The monster family vacation of my dreams

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Once upon a time, I went on a ginormous honeymoon (with my husband Alec). This honeymoon was so big that we nicknamed it The Monstermoon. In preparation, we left our jobs, gave up our apartment, and threw all of our belongings into storage. We booked around-the-world plane flights using the miles I had saved up from a decade of management consulting. It was (going to be) epic!

We planned a six-month route using a combination of five major stopovers supplemented with car rentals, train tickets, and truck safaris: London, Eastern Europe, Southern Africa, Southwest Asia, Australia/New Zealand.

And then.

I got knocked up.

Heather, Holden-to-be, and Alec in Namibia at 6am

Yes, somewhere between Croatia and Swakopmund, Namibia, we picked up a stowaway in the form of a fetus. (It was our honeymoon, people!) When I started falling asleep at dinners and puking behind gas stations, the whole “travel around the world” thing lost some of its luster. I pined for a couch, a television, and a bed.

So, what would my ultimate dream family vacation be? I want to finish what we started.

I want to get the four of us on an airplane to Australia and New Zealand. We would (in my fantasy) buy an adorable VW bus-van thing and drive the vast countryside using a combination of sleeping in our vehicle and staying at affordable luxury resorts. Sydney. The Outback. Snorkeling.

Once we’ve had our fill of Australia, we will put our sweet van on a comfortable ferry over to New Zealand and explore again with renewed vigor. Christchurch. Glow-worm caves. Flight of the Conchords.

My children would love it. My husband and I would remember all that we love about world travel. It would be epic.
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