Hi, I'm Candace and this is she who wanders a podcast from the great wonderlust. Today we're chatting with the amazing Sarah COPPA. She is a wife mom to five and an adventurer driven Nomad has been traveling full time in her RV with her family for over a year now, all while worlds filling her kids along the way. She shares her passion for adventure, travel and wellness, not only online, but also through retreats she hosts around the world. I'm inspired by watching her follow her heart, take risks and create her own reality. I'm so excited to introduce you to Sara. So let's dive in. Sara, welcome to she who wonders Hello,
thank you for having me.
I'm so happy to get to chat with you today. I mean, the skies here are dumping snow on us at a rapid rate. And it is like less than 30 degrees outside. So honestly, I'm really wishing I was down with you in Baja, enjoying the sun. Yeah,
we are definitely fortunate to be able to chase the warm weather. That is part of the reason we did this, I
can only imagine I'd love for you to just tell us a little bit about yourself, your family and what brought you to this point of where you are today.
Yeah, so I am married to Corey, he also helps me a little bit share our story on our platforms and things like that. As you said, we have five kids, they have pretty big age ranges, we have a five 812 15 and 16 year old. So we're not really dealing with the little kid thing anymore. But we do have teenagers, which is a whole new challenge, especially living on the road. And like you said, We've been living on the road for about a year and a half. Prior to that we did mostly international travels. But as far as my story how I got here growing up, I did not travel at all. So that's probably why I like to do it so much. Now, my parents were very like homestudy, we both were raised in North Central Wisconsin, not a very big town. So we kind of just knew our little circle in our place. And once we were young adults, we started to travel to see Hey, what's this all about? And I think that's why we fell in love with it. Because we realized that there was such a big world out there. Besides our role in Wisconsin, I think when you're stuck in that bubble for a while you don't realize it. And then when you do realize that it's this awakening, you know,
I grew up the same way as you small town never really traveled outside of the US. And so I kind of had the exact same experience. So I totally get what you're saying you're like, Whoa, this whole world out there. I want to see it all. I think as full time travelers, some people have a hard time understanding what does that actually look like? Like? Would you mind just sharing what a typical day in the life of your family looks like?
Yeah, well, fortunately, we have an RV. So we have a lot of the things that most people would have at home, just in a smaller space. That being said, I do miss a dishwasher. But life isn't all that different. I mean, it is in some ways, but you make it what you want it to be. I think when we first started RVing It was sort of like a permanent vacation. So we were not the best on routines and schedules and things like that we would just be constantly exploring, and it was kind of like going through that honeymoon period. But once you're on the road for a while you realize, okay, this is not a vacation. This is real life, we need to tone it down and make sure that we're meeting all of our, the needs of our family. And so we have a pretty good I say, semi structured schedule. So I still work basically Monday through Friday. It's just not as many hours as I did in a house. But I still do portioned out my work days, there's things that I still need to do to make money so we can live. And we do school, maybe like three or four days a week. It's pretty flexible. And it's not always on the weekdays because we do World School. So if there's an opportunity on Saturday, we're going to do it on Saturday instead. So it's kind of whenever it's convenient and natural for the kids in their learning process. But otherwise, like our day is kind of like any other you know, I wake up, I make my coffee, I go outside and maybe go for a walk or do some yoga because we're in nice weather come in and start getting the kids up and ready and do breakfast like all the things like it's still like a house you're just in a small space and you have a little bit more flexibility with your schedule, and more opportunity to go outside. It takes a few months. I feel like when you first make that transition to get really used to it unless you're just a very structured person and you have everything down and
I'm sure with with a small space like an RV and you guys are really at the extreme end I think because you have five kids yeah So, you know, do they spend most of their day outside? How does that look, though,
I would say, yes, we do spend most of the day outside, since I still have a semi regular job, I do need to have some quiet and I don't have a designated office, we don't have a huge RV, some people have a office, and I am in our living room. So I do have to kick them out and be like, Alright, you got to go outside, because I have phone calls to make or patients to talk to, or whatever it may be. And then sometimes, you know, the weather isn't great, maybe it's raining. And we do have a back bunk room, which has a sliding door. And that's the best we can do. And they find things to do. You know, we brought puzzles, and we have a TV. And like I said, we have Starlink. So they can always log on to you know, Netflix if they need to. But I would say most of it is outside, they go pretty early.
