Jessica Gee just wanted to do “a little traveling.”
“Those are her words,” added her husband, Garrett Gee. “She should have known better because I always take everything she thinks and take it to the extreme.”
In their first vlog as The to-do list family in 2015, he announced: “We are going to sell everything we own in our little apartment and then we are going west.” »
They set out from Provo, Utah, with their then-two children and planned to share their adventures on social media with family, friends and “anyone who wants to connect back home.” Millions of people followed.
“We wanted to see what else was out there, explore a little bit, learn about different cultures and people,” Jessica told USA TODAY.
Now she's sharing her tips and tricks in her new National Geographic book, “Family Travel Bucket List.”
“As soon as you start to see what’s out there, you realize there’s so much more,” she said. “You’re so excited to be a part of it.”
Here's some of what they learned.
Try something new
“Growing up, my family was like a Disney World Family. We do this trip every year,” Jessica said, adding that she still loves it and visits with her children, but they try to change destinations.
“As we travel around the world, we've sort of established an unspoken family rule that we try our best not to return to certain places because it's so rewarding to experience new places “Garrett said.
The Gees have visited more than 90 countries and experienced adventures like surf in Fiji And safaris in Tanzania with her children Dororthy, Manilla and Calihan, aged 6 to 11.
“Trying something new, I feel like that’s never been a bad thing for us,” Jessica said.
After three years of full-time travel, this novelty was settling into Hawaii.
“What we missed most was the community,” Jessica said. “Garrett and I both grew up in very traditional American homes with good friends and being part of sports groups and such. We have always planned this for our children.
The family still travels about 12 weeks a year, juggling what they call a double life of wanting to travel without missing Field Days and birthday parties.
“We travel almost every spring break. Last year we went to 12 countries,” she said.
They spent last summer in Africa and are currently on a 25-day trip to Africa. Antarctic.
“Our eldest really understands: 'I'll probably never go back to Antarctica. And the fact that I can do this with my family on this magnificent boat, I understand. She understands,” Jessica said.
Family holidays :Why do some families always return to the same place?
How to Afford More Travel
The Bucket List Family level of travel may not be possible for most families, but traveling abroad may be less expensive than some. trips to national theme parks.
“Some of these trips are very expensive, and you could take a really amazing international trip where you experience a new culture and try new foods in a whole new place that you could fall in love with for probably the same price, if not less.” Jessica said.
A lot depends on the destination, Garrett emphasized.
“If you're traveling to Southeast Asia… depending on where you're coming from, it can be expensive. But once you get there, it can be incredibly cheap, when you have this beautiful private villa all to yourself, with a private chef, overlooking the rice fields, for just a fraction of the price you would spend elsewhere.
Jessica occasionally adds airlines offer offersand credit card rewards points add up.
“If you sign up for the right credit cards, use points and spend your money appropriately, it's now possible around the world to cover airlines and hotels,” she said. “So if you know a little about how you spend your money, this is a great way to start.”
Another option she recommends is to book through travel agentsmany of whom do not charge their clients for their services.
“I loved nickel and diming and creating spreadsheets,” she said. “But now I realized that by going through an agent, whose absolute job is to do things from A to Z, they can actually get a better rate.”
How to plan a trip with children?
“Start now or start early,” Garrett said. “If you start earlier rather than later, they get used to it and get used to it. And oh my goodness, traveling with kids adds such joy. When you can experience something through a child's eyes, they simply experience a whole new level of joy and curiosity.
Jessica pointed out that children can also help break the ice when traveling.
“People are much more willing to talk to you and open up to you,” she said. “They see our little kids running down the street or in a restaurant and they're much friendlier and more willing to talk (than) if it had just been Garrett and me.”
They try to stay flexible while traveling as a family.
“A lot of parents are really too reliant on a very strict routine. It can work, but the hard part is as soon as you break that routine, then you end up with a very difficult child,” Garrett said. “Our travels almost forced us to abandon routine. And when a child is hungry, he eats and when he is tired, he takes a nap.
Their kids never reached the beige phase where they only want things like chicken nuggets or fries.
“They’re either eating something new or they’re not eating at all,” Garrett said, emphasizing that they always try to eat locally. “You don’t have to eat it all, but you have to at least try it once.”
He attributes the trips to their children's ability to adapt, but that doesn't mean it's always easy.
“Parenting is parenting, no matter where you are,” Jessica said. “My child is going to have a tantrum in the grocery store or he’s going to have one in Italy.”
Practical tips for traveling with children
Jessica always begins her travels with the best-laid plans.
“A lot of that is a prop to Jess and the reason she was able to do such a good job writing this book, because she experienced everything that could go wrong on a family trip.” » Garrett said. “The fact that she packs a second outfit for each of the kids might tell you, oh, you traveled with a child in diapers and something went horribly wrong on that long flight.”
Jessica also wears what she compares to a small pharmacywith things like allergy medicine and bandages.
“When I check bags, I take a photo of the baggage receipt. I take a photo of my bag. I always have an AirTag inside,” she said. Garrett recommends tying a colorful ribbon on luggage to make it stand out.
When things go wrong, Jessica encourages choosing a good attitude.
“The children will feed off your energy,” she said. “So if you're like, 'Oh no, we're stuck on the tarmac for another two hours,' you're not the one complaining, you're like, 'Okay. It's OK.' I'm just trying to be as optimistic as possible.
When that's not possible, she recommends taking turns losing it, like when an airline made them check their carry-on bag only to misplace it.
“Garrett will give me my space,” she said. “He could tell I was really frustrated and just needed a minute, so he takes the kids, he pushes them aside, he lets me take care of them. …And then we got back together and I was able to change my attitude in about an hour, but it wasn't fun. It had been five days with the same clothes in Botswana.
Is traveling good for child development?
In one of their first videos from Bali, Garrett said, “We take our kids on this adventure and these trips, and you hope it's good for them. We hope they take advantage of it, but you never know.
But one particular memory sticks out in Jessica's mind from Bali, when they were volunteering at an orphanage.
“It was kind of Dorothy's first school experience and having her with kids the same age, (who) didn't look the same, didn't talk the same, but at the same time they danced together, they sang together together., they were making art together, it was just the most magical thing for Dorothy at such a young age – I mean, she was 3 – to see that race and language and beliefs, they They all vary, but at the end of the day, we are all the same people.
Their family found so much in common with people they met all over the world, but Garrett said traveling also taught their children to embrace what made them unique.
“Because if you ask our kids, they consider themselves very weird and very different from the kids at school, but they love it and they're proud of it and that's what makes them special,” he said. declared.
Traveling has also changed the way he and Jessica see things.
“When you only hear negative things about these other places, you just think they're dark, scary places with a lot of violence,” Garrett said. “Oh my God, as we have just traveled from country to country and seen just so much goodness and been greeted by such friendly, amazing people and made such great friends, It definitely changed our view of the world.”
