Come and gone...

...yes, that would be our SA holiday...as hard as it is to believe!

Mark and I had decided to get the middle of the night flight/early hours of the morning flight, for reasons which are unclear to me now...and which I can almost guarantee we won’t be doing again. Having just gone to bed about 22h00 / 22h30, the alarm went off about 00h30/00h30, with the idea of arriving at the airport at 01h00. Upon trying to wake Mark I was greeted with...'Lu man, I have only been asleep for like 5 min’... the start of the grumpy tones for the morning to come. Eventually, getting ourselves together, we were on our way, but not before having a little petrol panic and unintended detour (in a place where petrol is cheap there are surprisingly very few petrol stations on the main routes). Nevertheless we eventually found one before the tank was completely empty and managed to arrive at airport at around 01h30 after dropping off the rental car - so not too bad going. Thinking we were one of the firsts to arrive to check in for our flight (as the place was practically deserted, making checking in a breeze, and setting me up for a mocking as I always insist we arrive the required 3 hours before), we were quite surprised (after making small talk with the check-in assistant trying to wangle an empty row of seats for ourselves on the plane, after he had informed us that the flight was not too full), that over 200 odd passengers had already checked in. So thankfully, no mocking necessary! :) As a record I think we were both asleep just after the plane took off and even managed to sleep through our first meal on the plane.

First stop...

...Joburg to spend a few days with Claire, Grant and my lovely nieces. Without trying to sound like a mother duck, I do just need to say....it’s so hard to believe how grown up they are, even little Chesney with her broken elbow (yes, she managed to fall /jump off a swing and break her elbow the poor thing). They have grown up so much since last time I saw them (over a year ago).

My first point of call was to have a very much needed haircut. I have yet to find a hairdresser in Dubai (although I should add I haven’t really looked) and I thought, as with most other things, it would be cheaper in SA, so decided a few more weeks (after already a few months of neglect) wouldn’t hurt and Claire kindly made me an appointment at her friend’s hairdresser, as hers was unavailable. All I had was a trim and feeling a little extravagant I decided to treat my hair to a special treatment of sorts. It turns out SA is not that cheap in hair appointments (or should I say Joburg anyway) ... R650 later...nothing more needs to be said other than, ‘I’m worth it’! :) After meeting up with the rest of the group, a few hair swishes and flicks later, Mark still needed prompting to notice any change (clearly not much)...nevermind, as nothing could detract from that ‘just stepped out of a salon’ feeling, with silky smooth and beautifully soft hair! :)

The holiday eat fest began with Claire’s cooking which never disappoints, followed by a few games of Rummikub (yours truly was the champion the first night, even although I remembered the rules being somewhat different when played in the past.

Much to my sister’s, the avid gym goer’s, delight... Mark, also an avid gym goer of late, insisted we join her at the gym the following morning (at the crack of dawn...07h30, not my ideal start to a holiday). Claire and I did a class (weight/aerobics of sorts), whilst Mark did his own session. The class was 'interesting'...to say the least, but in my defence we were a few minutes late and the super fast step combination had already been taught. So let’s just say it was a good thing I was at the back! :)

The rest of the day included a shopping excursion and tenpin bowling at Monte Casino. It was the girls first tenpin bowling experience, which was great fun to watch and even more so with Chesney’s broken elbow. Grant was the bowling champion of the day, but I’m pleased to say we all managed to get a strike eventually.

As always there was time for some presents for the girls and I too got a pressie (some lovely earrings in my birth stone for my 30th, for which I now have a full set - earrings, necklace and ring).

Dinner that evening was followed by some more rounds of Rummikub, this time with the girls. Tayla and I teamed up for the first game, becoming the champs for round 1. Round 2 we swapped team mates, and Chesney and I teamed up. Tayla was on a winning streak and brought in another victory for her and Mark, winning round 2 of the evening, with Chesney and I coming a close second place. Both Tayla and Chesney impressed us, reminding me that they not so 'little' anymore, with their sharpness in the game; they were so on the ball, constantly spotting moves as soon as they came about.

On our last full day in Joburg, we went for breakfast at a restaurant called Teak in the beautiful surroundings of the Cradle of Human Kind (about 30km away from Fourways) and the avid gym goers decided to get up at the crack of dawn again, this time to cycle there. Grant and I and the girls decided a car trip would be a much better option and got to sleep in a bit before meeting Claire and Grant there. After breakfast we headed up a brick path to the petting farm to feed the Shetland ponies, sheep, donkeys and the bunnies (lots and lots of them), which was perfect considering it was Easter Friday, which of course led to a mini Easter Egg hunt later that evening.

Time up in Joburg, it was time for our next flight...to East London.

A quick stop off (for lunch) to say Hi the family, including Aunty Jane and Uncle Clive who were visiting from PE, before heading on our way to Haga Haga to see the Rice’s and our little Goddaughter Kayla. Kayla is just too cute and she has grown substantially since the last time I saw her (when she was only a few weeks old, almost 1 year ago), but nevertheless is still quite a tiny little tot! Very happy and smiley, she can even take a good few steps at a time, on her own.

