A lot of travel bloggers write about how they have parents who don’t support their desire to travel or how their parents have never left the country. Fortunately I don’t have the same problem.
But I do have the problem of having parents who are way cooler than me.
And though my entire family is kind of travel-obsessed, (no really, most of them have set foot on every continent) I don’t think anyone is quite as adventurous as my dad.
When I was a little kid my dad would bring me back trinkets from his hunting trips: a wooden jaguar head from the Brazilian Amazon, a silver necklace from Buenos Aires, colorful armadillo figurines from Central America. I grew up hearing tales of the time he saw a massive school of barracuda in the Great Barrier Reef to the time he stayed for a week at the governor’s mansion in Mexico.
When I was two my dad taught me how to ski, when I was 11 he taught me how to fly a plane and when I was 13 he taught me to shoot a shotgun. (All of the important skills, right?)
In high school my friends had a running joke that I never knew exactly where my father was located, considering I would receive calls proclaiming, “I’m fly-fishing in Guatemala!” or “I’m at a James Bond party in London!” or “Ash, I went sky-diving today!”
If anyone has inspired me to live a life full of adventure and good stories, it’s my dad.
I know I am so lucky to have a dad who 100% supports my dreams both at home and abroad. My dad’s the guy who’s always up for a post-work tennis match, and the one I can always nerd out about camera gear with.
So today I just wanted to take this time to say “Happy Father’s Day” to my duck-hunting, sky-diving, polo-playing, ski-racing, plane-flying dad.
Happy Father’s Day, dad. And know that wherever I am in the world I’m so grateful for your love and support and am missing you always.
Love, Ashley
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What a heartwarming post Ashley! I just love all the vintage photos! Your dad sounds so cool!
He is really cool :)! And I knew I had to use them as my dad sent them to me only two weeks ago… right in time for Father’s Day!
No wonder you wanted to travel! Love this!
Haha you’re right! I guess I was born with the travel bug :)
Love this post. Your dad sounds awesome :)
Aw thanks, Brendon… he really is :)
What a great tribute to your Dad–and fabulous photos. I know he must be very touched .
Love.
Gamma
I’m glad you liked it, Gamma. I’m so lucky to have him for a dad, and you for a grandmother! And I think of all of us you might be the best-traveled :). Love, Ashley
What a sweet post! Your dad must totally understand the travel bug then! :D My dad’s first out-of-the-country experience was visiting me in Korea, and he loved it. A few months later he visited my sister in Argentina, so I asked him, “Wow, you must have caught the travel bug!” But then he said, “I actually caught the I-miss-my-daughters bug.” Awww!
Aw that’s so cute he came all that way to visit both of you! I’ve never done a father-daughter trip with my dad but I’ve been trying to make it happen for years :)
I LOVE this! It’s so nice to have those role models who teach you to live life to the fullest.
Thanks, Mary! And yes, it’s so great to have people who understand your need to explore the world and live up your youth as much as possible.
what a great father’s day post! Although my dad does encourage me to travel I wish he was a bit more adventuresome. He tends to visit the same places over and over – which I never understand as there is so much to see!
There’s no time like the present! Maybe a father-daughter trip is in order? ;)
seriously how cool is your dad!? he deserves a guest spot on your blog sometime…id love to hear the stories he would have to share!
it is so cool to see that you have someone in your life that is so great and inspiring! hope he had a great fathers day this year!
Aw thanks, that’s so sweet! My dad is a pretty cool guy :). And a guest post is a great idea!