Remember that time I told the Australian Government that Nick was a criminal??? And in turn they denied his entry and I went ahead and lost 6 pounds from stress and a few years off my life?? I mean, I barrrreeeelllyy remember it;).
The story had a great ending – Thanks to Craig, our super duper Aussie Friend!!! But I didn’t realize, until now, how much that moment really affected me. I opened up the website to fill out our entry visa to Egypt and I started sweating!! Like I had just ran a marathon kinda sweat (at least how I imagine I would be if I ever run one;). You better damn well believe I checked that application a dozen times before pressing send, and guess what?? WE WERE APPROVED!!!! I feel like I need to take a bow for filling out a standard form, correctly;). So much talent!!
The Willards are headed to Africa and we are beyond excited!!! I’m not sure if I’m more excited for a month off or an across the world trip. The plan is to land in Cape Town, South Africa then drive the Garden Route, head to Tanzania for a Safari and end up in Egypt.
Why Africa?? If you have spent more than 10 minutes with our son Jake, it wouldn’t take you long to realize that his obsession with Sharks is real!! You may be thinking to yourself, well, isn’t that typical of an 8 year old? Jake, full time, carries a Shark Handbook with him incase anyone needs access to random Shark facts and that is just the tip of the ice berg;)
The Coast of South Africa is riddled with Sharks – I mean, that’s the rumour anyways;). We have been advised that we HAVE to do a shark dive – if you are over 5 years old, you can absolutely do this in SA. Nick brought up the point – just because you can, doesn’t mean you should;). Nick is not usually the voice of reason but something about sharks and cages and the ocean seem to have him on edge;). He has decided to wear his brave pants alllll the way to Africa and then we will see what happens when we get there, haha!!! I’ll keep Y’all posted.
Have you ever visited a zoo with our kids or watched a show about animals with them?? The random animal facts that escape them is always unreal – actually, so unreal that I have wasted a lot of time fact checking them – always to discover that they were totally right!! They LOVE animals (as most kids do) and so do I. To see an elephant in the wild is on the elusive bucket list!! I just can’t wait!! We all can’t wait and recognize that we are incredibly lucky to be able to experience something like this.
Nick has been to Egypt before, albeit, a lifetime ago!!! He worked outside of Cairo, in the middle of nowhere, over 20 years ago. He is excited to get back there and experience the insanity of an intense population with a radically different culture, with us this time:).
I think the kiddos are especially excited about the long flights, as only kids can be. Mom, can we watch whatever we want?? Will there be games on the screen?? Even better, do we get to sleep on the plane?? ‘Cause we like sleeping on planes!!! They are the ONLY ones excited about the flights, I just want to teleport there and be done with it – maybe one day;). Let’s cross our fingers!!
Have you been to Africa?? Do you have any tips? We’d love to hear your recommendations or advice. We have booked everything solely on referrals and it makes me confident and excited that we are going to have a great time!!!
As with all our trips – I anticipate someone losing the ability to control their bowels, pure chaos and ridiculous stories!!! Stay tuned;)
Willard Family Adventures 