Imagine riding horseback through the jungles of Costa Rica, down ancient roads lined with fields of lavender in Provence, or across the wide open plains of Wyoming, and ending your day in a cozy inn to enjoy a delicious dinner and a well-deserved glass of wine. This is no ordinary lying-by-the-pool vacation; this is equitrekking.
A Coast Ride in Costa Rica, photo from Equitrekking
I had heard about inn-to-inn riding trips years ago, and was surprised to find that there is a wonderful ongoing PBS travel show dedicated to this very thing. I realize that this may be out of the comfort-zone for some of you, but keep in mind that equestrian travel can actually be quite family-friendly. Preteens often pick up riding skills quickly (more quickly than adults 
), and this can be a wonderful, memorable trip to take with your family if you have teens.
Tent Camp in India, photo from Princess Trails
There are equitrekking vacations in just about every country on the planet – from England, Ireland and Spain, to India, Nepal and Chile – to name a few. You can make trekking the main event, or just try it for a few days in the middle of a longer trip.
Self-Guided Ride in France, photo from Equitours
By horseback, you can cover more ground than by foot – and have more fun, if I do say so myself! For the more adventurous and experienced riders, you have the option of taking a self-guided trek: You are given a horse, a picnic lunch, maps and a compass, and find your own way to the next inn or castle where a hot dinner will be waiting for you.
View from the Trail, Wyoming, photo from Equitrekking
The resources I found to be most helpful if you ever decide to plan an equestrian trip are the Travel Search from the PBS show website, and Equitours, which is a company that has been organizing riding trips for the past 30 years in many countries around the world. Happy trails!
It’s a fact: kids love getting mail. This simple truth led Alexandra Bakker to found Make A Child Smile, an organization devoted to helping children who are suffering from life-threatening illnesses get good stuff in the mail. If you want to help, go to the Make A child Smile website and click on “Featured Kids” to read the profiles of the current children who are receiving mail and get their addresses. I think this would be an excellent project to involve your own kids in – even young children can understand that another child is sick and that you are going to help them feel better.
Little Sheep Sticker Pack from Cutiepie Company
What to send? Read the FAQs to get the full scoop on guidelines, but I thought I would add a few of my own ideas as well:
- Although they do not want glitter because it’s messy, I think any kid would love to receive some cool stickers.
- Be funny: Send photos of your pets and/or your children dressed up in silly outfits, include a few jokes or riddles, or tell a funny true story.
- Do consider the child’s age when putting together your package – the current featured kids range in age from 2 to 14…that’s a big difference!!
Go to Make A Child Smile to get started! Special thanks to Melissa for spreading the word on this organization; check out Operation Nice for more NICE stuff 
Lek Chailert at the Elephant Nature Park
As I was catching up with the James family on their round-the-world travel blog The Wide Wide World, one recent event stood out above all others: Caroline James, who is 13 years old, wrote an outstanding article describing her experiences volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai provence, Northern Thailand. The Nature Park is home to more than 30 elephants rescued from horrific situations. They are given a new life on the beautiful grounds of the Nature Park, lovingly cared for by founder Lek Chailert (pictured above).
Caroline and Conor bathing an elephant
During her day volunteering, Caroline fed the elephants, bathed them in a river, scrubbed their backs, and helped clean the camp. It sounds like a truly amazing experience – read Caroline’s article here. And to give some props to Dani and Craig, how awesome is it that they took their kids volunteering instead of the typical Americans-Abroad type activities? To me, that gets to the heart of the difference between vacationing and traveling. Traveling is about more than rest and relaxation; it pushes you to try new experiences. It opens your eyes.
How You Can Help The Elephants in Chiang Mai:
- Buy an elephant medical kit ($20) or an elephant lunch ($10) from The Elephant Nature Park Store to help care for the animals.
- Sign up to be an Elephant Volunteer for a day, a weekend, a week, or a full month.
- Help the herd at the Elephant Nature Park by Fostering an Elephant – this would be an excellent gift for a child who loves elephants. You get a photo of the elephant you have chosen to sponser, along with a bio and updates throughout the year. What a wonderful way to teach a child about empathy!
