Day 19 — Three Generations, Four Countries, and Every Transportation Method Except Submarine
There are trips you remember by the places. This one, I may remember by the vehicles. Over three weeks, across…
Twenty years of family adventures
2024
Day 18 — Rome in One Day by Scooter Was a Terrible Idea. Naturally, It Was Fantastic.
There are moments in family travel when a child suggests an idea so ridiculous that the responsible adult should immediately…
Day 17 — Rome Was Supposed to Be the Easy Stop. Then We Put Grandma on a Scooter.
There is a strange confidence that comes after surviving Morocco, Egypt, and Petra with three generations of family. You begin…
Day 16 — Petra’s Back Door, a Donkey Named Zuzu, and the Scam We Walked Straight Into
There are travel decisions that feel clever when you make them. Entering Petra through the back door was one of…
Day 15 — Cairo Airport Tried to Break Us Before Jordan Could Welcome Us
There are airports that feel organized. There are airports that feel busy. And then there is Cairo Airport, which felt…
Day 14 — Sixty Balloons, One Sunrise, and the Karnak Temple That Would Not Stop Being Huge
There are mornings when waking up at 4:30 a.m. feels like punishment. This morning felt like punishment with potential. We…
Day 13 — The Valley of the Kings, King Tut, and the Horse Cart That Took Us to the Wrong Market
There are places in Egypt where the ancient world feels far away. The Valley of the Kings is not one…
Day 12 — The Nile Gave Us Blankets, a Singing Paddleboarder, and Crocodile Mummies
After several days of alarms that felt personally hostile, the morning in Aswan began with something gentler. We were still…
Day 11 — Abu Simbel Was Worth the 3:45 A.M. Wakeup, But the Driver’s Phone Was Not
There are wakeup times that feel adventurous. There are wakeup times that feel unpleasant. And then there is 3:45 a.m.,…
Day 10 — Aswan Welcomed Us With Island Temples, Market Haggling, and a Man Who Remembered My Name
There is something disorienting about waking up on a sleeper train and realizing the day has already started without asking…