In my family, our vacations look a little different. Through my childhood and into adulthood, our family get-togethers consisted of biking through the Spanish Pyrenees, across the Croatia/Montenegro border or hopscotching the mythical Greek isles. By the age of 22, I had been on five Backroads trips all around the world. Each adventure provided me with a challenge and memories I hold with me today. As I reflect on the formative years of my life, at every adolescent milestone, a Backroads trip has been there.
1. Spanish Pyrenees to Costa Brava Family Multi-Adventure Tour (2010, age 9)
Memories you keep from early childhood are often scattered and random, but there is nothing forgettable about absorbing the Pyrenees’s rolling valleys from the back of my tandem bike at age nine. My father complains I didn’t pedal as much as I should have, but as he lugged me through Costa Brava, I was simply entranced by the passing world I had only just begun to discover. This trip was my first introduction to Backroads, and first introduction to traveling. Upon leaving for the trip, my parents were a little nervous. At age nine, I ate most of my food with ketchup and insisted on wearing a fluffy cat-ear headband everywhere I went. Spain could be a foreign awakening for me. But they were surprised to see that when presented with a boundless learning opportunity, their daughter rose to the occasion.
Not only did I not ask for ketchup once on that trip, but I tried new things, I swam, I hiked, I laughed. Reflecting 15 years later, I realize I still vividly remember churning butter in a Catalonian family’s kitchen high in the mountains and jumping from rocks into the bluest of water on the beach. Alongside my cousins, I gained a new bond with them. I feel like one of the luckiest people alive to have seen the world as I did from such a young age, even if I wasn’t the strongest cyclist. At age nine, I wasn’t more than 70 pounds. But I was feeling fashionable and ready in my cupcake jersey and adult-size sunglasses.
2. Hawaii’s Big Island Family Multi-Adventure Tour (2016, age 15)
As a teen, I was 15 on my next trip. A long time had passed, and what was new for this adventure was biking for myself with my own freedom to explore. As a moody teen, it felt ridiculous that I had traversed the Pyrenees on the back of my father’s bike, and I was eager to prove to my family and myself that in the span of six years, I had become an accomplished and independent adventurer. Gliding through the Hawaiian rain forest, I finally felt the reward of powering myself through the trip. I also participated in the longest hike I have ever been on to this day: not originally on the trip’s itinerary, we woke up one morning and our leaders were excited to report that there had been a live lava flow active for the first time in 300 years.
It was a 20-mile round trip hike. Initially, I was conflicted. The itinerary had said horseback riding was today. I was looking forward to giving my sore legs a break. But now we had the option to see real lava, and there was never really a choice. On our hike, the never-ending expanse of bulbous, black volcanic rock and lack of shade quickly had everyone soaked in sweat. Slowly, the rock under my sneakers grew hotter, and I could feel the heat through to my toes. Then the rock ahead of us was bright red. And it was moving. Gushes of candy-gooey lava flowed directly in front of our eyes. Though my eyes and skin burned at the proximity, all I could do was stare. I experienced this deep awe and wonder at the earth. It’s something not a lot of 15-year-olds experience and/or truly value, and that is something Backroads gave me for the first time on this trip.
3. Brittany & Normandy Family Bike Tour (2017, age 16)
The next summer, I was back and ready to rock another adventure. My aunts, uncles and parents had chosen northern France. My biking skills had improved, but what I wasn’t prepared for this time was the emotional journey I experienced. This trip was special as a private family trip, and I was looking forward to growing even closer to my family members. My grandfather served in World War II, stationed on the beaches of Normandy in 1945. On this Backroads trip, my family got to hike and bike the very same places. It was a windy and overcast day, the beach grasses swaying wildly.
Ducking into each bunker, the wind quieted and left me in a damp, sandy tunnel system. As my cousins and I traced the bunker paths my grandpa had once walked at only 21, I felt an emotional upheaval profound for a 16-year-old. The members of my family around me were the product of my grandparents and the life experiences they endured. I felt honored to learn about my grandfather through the places he occupied, and the cultures he experienced. The trip was an enlightening balance between history, adventure and familial bonding. This was my most transformative journey yet, discovering things about my family as well as myself.
4. Croatia to Montenegro Family Multi-Adventure Tour (2018, age 17)
Seventeen can be a stressful age for teenagers. That summer, I was overflowing with pre-college application anxiety. I was relieved for the Backroads respite, excited to lose myself in the rhythmic churn of my bike pedals and a new place. The summer of 2018 was special in Croatia. Our trip overlapped with the World Cup semi-finals: Croatia versus England. After biking that whole day, we all relaxed at dinner in Dubrovnik. But the streets were soon packed; bar televisions turned to the crowds, all watching the game.
My cousins and I wormed our way into the crowds, buzzing with excitement. I’ll always remember the moment just before the final goal was scored, the suspended silence over tourists and locals alike as we watched. As the ball soared into the goal, the city exploded. The bells of Dubrovnik rang that night, and fireworks exploded in clusters of red and blue into the sky. Music roared through the cobbled streets as I danced arm-in-arm with the Croatian locals, celebrating. I’m not sure I ever felt so engrained in the culture of where I was traveling, permanently involved in a historic moment as Croatia advanced to their first-ever World Cup Final.
5. Santorini & Crete Family Multi-Adventure Tour (2023, age 22)
At age 22, my life looked entirely different than it did at 17. After graduating college, I suddenly felt like an adult. I was a little nervous that my post-college athleticism wasn’t as top tier as it once was, but after a few summers of working, a Backroads trip would be a treat like no other—not just as a vacation, but as a homecoming with my family members I missed so dearly. In the face of approaching adulthood, growing independence and 20something chaos, this trip was a reaffirmation of the things I loved: adventure, learning new things and meeting new people, pushing myself to new heights.
I welcomed the laughter of my cousins and the new friends I met on the trip. What stands out is the horseback ride over the narrow cliffs of Fira to Koloumbos Beach. It occurred to me I had finally gotten my horseback ride that I had sacrificed at age 15 to see the Hawaiian lava flow. It felt like the ultimate full circle moment, coming down to the rocky beach and blue waters, thinking about who I was at 15. This time, I also enjoyed a glass of local wine at dinner with my parents at the adults’ table and felt the full force of my gratitude to them for raising me on these countless adventures.
Going on these trips during my adolescent years formed the confidence and go-getting attitude I bring to everything I do in my adult life. Pushing myself and trying new things was instilled in me. Maybe if it weren’t for those 20 miles across the Hawaiian volcanic rock, the daunting hills of the Croatian mountains or even getting the courage as a nine-year-old to jump from a rock into the Mediterranean Sea, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Being around the people I love and doing something new and adventurous are the foods of my soul.
Through the experiences I have from trips around the world, I don’t just gain a sense of worldliness. I gain a sense of family. Going on a Backroads trip wasn’t just a guaranteed adventure. It was a rare time when my entire family was around me. As I become my own adult, I’m carrying with me the memories and lessons I’ve learned from trips; values I want to bring to my own family one day. Family for me isn’t a specific place or house we meet at. It’s the adventure we share in all different corners of the world, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
