From the Peanut Gallery

Steve is always telling me I should write more.  "Just write", he says.  "People are interested in personal stories.  Just say it like it is."  That's easier said than done, though it does amaze me sometimes how finding the right words in the right order is like chewing glass for me.  Anyway, the point is, that this stuff comes much easier to Steve, who was most definitely given the gift of the gab, and so I'm hoping that he will write the majority of our posts.  I also think this journey will be much more interesting (well, to me, anyway) through the eyes of a first-time visitor.


I left South Africa 12 years ago at the ripe old age of 27, with the intention of traveling for 2 years and then going home.  Well, I'm still in the USA, and have a pretty good existence, so going back to SA is probably unlikely.  I have been back 3 times in 12 years, which doesn't sound like a lot, but I was here in the US for 5 years before I went back for the first time, and it's been 5 years again since I went there last, so the 3 visits were jammed somewhere in the middle.  That's a long time not to see family and friends.  Luckily my parents are in great shape and love to travel, otherwise it would be longer between visits.


This trip over is a little different, and I'm particularly excited, and ever so slightly stressed about it! This time Steve is coming with me, and also another 8 of our close friends.  There's the stressful part - I feel very responsible for everyone's fun and well-being.  Africa seems like a dangerous and scary place to a lot of folks, and I have no doubt that some of our group have those thoughts too.  Of course I can't control events, but I can make sure that on our list of things to do and places to go are the best of everything.  As it turns out, I think we have that pretty much covered.  Being a type A, organizational freak that I am, our "itinerary" looks like a military operation, and friends of my parents have expressed sympathy for my friends, because we're going to hit the ground running.  I'm not sure that they understand that I'm not the only one in the group who can't sit still for any length of time.  We might need a week to relax when we get back!


For anyone interested in doing a little surfing ahead of time, here's we're going, and what we're going to do:
We're staying here in Cape Town (the folks have a full house!) :
http://www.capestay.co.za/hampshirehouse/index.html
These are friends of my parents, and my mom says Carol serves a breakfast to die for.  Yum!!
We're headed to a private game reserve for a few days.  The only shooting we will be doing will be by camera, thankfully.
http://www.thulathula.com/
The owner wrote a fabulous book called "The elephant whisperer" and that sparked an interest in staying at this particular game reserve 
We are doing this cycle race in Cape Town : http://www.cycletour.co.za/
It's reported to the the biggest organized cycle race in the world; they cap the entries at 47,000.  Unbelievable.  I did this event in 2007, and it was a blast!
We're almost packed, the cat is upset, and I feel a snack attack coming on.
Til next time!  Goeie naand, dames en here.