Weekend Wrap Up (AKA SA Wrap Up)

Sniff.   This will be my final post in the Weekend Wrap Up series as I have left SA and returned home to Chicago.    But don't fret... I will still be posting about travel, Chicago, running and other fun stuff.

This is actually a wrap-up of my last weekend in SA.   I've been back in Chicago almost a week, but I unexpectedly am having a much harder time adjusting and re-patriot-ing then I had anticipated.   Surprisingly I wasn't jet lagged at all (thank you liquid melatonin) but I've been really thrown off and depressed about everything that changed without me in the last 6 months.     And missing all my friends and co-workers back in Johannesburg.  I had an indescribable life experience that I will forever treasure.  It is difficult transitioning back from a place I wasn't ready to leave.

Goodbye Jozie Skyline

So  taking you back in time to last week...

Where did all this stuff come from??

The work week was a short one due to Monday being another public holiday.   I spent most of the week wrapping up work projects and saying my goodbyes.    I had really wanted to get out a bit more, but I was really fighting with my luggage (my clothes reproduced ) and my emotions ( I really couldn't go very long with out tears).

Goodbye weird hotel apartment

I did manage to plan a goodbye pizza party for the R&D team (I totally forgot to take pictures), I wrote about 30 personal goodbye notes and had a farewell dinner on Friday with two of my R&D friends.   We were going to go out one last time, but I'm glad we decided against it.  Last minute hung over packing on Saturday would not have been fun.

Goodbye Penny... I'm sorry.

On Saturday, I drove to the airport... the whole time I was praying that I would not hit anyone or anything right before I left.... and I side swiped the pole in the rental return as I was pulling up to the agent.  DOH.    On a side note, I was pretty surprised that Phil was really not phased by the whole story, until I came home are realized that he had just done the same thing to our car in our garage.  I don't feel too bad now.    

Hello champagne

I was really anticipating issues when at the airport, because I find it really difficult not to have customer service issues.  This trip was my first experience with Virgin Atlantic.   I'm normally a American Airlines loyalist, but due to changes in their reward program this year, I've decided to show Delta some love too.   Virgin Atlantic is a Delta partner.

hi little chair

The check-in process was seamless.  No lines at all for Upper Class check-in.  The staff were friendly and efficient and by some miracle, none of my bags were over weight.   My 3 bags were tagged and sent on their way in minutes.   I was directed to the VA Clubhouse, but needed to clear security first.   Here the lines were long, but moved quickly.   I was in the VA Clubhouse in no time.   I intended to buy a couple last minute gifts but I was shaking from the run in with the pole and my back pack was so heavy it was knocking me backwards.   Upon entry I was promptly checked in with a smile and the immediately greeted by a staff member.   He took my bags and showed me to a comfy chair.   He brought out bottled water, champagne and crisps as well as a full cocktail menu and wine list and a dinner menu.  All included!   One glass a champagne wasn't going to stop the shakes so I order one of VA's signature drinks a Virgin Redhead as well as a veggie flat bread.  Both were delicious.  It was soon time to board.   The flight was called and there was no line at the gate, so I was able to hop right on and settle in to my little pod.   The seat was a bit narrow, but the footrest  doubles as a little chair, which is cute and functional if you are not traveling alone.

Second flight prep.

The trip to London was about 11 hours long, but uneventful.  The service and food was fantastic.  My only issue was that the seat needs to be flipped in order to be used as a bed.  It's not that bad, it is automatic and the flight staff is happy to help if needed.    PJs and bedding are provided.   I love airline PJs  (I'm actually wearing them now as I write this).

swing~

In London, it took me a bit to find the lounge and I kept getting literally knocked backwards by the weight of my back pack.   I had been so excited about the spa services, but when I finally found the Virgin Club house and saw the basket swings, all I wanted to do was swing and cry.  Yea.  I'm that weirdo crying in the swing.

Gnocchi and sun-dried tomatoes 

The second flight (9-ish hours) was also pretty uneventful.   The food was decent, the movie selection was okay-  my favorite was The Room.  I was told that it is also a book... the book is probably better.    Speaking of books, I finally finished Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom.   Ok, honestly  I essentially finished it awhile ago, but I had started it on the flight to SA, so I wanted to save the last chapter for the way back in a symbolic gesture of closure.    It's a long, but great read.  I highly recommend it.

