The only thing better than travelling is reliving the travel through the stories and new friends that follow.  The memories I’ve built through travelling with friends, family and new travel partners will stay with me forever.

My all time favorite travel partner is my son Jared; through travel we have found many commonalities and have become closer than most teen boys could be with their moms.  That’s because we have so many memories that belong only to us.

When Jared started middle school, his breaks weren’t in sync with his sisters schools.  Presented as a problem, it soon became an opportunity for him to get some one-on-one time after years of being dragged to dance, theatre, gymnastics and music for the older girls.

I’ve travelled extensively with the whole family, with my husband etc. but having one on one with a teen-there’s just nothing like it.   We started off small, with a few weeks in South Dakota, Washington DC, Boca Raton, Las Vegas and California.  By high school, we were off to Europe, then before we knew it, our circle expanded and the world got smaller.

Pictured above was our first major trip, this is where our story begins, on March 10, 2011.  We planned for months to visit Japan.  A little scary to think that we would be so far from home with no knowledge of the language, but we were ready  to step out of our comfort zone.  Who could have ever known that we’d have the adventure of our lives.  We departed the USA on the evening of March 10, 2011 for Tokyo. We were two of the few Americans on board.  Sometime late in the night when announcements in hurried Japanese woke us, we knew there was trouble.  We just didn’t really understand what, since the hum of the plane seemed fine but the people around us were very upset. We were in for a long day.

Enjoy our stories, and the tales of travel with my other travel partners also.  Ask questions, comment and let me help you find your special places.   Travel memories will last a lifetime.

Wendy@SoloToGroupTravel.com   603-434-8100