Life Is a Highway: A Family of 8 Turned the Entire U.S. Into a Learning and Working Environment

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

The Opening Scene
It’s 6:45 a.m. in a modern A-frame cabin tucked into the misty edges of the Cascade Range in Arlington, Washington. I’ve just made a quick Nespresso, checked my calendar of virtual meetings, and verified the Airbnb’s Wi-Fi speed is holding steady. In the next room, my wife Lynsey corrals our six kids into breakfast while planning a day trip to Seattle’s Children’s Museum. By 7:30, I’m camera-ready in a makeshift office nook, leading a discussion on HDI PCB design for an IPC standards committee. After a busy day, our Bowles crew, ranging in age from 1 to 10 years old, is hands-on with activities and exhibits in the museum. 

That duality—precision engineering in the morning, full-throttle exploration by evening—has defined our family’s life for the past 18 months. While maintaining a full-time career in PCB engineering at Lockheed Martin and supporting multiple IPC working groups, our family of eight has traveled full-time across all 48 contiguous U.S. states. Our journey has been part professional juggling act, homeschooling experiment, and a masterclass in intentional living.

Plotting the Great Escape
In 2023, with remote work solidified and the housing market boiling over in our former home base near Denver, Lynsey and I decided to ditch the traditional model: Mortgage payments and static routines gave way to curiosity and Airbnb experiences.

Lynsey and I realized we didn’t need a permanent house to continue raising our kids. But to make this week, we knew we needed flexibility, opportunity, and fast internet. In the course of our discussions, we made two pivotal decisions:

1. Airbnb over RV life: Rather than commit to towing a fifth-wheel or navigating campground reservations, we chose to bounce between Airbnb homes—sometimes for a week, usually for a month—chasing good weather, local charm, and reliable Wi-Fi.
2. Work stays constant: I would keep my full-time job and continue as a core contributor and chair for multiple IPC standards development committees, so wherever we landed, it had to support a high-functioning home office.

Once the decision was made to travel, we needed to create a system that would make it work. We filtered Airbnb listings by high-speed internet, family-friendly space, and a washer-dryer. Bonus points were given for nature access, board game closets, and enough bedrooms to keep sibling rivalries at bay.

Continue reading this article in the Fall 2025 issue of Community Magazine.