Wed Apr 30-Fri May 2 2014-Africa here we come

Wed-Fri Apr 30-May 2 - Niagara Falls - Johannesburg South Africa

Outside our room. Africa Sky Guest House

I am writing this 4 days later and there is so much to tell, but I must try to recapture the excitement we both felt, and indeed a certain trepidation about the extent of our next adventure. Only a few months since we decided to fulfill a long held dream of seeing Africa, the day arrived for us to start our journey. We packed up the 'condo' and put it in storage in Grimsby, then dropped off the truck at a friends and got a limo to the airport. An overnight flight to London and a 12 hour stopover, which we spent in a room at the Sofitel, right in the terminal.... expensive but with two overnight flights, we were SO glad we forked out for this one. We slept quite well and woke up in time to go back through security to catch our 10 hr 30 min over-night flight to Johannesburg . We arrived in Jo'Burg and were met by a driver from the Africa Sky Guest House. 10 minute drive and a world away from the hustle and bustle of the airport. It is a haven of tranquility and friendliness. Our room was beautiful. After a light salad for lunch we had a nap, then sorted out our luggage for our Safari... leaving our main luggage at the guest house until we return on Tuesday.

Our beef filet dinner was exquisite.... After dinner we enjoyed the rest of our wonderful Alto Cab Sauv sitting by the roaring fire, called a 'boma', in the pool area. We finally put our heads down for a well needed night of slumber, getting very excited about starting our Safari tomorrow. Highly recommend the Africa Sky to anyone needing a retreat near Jo'burg airport. We have been taking Malaria pills for 3 days and no major side effects. 

Wed April 9 - Thur April 10 - recouperating

Wed April 9 - Thur April 10 - recuperation
In the cold light of day we are quite disappointed in the RV Park we have chosen for our 3 week stay here in Niagara Falls. It is a bit run down and not ready for the season. No washrooms or showers or laundry open yet and the section we are in is only partially open. The people running the place appeared friendly enough on check-in however, and the internet is okay (though it may not be so good if and when more people are using it... time will tell). The park is broken into a couple of sections. One section appears to be year-round trailer living area. Well we will make the best of things and look for somewhere else for when we return to the area in June. 
Janice spent the two days resting, recuperating and trying to find the right pharmaceutical mix to ease her symptoms, while Derek set up, shopped and took care of Janice!! Looking forward to spending some time with Braden and Grant soon.

Sat April 5 - Tues April 8 - The Long Drive Home

Saturday April 5 – Tuesday April 8^th – Texas to Ontario

A last goodbye, and we were on the road by 8:30am… see you again y’all.

Leaving La Hacienda RV Resort, Texas

Janice not feeling too swift this morning, a bit wheezy and nauseous. Not a good sign.

A quick summary of the long drive. The trip was supposed to take 4/5 nights (5/6 days drive) to cover the 2800 KM trip towing the rig. But as the first day progressed Janice got worse. She did her share of the driving the first two days but by the third day of no food or sleep, she was toast, so Derek had to get us the rest of the way with Janice trying to keep it together in the passenger’s seat. We were lucky to have decent driving conditions (except one awful day of rain), and we did enjoy seeing the landscape as our journey took us through:

• Texas
• Oklahoma  (Okalahoma city  (Twin fountains RV park)
• Missouri
• Illinois (Camp Lakewood RV park, Effingham)
• Indianna
• Ohio  (Town and Country RV Resort, West Salem)
• Pennsylvania
• New York
• Ontario



Oklahoma -Another State on the list

Overnight in Oklahoma City area

Adding States to our list!

Worlds Largest Cross. 198ft. Effingham, Illinois

Ever Mailed a hog before???

And another State

This was on the radio (see title) - Giggle!!

Feeling like we are getting close

Arrived in Niagara Falls

Not many neighbours in Niagara Campark!!

