You Like Me, You Really Like Me!

I am an information junkie.  I love to research and know the ins and outs of every subject that interests me.  I was definitely born in the right era, for thanks to the internet so much information is right at our fingertips whenever we want it. Instant gratification.  Back in the days of internet dial-up, I would curse the slooooowww speed with which the pages that contained my precious pursuits loaded.  As I waited, I would adamantly declare that the internet should be like air-free and readily accessible.  In a way, you have me to thank for the invention of high speed internet, as I spoke it into being with my sheer will.  Yep, me and Al Gore-internet pioneers.

I approached my family travel research with the same fervor, desperately seeking every bit of information to help with the process of traveling with children.  Many years ago, though, you could scour the internet (even at high speed) and not find much of anything on the topic of family travel.  Information on children was replete and information on travel was readily available, but put the two together and it was barren.

It was like a mirage in the desert when I discovered The Mother of all Trips, a blog that actually talked about traveling with kids.  I poured over the pages, learning not only where to take kids, but why to take kids around the world.  The author, Mara, became a close confidant in my living room and I begin to feel a sort of connection that comes with peeking into the intimate details of someone’s life.  I learned that we had much in common.  We were both the mother of boys at about the same age.  We both had a background and passion for the arts.  We both had a love for the city of Paris and the delicacies of bacon.  But, it was the kinship of travel that was the most valuable to me.  We were both moms with a determination to travel with our kids.  She became my traveling hero.

With that in mind, you can imagine my sheer delight when I opened my email this morning and noticed an email from Mara with the title “Travel Sites I Love.”  Mara does an excellent job on her site of highlighting other travel blogs and sharing them with her readers, and she had chosen this blog as one that she loved.  It was a Sally Field Oscar moment right there in my living room.

Thank you to you, Mara for the honor of being a site that you love.  But thank you even more for inspiring me to travel with kids, so that I can inspire others to travel with kids.