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| When I looked back on a year of family travel, three things stood out: the people, the hidden gems, and the accomplishments I watched unfold. Here are the three biggest things I learned from my family’s 2025 Trips. I Learned Sometimes It’s the People Who Make the Trip. When I think about our travels in 2025, my mind goes straight to the people I shared them with. I picture my mom’s cousin absolutely ripping down a narrow double-black mogul run in Vail—leaving the rest of us gasping for breath while she hiked back up to ski it again… five more times. I think about my parents proudly showing their grandchildren their favorite childhood vacation spot in Lake Placid, New York. And I smile remembering two weeks of daily surf camp with the incredible team at Surfadictos in northern Spain—connecting with owners and instructors who had stories from all over the world. I Realized Sometimes It’s Ok Not To Add That Passport Stamp. We didn’t visit a single new country this year. Instead, we returned to two lesser-traveled regions of France and Spain—and it turns out that was exactly what we needed. Exploring smaller areas that fit our family’s interests was infinitely more rewarding than adding stamps to a passport. Quiet discoveries and immersive experiences brought more joy than any checklist ever could. The breathtaking hikes in the French Pyrenees and that “I could live here” feeling in Asturias and Cantabria will stay with me for a long time. And My Favorite Part? My Children’s Travel Accomplishments Will Live Rent-Free in My Mind. I’ll never forget watching my daughter catch small waves on her own in Spain while people on the beach cheered her on in Spanish. Or the day my six-year-old set his hiking distance record on a remote French mountain trail—“Seven miles uphill!” he’ll proudly tell you. And then there was Mt. Washington: tackling the tallest mountain in the Northeast with my husband and 11-year-old, and seeing the pride on his face when he added that hard-earned patch to his backpack.So, thank you, 2025. You taught me to lean into the kind of travel that fits us—a family of movers. You reminded me to slow down, connect with people from other cultures, bring friends and family along whenever we can, and let go of the idea that country counting matters. |
Beyond The Usual Trail 