Below is a post about a “nomadic family” that appeared in the New York Times’ Frugal Traveler blog. I can’t say something like this hasn’t crossed my mind. Especially when I did this story last year about local homeschoolers, many of whom talked about taking extended trips with no concern for the school calendar. For those of us in the rat race, those two weeks of vacation go like the blink of an eye. And time and money pressures are shrinking American vacations even further. You’ve gotta admire families that throw caution to the wind and the bags in the trunk.

Q&A With Jeanne Dee, the Nomadic Family Traveler

By MATT GROSS

Stories about traveling with children – like my column last week on taking my daughter, Sasha, on a frugal day trip to Washington, D.C.— always generate intense reader responses. For every positive comment (“Thanks for the great post!” wrote bklngirly), there’s invariably a negative one (“Maybe a visit from Child Protective Services is in order!” wrote Ellen Domeir). Which is why I’m amazed by SoulTravelers3.com, which chronicles the adventures of the Dee family — Jeanne, 57, Vince, 56, and their 9-year-old daughter, “Mozart” (they prefer not to give her real name).

The Dees travel the world on a budget, with no end in sight — “like summer vacation forever,” as Ms. Dee put it. Read more.

It’s hard to believe that swine flu entered our lives only about a week ago. Just a week and already, amazingly, I feel inured to reading “death toll,” “school closings,” and “pandemic” all in the same story. Coincidentally, we lived in Mexico City before moving here two years ago. A friend there recently joked that the situation really hit home when his favorite corner taco stand closed (I was dubious enough to avoid those even before all this. But they’re extremely popular, and I always found it curious at lunchtime to see all these business execs in their suits and ties sitting on boxes on the sidewalk balancing plates full of tacos).

But I couldn’t feel more far removed from it now. Given the globe-trotting nature of our society, that’s probably a false sense of security. And being a parent, it’s easy to feel that no precaution is unnecessary (here’s a very thorough swine flu guide for parents on CNN). But are we overreacting? Recent media reports have noted that in a normal year, hundreds of people in this state alone die of the flu. Granted there is the uncertainty of this being a new strain. I suppose there’s no knowing in the moment whether you’re on the right side of history. And there certainly are  ample examples of when we erred in one direction or the other (see this article on the swine flu of ‘76). I guess I’m just content in my belief, naive or not, that it could never happen here.

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The first time we traveled with child I was blown away by how much additional equipment and miscellaneous stuff it required. We’ve mostly stayed put in the past two years, but I certainly sympathize for parents planning to fly for their family vacations as airlines increasingly charge for additional luggage. Local mom Audrey Crane found a cool gadget on the Internet that can help make the airport scramble a little easier while not contributing significantly to the load. It’s made by Gogo Babyz and is called a travelmate. 

She described it as “a pair of wheels that you strap onto the car seat so you can push the seat and the kid around the airport. You can also leave the wheels on when you strap it into the airplane. It’s a simple thing but will make things waaaaaay easier switching planes, etc.”

A new one goes for $89.99 while a used one costs $69.99. Crane suggested that several local families might want to go in on one together since they’re unlikely to need it at the same time. If you’re interested, send me a message using the contact form (upper right-hand corner) and I’ll pass it along to Crane. Happy travels!