The Benson family has BIG plans.
They are selling their house and many of their possessions to hit the road as a family of five for a year of round the world travel.
In this episode, we discuss how they decided to do it, how they plan to fund it, where they think they will go, what fears they have around it, what they hope to get out of it, and much more.
Meet the Benson Family
Ezra is an adventurous 8-year-old. Last summer, his goal was to climb a mountain. “Not a hill. It has to be a mountain” as he said. He accomplished his first climb above treeline last August hiking up Mt. Bailey in southern Oregon. Now, after seeing a video of skydivers in New Zealand, he is begging to jump out of a plane. Ezra loves to try new adventures and is looking forward to the ziplines in Costa Rica and exploring Patagonia. He is also incredibly artistic and loves to create with Legos.
Micah is 12 and loves to call himself weird. He is the family’s resident comedian and adventure foodie. Eating creatures like scorpions and grasshoppers and fire ants makes him happy, but he says tarantulas are the best. He is hoping to find bugs on a stick to eat while on our global adventure and is also really hoping to ride on a bus with chickens. Micah is a hard worker and a talented artist. His wild imagination and creativity is the source of much laughter for the family.
Noah is the artist and a photographer for his school magazine and loves to mix art with meaning. He is 17 years old but is really an old soul. He is a deep thinker and would love to just grow a beard and move to the mountains with his camera, some watercolors, and his art journal. And of course an espresso machine. Having been trained by the best barista around, he can make a great cup of coffee. His dream is to travel the world doing photojournalism and drinking great coffee.
Rebekah is wife and mom to this crazy bunch. She has been on a few world adventures in the past – Tanzania, South Africa, Mexico, and Germany – and can’t wait to get back out exploring the world. She grew up in California loving to surf and snowboard and doing crazy things with her 6 siblings. She enjoys being a mom to boys, as she doesn’t know much about being super girly. She loves to host people in her home through Airbnb and takes much pride in creating an awesome atmosphere for her guests.
Duane’s first venture overseas was at the age of 13 where he spent nearly two months camping throughout Europe the year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It ruined him for good and set him on a course that would drive him to make travel and experiencing the richness of other cultures apart of his life. He has since traveled to multiple countries. Spending most of his life in California, Duane has a great affinity for the mountains and the sea and loves to partake in the pleasures they both offer; surfing, hiking, camping, and snowboarding being among his favorites. Duane is currently a firefighter/EMT for the city of San Antonio, Texas, and loves to spend time with his family and inspiring others to chase a life of meaning and significance.
Episode 67 Show Notes
The purpose for their trip: “To shake up our settled hearts and catapult our family into pursuing meaningful and restorative engagement in our world.”
“I don’t want to let fear make my decisions for me” – Noah Benson, 17 yrs old.
The Benson’s blog – Before We Finish
Things we mentioned:
- Gregory Wander kid’s backpack
- Osprey Farpoint 55 backpack
- Argentina reciprocity fee has been SUSPENDED for US citizens – read more here
- How to pack for a year in a backpack
- The episode about buying a RTW ticket for $1,100
- Airbnb
- TrustedHousesitters (use coupon code BMT10 for 10% off all plans)
- The episode about a traveling couple staying for free all over the world
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