Chapter closed.

And that wraps it all up.   I arrived to flowers and signs and a super ecstatic husband, despite my crabbiness and irritability.  We celebrate with a run around our neighborhood, geo-caching and tacos and margaritas in Pilsen.    

I'm a little startled about how much I miss SA and my friends.  and I'm startled on how lost I feel being back.  It's a process and little by little I'm sure it will improve.    

I will be back soon, will more travel insights (including Victoria Falls) and fun stuff in general. 

:)

Hello Chicago.

Hello strange geo-caching husband.

Travel: Garden Route Days 3 & 4: Cango Caves and Mossel Bay

Welcome to our review of the Garden Route Days 3 and 4!!  For those of you that are new to the party  Day 1 and Day 2 are hyperlinked here.  I left off in Oudtshoorn and that's were we begin today.   Our first adventure of the day was Cango Caves.    We were presented with 2 tour options-  Heritage and Adventure.   After making sure we fit through the cardboard demonstration holes in the lobby, we choose Adventure-  which means lots of climbing and sliding and tiny spaces.   And you know how much I love tiny spaces  (not too much- I once got stuck (paralyzed)  in fake caves at the St. Louis museum).    I kept telling Phil, every time I did something that made me uncomfortable, he would have to do something that involved heights. I learned really fast that our relationship really doesn't work that way.   No romantic balloon rides in our future.
My recommendation for Cango Caves is to book in advance, especially in summer and over holidays.   We had to wait a couple of hours for the next available Adventure tour, but it wasn't too bad.  It was a beautiful day and there's a cafe with an outdoor seating area.    The tour itself starts with the Heritage tour and then continues on deeper into the cave.    It's moderately difficult and there a plenty of spaces that require duck walking or wiggling around on your belly.  I got slightly stuck at one point where you have to wiggle up a tall narrow slit and they slide down at the top on your stomach.  I got to the top but then beached myself.  Phil had to push my feet while someone pulled my arms.  Also I smashed my knees and head quite a bit.   I would get tired of squatting, forget where I was and just stand up.  Each time I was no less surprised how hard rock is.

Next is was back down the  mountain.   We decided to skip the Ostrich Farms- because riding ostriches is weird and pretty much animal abuse and the Swartburg pass because 1 lane dirt road mountain passes are scary.  Our next stop was Mossel Bay for the birthday leg of our journey.  After being non-stop go go go go go, it was nice to stop for a couple nights.

Hubs trying to steal my swing

It was a little chilly as the sun set

Our guest house in Mossel Bay was 3 Colors Guest house, which is up on the hill with a fantastic view of the bay.  Excellent location- A quick walk down to the ocean and a little slower hike back up (for the record, I beat Phil up the hill 3/4 times).  Our room was one of two that opened directly on to the pool and deck.   Right in front of our door was a basket chair that swung out over the pool.  I immediately claimed it as my birthday chair and vowed to spent a lot of quality time in my chair with a bottle of wine.  Breakfast wasn't included in our booking, but available at a nominal charge.  And it was fantastic.  I had stuffed french toast one morning and an omelet the next.  There was also amenities such as a common room with an expresso machine and fluffy pool towels in the room.  AND 2 fluffy dogs that come to visit the rooms.  We highly recommend this B&B.

Hi fluffy new friend

looking for sea treasure

After we settled in, it was down to the ocean to play in the tidal pools and to find some dinner.  We choose Delfino's which had plenty of outdoor seating right on the Ocean.   I ordered my bottle of wine (I think I ordered pizza) and Phil ordered a couple of Cape Velvet's, a South African liquor and calamari.  The food was decent, but the server wins all the points for packing up my wine as take away and aiding me in sneaking it out.   It had a party for one on a swing that it needed to attend.    

I finally got my bottle of wine

The next day began with a hike of the St. Blaize Trail.   The entire trail is about 13.7 kilometers.    We started at the entry point near our guest house and hiked about 2 hours up toward Donna Bay and then back all the way to the light house and restaurants.  So about 4- 4.5 hours total.  The entire hike is said to be about 6, but I think that is point to point and not round trip.  The website lists the hike as moderate difficulty, but we found it pretty easy.        A note, part of the hike is on private property and the gate is only open certain times.  The hike was along the coast with breath taking views and lots of little creatures to see.

