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The Aiken/Widom Family Year Off

The Aiken/Widom Family Year Off. Original Plan. 2000 (Emily age 3, Tim 5) Decided when kids turned 10 and 12 we’d take a year off and sail around the world Soon learned 6 years is more typical for a circumnavigation . Plan 2.0. Sail around the South Pacific instead. Plan 3.0.

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The Aiken/Widom Family Year Off

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  1. The Aiken/Widom FamilyYear Off

  2. Original Plan • 2000 (Emily age 3, Tim 5) • Decided when kids turned 10 and 12 we’d take a year off and sail around the world • Soon learned 6 years is more typical for a circumnavigation 

  3. Plan 2.0 • Sail around the South Pacific instead

  4. Plan 3.0 • Sail around the South Pacific • and Hike across the Alps • and Drive up and down South America

  5. Plan 3.1 • Sail around the South Pacific • Hike across the Alps • Drive up and down Chile and Argentina

  6. Plan 3.2 • Sail around the South Pacific • Trek in the Alps;visit Greece and Morocco • Drive up and down Chile and Argentina

  7. Plan 3.3 • Sail around the South Pacific • Trek in the Alps; visit Greece and Morocco • and Italy, maybe Spain (Paris and London?) • Drive up and down Chile and Argentina

  8. Plan 4.0 • Sail around the South Pacific • Trek in the Alps; visit Greece and Morocco • and Italy, maybe Spain (Paris and London?) • Drive up and down Chile and Argentina • Hike the John Muir Trail(Emily’s idea)

  9. Plan 4.1 • Sail and travel aroundSoutheast Asia • Trek in the Alps; visit Greece and Morocco • and Italy, maybe Spain (Paris and London?) • Drive up and down Chile and Argentina • Hike the John Muir Trail

  10. Current Plan • Sail and travel around Southeast Asia • Trek in the Alps; visit Greece and Morocco • and Italy, maybe Spain (Paris and London?) • Drive up and down Chile and Argentina • Hike the John Muir Trail

  11. Alaska Argentina Australia Belize Canada Chile Costa Rica French Polynesia Guatemala Hawaii India Malaysia Mexico New Zealand Norway Peru Seychelles Switzerland Thailand Tonga Lots of “Practice” Trips with Kids

  12. An Adventure in Four Parts • Greece to Morocco via Italy, Alps, and ?? • Backpacks and public transportation • Chile and Argentina • Rented motorhome and mountain bikes • Southeast Asia • Rented sailboat • Backpacks and public transportation • John Muir Trail (California Sierras) • Backpacks and legs

  13. An Adventure in Four Parts • Greece to Morocco via Italy, Alps, and ?? • Mid-June to end of September • Chile and Argentina • November to mid-January • Southeast Asia • Mid-February to end of May • John Muir Trail (California Sierras) • July to mid-August

  14. Part 1

  15. Part 1: What’s Planned (and Not) • June 19-25: Athens, ferry, Tinos Island • (6 nights planned out of 100+) • General shape after that • Due in Morocco September 1

  16. Tour du Mont Blanc • 10-14 day relatively strenuous trek • But easy overnights in huts and villages • Purported to be one of the world’s great walks

  17. High Atlas Trek Camel Safari Morocco

  18. Part 2 • Fly to Buenos Aires • Pick up motorhome, buy mountain bikes • Return 10 weeks later • “The Motorhome Diaries”

  19. Part 3 • Part 3(b): Two months on a sailboat

  20. Part 3 • Part 3(b): Two months on a sailboat

  21. The Boat

  22. Parts 3(a) and 3(c) • 3(a): A week in Phuket, Thailand • Kids scuba certification • Boat preparation and provisioning • 3(c): The only significant truly unplanned part • of the trip (5 weeks)

  23. Part 3(c)

  24. Part 4: The John Muir Trail • Yosemite Valley to summit of Mt. Whitney • 210 miles (+12 more to the parking lot) • No road crossings • Small portion of 2650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, from Canada to Mexico

  25. How Will the Kids Do? • … just fine, as long as we don’t push too hard

  26. Route

  27. Reprovisioning Tuolomne Meadows 1 Mammoth Lakes 2 Muir Trail Ranch 3 Burro via Kearsarge Pass 4

  28. Preparation • Travel planning • Equipment • Home logistics • Kids school • Work • Major undertaking!

  29. Travel Planning • Experts at planning complex two-week trips • to exotic destinations • Approach definitely doesn’t scale

  30. Equipment • Huge variety of activities • Duration of trip is motivation to optimize gear and clothing • Volume and weight important for some parts • … and absolutely critical for JMT • Computers and communication

  31. House, Cars, Yard, Pool, … • Thanks, Hector

  32. School • School principals remarkably understanding and reasonable • Lightweight home-schooling with several • “electives” • So far, it looks like ages 10 and 12 were a good choice back in 2000

  33. Work • No it’s not a sabbatical! • Nor fully disengaged • Email availability • Regular reappearances • Only in academia can one pull this off …

  34. Search “aiken year off”

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