CNN
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When Margaret Bensfield Sullivan envisioned a family traveling on a plane for a year to explore the world together, she had a very specific image in mind.
They included a “bandana,” a baby in a baby carrier on her back, and a “smiling selfie” at a “roadside ramen stand.”
But a few years ago, Sullivan was able to do just that with her own family, who, she insists, is about as far removed from that visual as you can get.
“When you hear about people who travel like this, you think they're really on the fringes,” Sullivan, a former partner at a brand marketing agency, told CNN Travel.
“Now that I've actually done it and been in this community, I find that that's absolutely not the case. This is becoming much more common.”
On this epic journey, she left her corporate life in New York and traveled to 29 countries over the course of a year with her husband, Teddy, a former baseball player, and their children, Willa and James, then ages 6 and 4. .
Sullivan said she and her husband had never traveled with their children before their big trip.
“We loved to travel as a couple,” Sullivan explains, recalling the times they traveled to countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Argentina, and Turkey together before starting a family.
“But after I had my kids in 2012, I thought, 'What's the point?' I'll wait until they're older. They won't remember anything.”
But Sullivan explains that a trip to Tanzania in 2017 completely changed her perspective.
“Everything changed for me that week, because I had an epiphany,” she says. “The world is big, I am small, my life is small. And time is short.”
Upon returning to New York, Ms. Sullivan told her husband, an entrepreneur, that she thought they should quit their jobs, travel the world, and spend more time together as a family.
“I still laugh when I remember his face when he heard my ideas,” she says, detailing all the things that could have held them back, adding, “The answers to all of them. “I had it,” he added.
Sullivan admitted that it wasn't a quick decision, and that she took the plunge about a year later, admitting that both she and Teddy were going through a “transitional period” in their careers. .
margaret bensfield sullivan
When planning their route, the Sullivan family decided to “follow the sun.”
Once they made up their minds, the couple spent seven or eight months “making plans” to finish their life in New York.
“All invoices [were] “When it got cancelled, it was the greatest feeling in the world,” she says. “And all the money we had was spent living on the streets for a year.”
To make their trip go as smoothly as possible, the Sullivans always planned about three months ahead and booked everything in advance, from flights to accommodation.
“Some families who have been through this love to book on the fly and see what inspiration comes up in the wind,” Sullivan says. “And we knew it wasn't going to work for us.”
When planning their route, they chose to “follow the sun.”
In January 2019, the quartet departed from New York for South America, before heading to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
“By following this path of seasonally warm weather, we were able to pack in light,” Sullivan says. “The dermatologist almost killed us by the time we got home, but it was worth it.”
Sullivan admits it took some time for her and her husband to adjust to the reality of traveling with young children, meaning they had to exclude certain activities based on their children's needs. .
“We thought we were parents who had spent a lot of time with our children, but when we actually went on a journey and actually took the reins of being a caregiver, we realized there was so much to learn. I realized,” she says.
“That includes being comfortable coordinating travel plans with people who always need snacks or who want to quit because their legs are tired or they want to go to bed early. It was.”
After a few weeks, they “tone things down quite a bit” and tried to get up to the kids' level.
“Things have gotten better since then,” she added. “Eventually the whining stopped and we all got to know each other better through this experience.
“We know their tics and their antics and their quirks. By the end of this experience, you couldn't help but bond so much.”
Once they got into the swing of things, they quickly realized that “there are huge benefits to traveling with kids.”
“We had an adorable shaggy-haired 4-year-old who pretty much accepted us everywhere we went,” she says. “It brings out a side of people that you don’t see when you’re an adult and traveling.
“One of the big surprises was how much joy a stranger could get just by kicking a ball around.
“It's like standing around all day waiting for a 4-year-old to walk up to you and want to play.”
margaret bensfield sullivan
The Sullivans visited 29 countries during their “gap year”, including Mongolia.
Of the approximately 30 countries she visited on her epic adventure, Sullivan said two in particular influenced her, including Mongolia.