I love that I find that because the kids are not on this really strict schedule, like they would be if they were in traditional school, they're just finding their own interests doing their own thing.
Yeah, the teens are a little bit more focused in their studies, because they went to public school previously. So for them, public school was already transitioning into very heavy do your work on your computer, and they would do everything they needed to do. So when we started homeschooling, I was like, I'm new to this, you're new to this, let's just do online programs. So our two teenagers do online school. And, and it's just for the core classes, we're big on electives, you can learn out and about our son, he is super mechanical, he already knows that's what he wants to do work on vehicles when he's older. And so we support that we have our overlanding vehicles, and he's always putting in them and changing stuff and replacing things. And that's everything he wants to do. So his electives are going to be stuff like that, or, you know, he goes fishing and learns life skills. And that's okay, that's just what we let him do on the side. But for the core things like basic science, which I think he's in chemistry, and then algebra and all the other things he does that online.
Yeah. So what's the difference in how worldschooling looks for this older age, and then also for your little ones, because you're out of like the diaper stage, but five is still pretty little, how does that look differently for them, World School to
us is basically since we do United States and other countries, it has a real focus on world applications. That means that we really dive into cultural awareness. So we try to learn something about the culture, how people are how they live, we really try to assimilate into the place that we are. So in Mexico, we do sometimes stay in some of the bigger cities like La Paz is the city of Baja, sir. But we like to go into these little towns and the more remote places where there's not a lot of tourists and really tried to practice our Spanish, we're finding out how they live and what they do and try to match that. So instead of, you know, trying to find a big department store, a grocery store, we're going to the bakery and then the fish market. And then we're going to like today, we went to an actual farm and got a whole bunch of produce from this lady, because that's what they do, they don't have the stores that we're used to. And so it's really trying to assimilate into that culture, learn as much as you can, and apply it towards the real world. And that could mean you know, when we go to the Mexican grocery store, or whatever it is, or even to a market where people are selling their crafts, maybe they are adver tising their crafts for a certain amount of pesos. So we asked the kids, how much would this be in us money? Is this a good deal? So they have to know what the conversion rate is, and do that math, that might be something that we ask our 12 year old or even our I mean, our older kids, they're figuring out those ratios. And then the younger kids, we might ask them to count the pesos, knowing what stage your kids are at. And asking those questions and pushing them to learn appropriately based on that
I love how all encompassing it is. It's like life is learning. And so everything you're doing, you're being intentional about learning in that moment. Yeah, I feel like that has to be so beneficial for your kids and in you and just those experiences and bonding that you have with each other through doing that together.
And awesome. And they like it like we want them to have that more so than what they learn. We want them to have the love of learning. Because, you know, like my husband, for example, had some bad experiences in school and he struggled in some instances because he didn't like the way that it was and even our son when he was younger, he had bad experiences and an element entry school where you know, they do something and they feel kind of bad about it like, Oh, I'm not smart enough in this area, well, no, everybody has their gifts, you know, my son, he's never going to want to do calculus, he's not going to be a mathematician, that's not his thing. And I'm okay with that. So we let them sort of lead into their interests as well, because we want them to love learning, just like how adults learn, we're not going to dive deep into something that we're not interested as an adult, we're going to look into the things that do interest us. And that might benefit us in one way, shape, or form. So we want them to know that that's okay. And you need to continue that through your life. So you can be a lifelong learner.
I don't know if you've read this book that I got recently called all the ways to be smart. And I've been reading it to our kids, we have the two sets of twins, so a fourth level and a second grade level. And so I feel like they compare a lot. They're like, Well, why is she getting the harder one or why he you know, I want them to realize and really soak in focus on what your passions and interests are, and really dive into that and put your focus there and quit thinking about all the things that maybe aren't your strong suit.
