About

WHO
The Stivers Tribe is Myla, Mike, Brynn 12, Taryn 11 and Jett 6. We are an adventure seeking family from Carlsbad, California USA and are traveling internationally from Aug 2015-Aug 2016.

WHY
Why not? Helen Keller said it best: “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.” It’s so true. This is our one shot at life – we feel strongly that we want to expose ourselves and our children to as much as possible while on this planet.

Prior to having kids we traveled to Europe, Asia and Central America. At the time we swore that we would continue to travel after the kids were born. Of course, that idea kept getting kicked down the road as life got complicated with more kids, a bigger mortgage, etc. The travel conversation would resurface “we should move to Spain one of these days”. Careers, bills, soccer games – there was always an excuse. But finally, we decided we needed to put our money where our mouth was. And here we are.

WHERE
See Route

HOW
Many people spend years saving money then quit their jobs and take off for a year. We’re not that organized. Luckily, Mike is a freelance Art Director and Graphic Designer and can work from anywhere. So for this trip to be possible, Mike will continue to work as we travel. He’s excited to draw from the various cultures and perspectives we will encounter which will make him stronger as a creative professional. So hire him if you have a need.

We also plan to travel light and save money whenever possible. For example, staying in apartments where we can cook our food rather than eat out every day. Not bathing for months at a time. (kidding) We also hope to stay with host families as well as friends whenever possible. It’s all part of the adventure right?

SCHOOL
Our kids will be missing a year of traditional schooling as we ‘home’ or ‘world-school’ them for 6th, 5th and Kindergarten. In addition to required assignments, they will be doing reports on our various destinations and providing research on where we should go once there.

THE EXPERIMENT
Ultimately, that’s all this is. We can’t predict the future. All we can do is send out positive energy and hope the universe returns the favor. We believe this experience will bring us closer as a family and it will open all of our minds a bit more. Maybe we’ll even inspire someone else to do the same. Imagine if more of us would travel to other parts of the world, engage other cultures (and vice versa). Something tells me we would have a lot less conflict.

GRACIAS!
A huge thank you to all of the support from our local community, family and friends. We are incredibly fortunate to have so much love in our lives. We are also grateful to the many strangers we’ve shared our plan with who in turn have given valuable travel insights to us. This concept can be incredibly overwhelming at times, but knowing that so many people are rooting for us is an amazing thing.

SUPPORT
Many of you have asked how you could help us on our journey. While we have no expectations, here are a few ideas.