Introduction

During the summer of 2011, I wondered what type of family trip to plan before our oldest son Austin went off to college the following year. My wife Belinda, in the most unselfish way, came up with a unique idea. Instead of suggesting that the five of us go somewhere, why not just have the two of us, father and son, set off and have a really great adventure.

So Austin and I sat in the backyard discussing where he might want to go or see. Ever humble and appreciative, he never asked for anything expensive or specific, or even stated clearly what his dream trip would be. Even after some prompts, Austin remainained satisfied with any gift. Knowing I would need to take the lead, I began to think.

As a family, one of our favorite TV shows has been CBS’sThe Amazing Race. Whenever we watched, everyone played along, wondering how we would cope while attempting the different challenges faced by each competitive team as they raced around the world. Then it dawned on me: in preparation for college and life beyond we would make up our own trip full of adventure–really see the world; seeking authenticity as we walked among as many cultures as possible. After all, my son would certainly continue to grow up with other countries’ influence as the world becomes increasingly connected.

Over the next couple of months he and I planned our own ‘round-the-world tour naming oursThe Amazing Journey. Only the two of us knew the route. We told no one. Not even our family. Instead, we set up a website for family and friends to follow. At 6 a.m. each morning the site would reveal our secret locations and what had to be accomplished for the day.

With the around the world odyssey now complete, Austin and I have had time to examine our adventures and lessons learned, adding personal notes and observations written during the trip. We wanted to share our incredible moments, along with countless interesting characters, while including the choices made and the hustle it took to get everything done.

Our Journey Approach

The places we traveled to are real, with real people and events that actually occurred. I have changed the names of some people to protect their innocence, and the candid insights we shared. Some of these moments exposed strong opinions to either side, and while we only traveled through areas a short time, first-impression feelings are valid, and therefore important to share. These poignant, thought-provoking perspectives broadened our voyage.

Eight legs connected our major destinations or stopovers where we performed a number of self-imposed assignments called Journey Tasks and Journey Challenges. Instead of writing points of interests down in some boring site-seeing laundry list, we created a game making choices between two options at each given stop. Some were relatively simple, like choosing between two unique restaurants. Others tested our athleticism and nerves daring the other into deeply hidden fears. All were in good fun designed to authentically explore an area away from the beaten path while creating an interesting road