St. Blaize Trail

St. Blaize trail

We had booked a sunset cocktail cruise, but unfortunately it was canceled due to high waves.   bPhil did book a fantastic spot in town  for dinner, Route 57.  It is owned by a golf pro.  We had a cute little table for two on the porch, with lot's of great people watching.  The food, service and ambiance was amazing.   It is a perfect date night/ special occasion spot.

That ends days 3 & 4.    Stay tuned for the final installment of our Garden Route trip-  the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Town.

view of tidal pools from the trail

Dassie on the trail

Travel- Day 1 on the Garden Route in South Africa

Day 1:  First stop- Storms River Gorge, Tisitsikamma

Despite it still being warm during the days, it is really beginning to feel like fall here in Johannesburg.  It is no longer light when I wake up in the morning and I no longer need to turn on the aircon to sleep.   Last night, all I wanted was fluffy sweaters and hot cocoa when I got home from work and it's more and more difficult to crawl out of bed in the morning... The Winter Lazy is starting to creep in.  The silver lining to my departure from my beloved Jozi is that I will jump right into my third summer in a row.  Speaking of fall weather, we also felt the beginning touches of fall on our Garden Route Journey last week (good segue, huh?)

We began our trip by flying from Joburg to Port Elizabeth.  I had booked a flight with South African Airways, but the airline transferred the flight to its budget partner, Mango.  There was some confusion the night before when we couldn't log in to select our seats or check-in, but Phil cleared it up with a phone call.  The agents here in SA were very helpful.   AND upon dropping off our bags, they gave us chocolate! <3    They also gave us vouchers for in flight meal service, due to SAA providing  complimentary meal service and Mango providing for-fee ala carte.  The flight was quick and uneventful and soon we were in Port Elizabeth.  PE is one of the larges cities in SA, located in the Eastern Cape Province.  

Thanks Mango!

We decided to rent the biggest most powerful car that was available in auto to make our drive easier than the Kruger Adventure and more comfortable for me as the passenger ;).  That ended up being a Nissan SUV named Serena. Phil LOVED Serena and now wants his own Serena .

Phil is super excited to be driving a "real" car aka "Serena" due to her "curves" and power.

Phil's giant portable file cabinet which contained our very large and very detailed travel itinerary did not contain any points of interest for PE, so we were quickly on our way to  our first stop on the Garden Route.

And we are on our way!

Our first glimpse of the Indian Ocean.

Stop 1: Tsitsikamma National Park

After about an hour or so on the road we crossed the Storms River Gorge and pulled into the Tsitsikamma Tourist Center and Rest Stop.  After grabbing a couple of coffees at Mug and Bean (SA's version of Starbucks) we headed across the pedestrian bridge next to the highway for a better look.   It was amazing!  After taking a million pictures, including the selfie above, we hopped back into the car to head down the highway to the park's entrance in search of the mouth of the Storm River.  This is also where the Otter Trail begins.  The Otter Trail is one of the must-do hikes in SA.   It is also, a 5-day hike, so unfortunately we didn't have enough time on this trip.   My co-worker, an avid hiker, has completed it and highly recommends it.
We did have time for a shorter walk/hike on the Mouth Trial.  It was a relatively easy path, with beautiful views of the ocean, lots of dassies (fuzzy guinea pig looking creatures) and a chance to cross the suspension bridges.  Once we crossed the bridges we sat on a rock and watched the ocean for awhile.  #pleasefreezetime

Tourist Center and Parking for the Gorge Look out

Storms River Gorge

Mouth Trial- Tsitsikamma National Park

Wave watching at Tsitsikamma National Park

Phil getting the perfect shot on the suspension bridge

Suspension Bridge warnings.

Ariel view of the bridge system

Dassies, Dassies, Everywhere!

We then set out on the Crags part of the Garden Route.  The Crags is the portion of the route that is basically between Tsitsikamma  and Plettenberg and  is jam packed with attractions and nature stuff. 

Nature's Valley

Stop 2 was  Nature's Valley a small beach-y town a bit down the way.   It was a quick stop for pizza and wine on the beach at one of the town's only restaurants  before hitting the road again.   The town seemed to host many holiday surfers and cyclists.  Nature's Valley is also the end point of the Otter Trail.

