Today’s Sentimental Snapshot is brought to you from the archives of summer 2005, when Steve and I took a trip to Morocco.  We were blessed with the opportunity to hand-deliver care packages to several American families serving as volunteers all over the country – and of course we couldn’t help but find a little adventure along the way!  We ferried our way from Spain into the port-city of Tangier (breaking every guidebook’s rule about not arriving after dark…), and wandered around the funky cold medinas of Fez and Meknes before working our way south through Ifran to Merzouga, a gateway town to the Sahara Desert.  After arriving in town at 3 am and convincing a local restaurant owner to let us crash in his cyber-cafe for a few hours, we embarked on a camel trek out towards the Algerian border.  Spending a night underneath the stars in the Sahara Desert with just a sleeping pad and a blanket is definitely an experience I’ll never forget (as well as trying to find a discreet place to go to the bathroom the next morning…)  After unknowingly offering up my most favoritest bandana to the sand dunes (the one in the picture…sigh) we rocked the casbahs at Ouarzazate, meandered through the markets of Marrakesh, and dove off the cliffs at Ouzoud before taking a train north through Rabat and Casablanca.  It was a whirlwind trip, complete with all the lost luggage, snake handling, and sketchy cab rides you’d expect from a North African adventure.  I like this picture because it captures all of the ridiculous, goofy fun we enjoyed together both then and now.  (And by the way does anyone else remember that song by Southern Culture on the Skids – “Walk like a Camel“?  It was in my head during the entire duration of writing this post.) 

Steve: "Camels in the desert. That's how I roll." Me: "Look Mom, no hands!"

Looking back on it now, I’m realizing our travels will probably never be that free-spirited and spontaneous again.  I must be growing up though, because realizing that the “wild and carefree” adventure chapter is over doesn’t make me sad – it just makes me all the more thankful to have survived that chapter long enough to make it to the next chapter as a family of three – which may not be as spontaneous, but is certainly every bit as fun and adventurous!  For those of you with children, how does adventure look different for you now?