So why this Trip?

One of the nice aspects of working at university is that every six years or so, you are allowed to take up to a year's sabbatical or study leave. I hesitate to call it "time off", but it does mean that you can put aside for a while the usual course teaching/marking and admin work (student admissions, Dept committees, etc) and spend a bit of time concentrating on your research, contacts with overseas colleagues, and general self-improvement.

After six years at Canterbury, and with my PhD now out of the way, it's time for my first sabbatical (from March-December 2010). Much of it will be spent in Christchurch trying to work on various "to-do" jobs that have piled up over the years (including numerous journal paper ideas) as well as a bit of consulting work with ViaStrada. But for three-and-a-bit months in May-August, I'll also be heading overseas to visit a few places, people and conferences.

I've had a number of other university trips overseas before on my own (esp. North America) and, invariably while doing a bit of sightseeing, I'm left thinking "I wish the family could see/enjoy this too". So it seemed a golden opportunity to take the whole tribe along this time, especially as the kids are all at an age now where it will be quite memorable and meaningful.

Much of our time will be in Western Europe, a place I haven't really been to. From a professional point of view there's a lot of good transport initiatives to see, especially in terms of sustainable transport (PT, bike, walk). It's hard to talk about these places in class if you don't have the examples and context! We'll be travelling around by road much of the way so I can see things first-hand; call it a "busman's holiday" if you will. And of course there's some amazing history, culture, architecture, and engineering to look over too.

Although my sabbatical funding from uni is quite generous, there's still quite a few costs to cover the balance of our travel expenses (not least of which is $15k just to fly there...). We realised fairly early on that the only way to reasonably afford to travel around Europe with six of us was by motorhome. While that will provide a comforting "home base" for our initial travels, it will present a few extra logistical challenges - neither of us have ever driven one before! Later in the trip we will return to more conventional rental cars, but will still be largely sleeping on the cheap in hostels, campgrounds and with friends/family, with the occasional more "luxurious" hotel.

Then we jump over to the Pacific Northwest of North America; a place I am more familiar with and have enjoyed previously. We'll do the touristy thing down the west coast from Seattle to San Francisco and then the family will head home early while I return to Portland for a few more weeks of "academic liaison".

Should be fun, interesting, challenging, rewarding - all of the above!