Yeah, it's really special. And I feel like it creates memories, too. I made a real on worldschooling on my Instagram not too long ago, I knew it was one of my personal favorite reels. The example was, so we were camping on this beach in Baja. And next to us was a family who were doing a three year trip from Spain. And they spoke very, very little English. And we obviously are not I mean, we're okay, we're getting better now that we've been down here. But we're not like super fluent in Spanish, we can make up most things, but it's kind of choppy. And so they came over one day, and brought us this plate of like different clams and things that they found in the ocean. And they made us dinner. And it was just so sweet. And they're like this is for you amigos. And we're like oh my gosh, thank you so much. He's so sweet. It was it was so thoughtful. We started asking them Did you get everything out of you know, the ocean right here? And he's like, yes, there's just so much life in the sea. And it was really fun to harvest it. And we started asking like, Well, would you show us how to do it. Like, that's pretty incredible. We don't know how to find clams and do all the things. And so the next day, we got the kids out, and they showed all of us how to find them, harvest them, clean them, cook them, and we sat down and eat dinner together. And their kids who are quite young, we're trying to communicate with our kids. And it was just such a cool experience. We must have sat around the fire and ate dinner for four or five hours the whole time practicing our Spanish and learning a new life skill. It was just really, really a special moment.
That's got to be one of those moments where you're like, This is exactly yes. Why we are doing this. This is it.
It was pretty cool.
How long have you guys been in Baja? Now?
We've been down here two months this year. Okay, so
I want to talk a little bit about your decision to drive I would love for you to take me back to that first time that you guys decided to drive to Baja, because I'm sure there were some uncertainties or even concerns Maybe fear. How did you work through those things? Because I think everybody who's considered traveling or doing something off the beaten path or something risky or out of the norm, you feel that uncertainty and that fear. And I think that stops a lot of people, you know, how did you work through that?
So the first year that we went down, we had started hearing people talk about how the overland it through there and we have overlanding rigs. So we're like, well, we could do that. But how am I going to work? Like I need a big setup and an open space that's kind of private. So I don't know if that's for us. And so we started exploring possibilities of maybe taking our RV down there.
Say you say overlanding, what does that mean? So
overlanding is kind of a combination of off roading, and camping, I drive a foreigner My husband has kind of a, you know, set up truck. And we have rooftop tents and we have all the gear that would be needed to sustain ourselves off grid in like a remote location for extended amount of time. So I have a fridge in the back of my foreigner we have generator solar power, all the stuff so yeah,
so you technically could do that and go all the way to Mexico. Yeah, be there. Okay, way to like
Panama. I've heard of Blanding all throughout Central America and it is still like a bucket list thing for me someday, just not with all my kids
down the road. Okay, so you so going back to what you're saying. So you thought could we do this in an RV?
So we're like, could we do this in an RV and we started looking up stuff online. We're like, alright, has anybody done this? Is this something that we can do? And we actually found the family Lars with latitude and they did it. They did it the previous year. So we were like, oh, and they had a really The Big Rig, or theirs is like 10 feet longer than ours. So I was like, go with that huge rig, and they made it, we can do it too. But I was still a little bit worried about bringing my entire home down to Mexico, there is a stigma on Mexico. I, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't on the same boat as most people. And I was kind of like, well, I don't know. But since we had traveled internationally, pretty extensively, I decided to just throw those fears out the window, because I have never been somewhere ever where I have felt unsafe outside of the US, I have to say that then all over to so many countries walking around at night doing all the things and I have never felt unsafe, except in the US in a couple of cities. I was like, we're just going to take the chance, we're just going to do it. And I'm glad we did. Because the only thing in my opinion unsafe about Mexico is the water and the crappy roads.
So it was a matter of just making the decision. And obviously you did a little bit of research to see like, what's out there on this, maybe see if other people had done it before. And then you're just like, we're just gonna go for it and figure it out.
And you hear stories, but usually, it's just the bad stories like, Oh, I heard this. And I feel like the bad stories circulate so much faster. It's just like a bad review. It's gonna circulate so much faster than a good review or a good story about something. Even though this was our second year, my mom is so funny. She she was like, I talked to this person who said that this happened in Mexico. And I'm like, Mom, mom, we were there. We lived there for like four months last year like it is okay, it's just a bunch of fishermen and farmers.
