Welcome back to the Sunshine Travelers podcast. Today is the third part in our series on our trip to Africa, and we're diving into something that goes beyond any single destination or adventure. We're talking about seizing those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, the kind of experiences that come knocking only once and leave a lasting mark on your life. Whether it's a safari across the African savannah, trekking through ancient ruins, or finally booking that dream getaway you've always thought about, sometimes life hands us a golden ticket to go beyond the ordinary. In today's episode, you will discover stories and unforgettable moments that came from saying yes to the trip of a lifetime.
I'm Scott.
And I'm Melissa.
And we're the Sunshine Travelers. Our passion is travel and sharing our experiences with those who enjoy it as much as we do, or those who want to learn more about travel, or even those who just want to live vicariously through our travel stories. No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our first-hand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on earth. Today we are honored to be
joined by a couple of experts on this topic. Our Brenda and aunts, recently joined us Rita, in Kenya for the safari portion of our trip. We'll dig into their stories a little but please later, join me as we welcome them to the show. we're joined with my two lovely Today, Brenda and And they recently aunts, joined us on Rita. this trip where we went on the safari. And so we're happy to have them on the episode and to help us as we're talking about taking this trip of a
about taking this
lifetime. So welcome to the show. Thank you. First of all, you know, tell us, start out by telling us the story of when you decided to say yes to this trip of a lifetime. Because I think that's, I love the story of how we got on to this trip.
You were at your mother's house, I think, weren't you, Scott?
Yeah. Yeah. So it was last Christmas sitting at her kitchen table. I think we were playing cards or something like that.
Yeah. And you, Scott, you and Melissa started talking about your trips that you had taken. And I was like, y'all need to let me know when you're going on these trips because I want to go with you. because I want to go with you.
And so that's when you said,
well, we have a trip to Africa coming up if you want to go. And I was like, are you kidding me?
And so you said, no, I'm not kidding. We do. We're planning a trip. I just kind of mulled that over in my mind for a little bit. And then I said, these two young kids don't want women going with them on a trip. So I kind of voiced that. And you said, yes, we do. It was a surprise. Y'all need to come with us.
a surprise.
Just for everyone listening, these are the fun, too. Right? We have a blast when we're together. I wanted to
to mention, even then, we were staying up until 1, 2 o'clock in the morning, playing cards, just hanging out.
just hanging out. Hanging out, yes. o'clock in the morning you know playing cards you know just hanging out and yeah hanging out yes so you know when it whenever we just kind of started talking about it a little bit you know my husband jerry and i we had always said we wanted to go on a safari, but it just didn't ever work out. You
ever work out. You know, he had business trips that he had to go on. And so, you know, we just never got around to the safari thing. So whenever Scott said, yes, we would like to do that. Y'all need to come with us. I just kind of sat there for a little bit and kind of molded over. And I told Brenda, I said, we could go. And what did you say? I
did you say? I can't go. i can't go i said yes we
can it's almost a year away we can start saving up our money and everything and so then by the time it comes around, we'll have it all paid for. And so that's what we
did. Yeah. I kept calling Scott and Melissa saying,
I kept calling Scott and Melissa saying, are you sure that you want us to go with you? that you want us to go with you?
there's Yes, a little background. We were planning this. You know, part of it was it was our 30th wedding anniversary this year. And then, of course, I have a big birthday coming up later this year. And so she's like, you don't want us to come and crash that party. It's like, yes, we do. We want to have fun. We want to laugh. But Brenda, you had kind of a similar story where that's something you had talked about at one point in time, but just never did it, right?
Right. But it was kind of way back in my, you know, it was way back in my bucket list. But I'm glad it turned out like it did because I just, oh oh it was so much fun well good i mean and so what we're kind of talking about today is you had
we're kind of talking about today is you had this opportunity for a trip of a lifetime and you said yes to
it and so let me just interject this one thing. And we didn't want to go for two weeks by ourselves. Right, right. So because we could go with you, you two, then we felt more comfortable about going on this long trip.
about going on this long trip because the most either one of us i guess had ever been away at you know one period of time was one week right much much less you know going for two weeks yeah we couldn't we couldn't talk y'all into the full three-week experience with us.
we couldn't talk y'all into the full three-week experience with us. No. But it's not something, so it's
it's not
like, you know, here's the opportunity. So it's not something that you would say, oh, okay, well, maybe we'll do this next year. We can plan it on our own and we'll do it. It's like, no, this is the opportunity to do
to do this. No, this was the opportunity because we had fantastic people taking care of everything. I mean, from when we arrived, well, maybe you don't want me to talk about that yet, but from the point of arrival until we left to come back home, We had somebody taking care of us, you know, picking us up, taking us to where we needed to go. You know, it was awesome. The way that the travel agent or whatever you call them. McKay
McKay Africa, yeah. McKay Africa, yeah.
McKay Africa, yeah. The way that they had everything planned out and took care of us all through the trip and they were and they were always right there when they were supposed to be but let's back up for a second
up for a second and talk about the anticipation of waiting for this trip you know what that was like it was about you know it says about a year but it was like it was about 10 months right so by the time you decided to join us what went through your mind later that night and then the next few days is you're like wow we like wow we've said yes we're gonna go on this trip what kind
of went through your mind? First of all, after Brenda and I talked by ourselves without anybody else around, we were like, are we crazy? Have we lost our ever loving mind? At our age and our and you know i have i have been having some back problems and you know i have all of these other health issues after we left you guys i was like i don't can i do this can i actually do this of course I always take care of her.
