First of a series
Where do I start? Well I suppose we should go back to July of 2018 when I wrote “Have Passport, Will Travel” about my pending trip to Tanzania with my dad.
Now, I will tell you, Africa was never on my bucket list. I thought it was too far out of reach, too wild, too uncertain. When my Aunt Ann died in early July of 2018 though, I couldn’t stand to hear the despair in my dad’s voice. I’m convinced when Aunt Ann died, part of my dad died with her. I know his siblings Aunt Wilma and Uncle Billy felt the same. Ann was an amazing person. One of her favorite hobbies was photography. She and my uncle would go camping and they loved taking pictures of bald eagles.
My dad has always been fascinated with wildlife and the overall beauty of nature. I mentioned before that he can be a glass half empty kind of guy and that he has been agnostic or atheist most of his life, but his religion is nature. I remember how much he loved to travel to the mountains of Colorado and how when he looked up at the mountains, his eyes would get watery with tears.
My dad has subscribed to National Geographic for 40 years. He has every single magazine for all of those years. He is an avid reader, perpetually curious about the world, and has always had a desire to travel.
So here we go after months of planning! We read all kinds of material, must haves to pack, vaccinations, etc. before our trip. We must have seriously talked about this trip three times per week until it was time to go. My dad and I have never talked on that regular of a basis for our entire relationship. So this was truly going to be a journey….physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I really just had no idea how much of one.