Welcome to The Family Voyage

Family travel is our favorite adventure and the glue that binds our family together. Traveling with kids is different, but it doesn’t have to be hard. We’ve learned so much about the world and how to navigate it with each trip we’ve taken, and our goal is to share our experiences with other families so that you can join in on the fun. While this family travel blog may be new, our travels have been ongoing — you’ll see some trip reports that occur while we’re on the road, and others written up later based on our travel journals.

To get started, you can check out our Trip Reports by Destination or Travel Gear and Tips.

About Us

international family travel, Ireland with kids
Melissa and Shoshana playing at the harbor park in Kinsale, Ireland

I’m Melissa, the 30-something wife of Ronnie and mom to Jacob and Shoshana. I was born in Virginia, but spent almost half of my life in sunny Los Angeles. Since returning from our family gap (two) years, we have relocated to Ohio and I now work full-time on this website. One day I swear I’ll catch up on all the places we’ve been! In a previous lifetime, I spent several years studying the weather on Mars (no joke!) and then a decade as a trader and analyst in the financial sector. I’m the most serious person in our family and I carry around a head full of random, useless information (just ask my friends!).

Ronnie is an LA native and is slowly adjusting to life in the midwest. He got his first real taste of travel during his semester abroad in Vienna, which he chose in part for easy access to the rest of Europe. Local food and drink provide a lens for his travel experiences. Ronnie works in the non-profit world and brings so much heart to our family. Ronnie’s a class clown and it’s rubbed off on our kids.

international family travel, Ireland with kids

Our son Jacob got his first taste of travel at 3 months old, when he visited Arizona and Hawaii within a month. His favorite destination so far has been Thailand. At home he usually keeps busy building LEGO or working on art projects. Like his daddy, Jacob is a total joker and loves to get a laugh out of people.

Shoshana joined the team almost three years later and got her first passport stamps at 3 months when we visited Germany and the

international family travel, Ireland with kids
Jacob is Mister Personality!

Netherlands. From the day she was born, we could tell that she was a peaceful, easy-going kid. She doesn’t care where we go as long as the four of us are together. She loves doing imaginative play with any of her 387 stuffed animals and snuggling (whether with us or her stuffed “friends”, as she calls them). Her favorite place to visit is Rome – because of the pizza and gelato every day.