Yes. When we go on trips, I take care of her. She's a little bit older than me, but I have more health issues than she does. Right. So she ends up taking care of me instead of me taking care of her. I think it's a little bit of both, though. We take care of each other. Yeah, we do. We had
a lot of calls, you know, in between that time. And really in the next few days, you know, we had, you know, some telephone conversations, you know, around kind of the, well, what does this look like? And, you know, what again are all the details? And so we went through a lot of that over the next few days. But I think that
But I think
I think that really then starts to build on some of the anticipation of waiting for the
trip. Oh, it did. It did. And we thought that
you guys were going to be like packed in the next week and ready to go. And so then Brenda, you wanted to mention, I think like about your knee replacement surgery and just like, maybe share just a little bit about how that, not how that like. Well, I
wanted, I wanted to be able to walk good, you know, by the time. So I went ahead, I got the doctor to schedule my surgery as soon as possible. I got the doctor to schedule my surgery as soon as possible. So I had it April the 19th. And in my that was my motivation to really therapy, do my therapy and get to where I could walk good. So and it really helped. So I wanted to be sure anyway, I did you and got over that, that. know,
So I think that's great. I think this is important to share that, right? Because like you said, it gave you, you know, a reason to like not put that off and then be motivated and to get that healed and stuff like that. What, what else as far as the anticipation for the trip and then just, cause we did have a lot of, a lot of calls like this and then you guys just asking questions and just wanting to make sure that you were prepared. passing Well, this on to our children was another thing.
Because they said, Mom, you have got to be kidding. I I'm not. said, no, I said, well, go for it then. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. They said, well, hey, go.
You've traveled a little bit more internationally and stuff like that. But, Brenda, this was a big deal for you to jump on a flight and head to Africa.
Africa. The farthest I've ever been was to Hawaii. And I went there three times. But that's the only time I've ever been out of the continental United States.
That's a long ways, though, I will say. That flight to Hawaii, you can almost get to Africa in about the same amount of time.
No, no, no. It's like four hours more to Africa than to
hours more to Africa than to Hawaii from Atlanta. We went ahead and got the business class seats so we'd be more comfortable.
ahead and got the business class seats so we'd be more comfortable. And Melissa helped us with that. So that was very good.
good.
Melissa is the queen traveling. I'm telling you. Because she helped us find discounted seats and all that. And we knew, well, I knew that we were going to have to have first class or business class seats because there is no way to go that far that far you know in a regular seat so i mean if you're young and you can handle that kind of stuff then that's one thing but yeah that's a long trip yeah for sure so you made that journey as our listeners probably
yeah that's a long trip yeah for sure so you made that journey as our listeners probably know, some of the things that we've talked about. You made that journey to Kenya by yourselves. We went to Cairo for a few
a few days. We met you guys in Kenya. So what was as, and when we got to, what is it, Doha? Let me start right here, Brenda. You guys, Melissa and Scott, y'all had already told us that we needed to put, that we needed assistance on our tickets.
Yeah. The airline reservation. Yeah. And so that's what we did. We went ahead and asked for assistance. And when we got to the airport, remember, Brenda, there were about 200 people over in the coach line and there were three people in the business class. Yes.
You we went know, up there and they took our suitcases and everything.
And we had our carry-on, one little carry-on bag. Then they sent us to over to get a wheelchair. And that was fantastic. That was fantastic.
If even if you're an older person and you don't have a lot wrong with but you can't walk you, that you need to ask for far, assistance. Because, man. All right, Brenda, you finish telling.
I didn't get assistance the first So I walked and Yeah, walked beside Rita. leg. But by the time I got you after having had this there, it was know, rough. surgery, So I asked for assistance on the way back. But we walked, but we would get, you know, when you have assistance, it takes you to the front of the line. And I would be walking beside her, you know, because we were together. And we would go right to the front of the line. That was wonderful.
Yeah. And, I mean, it's like you said, like if you need it and it will help you out like
it and
that, utilize it. Right? Because it's super easy to ask for. Like it's part of the service that's provided, you just typically go into the app or to their website and put in your information and just tell them, hey, I need this assistance. The other thing that made me glad about that is that we were like, well, let me say, because sometimes it's confusing, right? In an airport, like then you get off the plane, it's like, okay, where do we go next? You know, we didn't have to worry about that with you guys because we're like, oh, they're going to take care of them. They're going to show them where they need to go, where they need to go next. They're going to make sure they get there on time.
In fact, they're going to push her in a chair to get there. Right. So that just gave us that connection in Doha.
Right. So that just gave us that connection in Doha. So, yeah. Yeah. And when we got to
And when we got to Doha, we were very, very thankful that we had that assistance because when we got off of the airplane, that place is huge. I was just there last
I was just there last week. It is. Yes. And not
It is. Yes. And not knowing where to go. I mean, of course, we could have asked, you know, one of the people, but they were there with those little golf cart things.
took us to the lounge and then came back and picked us up and took us to the gate that we needed to be at for our trip into Nairobi from Doha.
So that made it really a lot easier in the traveling. It's because you didn't have to try
because you didn't have to try to figure that part out
figure that part out of where do i go inside the airport because they took you
took you right where you needed to go right exactly so that's probably something to think about for maybe some of our older travelers and you know if you're
probably something to think about for maybe some of our older travelers and you know if you're if you're going to have these connections and maybe you have a little bit of anticipation or nervousness about it. You know, this is a service that they offer that you can get. And they'll take you right where you need to go.
Yes. It did help having, you know, the two sisters together, you know, doing their, because it relieved my anticipation, you know, that. Anxiety. Anxiety, yeah. Yes.
anticipation you know that anxiety anxiety yeah yes yes but but that took and when we got to Nairobi it was late at night or early in the morning or whatever I can't even remember but it was like midnight midnight and and and our driver was right there McK The McKay, Africa people, they were right there. When we got off of the airplane, we walked into the building and they were
right there and they had a sign with our name on it And so that relieved all of that anxiety as well. Right. So the way that they take care of you over there was just totally amazing.
they take care of you over there was just totally amazing. Yep.
