This is happening
So the day after tomorrow we head out for a round-the-world journey with our boys (currently 6, 6, and 3). This is happening. For real. I say this for myself, mostly, because even though we’ve been prepping for months and dreaming for years, it’s hard to believe the moment is almost here. But it’s true! We fly on Friday!
Our itinerary is basically:

We want to accomplish a lot, as a family and as individuals, through this trip. I’ll write more about those things as we go along.
But here at the beginning, all we’ve got are good intentions, some kickass scooter luggage, and five economy class round-the-world plane tickets (shoutout to AirTreks, a company with actual human travel agents who talk to you on the phone and then magically Frankenstein together a dozen or so flights into a functional itinerary – and no, they did not pay me to say that).
Our main intention, btw: to learn about the world through the lens of belief. We designed this trip, and almost all of our tours, experiences, and activities in each country, to center on learning about religion and culture. For the record, we don’t think our current itinerary is complete in representing all major religions; for instance, we hope to take a second trip within the year to southeast Asia. But we do think this is a darn good start.
We are committed to raising kids who have a deep understanding of and respect for the myriad belief systems that exist across the planet, and who feel empowered to forge their own spiritual path. And while this particular adventure is not our first in this ongoing quest – Reza and I have written and spoken before about our strategies to teach our kids to be spiritually deep and religiously literate – it is definitely our most ambitious to date.
Besides taking a million pictures, and recording some video and audio where we can, I’m going to use this blog to document our experiences and process the trip as we go along.
That’s it for now. I have to finish packing the scooters… er, I mean, luggage.
Thanks for following our adventure. More soon!
jessicajackley View All →
author of #claywaterbrick. cofounder of @kiva. instructor at @USC. investor at @collabfund. in love w @rezaaslan + our three boys.
Woooohooooo!!!! Blessings and love! May your journey be full of wonder and learning 🙂 Laughter and good health! Can’t wait to share it with my kids via this blog and all you guys share and put up! You guys are such an inspiring team 🙏🏽✊🏽🌻
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This is everything I want for the whole freaking world. Go and do, and I’ll be following closely! (Even when you don’t have time to blog and fill things in whenever you can get around to it. I feel you.)
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I’m inspired and intrigued and impressed… (But not surprised;)
Bon voyage and blessings!
😘
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Thank you love! Miss you. Sending love to you and your sweet family!
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Best of experiences.Learn,enjoy and share your rendezvous.
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Very cool are you going to vlog your trip? Good Luck ✌🏼
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So excited for you guys and thrilled that you are doing this. Its what I’d love to do with our family one day. Have a blast! Love and hugs
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Sounds amazing! It’s Father’s Day here in London on 6/17 so make sure you get some daddy pampering!
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Bon Voyage! Safe and wonderous travels. Looking forward to learning and sharing with our kids too… It’s the equivalent of a Spiritual Silk Road. Enjoy! e & k
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While they have redone Lascaux, it is kind of Disney-esque. Not far from there is another grotte called le Font du Gaume (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Font-de-Gaume)
You must order tickets in advance and the number of entries are highly districted in order to preserve the original painting in the caves. We really enjoyed it while there a few years ago.
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Thank you – so helpful! We looked into this, just ran out of time. Wish we could have gone though!
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This is going to be great! Thanks for sharing the adventure with us. Happy and safe travels to you.
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It’s deeply meaningful for me to be notified that one of my intellectual heroes embarks on a journey where his whole family will be witnessing at first hand the intricacies of different belief systems. You and your family taught me how to understand and appreciate different cultures and religious traditions. I wish all of you the best journey one can ever experience, you get wisdom even beyond what you would have expected as a result. To dare such a journey with your three sons is even more impressive. I’ll keep reading God:a human history as well as this blog. Warm regards from Turkey.
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Thank you!
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I’m going to be in Pompeii with my son on 6/25. We’re doing a guided tour through Dark Rome travel.
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And we’re doing Vatican on 6/26! My son took an AP world history this year, so I’m taking him to old Roman parts of southern France and then to Rome and Pompeii. Just me and him. Fun trip with my 16 year old baby boy.
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May you & beloved being bless and guided always.
An-Naml (The Ants) – 27:69 [read Topics discussed in this Verse:
[Trade:Travel through the earth and see]
Say: “Go all over the earth and behold what happened in the end to those [who were thus] lost in sin!” [66] – 27:69 (Asad) –
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