Stop 3:  Animals!
Next Phil gave me a choice between The Elephant Sanctuary, The Birds of Eden, or Monkey Land.   We saw A LOT of elephants at Kruger so I opted out of Elephants.  The reviews on Trip Advisor were both very positive for both the monkeys and the birdies, but stated that you could spend hours inside the bird sanctuary and the tour of the monkeys was only an hour.  We arrived late in the afternoon, so choose the monkeys. I was a little skeptical, but the park was legit.   It is the first of it's kind to rehabilitate multiple species of primates (from all over the world) in one free-roaming space.  We spotted all 11 of the free roaming species housed in the park.  There are 7 other species currently housed separately as part of the acclimation to the sanctuary. They need time to de-human and adjust to "freedom". For an entrance fee a tour guide walks you through the park, points out monkeys and educates the group on the primates that call Monkey Land home and on the park itself.   All the monkeys in the park have been rescued from circuses, pet stores and domestication.  I recommend a stop a Monkey Land if you are on the Garden Route.   There is a combined ticket with the Birds of Eden, which I would also recommend based on other reviews, if you have the time. (Rates- 190Rand for adults, 300Rand Combo ticket w/ Birds of Eden).

The park's only ape species, the Lar Gibbon

The only local species, the Vervet Monkies

Black and White Ruffed Lemur

Charmaine, a Tufted Capuchin, and resident thief, waiting for victims on the bridge

Stop 4: Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay was both our next stop and our first stay on the Garden Route.   Our action packed first day had drawn to a close.    Our Bed and Breakfast in Plentinsburg was Bliss on Beacon Isle.   The location was good, a short walk to the beach and restaurants, with a whole flock of guinea birds living on the block.   The guest house has about 5 ensuite rooms, including a family room and has both bed and breakfast and self catering options.  We had a single non-self catering room, the Wild Fig with a balcony over looking the small splash pool.  The guest house is owned by a family.  We only met the wife, who is very nice, but seemed busy and distracted with her family.  The service was good- prompt, personal check-in, clean room, standard breakfast (cold and hot options), but wasn't as  intimate and lacked some of the other personal touches that we appreciate.   There was also the ant incident, which was partially Phil's fault.  Actually, pretty much all Phil's fault.   He rolled down the shade in the bathroom, discovered an ant colony and then instead of rolling it right back up again like I would have, he f'd with it and started a 1 Million Ant March.  Although it was more like 1 Million Ant Frenzy, which was made worse when he attempted to fix it by dousing them first in deet, then in non-deet mosquito spray, followed by air fresher for good measure.  It was definitely an ant massacre scene by the time we left.

Our hostess, did suggest a dinner restaurant, Fat Fish, which looked very lovely,  but failed to let us know we needed reservations, so when we showed up a 8pm in the middle of the dinner rush we were out of luck.   Luckily, there was several places right on the beach with in ear shot of the Jazz Festival, which actually turned out for the best- music, view of the ocean, and lot's of people watching.    Our choice was Moby Dick's.    The service was a little slow, but TIA (This is Africa), so not any slower than expected.   The cocktail list was fun and the menu selection, mostly seafood, had several vegetarian choices.   I choose the lasagna, which was okay.  And Phil choose the Hake, which he also said was just okay... but that may be because he prefers "a fishy fish".

style.   We ended the night by playing with the thousands of burrowing snails on the beach and  chasing each other and the incoming waves under moon light.

A little pre-dinner beach playtime.

Stay Tuned for Day 2 on the Garden Route- Knysna, the heads and crazy mountain driving!

Home Sweet Home

Last week was a very short work week followed by a very long flight.

I'm not positive if this product is available outside of SA, but we celebrated the launch of Doritos crusted Pizza Hut.

Not a huge fan of Doritos on pizza, but I did like flavors.

I took the red eye on Tuesday night, stopping in Amsterdam.   The flights were not too bad... I really enjoyed my Owl Eye mask.

Upon arriving back in Chitown,I had some priorities which included Bloody Mary's ( I have yet to find a decent Bloody in SA),  getting my hair chopped off, the German Christmas Market, bonding with my cat, and Star Wars.  Well, StarWars was totally not MY priority at 9am on Saturday, but at least I got to see Kelly and Mark.

Having a great week back in Chi-town despite the cold and rain.  Almost over jet-lag and almost done with Christmas shopping and present wrapping.

Happy Holidays to everyone!   And I hope to see as many of you as possible in the next week.  :