Well, let's talk about you're now in Nairobi. You've made it there. Our friends from McKay have picked you up. They take you to where you were staying. You know, we had found you some lodging because you guys wanted to go a couple of days ahead of time to make sure that you could adjust to the timeframe and that you wouldn't be, you know, battling jet lag, you
that you
know, in the first few days of the safari. So tell us a little bit about, because you guys did some really fun and unique activities that we didn't do with you, right? So before we met up with you in Nairobi, you guys did a little bit of sightseeing on your own. It was wonderful.
Well, we didn't people at McKay Africa if they could recommend, you know, some excursions for us to do while we were there for those two days. I'm really glad that we did that. I'm glad that we went ahead of time because it helped tremendously. We slept that whole first day.
We don't advise that as a way to defeat jet lag, but it worked for you.
worked for you. By the time we got to the hotel, it was like 2 a.m.
Yeah, and you go straight to
bed. And we had our first experience with the driver, which turned out to be one of our other drivers that took us on safari as well. I said to him, how long is it going to take to get to our hotel? And he looked at me and it looked, I mean, he had the most serious look on his face. And he said, oh, about four hours. And my eyes got as big as saucers. And I was like, you've got to be kidding me. And he just died laughing.
eyes got as big
And I
So we talked a little bit about Sammy on last week's You've got to be kidding episode. And he just died laughing. me. So we talked a little bit about Sammy on last week's episode. And he was he was quite a jokester.
Yes, he was great. And so that's when that's when I told him, I said, oh, I see now you're a jokester and you're good. You're going to try to get one over on us. And so we just fell in love with him, you know, because he was like that. You know, he was making a lighthearted joke kind of of thing and then he also well let me back up when we got to the hotel it was around 2 a.m so we needed to go
to the hotel it was around 2 a.m so we needed to go to bed and sleep you know but what we didn't know is that we would sleep into the next day as well.
So it was, I don't know. It was late evening when we slept. It was like 2 p.m. Yeah, 2 p.m. by the time we got up out of bed.
So the first day you would recommend like really nothing, right? Hang out at the place, eat, rest.
day you
It worked out well for us. Some people might not, but it worked out well for us.
Yeah, and especially with the time of the day. So you always have to think about the time of the day that you're arriving and stuff like that. But at least to give you, like you would have been, like if you only have had that one day and then you're starting on safari the next day it would have been a lot rougher
well talk to us about that second day though went out on your excursions yes sammy again
to us
out on your excursions
your excursions yes sammy again came and picked us up the next morning we had already pre-arranged that arranged that we were going to go to two places. So the giraffe center, it was wild. I mean, you get to be up front and personal with all of the giraffes and their long tongues. They want you to feed them. They come up there because they know that the people have food.
So this is a very special giraffe, though. This is the Rothschild giraffe. Right. And it is near extinction.
a very special
Yes. And they have a way that they're... Like a breeding program.
a breeding program. Right. Yeah.
That's what I'm thinking of.
Yeah. But it's not a giraffe, so it's not something that we would have seen later on, right? So this was your opportunity to see those. Yeah. Those Rothschilds. There are three types
three types of giraffes, the Rothschild, and then there's two other ones, and I can't remember them.
The reticulated.
And the and I can't remember The reticulated. Yes. Maasai. ones, them. Yes. And the Maasai.
yes. Oh, okay. Yeah, I'm glad you remembered.
okay. Yeah, I'm glad you remembered. So we talked about this in the previous episode is we went in knowing nothing about animals. And then after a few days, you hear a few things, and then you would have been convinced that we were all experts. No.
But you have better memory than I do.
Sometimes.
I have my moments.
But the giraffes would just, I mean, you hold out a little, because they give you little food things when you go in and a little bowl, a little dish, and you feed them. And it was so much fun because they come right up to you and they have that big tongue out.
Do you give any a kiss?
No, I didn't get that close.
And then the other place that you guys went to that day was.
Oh, that was fantastic. It was the, what's the name of it? Sheldrick. The what?
Sheldrick wildlife. Sheldrick, yes.
And it is the reserve for baby elephants.
And oh my gosh. They take bottles. They feed them with bottles. And then they have like leaves from like a limb with leaves on it that they spread out around where the
people are standing. And the elephants go around and they get close enough where you can just reach out and touch them. You can, you know, I thought, okay, I'm going to pet one of these elephants. But I was shocked. The side of that elephant
was not smooth. What did you expect? They're real wrinkles. I thought, man, this feels like my skin. Not really. And so they basically rescued these baby elephants
rescued these baby elephants from, is it all over Kenya, right? Not just Kenya. not just Oh, Kenya. All over Okay. right? Kenya, Not just not Kenya. just Oh, Kenya. Okay.
not just Oh, Kenya. All over Okay. right? Kenya, Not just not Kenya. just Oh, Kenya. Okay. All over Africa. Yeah. They fly those elephants.
They find and them, they're notified of and them, they go to where they are, and they fly them into this into Sheldrick. preserve, Is that the name of it? Yeah. Sheldrick. Sheldrick, Is that the name? Yeah. It's, but the,
Is that the name of it?
the guy that was, that led the, you know, he was one of the the, guide, not our guide, but the one that talked about elephants. He knew every single one of them and he knew exactly where they came from and how long, how old they were. And what, you know you know they some of most of them the mother was dead or something you know but but they were all orphans is what they were and it was and they were fantastic some of them were smaller and some of them were like older teens or i guess because once they older, they put them into the wild.
