Homeschooling on the Road with The Dalrymple Family
Gone are the days where we work 9-5, at the same company, for 40 years.
Couples, individuals and families all around the world are reinventing what life can look like for them and reprioritize what matters most. It might be travel, time together, or more space to think. The most fulfilled lives are the ones we are creating.
The Little Book of Big Dreams shows what life is like when we think our dreams are possible. May their stories encourage you to dream!
The Little Book of Big Dreams Series
Don and Sonya Dalrymple are business owners, and sales/marketing consultants, who write a lot about business, personal growth and adventures. They are the proud parents of 3 academic and outdoorsy teenagers who snowboard competitively in the mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado. They love to catalyze opportunities for people in business and in life.
From Jessica's desk: Sonya and I became fast friends after meeting in Breckenridge. Our love of travel, adventure and personal growth left us chatting for hours on end. Sonya and her family traveled through the Western part of the United States in their SUV. They stayed in Air Bnb’s, worked on the road and schooled their three children!
Read more in our interview below:
Before settling down in Breckenridge, Colorado your family decided to make some big decisions and hit the road. How did you guys decide to do this?
Our family was living in Austin, TX, running a consulting and marketing business and homeschooling our three kids. We had great friends, spent a lot of time outside on the Green Belt and Lake Travis, and were involved in music and art lessons, soccer, and homeschool classes. It really was a great life. But we were craving even more freedom and adventure, and we knew that time was ticking with our children.
What made you go from just thinking about doing it to actually going for it? Had you always dreamed of this?
As a homeschooling family, this had always been a dream in the back of our minds, but life has a way of pulling you forward with momentum in relationships and commitments. It’s hard to know when the “right” time (if any) it is to do something this big.
A dear friend had told us long ago that the ages of 8-12 were the “Golden Years” with children, and we were feeling that bliss. The kids were fun, independent, curious, great friends, and liked hanging out all the time as a family. Who knew what life would be like later with 3 teenagers?
So, we decided to capitalize on this special window of time and our location-independent lifestyle, and hit the road for a year, and travel around the Western United States. We wanted to give our kids (and ourselves) some awesome memories and a solid foundation for great family relationships.
We decided on a date to leave and worked backwards from there. 6 weeks! Not a long time!! But we made it happen!
We used the opportunity as a reset button to sell our home, furniture and most belongings. We were going to travel in our SUV and stay in AirBnB’s, so didn’t want to lug around extra baggage.
Was everyone always on board? Anyone need convincing?
Everyone was on board, thankfully! Our middle son, Isaac’s first question was, “Can we go snowboarding?” :) We somehow convinced them all to go through old toys and belongings to sell or give away. We wanted them to see the value of simplifying their life and the peace and freedom that can come with it.
Did you ever change your mind? Any fear around this?
We were pretty excited. I’m a bit of a planner, so just wanted to have a general idea of where we would head. I decided to plan out the first month or so of travel and then let the rest just fall into place.
I did wonder how the kids would be affected by the move, but mostly I focused on the positive possibilities. And in the beginning, it was just going to be a year. We could do anything for a year. ;)
How did you afford to do it? Any ideas you can pass along to someone that feels like money is keeping them from making a change.
We already had a virtual business with clients across the country, so we were able to service them from anywhere. It was quite tricky and sometimes stressful, though, when we had a conference call scheduled and hoped there’d be a Starbucks with wifi along the road (definitely not a guarantee along the wide stretches of highway in the West).
As far as advice goes: we help people start businesses as well, and we always recommend that people consider being location-independent if possible. Do you have a skillset you can offer consulting? Is it time to move into an advising role in your field? Do you have a product to sell that someone can manage fulfillment/shipping for you from an online store? Can you set up training or speaking engagements for yourself where you travel? Can you offer marketing services? (web design, social media marketing, copywriting, graphic design, etc) There are so many opportunities for creative income if you are open to it.
Did others’ opinions about your choices ever affect you?
We chose not to tell people until the plan was already in play, so it didn’t really affect us. We expected to just come back to Austin after a year and reunite with our friends. And we have friends all around the country, and so were able to visit with several as we traveled.
How was it? Selling your house, living in Air BnBs?
It was exhausting to get everything ready to leave in 6 weeks. A lot of that was due to the emotional fatigue that comes from constantly making little decisions about selling, packing, or giving away certain items. I traveled down to South Texas to pass on all our favorite homeschool books to my sister, and I traveled up to Dallas to leave my piano and all my photo albums with my parents.
We really enjoyed staying in AirBnBs for a month at a time. It was a great way to feel like we were locals. We joined homeschool activities, went to as many local events as possible, and also just got to live normally, working schooling, and enjoying different neighborhoods. Some of our favorite places were mountain towns like Durango or Salt Lake City (9th and 9th neighborhood) where the kids could just walk to Main Street together and explore parks, stores, and grab a bite.
This year of traveling changed us entirely. We realized how much we all LOVED exploring the outdoors and chasing beautiful scenery. We became obsessed with visiting all the National Parks. And we fell in love with snowboarding after hitting all the resorts in Utah and Colorado that year.
When we got back to Austin, we realized that we didn’t want this special window of life to end. We decided to extend it another year, but this time live at a Ski Resort for the whole winter so we could snowboard as much as possible. We rented a condo on the mountain for 6 months and the kids joined Team Summit, a ski/snowboarding coaching program to train independently. On the off-seasons, we backpacked through the Sierras, traveled to Alaska, lived next-door to my sister in Nashville for a couple months, and made it to the East Coast.
5 years later, all 3 kids are still training with Team Summit and competing at Rev Tours in BoarderX and Slopestyle. They know all the resorts in Summit County as if they were their backyards. It all still feels a bit surreal.
That first year of travel opened our eyes to opportunities we never could have imagined. We didn’t set out looking for a new place to live, but we were seeking more freedom, and we are always open to growth and change. It just took a bit of travel to open our eyes and find that clarity.
If you could offer someone one piece of advice in regards to going for a big dream they have, what would it be?
Just do it. :) You won’t regret it. Sure it’s hard, but most great things in life are. My husband always says, “Everything starts with a thought.” So, if you have the idea or thought, give yourself an opportunity to explore it, and start taking action on it. Today!
I always say that there are a few layers to the value of an experience -
Considering and Planning - this stage is full of anticipation, intrigue, and even growth as you learn new things or have to prune some things in life.
The Experience - this stage is fun and awesome for sure.
But then, afterwards is another, almost even more valuable - the reflection, the memories, the photos/videos…the experience continues to increase in value over time with greater perspective and appreciation. - Sonya
Be sure to follow Sonya, Don and their family. You can’t help but be inspired!
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sonyacd
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sonyadalrymple/
You Tube:
https://www.instagram.com/isaacdalrymple/
On their websites: