Chad Phillips Meets Chad Phillips

Alright, so here's how we ended up in South Africa. Strap in.

Twelve years ago, Chad's mom tried to send him an email asking for feedback on the March cover of her local Wichita magazine, SPLURGE!. Chad would take photos for the cover of the magazine once a year, and she was looking for his proof and final opinion. Little did she know, she forgot the middle initial in Chad's email address, instead sending the email to another Chad Phillips. The Chad who received the email was extremely kind and responsive, mentioning how he was also Chad Phillips, but he lived in South Africa and wasn't the one who should be proofing the cover of the magazine. Chad's mom sent the email to the correct Chad, all was well, life continued on.

Two years ago, when Chad was busy on his Maine indoor golf circuit, the organizer of the golf league also sent an email to the wrong (but same as before) Chad Phillips, who will now be referenced as SA Chad. Again, SA Chad was kind and responsive, mentioning how he also played golf, but was unfortunately in South Africa, not in Maine. (Are you starting to put the pieces together yet?) So, Chad responded to SA Chad, saying how if he ever found himself in Maine, they should play a round of golf. Similarly, SA Chad said that if we ever found ourselves in South Africa, they would play a round of golf. And so the saga began...

Then, last year, Chad's parents Jody & Terry attended a silent auction for a charity they work very closely with, where one of the items was a safari in South Africa. They invited us (they know how much we love an adventure), but I was knee deep in third year of med school and had no idea if we'd be able to make it work. They ended up winning the auction item, and said they'd take some friends if we couldn't make it. But, as you know, Chad works scheduling miracles. When we mapped out a rough schedule for this year on the road, we figured out we'd have some time toward the end of the year, when I was done with rotations and awaiting graduation. The trip ended up becoming the perfect celebration for graduating medical school and Chad's 30th birthday.

We were a smidge worried this whole thing was a scam, or just a gross exploitation of local people, animals, and culture. I mean, winning a South African safari on a silent auction can scream red flags. But, we realized we knew someone in South Africa who could give us some input!!! Turns out, SA Chad highly recommended this safari, mentioning how this was a smaller reserve that took great care of their land and animals. AND, he just so happened to live in the city where we would fly into for the safari. He offered to pick us up from the airport and show us around his home. The pieces of the puzzle continued to fall into place.

After much planning, deliberation of flights (on Chad's part), a video call with SA Chad (mostly to verify we were all real humans) and narrowing down of AirBnBs, we found ourselves booked for flights from KC to O'Hare to Newark to Johannesburg to Durban. This obviously meant we needed to get to KC from Boise. This was such a treat, because we got to stay with our pal Elaine (hi Elaine!!!) in her very cute, remodeled mid-century home and cheer her on at rec league volleyball. An absolute riot, if you've never been. Plus, we got to relive our KC glory days, and go to Chad's brother's track meet at KU (Rock Chalk!!!).

Our travel to South Africa was surprisingly easy, minus a slight delay leaving Chicago. Arrival in Durban, South Africa was so welcomed after 30+ hours of travel time. SA Chad greeted us at the airport and I think (my) Chad shed a tear--the man loves when a plan comes together ❤️

I was loopy but was brought back to life by a late night Happy Meal. We got situated at our bed & breakfast and were so grateful for some rest. We hung out with Chad and his wife Chantelle for 3 days in Durban while we adjusted to the time difference. We enjoyed multiple meals together, exchanged welcoming gifts (including Jody's embarrassing Chad Phillips^2 t-shirts), Chad & Chad got in their much anticipated round of golf, and SA Chad even convinced all of us to join him on his weekly Wednesday morning jog at 5:30 am (free cappuccinos: how could we say no?!).

After Durban, we headed off to Zulu Nyala, the reserve where we were going on safari. What an experience!!! Chad was living his photography dreams, Terry and I were drinking coffee like it was our day job (common theme for us), and Jody was thriving in cheetah-print shirts.

After 5 days at Zulu Nyala, we headed to Cape Town for 3 days, which was incredible. It was so cool to be able to experience new places with Chad's parents. We had lots of laughs, many rounds of Five Crowns, and ate such delicious food. We can't wait to make our way back to Cape Town -- one of our new favorite places in the world!

Our time in South Africa wrapped up with Terry & Jody boarding a plane back to the states, and Chad & I boarding a plane to Dubai. If we liked shopping or being really hot or sitting in traffic, Dubai would have been the place for us. Unfortunately, we like none of those things, so we were excited to leave Dubai after the 20 hour layover for London.

London was everything we hoped for and more. We were greeted at the airport by my aunt (hi Erin!!!), then quickly headed to the Hurlingham Club for some padel & a hotdog (I am nothing if not consistent). We were able to visit Chad's study abroad campus 10 years later, see SIX in the theater district, eat amazing food, and visit my step-cousins just outside of London. It was the most perfect stopover and my heart is swelling with love as I type about it.

We made it back to Portland after two and a half weeks out of the country. Our fave Airbnb awaited (the "Drewvannah Inn"), where we did countless loads of laundry, got our sleep schedules somewhat regulated, and shared many meals with Drew & Savannah. At this point, we were pretty tired, but we were feeling exceptionally grateful for a few things: friends (old & new), cappuccinos (always), the privilege to enter and exit the US with no issues, international phone plans, no lost luggage or major travel problems, and the ability to experience this crazy adventure together.