Yeah, they try to reintroduce them into existing herds out in the wild. And that is there in the Nairobi
that is there in the Nairobi National Park, right? That's actually part of that national park in Nairobi?
Yes, yes. national park in nairobi yes yes and i think i even think the the giraffes would go into back into the nairobi national park at night okay
come back that's really strange but i know that's what they told us wasn't it rita yes yeah and they had a like a road that went across from one side of the road to the other side and the other side would be the national park but then the giraffes know that there's food in this so they come back. And so they would come back every morning like clockwork and they don't have a watch.
don't have a watch. You know, we have to have an alarm clock.
have to
Most of the giraffe
Most of the giraffe manor is part of that, right?
Yeah, giraffe manor is right there. So the giraffe center is right there in in karen which is where you guys stayed right which is where we met you guys when we got there at makushla house as well so well let's move on to
on to the safari because that was why we were there real quick be honest with us what were you thinking when we were talking about staying in tented camps? What went through your mind?
I couldn't picture it. I told you, I said, there is no way I can go on a trip where I have to sleep on the ground. I can't get off of a chair very well, much less get down on the ground and sleep and try to get up. So, but it wasn't anything like that. When we started looking at pictures, we saw that it was, we kind of realized what it was because we, you know, when you look at the pictures from the glamping and safaris, it showed a lot more. So we kind of got over our fear of being in a tent.
These were not your average, ordinary Coleman tents, were they?
No. These were definitely glamorous. They all had showers and, you know, the bathroom was just like, you know, what you'd have in a motel or something. So hotel. But they treated you like, oh, my gosh. It was the food and the restaurants were fantastic. It was marvelous. It really was. And it better than anything I have here. I think the food on this trip was some of the
the food on this trip was some of the best food that we've ever had.
Oh, it was.
was. Easily.
Yes. Even the breakfast we had out on the safari when we were there, those were fantastic. You know, they, they took care of us.
Yes, for sure.
So they called, they called it bush breakfast. Yeah. And so I wasn't quite sure exactly what a bush breakfast would be, but man, it was nothing like I had in my mind.
We told the story last week, Rita, when we were at elephant bedroom camp and they came and said, what would you like on your, you know, bush breakfast? And you said, Oh, some, some coffee would be good. And maybe a Danish.
And they were like, well, we think we have some biscuits. And you're like, yeah, biscuits. That's great. And they were like, well, we think we have some biscuits. And you're like, yeah, biscuits, that's great. And I was like, wait a minute, slow your roll. Biscuits are cookies here.
Right, right. We want more cookies. Yeah.
cookies. Yeah.
So the next day I told them, give us more of those biscuits the next time.
Yes, because that was something that they would bring when our wake-up call, right? If you needed to get up and get up early, they would bring that coffee, you know, to the tents and have a few of the little biscuits to kind of get you going. And like y'all said, great for taking medicine and supplements and things like that, for sure. Like y'all great for taking said, medicine and supplements and things like for sure. that,
So two episodes we back, went into great detail for our listeners for the at, different, like talking about all the different kinds of the camps, differences between them and stuff like So that. if you haven't listened to the episode, go back and listen to that. Do you, each of you, do you have a favorite out of those four places that we stayed? San I The Beru, San think. the elephant Beru, bedroom? of you Yeah. do you Yeah. do you have a favorite out of those four places that you that we stayed samburu i think the samburu the
out of those four places that you that we stayed samburu i think
the elephant bedroom yeah yeah that was my favorite okay yeah rita yeah i think elephant bedroom was probably the the most favorite but each one of them had a
was my favorite okay yeah rita yeah i think elephant bedroom was probably the the most favorite but each one of them had a little, just a little bit different, something unique to that place. And so they were, they were all so good. But I guess if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Elephant Bedroom.
That's so interesting because I have a favorite and Scott has a favorite that we mentioned there and y'all's favorite is different. But we talked about, and it was good. I mean, you don't want to move around too much, but it was good to experience different things, right? You're there to get a different experience, to go to those different parks as well.
there to get
And, you know, experience the people. So that's just, that's super interesting. Well, I don't think
Well, I don't think you could do wrong in any of these places where we're still.
in any of these places where we're still. No, absolutely. And we also mentioned that McKay did a great job of communicating that, hey, if you can put these guys close, you know, to the common area, to the restaurant as well, to the parking, that that would be super helpful. And they did an amazing job. that would be super And they helpful. did an amazing job.
that would
And the one time that they did, and the one time that they didn't have anything close, they always pick the our, guide always picked us That up. was what the, was the name of it? Ambo Sally. Ambo Sally. Yeah.
Yeah. Tortilla. Yeah. Tortilla's camp and, and Allie, Allie did that for us. And yeah, but they accommodated, right? So just communicating and letting, letting right, them know. And yeah, we just thought that was fabulous. And we didn't mention it, but just going back, not to go in great detail, but also Sammy was with you guys at those other experiences. And he helped you guys and helped you Rita with you know wheelchair even though it was not super suitable right for a wheelchair but he went over y'all felt like over and beyond right oh
oh my gosh I was afraid he was gonna hurt himself you know taking he was pushing me in a wheelchair up and down to see the elephants and yeah it was not it was not a paved area yeah it was dirt yes and so it was it was rough and i think that got us even more
excited because we were already you know communicating with you guys making you sure you were there and stuff like that and y'all were already like oh my gosh sammy is fantastic and you know he communicating with you making guys, sure you were there and stuff like And that. y'all were already like, my oh, Sammy gosh, is fantastic. And, you know, he's done this for us already. And, you know, just helping us where, you know, mobility might be an issue. So, you know, that made us super, you know, excited to get there and, of course, to meet
And, you know, he's done
Sammy, too.
