ABOUT US
ABOUT US
Hi, my name is John. My family and I have travel fever.
I didn’t always love to travel. I grew up in Wisconsin with 3 siblings and most of our vacations were spent at cabins on the lake, hanging out with family, and doing water sports.
School breaks were meant for sleeping in and roaming around the neighborhood with the other kids.
Shirlee had a very different childhood. Her family was constantly on the move. One year she missed over 50 days of school.
They spent summers road-tripping around China, winters in the Caribbean, and by the time she was in college, had visited nearly every US state and a large chunk of the national parks.
At the beginning of our relationship, we didn’t quite see eye to eye about travel. We were both busy residents, working 80+ hours a week, with only 3 weeks off a year.
She wanted to maximize that time to explore the world (which usually also meant getting up with the sun and going until the last possible moment). I wanted to rest and recuperate. Thank goodness, she’s persistent.
I was 30 years old before my first transatlantic flight. We’d gotten married that year and spent our belated honeymoon driving through the UK and Ireland.
The following year we celebrated Shirlee’s residency graduation in Iceland. The year after that, we went to China, then Prague, and at some point, the travel bug hit HARD.
Traveling has now become somewhat of an obsession. From trekking the “W” in Patagonia, to exploring the sprawling skyline in Hong Kong, and glamping in Morocco – we’ve had experiences that 10 years ago were unimaginable.
We have demanding and stressful careers. So our goal is that when we have time off – we are either having an adventure, planning the next adventure, or planning the next adventure during the current adventure.
And now we have 2 kids, Oliver and Maddie, with whom we can share our love of travel. Their curiosity and enthusiasm makes exploring the world even more exciting.
And at ages 8 and 10, have already visited more countries than most Americans do in a lifetime.
Shirlee and I created this blog as a means of documenting our experiences – both to record our memories for ourselves and our family, and to provide others a resource for making their own travel plans.
We’re not trying to teach anyone how to travel on a shoestring budget – we’ve outgrown the phase in our lives where we’ve felt the need to stay in hostels and eat on the cheap.
But we also don’t travel lavishly. Travel is inherently expensive – especially as a family of 4.
It’s important for us to be comfortable, so sometimes we do “pay up” for convenience or truly special experiences, but we try to budget realistically.
While we try to give our kids a wide breadth of experiences, most of our travels are based in the outdoors, especially hiking.
Sometimes it’s just short day hikes and sometimes it’s a multi-day trek. But we much prefer spending time exploring nature than cities.
As we work through our bucket list, we hope that our stories provide inspiration and give you the confidence to venture out of your comfort zone and explore this wonderful planet.
MEET THE FAMILY
JOHN
John never traveled much before meeting Shirlee, but once he discovered the excitement of exploring new places, he was completely hooked. Now he loves researching destinations, building detailed itineraries, and constantly adding to his growing collection of travel bucket lists.
His favorite activities are waterskiing, biking, and trekking through incredible landscapes around the world. Whether it’s alpine trails, volcanoes, or remote coastlines, he is always looking for the next adventure.
At home and on the road, he loves goofing around with the kids, sometimes taking the jokes and competitions a little too far. Professionally, John works as a physician, balancing a busy career with his passion for travel and family adventures.
SHIRLEE
Shirlee is the heart and foundation of our family: incredibly smart, deeply caring, and always keeping us grounded. As the experienced traveler in the family, she manages to find amazing deals and stretches every dollar farther than seems possible.
She is a voracious reader who can finish a book in a single day and is endlessly curious about the world. Shrlee is a the definition of a compassionate physician, even stepping into a leadership role during the pandemic when her work and dedication were featured on CNN and other news outlets.
After suffering a spinal cord injury while trekking in the Alps, her resilience has been nothing short of inspiring. She returned to work and remains determined to continue helping others, traveling, and embracing life’s adventures with strength and optimism.
OLIVER
Oliver is smart, caring, and endlessly curious about the world around him. He loves games of every kind and his competitive side shows up in almost everything he does.
While traveling through France, his French skills helped guide us through train stations, restaurants, and everyday conversations. He trains in jiu-jitsu, has a fearless personality, and once raced a tire down a sand dune at full speed…only to wipe out spectacularly face-first.
Oliver is also always eager to lead the way, be the first to try something new, and take on the next adventure. He has a special love for animals and is always looking out for wildlife wherever we travel.
MADDIE
Maddie is our youngest and somehow manages to be equal parts artist, gymnast, comedian, and cuddle expert. Mornings are definitely not her thing. It usually takes the equivalent dynamite to get her moving, but once she’s awake, she becomes nonstop energy, giggles, snuggles, and creativity.
She can make art out of almost anything and once had our entire family using bark and sticks as “cellphones” while hiking through Glacier National Park.
She loves sugar, has abs of steel from gymnastics, is unbelievably flexible and strong, and carries herself with so much love, empathy, and kindness toward others.
JOHN
John never traveled much before meeting Shirlee, but once he discovered the excitement of exploring new places, he was completely hooked. Now he loves researching destinations, building detailed itineraries, and constantly adding to his growing collection of travel bucket lists.
His favorite activities are waterskiing, biking, and trekking through incredible landscapes around the world. Whether it’s alpine trails, volcanoes, or remote coastlines, he is always looking for the next adventure.
At home and on the road, he loves goofing around with the kids, sometimes taking the jokes and competitions a little too far. Professionally, John works as a physician, balancing a busy career with his passion for travel and family adventures.
SHIRLEE
Shirlee is the heart and foundation of our family: incredibly smart, deeply caring, and always keeping us grounded. As the experienced traveler in the family, she manages to find amazing deals and stretches every dollar farther than seems possible.
She is a voracious reader who can finish a book in a single day and is endlessly curious about the world. Shrlee is a the definition of a compassionate physician, even stepping into a leadership role during the pandemic when her work and dedication were featured on CNN and other news outlets.
After suffering a spinal cord injury while trekking in the Alps, her resilience has been nothing short of inspiring. She returned to work and remains determined to continue helping others, traveling, and embracing life’s adventures with strength and optimism.
OLIVER
Oliver is smart, caring, and endlessly curious about the world around him. He loves games of every kind and his competitive side shows up in almost everything he does.
While traveling through France, his French skills helped guide us through train stations, restaurants, and everyday conversations. He trains in jiu-jitsu, has a fearless personality, and once raced a tire down a sand dune at full speed…only to wipe out spectacularly face-first.
Oliver is also always eager to lead the way, be the first to try something new, and take on the next adventure. He has a special love for animals and is always looking out for wildlife wherever we travel.
MADDIE
Maddie is our youngest and somehow manages to be equal parts artist, gymnast, comedian, and cuddle expert. Mornings are definitely not her thing. It usually takes the equivalent dynamite to get her moving, but once she’s awake, she becomes nonstop energy, giggles, snuggles, and creativity.
She can make art out of almost anything and once had our entire family using bark and sticks as “cellphones” while hiking through Glacier National Park.
She loves sugar, has abs of steel from gymnastics, is unbelievably flexible and strong, and carries herself with so much love, empathy, and kindness toward others.
