The Journal

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Packing Part 2: Team Carry-on or Team Checked?

August 29, 2026

If you spend any time scrolling through travel blogs or social media, you’ll encounter a very vocal, almost cult-like group of travelers: the Carry-On Only Purists. They will look you dead in the eye and tell you that if you check a bag, you are doing travel wrong. They boast about living out of a […]

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Packing the Kids for 2 Weeks in Europe (And the JFK Escalator Incident)

August 28, 2026

Let’s talk about packing for these adventures. You’ve got options, right? Pack 1 outfit per day, per person. OR pack less outfits than what you need for the whole vacation, and then do laundry. So which do you choose?  I will admit that my choice here has been biased by my own parents. When we […]

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How we did a museum-heavy day with kids in Paris (and why we tell you NOT to do this)

August 21, 2026

Hot take: The main attractions in Paris are not necessarily kid-friendly. Hear me out. The Eiffel Tower is INCREDIBLE. I LOVE seeing it sparkle. And, that requires my children being up until 10pm in order to see it sparkle. The Louvre hosts incredible works of art. And to be honest, my kids don’t give a […]

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Our family’s obsession with playgrounds when traveling

August 20, 2026

I’ll be honest with you. Pre-kids, I didn’t get the obsession with playgrounds. Pre-kids, I’m not even sure what I thought when I saw a playground. I think probably nothing at all? And now, when we are traveling somewhere, “playground” in the native language is my first word I look up in Google Translate. In […]

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The Sudoku Packing Method: Does it work?

August 19, 2026

By now, we’ve all seen (or if you haven’t, go look it up) the viral “Sudoku Packing Method.” It is a minimalist packing strategy that involves 3 tops, 3 bottoms, and 3 layers.  So, as we were packing for this recent trip, I decided to try it out, and ALSO put my own spin on […]

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To stroller, or not to stroller, that LITERALLY is the entire question.

August 18, 2026

Our CONSTANT internal debate over lugging “one more thing” across the Atlantic, all in the name of saving a child’s legs (and us from insanity?) We started traveling internationally when our kids were 3 and 5, so a stroller was never in question at that point. Every year they get older, and every new trip […]

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Paris Home Base Strategy: How We Got the Neighborhood Right (and the Hotel Very Wrong)

August 17, 2026

Finding balance in the City of Light—why the 12th Arrondissement won our hearts even if our hotel couldn’t. When planning a trip to Paris, one of the single most important decisions you’ll make is picking your home base. Paris isn’t just one monolithic city; it’s a collection of distinct neighborhoods (arrondissements), each with its own […]

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Hello there

August 2, 2025

You could say that my wife and I are addicted to traveling. We did afterall meet while studying abroad, then spent two weeks with nothing but backpacks, a Eurorail pass, a plunky attitude, and the type of confidence that only comes from youthful ignorance. Now older, and as responsible parents of two kiddos, we are […]