About

Adventures We Seek is the travel blog and advisory of Nicole Damiano, a certified travel advisor (CTA, VTA) who plans international and family trips.

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Hi, we’re Nicole and Adam. And this is our story.

We are action people. Always have been. When something doesn’t feel right, we figure out what we want and we make it happen.

It all started back in 2009 when we left everything familiar, moved to South Korea, and began teaching English with zero idea of how much that decision would change us. What followed was years of living abroad, raising babies on buses, sharing tiny spaces, eating food we couldn’t pronounce, and falling completely in love with the world.

We’ve explored 5 continents. We’ve lived in Korea and Japan. We’ve done the road trips, the backpacking, the “what did we just eat?” moments, and the ones where we looked at each other and thought — this is it. This is the life.

Then we came back to the States. We built a life in Kansas. A real one — a house, a community, schools, roots. Three kids: Gavin, now almost 18, Jake, 10, and Avilene, 9. And Poppy — our 3 year old Cavapoo who has absolutely no idea what she just signed up for. Five humans and one very fluffy dog, heading out into the world together.

But somewhere along the way, life got expensive. And busy. And honestly? We started missing each other even though we were all living in the same house.

So in 2026, we did what we do. We made a decision.

We sold the house. We told the kids. And now we’re heading back out into the world — this time as a family of five — with no strict plan, open minds, and a whole lot of faith in each other.

The Damiano crew by the numbers

60+
Countries visited
5
Continents explored
44
US states visited

Family fun facts

🌍 Gavin’s favorite country is England. Jake’s is Korea. Avilene keeps saying Norway is so beautiful. Nicole has 60 plus and cannot pick just one.
🗣️ Nicole can read, speak and understand some Korean. Gavin is a master of accents and switches between them on demand. It is quite a comedy show.
✈️ The window seat debate is ongoing. Avilene must sit next to Nicole. Nicole and Avilene quietly try for an upgrade closer to the front while the boys sit in cargo. (She jests. Mostly.)
🐾 Poppy just completed her first international trip. She handled it better than most humans.

About us off the road: Nicole is a Travel Advisor specializing in International Travel with Kids — so yes, she actually does this for a living, and yes, she will happily help you plan your own adventure. Adam is the Director of Project Management and Client Experience at TechnologyMatch.com, which means he keeps things running smoothly — a skill that comes in very handy when you’re navigating five people through airports in three different countries.

This blog has been running since 2009. It has seen us at our most adventurous, our most lost, our most honest. And now it’s back — to document this new chapter. The messy, beautiful, scary, exciting reality of trading a Kansas zip code for the world.

We are world schooling our kids. We are slowing down. We are choosing experience over things, togetherness over convenience, and a big wide world over staying comfortable.

If you’re here because you’re thinking about doing something like this — welcome. Pull up a chair. We’re figuring it out too.

Nicole, Adam, Gavin, Jake, Avilene & Poppy 🐾 Kansas → The World → Who Knows

Want to travel like this too? Nicole plans extraordinary trips for families just like yours.

Want to read everything we know about a specific destination?

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32 comments

      • You can check my blog about the Philippines. One of my favorite places would be Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, the locals are very nice there. And of course Boracay, though crowded with many tourist, still is an amazing place. And also don’t miss the Underground River in Puerto Princesa, one of the 7 wonders of Nature. 🙂

  12. Lovely blog, I’m a new follower! Glad you’re getting around Asia, there’s just so much to see around here.
    Quick question though, how did you manage to get a travel map on your home page? I’d love to add one too, so I’d be grateful if you could tell me how 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi! Thanks for following. Someone asked me a few weeks ago and honestly I have it inserted as a picture. I must have created it on a website, saved it as a picture and then uploaded. I have no idea what site I did it on though. Maybe do a search for personalize a travel map or something. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. When we travel somewhere new, I will have to figure it out all over again 🙂

      Reply

  13. Hey Nicole- I am starting a new weekly post series featuring other travel bloggers and would love to feature you and Adam! Reach out to me at lindseyhchandler (at) gmail.com if you are interested and I will send you the information!

    Reply

  15. good thing you ‘pinged’ my entry for the travel theme, through that i found your blog.. you have a nice blog and of course i clicked ‘follow’ ..

    Reply

  16. Hi! ^^ I’ve just learned that you are no longer in SK. Anyway, I have nominated you for the VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD. I find your travel adventures inspiring. My husband and I have wanted to go backpacking in Europe, but you know how work is here in Korea. I do hope we get the chance to do that. ^^ Here is the link to your nomination, should you accept it: http://chrissantosra.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/whee-an-award/.

    Take care! ^^

    Reply

  17. Thank you so much for the nomination. Adam and I moved back to the states in September due to my Mom’s illness. It is much harder to get settled here than it was in Korea. Now our first little one is almost here and a whole new crazy adventure is on its way!!

    Reply

  19. Wow, what a wonderful adventure your life is. You two are the definition of intrepid … and soon to be 3. Can’t wait to dig in and read more. Wishing you all the very best, Terri

    Reply

    • Terri,
      Thank you so much for stopping by our blog. We are glad you came upon our blog. Adam and I LOVE your blog and are having fun reading through your experiences. We hope to continue our travels and take our little one with us once he is here. We hope eventually to find work overseas again and keep inspiring others to follow their dreams too!

      Reply

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