Oskaloosa father-son duo turn canceled volunteer trip into vacation

A father-son duo from Iowa are taking the Scout's motto, "Be prepared," to heart. This comes after extreme weather forced a change of plans at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea.Jamie Leonard and his son William are from Oskaloosa. William has aged out of the Boy Scouts, but he and his father still went to South Korea as a volunteer for the World Scout Jamboree. "It's normally a two-week long festival of sharing cultures and scouting heritage," said William Leonard. Jamie and William arrived in South Korea on July 30 after a number of flight delays. They got to the site of the jamboree soon after. According to the Boy Scouts of America, more than 43,000 scouts and international service team members from 158 national scouting organizations came to South Korea for the jamboree in Saemangeum, South Korea. "We were seeing temperatures up to 100 degrees with 97% humidity," said Jamie Leonard. "When we would go to bed at night in our tent, it would still be in the low 90s." In addition to heat, a typhoon is expected to make its way to the area in the coming days. "Groups like the United Kingdom and the U.S. were talking about what are their options if conditions didn't improve," said Jamie Leonard. Jamie says on Aug. 5, they received an email saying the Boy Scouts of America was going to pull their scouts from the jamboree site. The father-son duo went on to say another good decision came shortly after. "I think they decided to go ahead and end the jamboree early because of the typhoon," said Jamie Leonard. The Leonards say the move helped keep everyone safe. Some people chose to get earlier flights home, but other people like the Leoanrds took a different path in the form of a vacation. "We're actually getting a little bit of a blessing out of this," said Jamie Leonard. "We kind of just like to walk and just kind of let the walking decide what we see," said William Leonard. The father-son duo are staying further north from where the typhoon is expected to hit. For the next few days before their flight home, they plan on taking many pictures and making memories along the way. "My wife is always saying you can choose whether you're having a good time or not," said Jamie Leonard. "So we're choosing to have a good time." The Leonards tell KCCI they are grateful for the Mid-Iowa Council chapter of the BSA, who has reached out to them and asked if they need anything.You can find the most recent statement from the Boy Scouts of America here.