Happy Grandparents' Day! My grandpa’s pond is still one of our family’s favorite fishing spots and I hid a little tribute to that in my children’s book - you’ll have to let me know if you spot it when you are reading the story.
Speaking of my grandpa, have I ever told you the story of our 2,000 mile long road-trip into the wild?
I’ve taken some adventurous trips in my life, including backpacking in Cambodia, sleeping in a yurt in the Mongolian dessert, and making my way into the DMZ between North and South Korean. But my “wildest” road-trip was when I was just 15 and my co-pilot was my grandpa.
On the morning of my 15th birthday, my grandpa and I packed his truck with our suitcases, fishing poles, and coolers for a 2,000 mile road trip to Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Just the two of us. But before we headed north, he drove me to the DMV so I could take my driver’s permit test, which would legally allow me to drive with him in the car.
I failed the test.
I took it a second time. I passed.
But when we went to get the actual paperwork, we were turned away because he wasn’t my legal guardian. We hopped in the truck and he started driving north anyway.
We spent the week fishing and found our lucky spot. He cleaned the fish and I cleaned the kitchen. We ate every meal together. We drove around looking for moose. We enjoyed a simple lake life together for a week.
And then he drove us all the way home. We stopped for a rootbeer float on the way. That ice cream treat is just one of so many vivid memories I have from that road trip, just the two of us.
We had set out for a fishing trip. But it ended up being so much more. Then again, isn’t every day fishing more than just fishing.
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