“We spent two weeks in this country, which is very beautiful, sparsely populated, but culturally rich and historically important,” she says.
“We were able to see daily life there and meet local families.”
The family was able to spend three weeks in Vietnam, and Sullivan says their time there also had a big impact.
“This was one of the most soulful places we've been,” she says. “It was very moving in a way because this country has so much American history.
“We have one of the youngest populations in the world. [and they have a] Very positive and optimistic young people who are keen to learn English, travel and meet new people.
“So despite its recent difficult past, it was a welcoming country that accepted us.”
Sullivan also fondly recalls seeing a beautiful sunset in Indonesia, visiting the Great Wall of China early in the morning, and jumping off a boat into the Amazon River.
“[These] It was something I never thought I would do in my life, but it is forever etched in my heart,” she added.
Sullivan and her husband were worried about how their children would adjust to being constantly on the move, but she says they took it all in their stride.
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“We thought there would be all kinds of drama. Our kids like routine,” she says. “I thought if I changed time zones or changed bedrooms too often, it would really loop, but that didn't happen.
“We found out that travel was a big part of their lives. And soon, this lifestyle became their new normal.”
Sullivan added that the children were simply “excited to be with mom and dad all day” and were never homesick.
When she returned to the U.S. in early 2020, Sullivan found herself constantly being asked for advice from other families looking to take similar trips, and wrote about their experiences in a book called “Following the Sun.” I decided to write.
“I was having these same conversations with people,” Sullivan said, explaining that he was taking detailed notes while they were gone. “[And] I thought why not include all of that? Maybe it will be helpful to someone. ”
Sullivan and her husband take on different roles and responsibilities during their trip, with one person taking care of withdrawing and carrying local currency and handling “logistics and operations,” and the other managing photos and updating her Instagram account. did.
They homeschooled their children while they were away, which Sullivan admits was difficult at first.
“They are [the children] “I was quite resistant at first,” she says. “And eventually, just like anything else, it became a habit.”
One of the main points Sullivan emphasizes to other couples thinking of packing up and going on a trip with their families is that they should only consider this if they work well together as a team.
margaret bensfield sullivan
A family snorkeling together on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
“If you're not compatible with your partner, it won't start,” she says. “That means you spend a lot of time together, and you have to make a lot of decisions, like how to discipline your kids and how to spend your money.
“And if we’re not on the same page, we’re going to strangle each other.”
Sullivan also points out that her book “should not be thought of as another foolproof, inspirational guide.”
“Obviously not everyone can do what we did,” she writes in Following the Sun. “At that point in our lives, we could afford to take a year off from making a living and still manage our flights, meals, accommodations, and activities.
“Also, because my husband and I were both in transition professionally, we didn’t have to negotiate time off with our bosses.”
Sullivan feels it's impossible to know exactly what kind of impact the round-the-world trip had on her children, especially since the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill shortly after she returned home.
The family is now back in New York and life is mostly back to normal, but the year they spent together has changed the way they live and see the world.
“We discovered this power to slow down time,” Sullivan says. “We all know that feeling of being on a treadmill, but we don't even remember how we got to work. Routines can be great, but time seems to fly by. It may also happen.
margaret bensfield sullivan
“Adding newness to the days makes time seem longer. And it was a new year for everything.
“As far as money, currency, language, I was looking at maps trying to understand what was going on. It was always very refreshing.
“When people ask, 'Has this past year gone by so quickly?' It definitely hasn't. It's moved slowly, at a most satisfying pace. It's not been instantaneous, it's been epic. did.”
Knowing how much fun they had traveling together, the Sullivan family began to explore more of the world at every opportunity.
The four have visited Mexico, Guatemala, Italy and Greece, and plan to explore Caribbean islands such as Grenada, Barbados, Dominica and St. Lucia in the summer of 2024.
“We love traveling together. And perhaps more importantly, we love being together,” Sullivan added. “We are completely one unit. The bond is strong. We know each other very well.
“We travel light. We're like a well-oiled machine in that respect. But we're also a different kind of family back.”
