Holiday
This past month has been a whirlwind of fun. Although we did take some time to just hang out as my mom requested I still couldn’t resist taking my parents, otherwise known as “Grammie Gayle and Papa Dave” for the “Stout South African Tour”. We started by burning a little energy with dad by entering him in a 85K bike race the day after his 30+ hour journey here…he is a trooper and we are proud to say he did indeed finish the ride!
We gave them their first taste of true African wildlife with a trip to Kragga Kamma Game Park just a short drive from our home. There we had a very exciting adventure with an upset water buffalo and Andrew summed it up best when we tried to get past him as he was saying “I’m too young to die!”
For Emily’s 17th birthday we loaded all of us up including her best friend Rachel and boyfriend Jono for a 2 night stay at Kariega Game Reserve. We saw most everything we hoped for except the lioness and her cubs. After a night at home to repack we headed off to Cape Town. We arrived in time to go to the top of Table Mountain to view the sunset. It was stunning as were the city lights on the way down. We spent the next few days touring the area seeing the penguins at Boulders Beach, Simonstown, hiking up to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope and by taking the Robben Island tour to see where Nelson Mendela was imprisoned. If you haven’t taken the time to see “Invictus” yet, go, it was filmed here and is well done. We headed back home stopping to show them the world’s tallest bungee jump and those brave enough to try it.
On Christmas Eve morning we assisted friends of ours, Dan and Kristi in delivering food to their soup clubs. This is always an experience that never fails to show us how truly blessed we are for all we have been given.
Christmas was extra special in that we were all together. We spent the following week just being together mostly. Lots of games were played and swimming too. We went to the beach a few times and to Addo Elephant National Park where we saw over 100+ elephants interacting together at a waterhole. It was the largest group we have seen to date and it was amazing to watch. I never tire of the elephants.
For News Year’s Eve, Emily decided that every hour another time zone was ringing in the New Year we would too. They started by jumping in the pool every hour but added to it with other creative ways to celebrate…FUN!
We thank our parents, all of them, for taking the time to visit us this year. Our time together was very special. If we are lucky maybe they won’t be the last to visit before we leave.
