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I am having troubles figuring out what kind of traveller I am...

I am the mom of a toddler and an infant. My husband and I want to go on a world trip with them but we are not really sure what type of travellers we are. We have done Mexico all inclusive in the past and we weren't that fond of it. He isn't a lay around the beach type man, he needs to be busy. We did Thailand, which was decent. But basically not sure how to decide what sort of travel to do.

Some things we enjoy are bike riding, skateboard parks, rodeos, and just perusing really neat areas (for the interesting people). Basically I DO NOT want to go on a vacation where you stay in a hotel, leave and look for somewhere basic to eat in the morning, try to find some attraction (a shrine or something else boring), go to a coffee shop, and hit up a night market. We want human interaction, festivals, something.

We dream of one day when the kids are a little older doing Burning Man, and we also dream of a southern USA vacation where we do crocodile hunting on fan boats as well as a college football game, and a Mud Fest (trucks in mud sorta camping thing). Thanks for your help with any input you have.

This question is rather vague, but it sounds like you enjoy experiential travel, where you visit a place and try to involve yourself in local experiences. For me, that tends to produce greater lasting memories than looking at a museum or attraction.

Sometimes, you can get this by planning a trip around local special events. Some such events may be primarily aimed at tourists, while others are local affairs. Examples of this kind of thing include:

• The Pushkar Camel Fair


• The Alice Springs Camel Cup (I like camels, ok?)


• 
  The Tapati Festival on Easter Island


• Cultural events, such as the Last Night of the Proms in London, a ball in Vienna, Oktoberfest, the Glastonbury Festival, or the Edinburgh Fringe.


• Parades, which can be anything from massive televised events like the Rose Parade to a fun quirky small town parade someplace


• Burning Man, music festivals, and other mass gatherings

You can find guides to such events around the world. Travel and Leisure has a Festivals + Events page as does Lonely Planet and Rick Steves for Europe.

It's also possible to infuse some experiences into a more typical trip to mix up the blocks of "shrine or something else boring" time with something more fun:

• I often like to attend local sporting events when I travel, which is a fun way to meet locals and see a local event (and sometimes an interesting sport: Australian Rules Football or Sumo, for example). Concerts and theatre are less social, but are also memorable experiences


• There are websites that could lead to time or a meal with locals. Meet up with strangers from the internet


• Taking on some volunteer work while you travel is a great way to get away from the traditional set of tourist attractions


• Outdoor activities are a good choice. Rent bikes and explore. Ride horses or camels or mules or whatever they've got where you are. Get outside the city and go hiking. Even just go to a local market, buy picnic supplies, and relax together in a park where locals hang out

That said, as experiential travel is gone from something people do to a marketing buzzword, it's worth keeping in mind the advice of NomadicMatt—Experiential Travel: Just Another Way for People to Take Your Money. In short, be leery of packaged experiences, but do try to make your own.