Bon voyage! Sudbury family counts down to round-the-world journey

A Sudbury family is about to embark onwhat promises to be an unforgettable adventure but are they ready to go?

"No!", laughedMlanieDoyon. She andhusbandBenoitClementhave been saving and planning for three years. Now, they'retaking a year off of work, and instead, takingtheir sons Hugo, 12, and Eloi, 7, on a trip around the world.

The itinerary is an ambitious one: it begins with a Canada-US road trip, then some volunteer work-stays at Canadian farms (called "woofing"), then it's a hop-skip-and-a-jump to Alaska, Japan and then on to the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia.

"And after that, we'll see," saidClement. "It's pretty hard to organize something five or sixmonths from now."

Citizens of the world, learning on the road

As for the kids, Clement said, "they're pretty excited." The boys have been given travel books over the last year to whet their curiosity about the world.

Doyonalsosaid "[their] schools have been really accommodating" about theeducation plan for the boyswhile away. One has been assigned an arts credit, and will sketch while abroad. She said after that,the kids will simply re-integrate into the next grade when they come home.

"Why not?", she said of the plan. "It's just a great experience. Our kids are still young,and still want to spend time with us, so why not do it now?"

You can follow the family on their upcoming adventures here.

Listen to the complete interview with Doyon and Clement onCBC radio's programMorning North here.

Morning North9:18Taking the kids on a trip around the world

Most of us think about taking a trip around the world but few of us actually do it. Sudbury's Benoit Clement and Melanie Doyon decided to take a year to travel the world with their two sons. The couple joined us in studio for chat about the trip.