easy task when your daily dose of Vitamin D goes from the trip between house and car to the entire day outside.

We are happier. Again, when your daily activity surrounds physical activity, laughter and exploration, life feels all together simpler. To watch our kids try new things, to be adventurous, to overcome their fears? God! That makes me happiest of all.

Most importantly, we are so much more connected that we ever could have asked for. Can I say (without judgement) that I believe I love both my kids and my husband more or maybe deeper?

Having had the chance to spend so much quality time together, we have more consideration and respect for one another than we did when we were full of busy.

I believe they in return love me more as well.

I know, I know. Life isn’t over. We still have a couple months to go and trust me, in those months we will be soaking up every moment we can.

I just don’t want it to end.

Just not yet.

Dad Says:

Yup. She cried. It has been few and far between, but this was a doozy. Recognition that we were going to wind up returning home hit hard. It took a bit to get past the inevitable and realize that our future was still unwritten. That what we take from the trip will no doubt determine what we become in the future.

And then she cried again.

Jenn holds the value of being respectful to the core. Yet at the entrance to the Grand Palace she was rejected by some overbearing guard, who decided that she wasn’t properly covered in her overwhelmingly hot capris and would need to purchase a skirt and top to shroud herself in penitent fabric. This, as others strode by in skirts and bare legs.

Oh well, off to a rather shrewdly located shop that sold just the thing. And as you might expect with such a captive audience of cast-offs searching for coverage, big markups and rude service. Can I try this on? NO. CASH ONLY. Tears in eyes she emerged, and covered herself in a blouse that, for all intents and purposes, is not the best look ever. I mean ever. But it got her passed the gate, and, wiping the tears away, we went on to sweat our bits off admiring Bangkok’s best.

And if we are being truthful, she cried one more time.

At the Grand Palace in Thailand, home of the Jade buddha and where the king is laid to rest. The ornate decoration took your breath away. It was awesome, some would say even overwhelming. For Jenn, who feels deeply in every moment, too overwhelming. For her, it was that beautiful.

Sure, a few small occasions of tears but in the end (as it always will), everything worked out fine. Just like us heading home. Whatever happens, it will all work out fine.

Just saying…

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.

Changing the World Travel

Why We Are Visiting Places That Will Likely Disappear In Our Lifetime

by Jenn & Chris on December 1, 2016

The Many Faces of Travel

When we finally made the decision to take this trip around the world, a big part of the planning process became “where do we want to go?”

Each family member was given a choice of 3 priority destinations that would fulfill a lifelong dream of theirs.

If you could pick 3 places to travel in the world, where would you go?

Our loose, plan not to plan itinerary is to see the world in all its glory. Yet we realized that many of the places we wanted to see are also ones that are being threatened by over-tourism, climate change and the influence/intrusion of man.

The Giant Tortoises once ruled the Galapagos, until man brought invasive species along to the islands. In turn, the food & water resources were consumed by other animals greatly depreciating the tortoise population into endangered status

We feel like we’re in a bit of a juxtaposition. Our goal was to intentionally visit sites that we believe might disappear in our lifetime. After seeing how tourism is affecting many of those areas, we are unsure if our attendance might be hastening their demise.

The pristine, hardly-touched beach of Tortuga Bay in Galapagos could change in a heart beat if the wrong people are supporting the tourism plan for the islands

We have already witnessed it as we visited The Galapagos Islands and we have seen in again in Aguas Calientes, the base town for traveling Machu Picchu.

Being able to walk through lava tunnels gave us such an incredible perspective on how the Galapagos came about

In the Galapagos, we opted to do a land-based visit to maintain our RTW budget and support local providers where possible. The concept of land vs cruise tours is still quite new in the Galapagos. It was very simple to book island tours for the next day, the competition becoming increasingly fierce for the tourist dollar. While the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and other government agencies are working hard on regulations around environmental considerations, amount of tourists and the way they tour, you can already see how more tourists in the Galapagos has the potential of messing with an already fragile eco-system.

We were able to come so close to the marine iguanas that you know they have become VERY familiar with tourists

A few things that really did impress me about The Galapagos:

Tour organizers like Galapagos Alternatives work very hard at designing a personal custom tour for you WHILE ensuring that where possible the eco-impact is considered.
The government has a limited allocation of taxis currently running with gas on the island. Any resident purchasing a car in the future on the island must purchase an electric car.
Seymour Airport on Baltra Island is the first Ecological airport, running entirely on renewable energy resources like solar power and wind.

Machu Picchu is one of the most majestic places on earth. It truly does take your breath away when you turn the corner and see it for the first time. Unfortunately, parts of the ruins as well as the road on the way up are starting to deteriorate and the geological concerns are hitting a critical mass. Areas are starting to become off limits, walks to the Sun Gate are now restricted to 2 walks up per day and must be booked months in advance, the Intihuatana stone (The Hitching Post of the Sun) no longer allowed to be touched.

The Temple of the Condor in Machu Picchu was fascinating in their beliefs and rituals surrounding it, yet too much activity can start to cause damage.

We were told that according to recent studies, the road has less than 17 months left before it will be impossible to drive up to the top. There has been consideration for a cable car up to the top but the local economy is against it, bolstered largely through the employment offered from construction, tourism and buses driving up the mountain. For Aguas Calientes their sole economy is tourism. Without it, this town has no other resources to rely on. The push for an increase in tourism will continue but at what price?

The market in Aquas Calientes is so very full of the usual tourist chotchkes. We get it. It's the only source of economy in the town. — The market in Aquas Calientes is so very full of the usual tourist chotchkes. We get it. It’s the only source of economy in the town but it quickly changes the beauty and authenticity of the experience into feeling like a dollar sign.

We are trying hard to be careful in how we are traveling. To support sustainable travel & local economies but without getting caught in the “vicious cycle” that plays out with popular tourist destinations where we can.

Lake Titicaca is so incredibly beautiful but it is said now that locals are putting on a “show” to appease expectations for tourists when its no longer real

We have a few other precious destinations on our list. Patagonia is seeing many of its glaciers retreating at an alarming rate, the Great Barrier Reef is dying, the Sumatran Orangutans are endangered, pushed out of their natural habitats due to deforestation, logging and poachers and the Maldives will likely be under water within the next few decades due to climate change.

This trip is a series of life lessons we are learning along the way. One which we hope will connect for us, for our kids and for our readers alike.

Machu Picchu is SUCH a sacred place but it feels very close to that sacred piece being hurt along the way.

Dad Says:

Ok, so did you get the T-Shirt? That is the question that keeps circling as we make our way through South America. Every stop has weavings, pictures, purses and ‘real’ Alpaca products for sale, all handmade if you believe the tales, and dyed in the time-honoured tradition of the region. Or not. There is way too much similarity to vouch for the claims, and you wonder if this schtick is as transparent to others as it is to us. Sadly, I don’t think so, with the amount of offerings and marks milling through the markets.

This is the part of travel I don’t like. The commercialization of these magical places, the continual drive to relieve me of some currency. No, I don’t want a: hat, blanket, hammock, or picture of you in your traditional regional garb. I want to climb to the top of a mountain and imagine the footsteps of those who went before, take a picture to bolster my failing memory, and think of the journey over a glass. No T-shirt required…

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.