Interview Series: Walking On Travels With Keryn Means

1. Can you start by giving us a little bit of background about yourself and your blog. How did you start traveling? When did you start blogging, and what did you expect readers to get out of it?

I started traveling internationally when I was 16 years old. I went to Mexico with my aunt to visit friends. After that I was hooked. I went to the Dominican Republic the next year to do volunteer work, and to Poland and Moldova on a 3 week exchange my senior year of high school. I traveled every chance I could.

After my husband Mike and I got married we knew we would keep traveling. When the kids came along we didn’t slow down. We actually started traveling even more.

I launched Walkingon Travels in 2011 after our first trip to China with my oldest son Dek, who was 14 months at the time and is now 3 years old. I had so many stories in my head. I also had a lot of friends wondering how the heck we did it.

2. Let’s talk experiences – what has been the best experience you’ve had on the road? The worst?

Our best experience on the road was when we were in Kyoto at a soba shop. We were stupid and assumed most restaurants would speak a little English, or at least enough for us to order.

My husband’s limited Japanese could only get us so far with our waiter and our phrase book was useless when it came to reading the menu.

Just when we decided we should probably go else where, our waiter swooped in. He was not giving up on us. He brought Mike outside to the display case and had Mike point to what looked good. We ended up with some delicious cold noodles, tempura and soup. It was heavenly.

On top of that the waiter spent the entire meal playing peek-a-boo with a 20-month-old Dek so we could enjoy our meal. Just goes to show what happens when you wander into a mom and pop joint.

As for the worst, well that had to be on the flight down to the Big Island of Hawaii. Mid-flight I noticed Dek was getting spots on his face. By the time we landed he had blisters on his face, legs and backside. I was terrified he had Hand, foot and mouth, which we had been exposed to the week before. Our doctor clarified that it was a simple skin virus called impetigo that could be cleared up with antibiotic ointment. We were in the clear!

Not quite. A few days later Mike broke out with hand, foot and mouth. He was a trooper and didn’t complain as we explored the island for hours on end.

I stayed healthy to take care of both Mike and Dek, which was a blessing since I was 4 months pregnant with Ty at the time.

3. What’s been your favorite country thus far, and which one are you looking forward to the most?

We love Japan. I really can’t say enough good things about it. We spent over a week in Kyoto; we only needed one day to fall in head over heels. The pace of the city was just what we needed. It was more laid back than Osaka and Tokyo, but still filled with incredible history and delectable food.

Coming up I will be in Europe for the entire month of October. I am really excited about getting back to Italy and exploring Sicily. This will be the boys first trip to Europe. I can’t wait to see what they think.

4. What is the first country you went to with your sons? What were you feeling? How did he react? Describe that experience.

My oldest, Dek, is now 3 years old. He started flying at 3 months and went international at 14 months. We went to Hong Kong and China. I was a ball of nerves. I had never been to China. I didn’t know what to expect for myself let alone a kid.

How did it go? Flawlessly. Fourteen and a half hours on a plane and the kid was better than most adults I know. He was happy playing, watching a few DVDs, sleeping and walking the aisles. If only I traveled so well.

Our time in Hong Kong and China was filled with smile faces, delicious food and a lot of historical sights we had only read about in books and seen in movies. Dek was happy toddling around the Forbidden City and Great Wall of China as he stretched his newly developed walking skills.

My youngest, Ty, flew for the first time at 7 weeks. It was just a quick trip to Colorado, but still filled with potential complications. He could have gotten altitude sickness in Denver and Keystone. He could have caught a virus on the plane. Lots of a mom with a newborn to worry about, and yet the trip went off without a hitch. He was the perfect traveler. All he did was eat and sleep; exactly what he does at home.

Now at 5 months old Ty is about to take his first international trip to Europe. I don’t anticipate any problems, but we will see.

5. Have you noticed major differences in your children’s approach to travel (as well as how you’ve approached making them good travelers) as they’ve grown up?

As with most first-born children, Dek was our trial run for traveling with a baby. That sounds harsh and unfeeling but in a lot of ways it’s true. We had never traveled with a baby before. We made loads of mistakes with Dek; we learned so much.

