TRAVELS WITH MY HUSBAND........

Wow - a trip to Africa!   My husband Randy and I love to travel and take every opportunity we can to do so.  Africa has always been a dream vacation - a once in a lifetime experience and one that we definitely wanted to do together........but,  Randy has had two relatively recent knee replacements and we weren't sure if the climb would be possible for him.  Also, my friend's husband, Vince was joining us for the trek, which made Randy's participation even more important to me - it just didn't seem right if we couldn't be there together to share the experience.

So, initially he was put on the "maybe" list with our tour company.  In the beginning he was really considering the trek.  We looked at what kind of training it would take (he's not so much of a regular workout guy) and how his new titanium knees might facilitate his ability to do this climb.  But, when it was all said and done, my loving husband of 42 years announced that he wouldn't be on Kilimanjaro with me.

The physical requirements appeared like they might be a bit overwhelming....but that wasn't all of it....to be truthful, even when Randy's knees were stronger, he never really expressed a huge desire to "climb mountains", even though he is quite adventurous and is a real competitive type. Most importantly, he has supported me in this adventure from the very beginning.

Randy began to consider his options.......after tons of hours on the internet, we settled for a plan where we would all travel to East Africa together.  As Randy will not be climbing, he arranged a scuba diving excursion in Zanzibar, an island area of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean.  We will meet at the base of Kilimanjaro after the climb, rest for a day and all do a six day safari afterward.

Not what I initially envisioned, but the way things have fallen into place, it will certainly be a trip of a lifetime and an adventure for all of us.

Onward and forward....................