Pierson family shares the adventure

Wallace Pierson Travel
Submitted by Ange Wallace
904-261-5914
September 10, 2019 11:00 a.m.

Pierson Family and Ange Wallace at Uluru, Australia.

After 4 months of traveling, the Pierson Family is in the rhythm of travel! Many people have asked “Why?” Why would a perfectly happy family give up the comforts and joys of living here in Fernandina to travel around the world for a year. Others have asked “Why?” Why would you take a nine and eight year old on such an ambitious travel agenda? They will never remember all that.

Well to give you a history leading up to this decision let, me start in the year 2000. Angela, fresh from a marketing degree at FSU, earned here own desk at The Travel Agency. Shortly after that I overheard a conversation. A grandfather had been working with her on a trip to take his grandson on a graduation trip to Europe. Once the planning was complete, Angela said to the grandfather that what he was doing was a wonderful thing for the grandson. She professed that if you had twins and sent one to college for 4 years and gave the second twin the same amount of money to travel the world for four years, you would be hard pressed at the end of that time to say which had the better education.

Fast forward to 2008, to find Angela married to Eric Pierson. The couple rapidly traveled together to Africa, Alaska, Amazon, Australia and New Zealand and more. Fast forward to 2012, and the birth of their second baby girl. It was decided that the Pierson Family would be complete with two children because when traveling with children you could put a family of four in one room! The Pierson Family is devoted to the idea that any great education includes a big dose of travel. It is the modern version of the 70’s poster asking the question, “How can you change a world you have never seen?” (Remember Pan Am? It was their poster.)

It is the hope of the Pierson’s, and all the Wallace Pierson Travel Family, that through sharing the adventures (and, yes, occasional misadventures!) we can inspire parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, to grab their kids and go traveling. Sharing these travel adventures is such a bonding experience as well as a great way to open minds to the realities and possibilities of life on our planet. Travel gives real meaning to studies. Travel can be easily tied to the curriculum being studied or about to be studied. Travel doesn’t have to break the pocket book to be relevant and meaningful! (Refer to Eric’s part of the blog on how they reached a budget for their trip. ( https://wallacepierson.com/how-do-we-budget-for-a-trip-around-the-world/ )

During the first month in Australia, Angela VI and Emily, were finishing up school for the year and had to work each school day to finish assignments. Angela then took pictures of their work and sent them to their virtual teacher from St Michael’s Academy, Mary Elwell, who graded the papers and sent them back. After taking June, July, and part of August off, the girls are back in school and doing well keeping up with their class work along with the rest of the St Michael’s student body! It is this connectivity (The girls even skype with their respective classes!) that makes a year of travel so doable in today.

Angela and Eric also are keeping up with their own workloads while traveling. The time differences have been a bit of a challenge and of course the majority of the work gets done while the girls are sleeping or studying themselves. Eric researched what electronics they would need and would give them the best connectivity for the least investment. (https://wallacepierson.com/electronic-gear-gadgets-for-travel-around-the-world/ )

Part of their travel planning includes longer stays in Air BnB’s where they can actually get a feel for living in the country and have time to catch up on work (and for Angela, laundry)! They stay in resorts/hotels where this gives the best sense of place experiences and usually only 2-3 nights. They are also using our Virtuoso “Onsites”, companies that specialize in only specific areas or countries, to help plan the best experiences and provide the best guides where that is important.

So far the world travel has included a month in Australia, a month in New Zealand, three weeks in Singapore and Vietnam, 4 days in London, a couple of weeks each in Scotland and Ireland, a month in Switzerland, about 10 days in Venice and the Dolomites. If you would like to see more about the actual time in country, visit https://wallacepierson.com/the-piersons-family-trip-around-the-world/ and hover over the pictures until you find the country you are interested in. Enjoy!

Click here to follow the Pierson Family around the world! They are leaving New Zealand for Vietnam July 1.

https://wallacepierson.com/the-piersons-family-trip-around-the-world/

Wallace Pierson Travel advises that travel to any destination has inherent risks, and we encourage you to always be aware and exercise precaution. The US Department of State and CDC websites are the best sources for current advisories as well as tips on traveling safe and smart!