It's fine. One of the things I love about you and just your family and how you share is breaking those stigmas and trying to break down those walls and helping people have more of a worldview and see that it's not scary out there, you know, because I think it empowers other people to be able to go for it to whatever that looks like for them. Maybe it's not RVing, down to Baja, but it might be just taking that road trip in the US or whatever it's speaking of like overcoming fears, and just the strength that you have as a woman and a mom to take those risks and get off the beaten path and create your own reality and not do it. The status quo is I'm sure you have to on some level, keep up your mental health and just staying in a good headspace. So are there any rituals or just daily routines that you practice to kind of keep you in a positive mindset or a growth mindset? And how does that influence your daily life.
So I think for me, and it's not even anything that extreme, it's pretty small things, but they make a difference for me. So one of the challenges with RV Life is the small space, you're in a tiny space, we have seven people there is not a lot of privacy. Like I said we have sliding doors. So like not even like locking doors. That is something you definitely have to get used to that was a big barrier to overcome. So for me, having any time quiet and with myself is huge. So I get up before the sun comes up in the morning. And I go into my living room and I make my coffee and I sit down and it doesn't even matter what I do. Like sometimes I'll without a book, sometimes I'll just stretch or do yoga. Sometimes they'll just sit and like watch the sun come up. But it's just that little tiny bit of quiet time in the morning before I have to start working. And before the kids get up like that is just so special to me. Sometimes I'll go outside and watch the sun come up because it's so nice. And nature is so therapeutic. I don't get a lot of opportunities to get out and go away other than my women's retreats. So on a day to day basis. That's kind of it.
That's it. Well, I love how simple that is. Because it's so accessible for any mom, I'm addicted to my morning time, kind of like you're saying and so having that time before they get up to just center yourself, have some peace and quiet and just start your morning on your terms rather than having the demands and that rush of other people's needs. I feel like it's just so crucial. Hey, they're taking a pause to tell you about the wonder list. It's a weekly email I curate and share with our community of more than 1000 Women who are getting off the beaten path in both travel and life. Inside it. I share a roll up of inspiring stories of women in this community. And my favorite links to articles, podcast racks, and so much more. I hear from women every week who find encouragement and ideas to put the most life into their days. So I'd love for you to join us. You can sign up for free at the Great wunderlist.com/hello or follow the link in the show notes Also, when you subscribe, I'll share a list of my favorite books to help you on your journey. For almost a decade now I've held a morning ritual for the health of my mind and spirit. Reading, praying, meditating journaling, I always start the day by infusing my mind with truth and connecting with my soul, which has really changed the quality of my days. So I'd love to send that list to you for free. When you join us, head over to the great wonder last.com/hello. And I'll see you there. Okay, now back to the combo. You mentioned your retreats, I told you on Instagram, I'm like, I need to sign up to be involved in the next retreat, because it just looks so inspiring, and just the community building that you're doing through that. Yeah, tell me a little more about how you started hosting these, what they're all about what your vision is for them, and what it looks like to go on one.
