In the course of my duties as a designer/contractor, I get to meet interesting people on a regular basis. One of them is Hale Redmond.

Hale called me for some help with a remodeling project and in the process of working out the details, I learned a bit about him. Hale is a real estate agent with Windermere West Campus and has lived in the Federal Way area for over twenty years.

I asked him what stands out as the biggest change he has seen in that time.

"Watching the development of the strip mall area just south of 312th...seeing it go from a rundown group of buildings into what it is now...amazing."

Hale lives in a very nice rambler near Lake Geneva, and with the newly added square footage I helped him with, it's even nicer.

To say that Hale and his partner have good taste in furnishings and decoration is an understatement. Unusual antiques and carefully chosen placement underscores the layout of the new addition. On one wall is a large, beautiful African mask. I asked Hale about it.

"I got it during my (recent) trip to southern Africa, it's a very iconic image, a medicine man...I only paid a few U.S. dollars for it, they didn't adjust the price to account for the inflated currency there..inflation is something like 1000 percent...a simple dinner might be a million local dollars."

I don't know anyone who has been to Africa, so I pressed him for more details.

"I turned fifty this year and decided to do something memorable to celebrate. A friend suggested that I check out southern Africa and I visited Namibia, Botswana, Cape Town and Zimbabwe...that's where I found the mask...in Victoria Falls."

I guess that's a good deal better than a cake and dinner at Black Angus.

What else did you see there, Hale?

"I visted Nelson and Winnie Manela's home in Soweto."

Neat, did you see any wild animals?

"I'm an animal person, so I knew the wildlife would be worth seeing, and I really got a kick out of the warthogs...they have the funniest faces!"

What other animals did you see?

"Rhinos, (they're still endangered) elephants (you can tell 'handedness' by which tusk is more worn) water buffalo (THE most dangerous animal, no warning of attack) wildebeests (which African proverbs say God made from the leftover parts of other animals) we saw some big cats on the last day..oh.. and Jesus Birds." (also called lily trotters for their apparent ability of walking on water.)

So you got your fill of wild animals?

"You know, I thought that the wildlife would be the most impressive thing, but what I came away with was how joyful and warm-spirited the people were."

Is poverty an issue in that part of the continent?

"Yes, I did see economic difficulties, there is still a serious healthcare challenge and most of the local homes were very simple shelters...but simple doesn't mean poor."

What do you mean?

"There was joy and abundance in farms and families, and everyone was so gracious."

Would you recommend this trip to others?

"Yes..the sunsets are fantastic!"

Hale showed me some pictures that he'd taken, and there is no doubt that he is right. Even from the removed aspect of a photograph, I could see the brilliance of the rays that shone through the baobab trees.

A trip as memorable as one to southern Africa sounds pretty good. I've already turned 50 myself, so maybe I could talk Mrs. Anthony into a trip on her birthday (no particular milestone, honey!) What do you think, Hale?

"If you go for no other reason, you've got to see the sunsets...they are incredible, better than any I've ever seen."