When you are American, there is something a little surreal about leaving your kids in one country while you hop over to another for the weekend. But that’s exactly what Michael and I did when we took a two-day trip to Rhodes and left the boys behind in Türkiye. They were thrilled.
One of the unexpected gifts of this lifestyle is how capable our kids have become. Before anyone panics, we weren’t exactly abandoning them to fend for themselves in a foreign land. We live in a building full of traveling families, and there were plenty of familiar faces around. But still, the boys were ecstatic to have the apartment to themselves for a couple of days.
While we wandered the cobblestone streets of Rhodes, they joined calisthenics sessions, played marathon rounds of Dungeons & Dragons, and fully embraced their temporary independence. At this point, we know they can handle themselves. They know how to problem-solve, communicate, and take care of the basics. That’s one of the perks of worldschooling and long-term travel — our kids are getting real-life practice for the day they eventually fly the coop.
Meanwhile, Michael and I got a rare little reset.
We spent our days exploring the winding streets of Rhodes Old Town, ducking into shops, eating incredible food, and lingering over slow meals with nowhere to rush off to. We walked along the beach, browsed little boutiques, got massages, and did the kind of aimless wandering that feels impossible when you’re managing the logistics of family travel.
We stayed at a beautiful little boutique hotel called Karavel Suites, and somehow we arrived before they were even officially open. When we walked in, they were still taking photos for the website and putting finishing touches on everything. The hotel is family-owned and focused on sustainability. Our room had a private two-person jacuzzi, but the real magic was the rooftop terrace. Since we were the only guests staying there, we had the entire rooftop to ourselves every evening. We watched the sunset and the people wandering the streets.
I even went up there for sunrise and took in the empty streets before the hustle and bustle of the day. I also took an early morning walk around the perimeter of the old city walls while the streets were still quiet. Rhodes before the crowds wake up is something special — sleepy alleyways, cats stretching in doorways, and golden morning light hitting centuries-old stone.
We also visited the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. Massive stone halls, intricate mosaics, and layer upon layer of history tucked into every corner.
And then there was the ongoing joke of the weekend: both the hotel owner and her son insisted Michael looked like Tom Cruise. To be fair, he still gets that comparison fairly often, which I’m sure he does not mind one bit. The whole trip reminded me how important it is to step away sometimes — not from parenting, but from the constant motion of it. Just two days to reconnect, wander, and remember who you are outside of schedules and responsibilities. Then we headed back to Türkiye to two perfectly happy boys who barely seemed to notice we were gone. Which, honestly, might be the biggest sign of all that this lifestyle is doing exactly what we hoped it would do.