So the retreats is just, it's really deep for me, because it was kind of filling a personal need. And then it turned into a passion. And it took me a while to figure out why I felt such an urge to do them. To be honest, I had to really do some self reflection and figure that out. But what I keep telling myself is that my husband and I were actually still pretty young, we have a 16 year old and we're 36 Pretty much from high school to like art, we got to grow up, there is no time to really like explore ourselves or go out or anything like that. And so we just were like, alright, we're parents, we're still trying to make it through school, like college and figure out what we want to do with our jobs. But we got to make these decisions quick, because we have pending on us. I think, by jumping into it and just having to be so responsible, so fast. We you start to apply all these different labels to yourself, and that becomes who you are. So I had one things that just defined me to my core. And that's all I ever knew. And I feel like once my kids, my youngest is five, she'll be six this year. Once they got to a point where it's like they weren't so dependent on me, I sort of sat back and was like, Who am I without all these labels attached to me, because I don't even know anymore. I'm in a totally different decade of life. From when I started being a mom and figuring out all this life stuff. And I'm like, I don't even know what my interests are anymore. The things that I liked when I was 20 certainly aren't the things that I'm interested in anymore. So I had to figure out like who my new self was. So it was really deep. I had to sit down find out like what my interests were, what my goals were. When I started to talk to other moms who were in similar situations. Maybe we were like a similar age, we had kids that were a similar age and you know, on similar growth path. And I found out, I'm not alone, we're all kind of feeling this way. It was almost like we all felt like there was this major shift that needed to take place within ourselves. But we didn't necessarily know what that was. I went on a women's retreat. Last. I think it was March, maybe April, something like that. I went on one because I want it. Otherwise I was like I would never spend money on myself. You know? Yeah,
like a giveaway you Yeah. Oh my gosh, okay, on a
women's retreat to Moab. And I got together. My introverted self was super uncomfortable because it was all strangers, nobody that I knew. I think there was probably like eight women or something. And I was like, Okay, I'm gonna do these adventures. I don't really understand what this is. We're gonna go ziplining and paddleboarding and rock climbing. I was super excited for all the things but I wasn't as excited about like, meeting strangers because I'm like, I'm introverted. Like, you know, yeah, right there with you. Yeah. So awkward. Like this is probably not going to be my thing. But all right. So I am. And what I ended up finding out was that none of us really knew each other. But we had the best conversations, the best talks, we enjoyed ourselves on the adventure level, and even in the downtime, and I felt like this is a void that I didn't even know I had or needed because introverted and I have my family. Why would I need a bunch of ladies, you know, and I was already kind of on this mental process of diving deep into myself. And after that experience, it was so eye opening for me that I think this is where I need to focus my energy. I already like to plan things. I love to do itineraries, I was sharing all about our family travels and destinations and writing itineraries on our blog. And I thought, why not write itineraries, but do a retreat so that I can fill that void and also help other women fill that void? Because we're all better mothers and wives, when we take care of ourselves at our deepest level.
I think that maybe we and this is not obviously true across the board, but a lot of us grew up seeing that modeled As much like our moms really having a life outside of us, I think being a community with other women and being able to see that reflected in them, it's like it helps you to be able to see in yourself. If you are a person outside of your kids, when you're able to expand on that and really dive into that, then you are such a better parent, a better person, a better spouse, as you might be, if you're just giving all of yourself away. Yeah, so I love that I love how you're making that possible for other women, too. Yeah.
And our retreat, like the retreats that I do, it's a little bit different, even then the experience that I had in Moab, because the one in Moab, like it was advertised as an adventure retreat, which it was, and that was awesome. But for me, like it was the adventures that were important, but I was like, like, I do adventure. And I want to say wellness, kind of, because like as much as the play is really important. It's really important to kind of open yourself up and play and try new things with the adventure. I really also wanted to focus on like caring for your body and spirit and forming that community or sisterhood with other women. So the one like that I did here in Baja, it was a really good combination of the two,
I'm sure when you open up to trying these adventures, it kind of opens the door to that connection with each other, that connection with yourself like you feel more engaged, more alive, and that I feel like is all a huge part of wellness. Yeah,
it is for sure. That actually
leads into one of my favorite questions in it has to do with the mission behind what I'm doing here, which she who wonders to lift the voices of all different kinds of women who are passionate about not settling for the status quo, but creating their own reality living like a fully vibrant life fully alive. And so I'd love to know like, what is your great wonder last what most makes you feel alive?
