The Mother of All Field Trips

When her two boys were 9 and 11, this adventure journalist and her National Geographic photographer husband decided to hell with boring old school: what better way to learn about history, culture, languages—and each other—than traveling together around the world? So the family set out on what turned into a three-year adventure that included the Great Wall of China, Egypt during the Arab Spring, leopard-spotting in Serengeti, the heights of Machu Picchu, World War II landmarks in Normandy, a civil rights lesson in Selma, and so much more. By the end, not only were they closer as a family, they became true global citizens and explorers, bonded by a priceless trove of memories and experiences.