About Cerny’s Journeys
Hi! We are the Cerny Family and we are super excited to go on this journey with you!
A little bit about us, Collin and I (Sara) met in elementary school, so to say we have history is beyond true, although we were just friends in those days. We both went our separate ways when we were teens and reconnected 15 years ago through MySpace (I know, flashback!). Collin and I started dating shortly after, so that is the beginning of us. Between the two of us we have lived in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Washington, Arizona, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, so we are not afraid of a change in scenery. In fact we embrace it!
The Cerny’s are now a family of four, six if you include our dog and cat, and we couldn’t be happier about our tribe. Everyday life has us running in so many different directions, but that is good as it helps us stay grounded and makes us appreciate each other and the time we have when we are together, especially when we are traveling.
We are so lucky to live in a suburb of Chicago, in my opinion one of the greatest cities in the US, if not world. There is no bias here! Chicago has some darn good pizza, (I know debatable, especially if you are a New Yorker), as well as have the activities of the city at our doorstep.
Our family goal is to see everywhere and anywhere, so when we are not home, we are exploring. We have been to well over 20 countries as a family, over 30 for Collin and I, and will continue our travels. We hope that our blog and resources will inspire you and give you useful tips to get you excited to travel too. We are all curious about the world and can’t wait till we get to say we have been to all 195 countries.
Sara
By day, I have been an HR professional for almost 20 years and someday soon I hope to be a full-time travel blogger. You ask, what qualifies me to be a travel blogger? Not only do I have a passion for seeing the world, I plan on doing it. I am so super organized that I do all the family travel planning myself. I love researching – places to stay, neighborhoods, restaurants, things to do both touristy and off the beaten path. I have to know as much as I can about a place before we travel. With that being said my family’s serious case of Wanderlust is all my fault! Sorry, not sorry! All my family and friends know about my obsession, so they do ask me for travel tips and advice frequently, which I love to share.
I hope to inspire others to meet new people, explore unfamiliar places and live in other people’s shoes as it only gives us a deeper appreciation of the wonderful world that is available to explore to those who choose to open their minds and travel.
Favorite Place: Vienna, Austria
Favorite Vacation Memory: Snorkeling in St. Lucia on our honeymoon
Dream Vacation Destination: Cape Town, South Africa
Collin
Collin has had the best, yet most challenging job as at Stay-at-Home dad for the last 8, almost 9 years. When both kids went to school full time 2 years ago, he started working part-time at the kid’s old preschool. This is fitting as Collin as a kid at heart. Collin grew up traveling as his mom is a flight attendant, so saw a good part of the us when he was growing up.
Collin has been dabbling in photography, so I know that is going to be a big piece that he will add to the blog.
Favorite Place: Barcelona, Spain
Favorite Vacation Memory: Waking up in Jordan to the Prayer call over Ramadan
Dream Vacation Destination: Bora Bora
Jamen
Jamen is our sweet and caring 8-year old. He loves sports. I catch him watching strange sports on tv that I have never knew existed in different languages. It really is funny… he doesn’t care as long as there is competition. He plays on a competitive travel soccer team and thinks he is going to grow up to be just like Lionel Messi. I hope so, but if that doesn’t happen, he wants to be an astronaut. Being that I went to Purdue University, where many famous astronauts graduated, such as Neil Armstrong, I am super proud of his dreams. Jamen loves history and reading stories about places we have been, his current reads are the “I Survived” book series.
Favorite Place: Mykonos, Greece
Favorite Vacation Memory: Visiting the Colosseum in Rome. He thinks the story with the Gladiators is pretty cool, even though I think it is gruesome!
Dream Vacation Destination: Australia
Cora
Cora is our spunky 7-year-old. She loves all things girly and frilly. Of course, just like most other girls she can never have enough American Girl dolls and accessories. She loves animals, even bugs, so I think one day she will end up a veterinarian. Cora rides horses and is taking English riding. It is so cool to see such a little girl do so well with such big horses. Her calm manner with them is amazing. Maybe one day she will ride horses at shows around the world, I guess we have to wait and see!
Favorite Place: Chester, England
Favorite Vacation Memory: Swimming with dolphins in the Florida Keys. It was a cool experience for all of us!
Dream Vacation Destination: Brazil