Travel has always figured strongly in my family as a vehicle for education. I remember my father, a career U.S. diplomat, taking us out of school regularly to explore some distant land. I don't recall him saying as much, but he must have figured that school could always be made up (I do remember dragging school assignments along on trips). Opportunities to travel together, on the other hand, were often fleeting, and the lessons learned far outweighed anything we might have learned in school.

These days, family travel--especially multi-generational trips--has become very in. It seems to me that this trend dates back to 9/11. The events of that period, and similar stressful times like those we are going through right now, seem to put a focus on family and drawing our loved ones closer.

March 2009