In my mind. I can't stop thinking that like, just by living our life, by design and how we want to like that is my great wanderlust, pursuing my passion, caring for myself living slow with my family. That's what makes me feel alive and vibrant. It's, you know, big moments, like jumping into the ocean, because that's what we're by. But it's also the little moments like sitting in my chair at night and watching my kids play on the beach at sunset, like not doing anything, all of those things. I don't know how many times living this lifestyle, I stop and say to myself Is this real life? I can't imagine sitting in my sticks and bricks back in Wisconsin in the winter, like acting like a hermit when Yeah, you're living every single day. And I think that's what it is like I'm already living it. It's about
breaking out of that box really being in tune with yourself digging deep down and thinking about what do you want your life to look like and then taking the action to make that happen. Because for some people that might be living more of what we consider a traditional lifestyle or it might not be travel, but truly knowing that we are living that out and not just being on that like hamster wheel of life. Yeah, I hate to say this because it means we've got to like wrap it up, which makes me kind of sad. But I have some rapid fire questions for you. So number one, where are you off to next,
we are going to be headed to a different area in Baja called Get arrow Nigro. And it is where you can see and actually touch the gray whales, they come up to your boat. And they like to be pet. It's an awesome experience. We did it last year. And it was like something that was a non negotiable this year again. So
that sounds incredible. I have it on my bucket list to swim with whales. But I am very curious about myself whether when if that when that day, when that day actually comes if I will be terrified or just elated.
In our women's retreat, we swam with whale sharks, but they don't have teeth. They're like filter feeders, but they are really big and you're still jumping into the open ocean, which was not something that I would normally do. So I think it helped by jumping in with other women because we all kind of psyched ourselves up. And we're like, yeah, we can do this. But honestly, once you get in there, it's so exhilarating. You don't even realize any other dangers that are around you because it's just such a cool experience. And it's like after you get out of the water you're like oh my gosh, I did that like that's
talking about fully coming alive. He's still alive when he out of the water after some Yeah, like that. Okay, so moving along. Number two, where would you love to spend a day wandering?
I don't know if it would be a day probably have to be like a month but I really want to go to Norway.
Number three, who is someone who inspires you to dive deeper into travel and life?
So I have a couple of friends who I met really Simply who I've really connected with, and have helped me sort of realize what my goals are. And they're actually friends that I met on the road. And so they have really helped me kind of on my personal journey to figure out what my passions are and what I should be pursuing in life. And for travel, it's a little bit from everybody. I mean, I don't follow like one person in particular, or anything like that. I just take bits and pieces from all the people I meet and kind of throw them in a big jar. And I don't know where I don't know where the information is coming from. It's all just in there.
I love that though. Because it's how you're not just modeling after somebody. You're taking all the parts that work for you and your family and piecing it together. Yeah, awesome. Okay. And last rapid fire, what is it favorite book recommendation that you love, or that has had an impact on you. So like,
kind of along the same lines that like, I don't follow just one person. I take tidbits of information from all the people I see. But I could not tell you where the tidbits of information come from. I feel the same way about the stuff I read in books. I'll look at a book. And if it serves its purpose for a while I might not even finish the book, even if it's good, because I might be feeling like I need to do something else. So I take little bits and pieces of information from all kinds of books. I think right now I'm reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle, we have how to think like a monk by Jay Shetty, and a book on Norse mythology. So
those two I'm like, totally on board. And then the third one, I'm like, wait, but yeah,
I know. I told you lost everything. But I want to go to Norway. So you know, I'm trying to learn a little bit about their mythology, because when we do go, which we will it, I wanted to have a cultural impact. So
yes, and I do think it's so much about the preparation beforehand, because once you you're there, you just like thrown in and it moves so fast. So that's awesome. I love that. Yeah. Well, I'm so glad that we were able to have this chat today. I know a lot of our listeners are gonna want to connect with you. So what's the best way for them to do that? Where do you hang out online?
The two places that you can regularly connect with me is on Instagram. Our handle is COPPA seven adventures. That's K O P PA. And then my blog and women's retreats are found on our website, which is just COPPA seven. adventures.com. So those are the two best places.
Okay, great. Well, I'm sure everybody's gonna love getting to dive deeper into those learn about all those things that you're up to. And I just thanks for hanging out today.
Yeah, thank you. It was really fun.
If this podcast impacted you maybe gave you a new perspective or made you think differently about something. I would love to hear from you. Take a screenshot or share and tag me on Instagram. I'd love to connect. And if you'd like to help us grow the reach of these conversations, be sure to subscribe to the she who wonders podcast wherever you listen, and I'd be so grateful if you'd leave us a podcast rating and review. Until next time, keep wandering
