We weighed the odds:  iPhone or no iPhone – that was the question.  But of course, when you are a Hirn, you travel on the skinny.   You stay on a budget. So you already know International cell phone service was OOTQ.   (That’s Hirn code for Out Of The Question.)

In addition to the sheer pocket-ripping expenses, we would have had to keep up with more than 25 SIM cards and an unlocked phone. There were other obstacles:

Internet Service in different countries is limited.  Very limited!  Oh, there are public hotspots:   Starbucks was always accommodating us by allowing us to use their Internet Service only after purchasing our favorite pick-me-ups(no free Internet abroad.)  But our intention was to see the city, not sit in a Coffee Café.   The Hostels we stayed in usually had Internet Service as well, but once we were on the streets, we were unplugged.

We wanted our boys to understand basic navigational skills.   We didn’t give the guys calculators to find the answers to their math questions, so it stood to reason we wouldn’t give them a GPS to find their way around foreign countries.  The two most dependable navigational tools are still a compass and a map.  And although Ron was our leader we worked together as a family to find our way.  We were in this thing together!

America’s Global Positioning Satellite has spoiled us all.   When you travel unplugged, you commit to taking extra time to find your way.  You must have patience.

Trial and error are integral parts of discovering Adventure With Engagement.  And there is no better Adventure than being engaged with your family as you try to find your way home, or at least back to where you are staying.   And when we got there, we all sang silent praise to the gift that awaited:

Hostel, Sweet Hostel.

Dawn