So how did the safari experience compare to what you thought it might be?
how did
It blew my mind, too. It was better than anything I could have anticipated. Here in America, you know, we have zoos and you have Disney World that has the animal safari kind of thing, you know. But in
Africa, it's, I don't know how to explain how different it is, but it was just something that I'll
something that I'll never, ever forget.
You can tell right now that it conjures an emotion in your mind.
Yes, it does. And, you know, when we were there, like at the zoo, when an animal has a baby or whatever, you know, they kind of keep it away from everybody for a while.
for a while. But over there, you go and see these animals. And I mean, it's beyond belief that you could be that close to a lion and her cub. You know, just even thinking about it now, it just blows my mind. That part probably was my was the favorite, baby lions that would come over close. You know, I mean, we would be that close to the lion. And I've heard some of my friends that saw it and weren't you afraid? says, The window was open. you don't have a window no no the only time that i was really afraid was when we had our bush breakfast with richard The elephants came down
came down to below us at the water. And that one elephant was very, very curious. And he started coming up or she came up to where we were. And Brenda got on the wrong side of the truck. And so Richard finally had to say miss brenda you need to come over on this side but she was just standing there with her ipad and i was loving it i was loving it richard richard that elephant
richard richard that elephant won't charge will it and he said well I'm not sure what it's going to do and when he said that I was like Brenda get over here I'm glad y'all didn't see
y'all didn't see the video that I saw the other day where the elephant actually picked up the truck and tossed it.
No. Was it over there?
it over
I don't know where it was, but it was definitely on a safari somewhere. But there was signs and the driver wasn't paying attention. And the
the elephant was
was like, you need to get out of here. And he just stayed there and finally it came in with its trunk picked it up you know in the front bumper and just tossed it over well you know they told us sometime or
know they told us sometime or another one of the guides told us that they have to go through training the guides do so that they can know the signs or watch for all those signs you know that that animal is getting irritated so we need to move so you know i was really thankful for the guides yes all of our guides
were really good about recognizing that. And, you know, there were a couple of times when they're like, we should just go on. Right. Yeah. We've stayed long enough. We should probably move on at this point. Yes.
So in our last episode, Scott and I mentioned to people, you want to go see the Big Five, but don't like bank your whole safari on that. Right. You might want to see a kill or something like that, but don't let that be. Oh, if I don't see this, right, I'll be disappointed. What is the one thing that you wanted to see?
For me, I wanted before we, you know, went out, I wanted to see the male lion. You know, that big mane. I just wanted to see that and then of course you know i knew we would see a lot of the other like the elephants and zebras and zebras and all that you know I figured we would see all of those but I wanted to see the male lion and boy did we ever get to see a beautiful male lion yeah I was afraid because it seems like it was one of the last things that we saw. And so I was afraid that I wasn't going to get to see but they didn't let us down. that, That's for sure.
Sammy delivered on that one in the skid didn't mara, he?
Yes. My favorite picture of all of them is the lion with the baby that's under its legs. And the baby lion is looking up at its mother with awe. You know, it looks like it's in love. You know, and I thought, oh, my gosh, that was my favorite picture of all of them, I think. That one and the other one that I absolutely just adore is the monkeys. Oh, yeah. The monkey. The mama with the monkey on its back. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. That is so sweet.
yeah. The monkey. The mama
Yeah.
And a couple of those are just things to have in like a DSLR or, you know, a camera where you're just like doing that constant shutter. Right. And getting like all their different motion and things like that. So that was the
So that was the one, the one too with the baby lion that came, that would go from its mother. It would, you know, we got a video of it going from its mother and coming down to where our vehicle was. And it would come real close to the vehicle. Then it would go back to its mother and then it would come back. That was so, I just i guess somebody asked me that i was showing the pictures to they said could you just you know open the door and reach
you know open the door and reach out and get that cup and i
out and
i said you want to have that lion charge you?
She looked like she was like taking a nap over there for every once in a while. But, you know, she was, yeah, she could be over there and quick.
was like taking a nap over there for every once in a while.
They're fast. Yeah. That's so interesting because a lot of the things that y'all have mentioned, we actually mentioned the last episode. And it was amazing to see how many babies we saw and how many babies we saw just nursing right they would go over to mom and nuzzle and nurse for a second and then it was just like oh my goodness what a the baby elephants but i mean we saw so many bait i mean it was just bait every all of them had babies
babies we saw
bait i mean it was just bait every all of them had babies almost you know even the rhinos yes right yes that was
even the rhinos yes
i love that
that that to me was the ultimate you know getting to see
The interaction between the mamas and the babies of all different species of the animals.
And it was mind blowing. Yeah. That we could be right there and see all of that. I guess much
better, though, when you're the predator and not the prey.
Yeah.
The babies of the prey, they didn't have such a loving relationship.
That was sad to see that. It was, like I told Brenda, it was a
It
cool thing to see how they, that's how they got their food you know but at the same time you feel bad for the mama of that baby or you know even for that animal to have to lose its life but that is a fact of life yeah you. That's how they survive.
Any special memories that you want to share? I know one of the things that we did, you guys called me about maybe five months out from leaving on the trip. You're like, hey, that hot air balloon. Yes.
