Yesterday I was with friends at Starbucks discussing our upcoming trip to Thailand (leaving tomorrow).

And Yes I feel guilty for spending this amount of money on ourselves when there are so many starving people in the world. And Yes I feel guilty for polluting the air with our airplane travel.

And Yes I did just see the WALL-E movie to make me feel worse about that.

But family trips are not the same as buying (for example) a wasteful $10,000 designer handbag or polluting with activities that have no value.

Family trips bring families together. They can open your children's eyes to new people and cultures that can't be experienced locally. They create memories that last lifetimes.

And with rising gas prices, family trips may soon be a thing of the past (unless you can walk there). Our travel agent said our air tickets would have cost $600 more the week after we bought them due to a fuel charge increase. If prices keep going up like they have been airlines will not be able to stay in business.

So, to sum it all up. I think family trips are awesome. We will be riding elephants (Piney will love that), meeting the locals, staying at hotels that were devastated by the 2004 tsunami (and learning more about that), exploring new sites, smells and places, and enjoying quality family time.

I don't know if I will have Internet access, so I may not be back on line for awhile, but when we return I will tell you all about it.

I am also excited because we found an orphanage to volunteer at here in Seoul. Our whole family will be going there twice a month to play games and hang out with the children. That will be starting in August.

So there will be lots to share!

-till then (P.S. My Simple Green World Blog is Finally working again HERE)

Labels: fun family activities