In honor of Father's Day, I am sharing where and from whom I get my Gypsy gene. It comes from my dear father, Hilmar "Lucky" Oberkampf. People thought he was named Lucky because of his almost pro bowling days before he married at 28 years old. He and his bowling buddies even won the State Championship in 1933. In his early bowling days before he married my Mom, he would travel around Texas on bowling trips. I'm sure they did what all unmarried 20 somethings do when they are out traveling and having fun.
Later in his life, there were always rumors that he liked to join in some friendly gambling with the guys and some truly believe that is where the name "Lucky" came from. I hear from my older sisters that he had the name Lucky before he married. So, only Dad knew for sure where his nickname came from.
My Dad loved to travel. We went on many long car trips. He even loved planning the trips by getting out all the state maps he had collected and spreading them out on the big table and planning our routes. We saw the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Sun Valley and even the Washington coast where it was so cold we had to wear sweaters in the summertime. We even went on a long car trip to Mexico City and Acapulco in 1959. Often, we traveled in a caravan with Alex Ott and his family. I believe the older siblings actually drove in a third car because there wasn't enough room for everyone.
One of my favorite pictures of my Dad is below and I have included one of Mom and Dad I believe while they were dating.
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Mom and Dad even went to Monterrey, Mexico on their honeymoon. After the kids were grown my Dad finally got over his fear of flying so he go to Germany with a group of friends and later on another trip they went to Hawaii. That's the only two times my Dad was on an airplane.
My travel plans to Utah got cancelled this summer due to COVID but I am planning a long trip to Ohio and Wisconsin later this year to visit family and friends. I'm enjoying planning the trip on Google Maps but I did buy a brand new road atlas with a National Parks section in it to help me plan my trip and carry on my travels. You can bet I'll be seeing some of these National Parks along the way.
It's been weeks since my last blog post but I decided Father's Day and a tribute to my Father was a good reason to break my writing fast. All of our lives have changed much in 2020 because of COVID but we each get to choose what it is we are going to do, who we're going to do it with, where we are going to go and what level of risks we are willing to assume.
I am extremely grateful for both my parents, the life they provided for me and my siblings, and especially for the values and principles they instilled in all of us.
May you and yours find peace and joy and stay healthy.