Yes. Initially, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get into the basket of a hot air balloon. So I asked you about that because I knew that you said that you and Melissa were going to do a hot air balloon ride. And, you know, that was, I've done like a hot air balloon but it was tethered you know you get in and then they let you go up a little ways and then you come back down but nothing you know I've never like ridden from one place and then end up in another place. Brenda and I talked about it and I said, we should try it at least, you know. And so I called, I think I was at Brenda's house. And so we called you guys and asked you about it. And you said, I can find out, you know,
And you I can find said, you out, how you know, get in you and, do they know, have a place on the basket where it's accessible?
We were all very We ignorant. were.
all very We ignorant. were. Yes, we were. It wasn't anything like we had anticipated. Like we had anticipated.
Because I think we had they'll said, oh, yeah, you stairs have, or something know, where you can crawl over into the basket. Yeah. Never did we know that we were going to get in spaceship launch mode in the basket laying down sideways.
We laughed. That is the, you know what, we laughed more then than any time. We laughed a lot, but that was so funny.
And that's one of those things. You've gotten a bit 4 a.m., you've paid for it. You're like, well, it is what it
that's one of those
what it is, right? Get in. Get in. All right. We'll figure it
it out. Right.
I love it.
I love it. You know, it was, we didn't have time to be scared either was the thing about it, you know, because by the time we got in it and the way they, maybe y'all told them how, how it worked. But by the time we got in there and got me in, I guess, was the rough one. I don't know if we did.
if we did. Like, I don't think we went into great detail because we had talked a long time. So just, yeah, so just Scott mentioned we had to get in launch mode. So just explain what that looked like real quick.
The basket was actually laying on its side. And when you look in the basket, there's a little bench that went across. And so you had to get in like you were sitting on that bench, but you're laying on your back.
And we have some great pictures of that, by the way. And
way. And video, yeah. Oh, do you? Oh, my gosh. The funniest one rita getting out of it so yeah well because then they mentioned
so it's and we we didn't even know for sure it's 16 people there's four it's like the it's like a rectangle and it's divided into four quadrants so there's four people in each there is a bench where you could sit down which i know you were thankful for that rita so because it is an hour flight and you had the pilot and he said we may also have to lay on its side when we when we land too right it's just what they have to do and it'll drag us along yeah and we did yeah it had to drag us along that's true so it did we he did not like the way the wind was it just went straight
and it'll drag us along yeah
and we did yeah it had to drag us along that's true so it did we he did not like the way the wind was it just went straight down but then you were like oh how am i gonna climb out of it i'm gonna get these
old legs off of this but then but then the guys that were helping to bring the basket back down they were right there and they helped me over the side. And I was, I was so tickled by that. I couldn't even hardly help them to get me out of the basket. But if anybody ever has a chance to do hot air balloon ride, they need to take the chance. Yeah. Because that was fabulous.
Yeah.
We had so much fun, and we were able to see so much from the air, you know, that we might not have been able to see when we were riding around. The hippos.
Yeah. Yeah. were riding around like the hippos yeah that's what i was fixing a huge pod of hippos that were i don't know if they're called pods but that's what i've been playing around in water yes a school
of hippos okay but they it was absolutely that was another one of those I guess bucket list items you know and to think that we got to do that in Africa
but they
was another one of those I guess bucket list items you know and to think that we got to do that in Africa yeah awesome yeah and I'm so
so glad that you guys decided to to do that because I know one
that you guys decided to to do that because I know one of the things you had said, or at least Scott said to me is, oh, they want to do this. Like they asked, is it something romantic just for you guys? And, you know, thankfully, I mean, we wanted you to do it with us. But yeah, it was like 14 other, what is it, 12 other strangers. You know, and we would have just been like so disappointed
it, 12 other
so disappointed if you hadn't gone and experienced that with us. so glad So, that you And did. and experienced that with us so so glad that you did and i know that you guys are too
too oh yeah we were we were worried because you know i mean part of this was your anniversary trip too so so we didn't want to interfere with with y'all you know taking time for just you two i think we've taken like 10 anniversary trips this
10 anniversary trips this year, to be honest.
But that was the other thing. I mean, I totally agree with you. It was almost like for that one hour, it was just like, could you comprehend? I'm in a hot air balloon and I'm flying over the Maasai Mara in Kenya. And just, I mean, we had beautiful weather and, you know, just, you know, being able to see those animals and see the other balloons in the sky. And it was just one of those. I can't believe I'm actually doing this.
believe I'm actually doing this. Oh, yes. I love sunrises and sunsets. I have some of those. Every time we had a sunrise or a sunset, I have great pictures.
Well, just about every day you got to see a sunrise and a sunset.
Yes, we did.
That was wonderful. Let me ask you guys this question. Any regrets about taking this trip? No.
Absolutely not. No. If I had not done it, I would do it again. I don't know if I will do it again, you know, just to do it again. I don't know if I will do it again, you know, just to do it again, but there's no, no regrets, absolutely
none. I want I started to say I want to go again, but I don't know. A long tiring trip.
Yeah. You know, when you're not used to going a lot. And it was, some days it was a little bit gruesome.
No, we didn't mention that too. I mean, it was for us, right? You're getting up so early and, you know, some days you have travel in the middle. And you literally were just like, okay, it's nine o'clock, but I'm going to sleep because the morning's going to come early. Yeah. Right. So it was for us, too. Not just for you guys. Well, Rita. I'm glad to hear that.
Rita and I you we decided not to go on one of the were, know, went out into the bush. safari, But one because morning, we were just so we just tired, thought, we better well, just stay in.
So we you so let, that know, but it was only was, because we were just so tired I tired, could not do it again that morning. And that was the one where we saw the male lions just killed the wildebeest.
just killed the wildebeest.
Probably the female killed the wildebeest and the male lions were enjoying a feast.
