Adventure Into South Africa

As we begin our descent into South Africa, the kids ask me to check the time I set before we left. It reads: 23:54 -- almost exactly 24 hours of travel from taking off out of the Orlando airport through landing in Johannesburg.  It is customary for all weary travelers visiting foreign lands (no matter where you go) to walk through a maze of corridors, long hallways with people-moving sidewalks, and a handful of "officials" that are there perhaps to direct people, but are basically just walking around in groups of two or three. When we finally approach the customs clerk (who was also positioned the farthest away from us) I hand her our passports and await what I expect to be a long interrogation regarding my travel plans, the nature of our visit, the make and model of my first car, and the very important documentation that I meticulously collected for this very moment. Instead of any questions or concerns, she says Landon's middle name "James" and he nods ap...

December 2018 Christmas Holiday  My father-in-law and I sit across from each other on our back patio. We face the pool -- watching the caustic patterns of water cascade across the walls as we take in the sunset. He's summoned me here for a meeting... a pow-wow.  He doesn't waste any time and starts, "We don't get to spend enough quality time with your children. Maybe a few hours here and there over the course of holidays. I want to change all that. I want to get to know them better." Does he want to move in with us for awhile?  I can't figure out where this conversation is headed, so I nod for him to continue. He says,"I want to take you and the kids on a trip. Maybe to Switzerland, Germany, or South Africa." At the time, I'm in the middle of writing my thesis and preparing to speak at a conference. My mind is certainly not in vacation planning mode -- especially to any of the aforementioned epic destinations. But, I try to al...