What to know about the day that celebrates Mama Earth
Jessica Gee only wanted to do “a little bit of traveling.” “Those were her words,” her husband, Garrett Gee, chimed in. “She should have known better because I always take whatever she thinks up and take it to the extreme.” In their first vlog as The Bucket List Family in 2015, he announced, “We're going to sell everything we own in our little apartment and then we're going to go westward.” They set out from Provo, Utah, with their then two kids and a plan to share their adventures on social media with family, friends and “whoever wants to tune in back home.” Millions of people have followed along.
“We wanted to see what else was out there, explore a little bit, learn from different cultures and people,” Jessica told USA TODAY.
Now she's sharing her tips and tricks in her new National Geographic book, “Bucket List Family Travel.”
“As soon as you start to see what's out there, you realize, oh, there's so much more," she said. "You're so excited to just be a part of it.”
Here's some of what they've learned.
Trying something new
h“Growing up, my family was like a Disney World family. We made that trip every year,” Jessica said, adding that she still loves it and visits with her kids, but they try to switch up
hother destinations.
“As we've traveled more of the world, we've kind of made an unspoken family rule that we try our best not to go back to places because it's been so rewarding to experience new places,” Garrett said.
The Gees have visited more than 90 countries and gone on adventures like surfing in Fiji and safaris in Tanzania with her kids Dorothy, Manilla and Calihan, whose ages range from 6 to 11.
“Trying something new, I feel like it's never been a bad thing for us,” Jessica said.
After three years of full-time travel, that new thing was settling down in Hawaii.
“The thing that we missed the most was community,” Jessica said. “Garrett and I both
hgrew up in very traditional American homes with good friends and being a part of sports groups and stuff. We always planned on that for our kids.”
The family still travels about 12 weeks of the year, juggling what they call a double life of wanting to travel but not miss Field Days and birthday parties.
“We travel almost every school break. Last year we went to 12 countries," she said.
They spent last summer in Africa and are presently on a 25-day trip to Antarctica.
“Our oldest, she definitely grasps like, ‘I will most likely never go back to Antarctica. And the fact that I get to do that with my family on this
With Earth Day just around the corner, here is everything you need to know about the day celebrating green initiatives.
When is Earth Day 2024?
Earth Day is Monday, April 22. The day of environmental activism is always celebrated on April 22 in the United States, but other parts of the world celebrate it on the day of the spring equinox, according to National Geographic. The first Earth Day in America was in 1970.
Why do we celebrate Earth Day?
The history of Earth Day is rooted in politics. Millions of people across the country attended the first Earth Day in 1970 to advocate for environmental conservation. The movement wanted to strengthen legislation such as the Clean Air Act (updated in 1970) and the Endangered Species Act (1973), according to National Geographic.
How is Earth Day celebrated today?
Earth Day is still a time for activism and education around sustainable de