And it's interesting that you say that because that was one of the tips that we had is that we, and some of the feedback that we would have for people is that we did need either one morning or one afternoon, somewhere in the middle like that, where it was just like, we need a little more time to either sleep in or to, yeah, something like that. I mean, you don't want to, you go all that way, right? You spend all this money. You want to see as much, but you also don't want to just like completely wear yourself up. And that's true. Like you have that option to say, okay, we're, you know, we, we just, we can't go or we don't want to go. So that's awesome. Yeah. So what
sleep in
what other, so besides that, what, what tips would you have to share for anyone who is thinking about doing a trip like this, has a trip planned or as they're planning a trip like this? Or maybe even if just the
even if just the opportunity presents itself. Because you guys hadn't really thought about doing this. It was an opportunity came across and you had to say yes or no.
Yes. I would encourage anybody who has the opportunity and can afford it to do it.
who has the opportunity and can afford
Don't put it off because, you know, just like with me and my husband, my husband, you know, died and we never got the chance to do a trip like this. to do a trip like this.
And so if you have the opportunity and the means and everything, then you need to do it. I mean, it's a once in a lifetime. You know, that's for me and Brenda probably. Yeah. This was the one time that we were able to do it you got anything no i think that's i would i've got friends that have been more than once you know they've been at least twice well actually children of friends of mine that i talked to before this and they and they would go as much as they possibly could you know they would go every year if they had the money to do it because they love it that much. So the safari is just absolutely fantastic. And it's a great thing to do. about that the safari trip is that everything is planned out
so perfectly right where you're going to stay what you're going to have to eat when you're going to go to find the animals in the park and all of that. So I just couldn't have even imagined anything any better than what we had. I don't know how you could top it. Me either. I don't know how you could top it. I don't know how you could improve even, except for, you know, just let me sleep for a little bit longer, please.
And the other complaint is there's too much food and it's too delicious. And these are so good.
You're right. Every meal. I think I was
I was actually surprised. Or stoga. You're right. Every meal. Yeah. I think I was actually surprised. Maybe it was because we were going so but I much, had only gained two pounds. Only gained two pounds. I didn't even gain. I didn't gain any. So that hey. was,
thank you Well, you guys, for coming know, on and just sharing your experience you and, that kind know, of inspiration to others to say yes to that trip of a lifetime. And definitely this is one of the greatest memories that Melissa and I will have in our hearts and with others for a really long time. really,
yeah. Oh, That's what I was going to say is just now having that, you know, common experience with you guys. Right. You can show people pictures, you can tell people stories, but it's not the same experience as having that same experience together. Right.
And I loved it when Melissa flew the airplane. Oh, yes.
Yeah. Will asked us a question about that today because he was listening to the podcast that actually came out today on that. And he was like, Mom, what kind of airplane was it?
I said, let me do the video. I said, it's four minutes long. I'm sorry.
Scott actually told you what it was.
I did. I read it off the little card, and I was like, when we get ready to start the Sunshine Travelers airline, this is what we need to buy. Yeah, so
so I'll have to share that video on social media, and I can link it in the show notes. That was fun, and that was a fun surprise experience for us. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. We love you guys. And we will see y'all at Christmas.
Okay. Yay. Sounds good. We found that when you're traveling, there are two things that are essential to a smoother, stress-free journey. Fast and easy ways to charge your devices to stay connected and effective and lightweight packing solutions to stay organized on the go. And for us, Apica checks both of those boxes. The Apica brand is known for their highly rated travel adapters, and now they're expanding their travel gear offerings with incredibly lightweight, waterproof, and tear-resistant packing cubes that are crafted from 100% ultra-lightweight nylon material. Their packing cubes have a double zipper system, one for closing it and the other that allows you to compress the extra air out of the cube, which will save you up to 60% more space in your suitcase when packing. This was especially important to us on the safari when we were only allowed one large duffel suitcase for the entire trip. When we travel, we just take the compression packing cubes out of our suitcase, put it directly in the drawer, and then I just pull the clothes we need out of the compression cubes. We've been using packing cubes for years and always sing their praises for staying organized, especially in traveling to multiple destinations in the same trip, which if you know us, we usually do. Right now, Apica is offering our community a 30% off limited time discount with our special code on their brand new ultra lightweight compression packing cube set of four. These make fantastic Christmas gifts for your favorite travelers and for yourself. Go to sunshinetravelers.com slash pack to learn more and get 30% off your purchase for a limited time with our code APICA30OFF.
Melissa, the idea behind this episode was saying yes to the trip of a lifetime when the opportunity presents itself. And I'm sure I know the answer for you as well. But for me, I'm so happy that we had the opportunity to share this trip with Brendan Rita. The fun, the excitement, all of the anticipation as we were going through all of the plans, all of this is just something that will stay a memory in my heart for forever.
Yes, absolutely. I mean, just like being on, you know, the calls that we would have with them from time to time just about planning. And, you know, we talked about packing for months and months and, you know, getting them set up. And you mentioned, I think, a little bit, you know, you're so proud of them for getting their, you know, their eSIM set up and their WhatsApp so that they could, you know, and just the time that we spent ahead of the trip, you know, together, you know, planning for it. And I think that's a big part of, you know, doing a trip and then doing a trip with other people. But then, you know, I guess also like myself getting to have the experience, but then also watching you and you, me, but then also for us to get to watch them. You know, not just the safari part, but just, you know, trying lots of new foods and just having experiences of travel that maybe that we don't think about sometimes that when you travel with people who don't travel as much as you do and just, you know, getting to see the excitement and the joy and watching somebody else have those travel experiences is really special.