Twin Fountains Rv resort was excellent... Camp Lakewood was not bad. Lovely people running the place, but the spots were very narrow and tight. Town and Country RV Resort was not great either, but we didn't really see much of it. Spots were wide, but uneven and muddy.  We did some long days driving so we could get home as soon as possible and made it in just three nights (4 days) drive, arriving mid afternoon On Tuesday April 8^th at Campark RV Resort in Niagara Falls. Janice immediately lay down.  Ontario has had some major rain and the resort is pretty soggy, but we are happy to be parked and set up for the next 3 weeks. Hopefully Janice will improve soon and we can get lots done before our safari/cruise at the end of the month. Lots to do and many people to see.

Thurs/Fri April 3/4 2014 - Shopping, Rough Hollow Grill and goodbyes

Thursday April 3^rd

We were going to finish packing but ended up going to a Mall Lisa has been telling me about… oh how I wish had gone earlier … it is not just a Mall, it is incredible … huge Macy’s, Dillard’s, JC Penney and hundreds of other stores.  We wandered around and picked up another couple of bits and then headed back did do some preparation for leaving.

Mike and Lisa picked us up in the evening (with Brody) and off we went for a wonderful meal and evening at Rough Hollow Grill.

Derek carrying Brody.... awwww!!!

Great Friends, great times

One pooped puppy

Derek shines in this one!!

Another place we should have found earlier.  Pecan encrusted catfish….YUMMMM!!!  Mike drove us around the exclusive neighbourhood where the restaurant is located … some gorgeous properties (one area even has it’s own landing strip and the homes have hangers for their planes!!!) We had a great time and are so lucky to have made such wonderful friends here in Texas. Brody was a little sweetheart., how I adore that baby… thoughts of taking him back to Canada with us…. ONLY JOKING LISA!! Lisa and Mike bought us a metal ‘Longhorns’ decal for our truck, which is proudly displayed on the tailgate… we love it.

Tonight we realized that our stay here is, sadly, just about over. We have got some great plans in the future, but we will treasure the time we have spent in Texas, and the memories we have made. The people we have met, and friends we have made, are special in so many ways.

This State has its controversies and reputations, but we have come to appreciate it for the great people, beautiful landscapes and colourful diversity we have found at all levels.

Friday April 4^th

PACK! PACK! PACK!…  and batten down the hatches for take off!! Said many goodbyes around the resort.

Derek and I had a special evening meal of Texas Lamb sirloin steaks… if you get the chance one day, get some from a farmers market … SO good!

Hitched up ready for the morning.

Tuesday April 1 - Wed April 2 - Golf, Dinner at Iron Cactus

^{Tuesday April 1 - Wed April 2 - Golf, Iron Cactus, Shopping}

Tuesday April 1  Derek was happy to join a bunch of people for a golf game at Lago Vista Golf Course today, while Janice cleared up the cottage and then got some preparations done for our trip home at the end of the week. He returned glad to have been out, but not impressed with his golf game.

We were invited by Travis and Debbie to join them for dinner at their favourite restaurant and one which we have wanted to try for a while.  We had a really great evening with them at the Iron Cactus restaurant. The food was fabulous. They even prepared the guacamole table-side… slicing/dicing/mixing according to your taste… wonderful stuff. We shared chicken and steak fajitas. I forgot to bring my camera out ... again!!!! Travis, as a parting gag-gift, bought Janice a gun …Well a toy gun… but it makes great shooting noises when you pull the trigger.  We will miss characters like Travis and Debbie. Travis is a unique and interesting individual. Debbie is a gem.

Wednesday April 2^nd

Shopping day… we were heading to San Marcos to the outlet mall, but after picking up my x-rays and reports from Texas Ortho, we somehow got distracted by other stores and never made it there. We did however pick up a few treasures (Clothes for our upcoming Africa Safari/Cruise) and a few gifts. 

Sun March 30th - Enchanted Rock and Iguana Grill

Sunday March 30^th   Enchanted Rock, Iguana Grill

We Made it

Great Views

Pink Granite Dome.. Enchanted Rock.. going to the top!

