Tim Mercer

We began planning a family "year off" about five years ago when our kids were five and two. Our youngest had just gone through the first of several invasive surgeries and we knew at some point a break from life would be just what the doctor ordered. We loved to travel "BC" (Before Kids) but since they graced us with their presence we had been keeping it pretty tame - resorts and beaches. Last year we did two weeks in Costa Rica and it reminded us of what it used to be like to travel - meeting new and interesting people on the road, eating in quirky restaurants with no English on the menu and not really knowing our destination until the day arrived. This was the kind of travel we wanted to do again, and with our kids.
We started planning in earnest four years ago by signing Deb up for a deferred salary program (80% salary for four working years and one off year) and squirreling every bit of spare cash away in tax free savings accounts. With a little over six weeks now until we depart we are now down to the short strokes. Backpacks are purchased, passports are up to date, rough itinerary is planned, kids are registered for home schooling, travel insurance purchased and some initial tickets have been purchased. The big remaining challenge now is renting our home for a year. We thought we had that taken care of after Christmas but the initial plans fell through. We've had a few solid bites in the last few days so this is looking good too. Fingers crossed.
So, we've looked at few different travel blog apps and have decided they're all pretty much the same. I liked the look and feel of this one and decided to officially kick it off tonight. We hope to use this as a our official journal of the trip, although I have a great old school one that my mom got me for Christmas this year that I plan to use too. We'll try and give an honest view of what it's like to travel around the world with two pre-adolescent children. We expect it to be an experience of a lifetime but we are not fooling ourselves that it will always be fun and easy or ever relaxing. That's why we use "s around "year off." Having spent two weeks on a 23 foot sailboat with our kids last summer, we have a small taste of what it's going to be like. We'll try not to sugar coat it for anyone who might be interested in following our journey.
One of the main reasons we chose a blog over Facebook or similar social media is our concern over home sickness. Frankly, we don't want to know what's happening at home because we know we'll miss it, especially at times like Christmas, Easter at the cabin, sailboat lift in, track meets, soccer games and dinner parties. We love our life in Yellowknife but want to be disconnected from it for a year. We'd love to get messages from you as we travel along, but keep in mind that as cool as our trip might sound, there will be many times when we will be wishing we could be back home with what we know and miss. I hope this makes sense.
To close off this initial posting, I'll outline our travel plan in broad strokes. We are booking a series of one way travel tickets as opposed to a Round the World fare because our research has shown that it's both cheaper and more flexible. I will be interested in seeing how closely we keep to this rough plan!
August 2013
- Depart Yellowknife by Car
- Drive Liard Highway to Yukon, Dempster Highway and Skagway Alaska.
-Alaska Marine Highway from Skagway to Bellingham Washington
-Visit Tim's brother, family and father in Seattle
-Drive through the US Northwest to Waterton National Park for Labour Day weekend camping trip with Hansens.
September 2013
-Depart Edmonton by Train
-Stopover in Winnipeg to visit friends
-Stopover in Toronto for medical appointment with Shannon's surgeon
-Visit friends and sites in the nation's capital
-Fly to Halifax to visit Deb's brother and family
-Visit Prince Edward Island and Fredericton to visit Deb's sister and family
-Marine Atlantic ferry to Newfoundland
October 2013
-Visit family in Newfoundland
-Meet up with Mo and drive the Northern Peninsula (Gros Morne National Park)
-Fly to New York City for a week of shows, sites, football and Big Apple vibe
-Fly to LA for a quick visit to Universal Studios and Hollywood
-Fly to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands for a one week beach vacation from our vacation.
November 2013
-New Zealand
December 2013
-Vietnam
-Christmas in Saigon
January 2014
-India and Nepal
February 2014
-South Africa
March 2014
-Egypt
-Turkey
April 2014
-Greece
-Croatia
May 2014
-Italy
-Southern France
June 2014
-France
-London / UK
-Eastern Europe
July 2014
-Germany
-Calgary Stampede
-Home in time for Folk on the Rocks!!
There you have it folks. We'll try post at least oncer a week or more often if there's something exciting to report.
Away we go!
December 2013