Hi! Welcome! We are a family of four with a deep love of travel, the outdoors, staying active, and new adventures of any kind. We are passionate about sharing our experiences adventuring with our little ones. We hope that other families can get inspiration, tips, and tools they need to embark on adventures of their own. Questions? Email us!
Back Road Family
Follow us on Instagram!
On our family hike I got reeeeeeeaaaaally serious about making a few resolutions. In no particular order... I resolve to participate in a January detox that includes mostly bacon, cheese, and sourdough bread. I resolve to figure out how many grams of sugar we consumed in the month of December and next December we will double it! I resolve to brush my teeth twice a day. I resolve to keep Shiloh 9 months old forever. I resolve to create an exact replica of the garlic sauce at Kebaba. I resolve to befriend someone with a sheep farm. Free wool? I resolve to air fry edamame. I resolve to discover where the car smell is coming from. I resolve to take a picture of the kids drinking hot chocolate when they get their little behinds up this mountain. Whoohoo, one resolution completed! Here are some pics from our hot chocolate hike including my favorite view of the rocks and the river (the light is so good!) while trying to coordinate a family pic in the foreground 🙄 Happy 2020All 3 kids got on the mountain today for a full day of⛷ awesomeness. Can you find Shiloh? I do love growin’ the babies but since I’m not 🤰🏼, I’m skiing and I really love that too! Woot woot!The tug-o-war between adventure and simplicity. This has been the theme lately. Should we? Should we not? Can we pull it off? If we can, does that mean we should? Last week we drove over 28 hours as a family in 7 days. Part of me looks back and thinks, “what were we thinking?!?!?!?!” At the time, I was sure my good attitude was enough ensure success! And glory! Turns out though, sometimes there is success (and glory!) in holding back, in saying “no,” being ok cancelling (despite what others will think of you), and deciding to keep things simple. The trip was way too much for this new family of 5 and we are still recovering (almost a week later). I wish had approached life with an 8 month old the way I approached life with a 1 month old. Slow and steady. Just because he’s bigger and easy doesn’t mean we need to do all the things. We’re feeling a little broken and still trying to put the pieces back together again. Friends, this is a big season… there is no shame in slowing down, staying in your pjs, snuggling by your fire and keeping things simple. These choices can be beautiful adventures too. I am reminding myself that life is long- the bigger adventures will return. Here are some of the big wins of our big adventure. An afternoon climbing and hiking in Malibu Creek State Park, and some chilly fun in Manhattan Beach. ❤️Off to find ALL the Almond Joys. #hookmommyupFall snuggles 🍁🍂We really tried. 📷 @sabinescott_
Category Archives: Sri Lanka
Travel Journal: Sri Lanka
When we travel, we travel hard. We maximize our time even if it means more time in the car and barely stopping for breaks. Seeing the world is our passion. The more we see the better.
Sage was dropped into this lifestyle at birth and she rolls with it well. But don’t be fooled to think we have a laid back kid, actually quite the opposite. She is just like her parents. Strong willed, active, and opinionated. If you read our posts and think to yourself- “Our kid could never handle this stuff…you know how fill-in-the-blank he is!” Think again. I promise it’s more about regulating your own emotions and expectations than it is about your child.
An Afternoon with the Elephants
Our final afternoon in Sri Lanka was spent with the elephants of Pinnawala. When we arrived at the Hotel Elephant Park for lunch I was frozen in awe. Dozens of elephants were bathing in the river below me. Looking from left to right in sheer astonishment, my jaw dropped. “You have got to be kidding me…this is real?!” We placed our order and walked to the restaurant ledge where our guide, holding a bag overflowing with pineapples and bananas, arranged for us to feed an elephant.
Tears in my Tea
Life is full of surprises. Positive or negative, these surprises validate for me the existence of something larger and more powerful. My spiritual journey is evolving and while I don’t know for certain what this larger and more powerful thing is, I can say that it is constantly providing me with opportunities to expand my definitions and challenge my perceived capabilities.
The most recent surprise was receiving the devastating news of my Aunt’s imminent passing. I don’t think it was a coincidence that receiving this news aligned with the once in a life-time opportunity to travel through Nuwara Eliya tea country and spend time with the majestic Sri Lankan Elephant. On the surface it may sound like I am lessening the severity of the news or that these events are wildly disconnected, but I think the world works in mysterious ways.
The journey of the tea leaf.
Animal Encounters: Sea Turtles
One of the many surprises in Sri Lanka was the opportunity to have close encounters with rare and beautiful animals. This post is dedicated to the critically endangered sea turtles. The most fascinating fact we learned about the Sri Lankan Sea Turtles is that the females return to the beach where they were hatched, decades later, to bury their eggs in the sand. And did you know that the temperature of the sand determines the sex of the babies?
Sri Lanka: Time Travel on a Train.
Sri Lanka. The clean, majestic, natural beauty of this country left me breathless and there is no better way to experience this than from a window of the train. This day was out of a dream. Maybe it’s my love for period movies combined with a deep yearning to be back in nature but this experience is one I will never forget. It’s worth a trip to this country just to ride the train.
Posted in Asia, Destinations, Sri Lanka
Tagged Sri Lanka, Token system, Trains, travel with toddlers
4 Comments