Decided that we would head to the Enchanted Rock State Park for a hike. It was a lovely 90 minute drive North of Fredericksburg. A beautiful day that just got better and better. We stopped for gas and couldn’t resist grabbing a portion of fried chicken from Chicken Express  $2 for a really good fried chicken breast… not healthiest thing to do, but boy it is good for an occasional treat.  Arriving at the Enchanted Rock we headed up. The rock is a huge domed outcrop of  Pink Granite rising 425 feet (largest pink granite outcrop in The US) and was believed by the native Indians to be ‘enchanted’ as they would hear creaking and groaning coming from it. Geologists have suggested that this was the effect of cooling at night after being heated during the day by strong sun.  We set off to the summit, knowing that the trip down is known to be a little precarious. It was quite a hike, but we made it and were glad as we sat and enjoyed a bottle of water and took in the 360 degree views of the beautiful Texas Hill country. The hike down was a little tough for someone who is still recovering from one unplanned fall!! We made it without incident and felt pretty good. We started our drive home, stopping along the way to look at a couple of HUGE longhorn cattle and then to admire the prolific Bluebonnets (Texas State Flower) in full bloom at the side of the road (they are quite stunning). We drove via Fredericksburg and stopped for for a quick walk around the shops and an ice cream. 

Yes apparently it does rain in Texas!!

Texas State Flower.. Bluebonnet

Bluebonnets

View from the Iguana Grill

Another view from the grill

AND ANOTHER!

Picked up some meat at Randal’s on the way home and treating ourselves to a BBQ’d filet mignon, which I have to say was cooked to perfection (by Master BBQer Derek) on our grill, which now has a new regulator.. it gets much hotter.  We then trotted off to a local bar, The Iguana Grill.  We have been intending to see this place for a while. Just so happened a guy (Dave) from the RV resort was performing there, so we joined a large group of supporters and had a beer and great social chatter. The view from the place is quite awesome and the locale is wonderful, but we both feel that it could be so much better, if they improved the sound and had a menu other than Mexican…. Something similar to the Skull Creek Boathouse on Hilton Head Island… live music and great food, and  busy every night, rain or sun.  We had fun though, and headed back to camp feeling lucky and privileged to be living this dream of ours.  I thought I would spend the night in the cottage as we only have it for 2 more nights. I was woken by the fire alarm, in the bedroom, going off at 1am… after several stops and starts and me wildly imagining that it may be a carbon monoxide alarm, I headed back to the rig, clutching a flashlight and making a racket trying to get in the locked rig!!! Derek was kind enough to let me in!! Good to be back in a familiar bed, feeling safe!!

Chatting on the patio at the Iguana Grill

AND Later from the Grill

Sat Mar 29-damage discovered, wine tasting, Karaoke finale

Sat Mar 29 - damage discovered, wine tasting, Karaoke finale

Who shot first????

"Cowboy.. take me away"

Take a bow!!

Jehan and a 'teacup' chihuahua

Blurry proof  I DID Karaoke!!! With Doug!! (who IS good!!)

After a reasonably restful night camped in the parking lot at Camping World, Derek took a quick look at the new tires and  was upset to find that the wheel fender skirts on both sides of  our rig had been damaged while the new tires were being installed.  The service tech began to say they were already damaged, but Derek was quick (and correct) to stop that notion from taking hold.  To their credit,  (and Derek’s insistence) Camping world finally took responsibility and agreed to cover the cost of replacing them, but we are not sure how that will work.  They did agree to mark on our invoice/receipt that they would replace them free of charge. It’s just going to be difficult to orchestrate before we head back to Ontario in a week.  A royal pain, but it is what it is. We finally headed back to Hudson Bend and enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing in the shade. Later on we headed over to the Pavilion for a wine tasting and social time with Mike and Lisa, Brody and Jehan and a few others from the resort. Lisa did a few songs in Karaoke (she has a great voice) and Doug allowed Janice to join him for a rendition of Folsom Prison Blues… I won’t comment on her performance… just leave it to your vivid imaginations… enjoy!!!! To cap the night off Derek joined a couple of other guys in a rousing version of "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" So yes, a fun night. We can’t all be Leon Russell, but we can try!!!

The Boy Band