Our oldest daughter Kier grew up a pro at the roadtrip. From when she was born we drove all over Canada and the U.S., because that was the most affordable way to humor our travel bug. Some foreshadowing of her independent spirit came at two when she asked me to drop her off at the mall and pick her up later. She never once clung to my leg when I dropped her off someplace new. She would just run headlong into the unknown, never glancing back.
Age 9 all her sisters were on the scene, we started to spend our summers in Europe.
Age 12 she did her first trip to Europe without us, when she went with her dance team.
Age 13 we went to Guatemala for half a year.
At 14 she traveled alone again and spent a month in the British Virgin Islands living on a sailboat, learned how to scuba dive, sail, and shower in the ocean with the jellyfish.
At 15 she went to Costa Rica with our church youth group for two weeks, then with a different youth group to Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, for a month, then flew to meet us in Europe for the rest of her summer. She decided that group travel isn’t her favorite way to move around, too many rules.
Age 16 she lived in Guatemala for the whole year and went to school. She flew back and forth from Canada to Guatemala by herself, once got stranded in Atlanta due to weather, always handled herself well. We joined her for the long haul by Christmas time.
Age 17, after graduating from high school in Guatemala, she worked on a tomato farm for two weeks to earn enough money to buy a plane ticket to Europe. She went to Madrid with two of her high school friends, fell in love with the city, asked if she could stay. Her dad said if she could find a way to support herself and a safe living situation/apartment with good roommates we would consider it. I said, “Way to give her impossible criteria.” Within one week she called and said, “Done.” She had landed a job teaching English in a school and three very respectable roommates from Venezuela. She traveled around Europe both alone and with friends she made there. It wasn’t scary to her, because it’s what we did every summer as a family. Landing in a new city and figuring out the subway system was a game she played growing up, and a now a skill that meant figuring out public transportation in any new city wasn’t daunting. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better gap year for her. She has a wanderlust that runs like fire through her veins. She is fluent in Spanish and can get by in French, and knows a little German. She also loves sailing and wants to live on a sailboat. I have no doubt she will make all of that happen.
Age 19 she spent the summer Peru.
Age 20 she did an epic North American road trip around the states and Canada.
Age 21 she went to Bolivia for one month and Costa Rica for two. We did a heritage trip with all of my family and my Japanese dad.
Kier dreams of a life where she can work from any location or I should say, any location her boat is docked. She wants a more portable lifestyle, at least until she sees more of the world. I have no doubt travel will be an integral part of her future.