Hello, I’m Sam. I live in Southern California with my husband and our two (now grown) boys. I was born and raised in Derby, England. Derby is not a glamorous town, but it was my home for 17 years nonetheless. During my pretty traditional childhood, we took family holidays around Europe. At the time, I was far too busy being a moody teenager to appreciate them. Spain, Italy, France, even Yugoslavia (back when it still existed)… honestly, how dare they.

Although I would never admit it, these holidays were fantastic and stirred a yearning for exploring different countries, cultures, and people. I realized the world was accessible and exciting.

I left senior school and briefly went to nursing college, which quickly proved not to be my calling, and I found myself at a bit of a crossroads. As fate would have it, a friend was talking about traveling the world for a year to ‘find herself,’ and I thought, WOW, that’s exactly what I need to do. I need to find myself!

After convincing my (slightly horrified) parents, I set off with a very confident plan that included Thailand, New York, California, and beyond. What could possibly go wrong?

Well… Thailand didn’t go quite to plan. After a few weeks, I got very sick…spectacularly sick…and was promptly sent back to the UK. I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say it was not my finest moment. Once I recovered, I still hadn’t shaken the travel bug (despite losing just about everything else). I headed to New York and lived with the kindest family (seriously, they came to my wedding in England), and helped look after their children. But I had my eye on California.

As fate would have it, I didn’t have to wait too long. I met a surfer-looking dude in a bar one night. After playing it cool for a while, my friend pulled him over to chat, and we discovered he was on break from UCSB, visiting family. One thing led to another, and after five fun days with ‘Surf Dude’, he asked me to ‘be his girlfriend’. We walked through logistics. He’d return to UCSB, I’d tie up loose ends in NY, and meet him in California.

I know you’re thinking I’m crazy at this point. First, in my defense, let me say this was pre-9/11, and I wasn’t concerned with terrorists, roofies, and serial killers. Perhaps I was naïve and should have been more worried. What started as a slightly questionable decision turned into something much more permanent.

To cut a loooooong story short, I moved to California, which extended my year of ‘finding myself’ into me finding something far more serious. We dated on and off for 5 years (during which time I finished college, traveled to Australia, and became a ski bum in Colorado for a season). We’ve now been together for over 25 years, which I still think proves my point that you can, in fact, meet someone decent in a bar.

A few years later, along came our boys, and life shifted again. We were determined to keep traveling and to show them the world beyond their Southern California bubble. Friends thought we were insane for taking young children to places such as India, Bhutan, Peru, Tibet, China, Cambodia, and Australia.  Admittedly, it is a slightly different trip when you travel with a family circus, but it’s not quite as daunting as one would think.

Those boys are now young men, still curious, still up for anything, and far more adventurous than I probably was at their age.

This blog started as a way to document our travels and memories. At best, I hope it encourages you to step slightly outside your comfort zone and plan a trip you might not have considered. And if nothing else, it’s our family travel diary…documenting where we’ve been (and Dad’s bad 90’s haircut), and a reminder that some of the best decisions don’t always look sensible at the time.

Thanks for reading  – happy travels!

Collaboration & Guest Writer Inquiries

I receive many emails each week with offers for advertising and collaborations on My Travelling Circus. Before getting in touch, please read through the information below very carefully.

• I am open to sponsored posts, links, social media posts, product/service reviews, press trips, freelance writing, photography, and other paid brand collaborations.
• I prefer to incorporate your brand into content I’m already writing, so that it feels more authentic for my readers.
• I do not accept guest posts.

If this sounds like a fit and you’re excited to collaborate, please email samantha.kuhr [at] gmail.com with details of your proposal and your project budget.

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