Yeah, it was really funny because we would have calls with them, like you said, and, you know, I think sometimes it was a simple question, but then we would end up on the phone with them for hours, you know, just talking about the trip. And like I said, anticipation was real there. And so, you know, those are just memories that we will always cherish about this trip, just almost as much as being on the trip with them.
Yeah, for sure. And, you know, I've read something a long time ago about the value of, you know, always having a trip planned, always having something like that to look forward to. And just the joy and the excitement that that brings as well. And so I think that played into a big part of this. And then just to the memories that we now share, right? I mean, it's one thing to share your stories and your pictures and your videos. But when you experience that directly, right, with another person or with other people, it's just a different level of...
Yeah, I think back to the story Rita was telling of when we were on the bush breakfast and Brenda was over on the other side of the truck and that elephant was coming up and Brenda had her iPad out and was videoing this elephant coming at her. And finally, you know, Rita was like, and, and even Richard was like, I think you need to come over on this side of the truck.
Yeah. And it's funny that that, that stuck out to them as well, the way that had been such a memorable moment like it had for us. The travel insurance you're looking for isn't
you're looking for isn't insurance. Unplanned incidents are rare, but can crop up when you travel. That's why we want you to have the most robust travel protection for your next adventure. When a travel emergency arises, traditional travel insurance may not come to your aid, and a medical evacuation can cost up to $300,000. The cost when you have a global rescue membership is $0. That's why when the unexpected happens, you want the leader in rescue, evacuation, and medical advisory behind you. You want Global Rescue. Visit sunshinetravelers.com slash global rescue to learn more. I agree. Anything else
that, you know, comes to mind from this adventure, you know, we're wrapping up. This is the third part of the three part series. Anything else that just, you know, stands out that you want to add before we close out this episode?
I think from the very beginning, when we first started talking about this with them, one thing that they had mentioned was this is something that we would have loved to have done with our husbands. And probably especially Rita, right? She said, oh, this is something that her husband, Jerry, that they had talked about and just not having that opportunity. And so then when this opportunity presented itself to them, because it's not something that they would have done, like just gone out and just, you know, seeked it out or gone if we hadn't gone. So this time around to say, okay, we didn't have that opportunity with them. Maybe some regret, but now we're going to seize that opportunity. And that from the get go, right? That was like one of the very first things that we even talked about. Oh, that would have been nice to go. Okay, well, why not now? You know, not letting that opportunity slip away.
I can't Well, think of any better way to round out this episode. Melissa, before we do I do go, want to just ask is you, there anything on the Antarctica trip that you'd like to share with our listeners?
So if you have been listening to probably most of our episodes, I think at some point we've mentioned it or a lot of our episodes we have talked about probably almost from the very beginning that we would we want to do a group trip to Antarctica. And we are getting super close to announcing the details about that and getting all that finalized. And so this is a perfect opportunity that if you have an inkling in your mind that you would like to go to Antarctica, and it's not something where you're like, oh, you know, someday, or I'm going to seek this out. It's like, you will have an opportunity, right? It will be, here's the dates, here it is, you can go with And the us. theme of this this trip, will be your opportunity to say right? yes, It will be a here's the Here dates. it You can is. go with And the us. theme of this trip, this will be your opportunity to say yes, right? Here's the dates. Here it is. We are going. We're taking some other people. We do have a few people who are already like, yes, we're definitely going. And so if if Antarctica is something that has been on your bucket list, then this will be a perfect opportunity for you to say yes and to come with us. And so what we're looking at is February of 2026. So you'll have a little more than a year to like get it all planned. Details are coming out soon. But we want to give you an opportunity if that is something where you're like, hmm, I really would be interested in going, but I'd really like some more information. So there'll be a link in the show notes that you can fill out, just give us your name and email. And then as soon as those become available, you will be like basically first on the wait list. Doesn't obligate you or anything like that, but we'll give you first to have the information. There will only be a limited number of spots. There will only be a limited number of spots. One thing that's very important to us on this trip is to have do a, a smaller, like a smaller ship so that we can have the experience of doing Antarctica. So if that is something that is of at all of interest to you, click the link in the show notes. And you can also email either one of us, scott at sunshinetravelers.com, melissa at And then we can send you that and you can just say, sunshinetravelers.com. I'm hey, interested, you here's know, my email address that works too. And then you will be the first to just get the information and see if it's something that you would like to But do. yeah, if that's something that you would like to say yes to and have that opportunity to visit Antarctica in your life, It's definitely high on our bucket list. And so we're super excited to announce the details of that.
Yeah. And if you listen to Brynn and Rita, you know, they talked about that we made sure that all of the details were taken care of ahead of time. And this is your opportunity. All you got to do is say yes. And we're taking care of the rest.
As we wrap up this episode, we hope you feel inspired to say yes when the chance for a life changing adventure comes your way. Remember, it's not just about the destination. It's about the stories you'll create, the people you'll meet, and the way you'll see the world and yourself differently. Life is too short to wait for the perfect moment. So when that opportunity presents itself, grab it with both hands. You never know when the trip of a lifetime will come knocking, but when it does, make sure you're ready to answer. What is that one adventure that you said yes to and it turned into the trip of a lifetime? Email me scott at sunshinetravelers.com and let me know. We are always inspired by your travel adventures. We hope you enjoyed this episode and found some inspiration to help you with your travel journeys. If you could take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, it would be greatly appreciated. Your five-star reviews help us get discovered by others and possibly featured on your favorite platform. Don't forget to follow or subscribe to our podcast to get notified of new episodes as they are released. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook at Sunshine Travelers Podcast. Remember, that is Travelers with one L. Most importantly, please share it with your friends to help them catch the travel bug. You never know, they may become your greatest travel companion.