When Ty came along I knew what to expect when we got on a plane. I knew to open the changing table in the plane restroom very slowly so it wouldn’t make an awful noise that would terrify him. I knew I didn’t need a bag full of toys to entertain him at 7 weeks old. Most of all, I knew that I just needed to continue to be the same mom I was at home when we traveled.

The same rules apply on the road as they do at home. No exceptions. Well, except maybe the amount of TV they get to watch when we are on route.

The key for both our kids when it comes to travel is really quite simple- keep traveling. Both of them got on planes at a young age. Through every milestone they have been on a flight. We could nip bad behavior, like kicking seats, in the bud before it got out of control.

My husband and I have figured out what keeps Dek happy on a plane (or train or car) and go with it. We will do the same as Ty grows up.

6. How has your background in photography and journalism shaped your blog? Do they work well together or did you have to break away from some norms for your readers benefit?

It’s so funny because I never fancied myself a writer. I was the one kid in my journalism program that kept asking when all the writing would stop. I was there to learn about the process of putting together a publication.

When I graduated I went right into the art side of publishing. That soon became more administrative than artistic. The kids came along and my time for doing anything creative dwindled even further.

When I started the blog I suddenly had this amazing outlet for all of these dormant talents. I started writing and found that I really liked it. But I was writing on my terms. I could be quirky, sarcastic and use humor to get my point across.

I didn’t need to satisfy an editor, just my readers, which at the time were only a handful of people. I had the freedom to find my voice and sell myself the way I wanted to instead of conforming to someone else’s ideas of how I should write.

My images are the main event of most of my posts. I don’t have delusions of grandeur or imagine myself winning any awards for my photography anytime soon. At the very least I can show people the places we have been, and how my family has interacted with the people we come in contact with.

7. How does your husband fit into the traveling and blogging?

My husband rarely has any input in the blog. He supports it and loves what I am doing of course, but this is my thing.

Oddly enough he and my oldest son are the stars of my blog though. It is a rare occasion when an image of me shows up, even though a lot of my writing is about how I experienced a place with my family. I am working on getting my face on the blog a little more. People want to know what I look like to I’m finding (imagine that!)

I just have to remember to hand the camera over to my husband every now and then. I should probably give him a few more lessons on how to use it too.

8. Can you give some advice to other couple’s considering traveling with kids?

You can’t over think it; you just have to do it.

I’m not going to lie. Being a parent is hard. You sacrifice a lot for this little tiny person that has suddenly taken over ever aspect of your life. But it’s worth it.

Your travels will change, but it won’t be a bad thing. You will see the world in a whole new way, and a lot lower to the ground.

Any time you question the sanity of traveling with kids think of it this way- if you are going to be a parent, would you like to sit at home for the next 20 years waiting for them to move out, or would you rather be doing the same parent things you always do while exploring the world? It’s that simple.

9. What are some of your interests outside of traveling?

I love movies. My dad went to film school and instilled a love of all great (and not so great) cinema in me at a young age. My husband laughs at how many times I have seen The Day After Tomorrow, probably one of the worst disaster movies ever. I just can’t help it. It’s so bad it’s good. I mean really, wolves escaping the zoo and surviving an artic freeze. Please.

I also love to eat. Sweets are my weakness and I search them out in our travels. I’m not the best cook in the world, but I sure do appreciate when someone makes something that just melts my knees and keeps me coming back for more.

10. What are your upcoming plans, both travel and non travel?

Dek, Ty and I will be in Europe for 5 weeks in October. We will be visiting friends in Switzerland, Italy, Sicily and the UK. A weekend road trip to Slovenia and Croatia is also in the works.

This is a very big trip for us, and the longest I have ever been on the road with the boys. To make things even more exciting, my husband will not be with us for the first half of the trip. He will be back home working and meet us in Italy.

I feel a little crazy, but travel is my passion. If I’m going to be a mom, I might as well see the world while I do it, right?

Keryn Means is the founder of Walkingon Travels, a blog that gives hope to today’s modern parent who doesn’t want to stop their lives; they simply bring their kids along for the ride. You can find Keryn dragging her 2 boys around Seattle most days and across the globe several times a year. Follow along on their adventures on Facebook and Twitter.

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