Lessons Learned While Traveling With My Dad

After our Interlude in Iceland, I asked my daughter Andrea to write a blog post about traveling with me. I thought my readers might be interested in a different perspective on my travels. She agreed so below is her post about our trip. The photos are also hers with a little editing from me. Enjoy.

It had been over a year since I had added a stamp to my passport, and I was itching to get away. Iceland hadn’t been at the top of my list, but it seemed like the safest and most reliable option. COVID cases were extremely low, and Iceland were accepting vaccinated Americans.

Not being one for traveling alone, I was sure my dad would want to join me. Like the saying goes, like father like daughter. This wasn’t our first adventure together. With my mom, we have been to Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Taiwan. This was, however, the first trip with just the two of us. I knew he would be a good travel companion because he’s easy going, willing to take on the tasks I don’t like (killing spiders, pumping gas, talking to people etc.) and is calm in comparison to my anxiety filled mind.

Our adventure started early in the morning when we landed in Reykjavik. It was a fairly smooth process going through immigration, showing proof of being vaccinated and then getting our rental car. Oh, the rental car. That rental car would cause me a lot of stress. The first being that I had to sign a temporary authorization in an amount that meant nothing to me. I hadn’t looked up the exchange rate before we left. When I checked my bank statement, I was shocked to find that it was for $3,000. Way more than the value of the car!

Being the voice of reason, my dad told me not to stress. “It’s just for insurance, and it will clear when it’s returned,” he said. Of course he was right, and of course I didn’t listen to him. I stressed about it the whole trip. Lesson number one, listen to your father, read the fine print when renting a car, especially from an unknown company.

We needed a rental car as our itinerary kept us driving hundreds of miles along the coast, in addition to driving the Golden Circle. As I was preparing for the trip, it was recommended to visit the interior of Iceland. This can only be done if you have rented a 4 wheel drive or take a tour. We opted for the tour. The description for the tour said, 4 hour hiking tour for all ages. I was slightly apprehensive, but figured we… he could do it. He agreed.

The day before the tour, when walking to see one of the many spectacular waterfalls, my dad stepped wrong and felt immediate pain. Worried that he wouldn’t be able to participate in the tour the next day, I did what any rational person would do and mentally prepared to leave him behind to suffer and finish the trip on my own. Did I say rational? I mean irrational. Anyway, that of course didn’t happen, and the next day when we boarded the tour bus and everyone on the bus was a twenty something, I felt no better. In addition, my dad brought walking shoes for a hike… and the whole trip.

My dad, however, was a trooper. The hike was no “Sunday stroll” as our guide described it. Walking sticks in hand, he hiked his way through a lava field. We couldn’t keep up with the group, but luckily we were able to split apart, take our time (and a lot of photos), and ended the hike relaxing in a hot spring river. Lesson number two, be adventurous, but be prepared. Proper shoes are a must! And don’t always trust the sales pitch.

Speaking of taking photos, we both enjoy taking photos but have different ways to go about it. He wants the perfect shot, understandably, even if that means standing on the edge of a cliff, touching the “don’t go past this” rope that wouldn’t protect anyone from falling. I, on the other hand, would quickly snap some photos so I could spend the rest of the time telling my dad to step back. When he insisted he was far enough from the edge, I then spent my time keeping a close eye on him.

Also, when spotting a perfect shot from the car, he would prefer to pull over and get out, and I had no problem putting my phone out the window and snapping a few photos and hoping for the best. Lesson number 3, Iceland has a lot of beautiful places to see, but not always a place to stop and look at it or snap the perfect photo of it. However, stop and take the picture anyway!

One place, however, that you can and should always stop at is a grocery store. When you’re driving around Iceland, you can be driving for hours and see nothing but lupine, waterfalls, horses, and sheep, which is definitely part of the charm. However, you need to make sure you have food and gas.

At one of our stops at a grocery store, we decided to use the self checkout. After we rang up our last item, one apple, my dad paid, and then carefully looked at the receipt. He felt the total price from the few items we had purchased was too expensive. Instead of checking before he paid, he decided to check after. Well, he was right. Instead of paying for one apple, he paid for lamb, which interestingly wasn’t even sold at the store. The sales associates were helpful, but blamed him for putting the code in wrong. I can attest we did it correctly. However, not wanting to be associated with the situation, I left him to deal with it while I used the restroom, wandered around and checked my phone. I returned to find the sales associate still blaming my dad for what had happened and trying to rectify the problem. I hope the apple was worth it! Lesson number 4, if the final total seems off, it probably is. Check it before you pay!

While we made it through the week without incident, after waiting in line for over an hour to check in at the airport, my dad was unhappy to find out that he no longer had the aisle seat he had chosen. He then left his passport at the counter while submitting a receipt for a tax refund (thanks to the man behind him who noticed). Then his boarding pass was rejected at security, and they had to call for backup to look into it. Luckily they let him through. With a few minutes to spare, we bought a sandwich for the plane, and he talked his way into getting his aisle seat back! Lesson number 5, always ask for the aisle seat. Thanks for the adventure, Dad!

There you have it, a different perspective on traveling with me. Thanks to Andrea for taking me along on her trip, and thanks for the blog post. It was fun. I look forward to our next adventure together.