Photo credits: top photo © Elephant Nature Foundation; bottom photo courtesy the wide wide world
{Possibilities} by Lucky Jackson
I love living vicariously through the experiences of round-the-world travelers (especially families taking on the adventure with kids in tow like The Wide Wide World) and hopefully, one day I will do it, too. Which is why I was so enthralled by this story on maya*made – In 1934, Maya’s Grandmother Bev (who turned 88 two weeks ago – Happy Birthday, Bev!!) set out on a Round the World trip traveling by steamship. Today, we may take for granted the fact that we can hop online and see pictures of the most remote corners of the globe, chat with someone thousands of miles away, and even have a video call with a friend on the other side of the world. Many of us have friends, relatives, or colleagues who live in another part of the world. If taking a round-the-world trip is still a life-changing adventure today, imagine what it would have been like for Bev, at 13 years old, to embark on a steamship journey to places she may never have seen photographs of. Now that’s an adventure!
Bev kept a magnificent travel log and journal with detailed drawings of the steamers she traveled on (above), lists of places visited (they were many!), along with her thoughts and observations. Do you or your children keep a journal when you travel? There is something so personal and lasting about a journal filled with handwriting and sketches that even the highest quality digital photos and most up-to-date blog entries can’t compare to. Looking at these pages, lovingly saved for the past 75 years, reminds me of the importance of recording our own family histories…and it’s fueling a serious case of wanderlust!
To read about Bev’s amazing story and peek inside a trunk filled with treasures from her journey read Maya’s beautiful post, Celebrating My Hero.
A big thank you to Maya for sharing the photos of Bev’s journal!
Organic farm at the Thai Farm Cooking School, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Since we last caught up with the James family on their round-the-world trip, they have been very busy! From Australia, Dani, Craig, and their two children traveled to Thailand where they have been learning about the history of Buddhism, taking in the Grand Palace in Bangkok, enjoying an amazing variety of delicious street food, and dealing with a hilarious lost-in-translation moment involving a hotel housekeeper and a packet of mystery medicine that you *must* read. Just outside Chiang Mai, the whole family went to the Thai Farm Cooking School – let’s take a little peek…
The day begins with a tour of the local market (pictured above) and then a walk around the grounds of the school, which is also home to an organic farm.
After choosing a menu, each person gets their own cooking station in a big, airy room – here’s Conor working on his curry dish. And then the best part: sitting down to the feast at a gorgeous outdoor table overlooking the gardens.
I just love the idea of seeking out a cooking school when you are traveling – it seems like a fantastic way to get acquainted with a new culture. Children are almost always welcome, it’s a creative, satisfying experience for the whole family and you come away with new skills and a full belly Read more about the James family cooking school experience on their blog. And if this making you hungry, you can find the recipes for classic Thai dishes like Red Curry with Chicken, Pad Thai, Bananas in Coconut Milk, Springrolls, and more on the cooking school’s website, right here.
Dani and Craig are in the middle of a round-the-world trip with their two children, Caroline and Conor – if you are new to their adventures, you might want to check out their guides to the places they have visited so far: Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and Australia, and be sure to visit their blog, The Wide Wide World.
Ahri Golden and Tania Ketenjian,, co-founders of Thin Air Media, produced BIRTH, an audio documentary aired in 2007 to wide acclaim, which explored the ways practices and perceptions of birth have changed in America in the past 100 years. Now these two spirited ladies have taken on the postpartum experience with their new project, BORN, which hits the public radio airwaves for Women’s History Month in March, 2009.
Golden and Ketenjian dive into this subject from many angles by including the voices of women speaking honestly about their postpartum experience and how their identities have changed after becoming mothers, fathers sharing their own experiences, as well as tapping a diverse group of experts – from neurologists, psychologists, therapists, obstetricians and pediatricians, to midwives, evolutionary biologists and sociologists all weighing in on the subject.
BORN is nationally distributed by Public Radio International (PRI) and is available to public radio stations during and after March, 2009, though it will not necessarily be aired in all areas. Ahri and Tania add,
With questions of early motherhood and work at the center of today’s
public debate, we invite you to email and call your station to request
BORN be aired in your community. Please find your local station at
www.pri.org and click on “Stations”.
I am really looking forward to hearing this – I am hopping over right now to request that the Providence public radio station airs BORN, and I encourage you to do the same for your area!
If you want to know more about Ahri and Tania, check out their interview in 7×7 Magazine, and listen to their first project, BIRTH, for free right here.
