Welcome to 10 Traveling Feet!
Hi! My name is Jenny and we are a family of five that wants to help you find your “Traveling Feet!”
Discover our family’s favorite sites, hikes, learning opportunities and of course our favorite adrenaline-filled adventures across the United States and beyond that you won’t want to miss!
I want to help make planning your next family vacation easier. Take a look through our itineraries, find helpful tips, and discover what traveling strategies worked for us and what did not. Find out what methods we use to handle those stressful vacation moments that everybody has. And learn simple techniques that we use to get our children excited for each and every family vacation.
For us, our yearly family vacation provides an amazing opportunity to set aside the craziness of our daily lives and really focus on each other. Through travel we try to strengthen our family relationships, discover each other’s passions, learn about our world and create memories that will last a lifetime.
We travel together, explore together, learn together, laugh together and discover together.
We are 10 Traveling Feet and we are here to help you discover and learn about the world with your own Traveling Feet!
Meet our “10 Traveling Feet”
Meet Jenny
Hi! My name is Jenny and I am our family’s trip planner, organizer, photographer and author of 10 Traveling Feet.
My love for traveling began at a young age with yearly U.S. family road trips and this love grew stronger every year. By age 25 I was fortunate enough to have visited 37 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and North America and I had been in 48 states across the US. (I was missing Alaska and Iowa, yes Iowa. I don’t know how we missed that one.) After I graduated from college I embarked on an amazing backpacking adventure across Europe for 5 weeks. When I returned I began a Doctor of Pharmacy program at Purdue University and met my incredible husband Chris. Chris had never traveled outside of our country before and so his first glimpse of wanderlust was our honeymoon across Europe. He caught the travel bug too.
Our Family Grows
A few years after Chris and I entered the working world we began our own family and had three wonderful boys, Spencer, Matthew and Bryan. Life became extremely busy but like so many Mom’s I fell in love with seeing the world through my children’s eyes. I wanted to show them everything! I wanted to teach them everything! And I loved learning from them.
Teaching soon became another passion for me. And it wasn’t long before I discovered my love for helping other children who were struggling with learning, specifically those who were struggling with learning to read. I began volunteering my time to help these children. And I love watching their confidence grow everyday as they become more and more proficient readers. I am truly blessed to be a part of their lives.
Our Travels as a Family Begin
In 2015 our youngest child was 3 years old and we were ready to began our own journey to discover the world, now as a family. Our journey began with a simple road trip from Florida (our home) to Indiana to see family.
First, I began planning. I started talking to my family, listening to their interests and designing an itinerary that would help fuel their passions. I started researching fun places to see along the way and searched for any advice and tips on how to travel with kids. Luckily I had my parents’ old U.S. travel itineraries to help guide me through the process and give me a place to start.
Soon planning our vacation became another passion of mine. I loved how it made me stop and think about what each person in our family was interested in. I loved searching for incredible places that would make our eyes light up. To me, creating a vacation is like a gigantic puzzle and each piece is an amazing place or adventure. Admittedly, I love the challenge of putting the pieces together. I love the joy of experiencing our ideal vacation.
I am happy to say that our first vacation as a family was a huge success! It was better than I could have ever imagined! Our passion for traveling with our family was ignited!
And Now Nothing Can Stop Our 10 Traveling Feet!
Meet Chris
Chris calls himself the Sherpa, Driver and Tech Support for our family. I don’t know what we would do without him. He does an incredible job at executing our travel plans and making sure we all stay sane. He really has a knack for knowing when the kids need a little extra something and he is great at turning an ordinary experience into an incredible adventure. Simply picking up a stick and letting them lead our expedition down the trail. Encouraging everyone to take a fun picture and making us all smile. And I love how he shares his passion for science and anything that moves to get everyone excited about learning.
When we are not traveling, Chris spends his days working as a pharmacist and loves helping people. He also enjoys running, reading and is always looking for the perfect drive. Our vacations are a much needed break from the normal pressures of life and are the best gifts he could give himself for spending quality time with our children before they grow up.
Meet Spencer
Spencer is our oldest child and is currently 13 years old. He brings enthusiasm to our vacations and has an imagination that won’t stop. Spencer is fun and goofy and my singing partner in the car. He has a passion for history and a thirst for knowledge. In addition, he is our child that reminds us to take a minute, wander alone, appreciate where we are and get lost in our thoughts.
Meet Matthew
Matthew is our second child and is currently 12 years old. He is our nature guru and is always ready to climb any rock or tackle any adventure we put in front of him. Matthew is passionate about the little things in life that most people walk right by. He is always the first to notice a flower, find a wild berry on a bush or find a unique insect for us all to look at. I will never forget his complete amazement at discovering a sugar pinecone in California for the first time (They’re huge!) or the compassion he showed every banana slug on our trail in Washington to make sure they were able to cross our trail safely. Matthew is our child that reminds us that beauty and joy can be found anywhere and even in the smallest things.
Meet Bryan
Bryan is our youngest and is currently 9 years old. He is a passionate learner, an impressive storyteller, and loves to snuggle. Bryan is our Junior Ranger enthusiast (on a mission to collect as many badges as he can across the United States), a lover of collecting stuffed animals from ones he’s seen on our travels, and the perfect meal and snack clock. He has a boundless supply of energy but is also the master at finding that perfect spot where he can just lay down, relax and soak up the beautiful scenery.
Yet, Bryan is our most apprehensive adventurer who, we learned, sometimes requires an extra nudge to put aside his fear and try the unknown. He reminds us that traveling is not easy for everyone, but also that it is completely worth it. Watching the immense joy on his face, sparkle in his eyes and excitement for what’s next continuously fuels our passion for travel and constantly reminds us of how incredible our world really is.
Now that you have met our 10 Traveling Feet, let’s start discovering your own “Traveling Feet”!
Begin Your Journey Here
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