I got some questions from Paul, a friend of a friend, who is launching his own family’s journey.

One of the great things about our journey is that it has motivated a lot of people to take a look at this very short life we all have and question the conventions we fall into.

Do you need to really have a home or a mortgage?

Are your kids and their schooling really all you hope it will be?

Can you really make money from anywhere?

The reality is that life truly is what you make of it. Our kids have learned this for sure from our Freejourner times. Sure, it feels safe to fit in. But we are also teaching them that fitting in is boring. There are plenty of people that do that. So, we have enough of those people.

But those special ones that want to see life in all its beauty and essence might dare to stand out. To me, that is much more worthwhile. When you die, noone will care that you fit in. We talk about those that stand out. And that’s our pursuit with each other and this great big world we are exploring and living out our days as a family within.

I liked some of Paul’s questions and thought I would post them here and answer them. Enjoy.

1. What have been the biggest challenges of life on the road?

While we have absolute fun as a family and love being around each other, we do need space. A lot of times we have to create that space. Letting someone run ahead on a trail or just chill out doing their own thing in their own room might just do it. It’s an ebb and a flow. We have to get creative not to cramp each other whether in a house, car or just doing life.

2. How have the kids been? Do they long for their old home and friends?

Our kids did miss their friends and still do. But they are completely free to contribute to our decisions. The great thing is that we got a lot out of our system that first year. Now, it’s a complete choice and everyone still wants to explore, live in different places and keep going. It’s too much fun and too many adventures to pursue. We love it. We keep in touch well as a family with our friends. I think that makes a big difference. It’s easy to stay connected these days.

3. What’s the learning process been like…..do you feel like the kids are being exposed to a lot of things they wouldn’t find in the classroom?

That’s a definite “Yes”! How do you learn about mountains from a book without standing on top of one you hiked? Or glacial movements without landing on one? Or how Lewis and Clark had to endure hardship without seeing where they traveled and ended up on the Northwest Pacific Ocean?

We have a lot of anchors that are tactile and help us make sense of the world. The world has become our classroom and the content we read from books, derivative information per se, becomes substantiated through those travels.

4. What, if anything, do you miss from your normal life?

We do miss relationships where things were casual to call up buddies, hang out and have fun. But we are social and we make fun and party wherever we are at. The trade-off has been that we have friends all over and we have a bunch of great memories partying with new friends we would not have met otherwise. As our kids know, we bring the party.

5. Any advice for people considering a year on the road?

Well, there’s a lot of it on this site you may have read. I think it’s best to jump in and figure it out. You make all these small tweaks along the way. We have become much more efficient, carrying about half the stuff we did originally, continually pruning and knowing how to plant down and explore a place.

We also find it’s important to rest. Having times to just chill out in a hammock to read or take long walks really has to be intentional.

For the kids, we can’t vouch for the National Parks enough. They are true treasures and seeing those magnificent sites in all their glory should be top priority for anyone that wants to inhale deeply and experience pure beauty. Way better than malls, restaurants or anything man-made in my opinion. It’s life.