The day of the Christening, we dressed in our (Easter) Sunday best and headed to the same little church in Haga where Craig and Sharon got married 6 or so years before. It was a beautiful sunny morning (probably the first proper sunshine we had had since arriving in SA) and we sat through the Easter Sunday service first, with some (aka Mark) taking ‘extra’ communion than the norm (which had me in hysterics at the most inopportune time), followed by Kayla’s Christening. She looked too cute for words in her beautiful christening dress (made for her by her Great Aunt) and was incredibly good throughout it all.

Afterwards the family and friends headed for Ninky Noo’s (Shaz’s Dad’s pub in Haga) for tea, cakes and catch ups. Later we braaied at Craig and Shaz’s house (which I think I have written in a post somewhere before) has to be the most beautiful and idyllic place anyone could ask for their home to be. The rain decided to grace us with its presence just as the meat was ready to go on the braai, but of course it never stopped yet another feast.

The next day (and another hearty feast..breakfast), it was time to head off again, for our next destination, but not before stopping off in East London at the family again, this time for some tea and cake (I have never seen slices of cake so big, if only I had a picture) before driving on to PE.

Next stop Uitenhage...

To spend some time with my Dad and Felicity, but not before another stop off, this time at Nanaga for some of their famous lamb and mint pies (Mark indulged...unsurprisingly I just couldn't). Once in Uitenhage, we had yet another delicious braai and a good old chinwag, until I could not keep my eyes open any longer and headed for bed.

Next stop PE...

The next morning, we headed into PE, picked up my Gran and Mom and headed to Mark’s favourite spot...Barneys on the Beachfront. My dad and Felicity joined us there for some lunch (can you see a pattern yet?) We were reminded that PE is not called the windy city for nothing and since you can’t go to Barneys and not sit on the deck, we endured another delicious lunch through the noise of the flags (which had been put up for the Splash Festival, which we had just missed by a day or so) flapping in the wind.

The next day Mark had to leave for Joburg again, this time for a work conference, where he was due to give 3 presentations, that had been plaguing him throughout the holiday so far. My mom and I on the other hand, did a quick spot of shopping at Greenacres, before heading out to my Gran for some tea and cake.

And since we hadn't quite eaten enough just yet, the following day we went for one last family lunch, this time at the Elephant Walk on the old Kragga Kamma Road, which was lovely, they had some cute cats wondering around the place which I enjoyed, considering Daisy is no longer around for cuddles and scratches in PE (and obviously it’s been over 4 months since we have seen poor Moll’s), before taking the scenic route along the beach back home to pack and get myself ready for the early start the next morning.

I was catching the Greyhound bus back to East London, as for some reason there were no flights between Port Elizabeth and East London (and vice versa) from 22 April to 2 May and I wasn’t too keen on driving by myself, so the bus was the next best option.

After saying good-bye to my mom at the crack up dawn, I headed up the steps of the bus and found my seat, which happened to be next to the only other white person on the bus. I was pleasantly surprised, that the bus journey wasn’t actually too bad. The seats were fairly spacious and comfy, they served tea/coffee and put on a movie for us to watch, which in amongst those talking around me, I actually quite enjoyed. The first stop on the bus was Grahamstown, where the lady next to me got off. So I had the two chairs to myself, where I tried to catch 40 winks whilst I could. Second stop was King Williams Town, where to make up for my excess space before, I was joined by a rather large lady, who upon sitting down, asked for the bus attendant to please put the TV on as she wanted to watch the Royal Wedding. Unfortunately for us all the TV could only play DVDs so we went without seeing the buzz and hype of all those arriving for the wedding in their ‘royal’ best. Surprisingly the journey had been rather pleasant and before I knew it, the next stop was East London.

Giff picked me up and we made it to the house just in time to see Kate (or should I say the Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) in the car on her way to the Abbey...and as they say ‘the rest is history’ (literally)! The remainder of the afternoon went by, with more watching of the wedding, unpacking, and watching the wedding clip reruns, until Mark arrived from his flight from Joburg. Some where along the lines he had managed to get a tick on him, which he found whilst he was in Joburg for the conference, but at the time all was well. We then went to the ‘Cheese and Wine’ evening being held by the Squash Club for the Squash Doubles Tournament that Mark and Giff would be playing in, starting the next morning.

The idea behind Mark playing in the squash tournament was that he and his dad would partner up and play together, as it was the 100 Club Doubles Tournament (where both partners ages need to make up 100 or more). But since age is still ‘currently’ on their side and the rules were a bit stricter this year, it turned out their ages didn’t quite make a 100, so they had to take up different partners.

Having a little lie in the next morning, I planned to get to the club in time to see Mark’s second game of the day...although as it happens...I was running a little late and they were running a little early. So upon arriving I found that I had missed his second match and much to my dismay it had been the match that Mark and his doubles partner (John) had played against his dad and his doubles partner (Janine)...which I for some reason had thought was only going to be his third game of the day. Very disappointing for all, since I had told Sue the same thing!! Nevertheless I watched the next few games, considering I have never really watched Mark play squash before and quite enjoyed them and can now fully understand why his after squash washing comes the way it does.

I also had a visit from my friend Clair and her little boy Riley (who I hadn’t yet met) who is very cute and so good. So in amongst the squash games we had a good old catch up and we received news... that our dear friend Ang had gone into labour!!

45 hours of labour (and hopefully a gold medal of sorts...or just something gold at least Ian!) a healthy Michaela Helen Blake was born. Congratulations Ang and Ian on your beautiful little girl. I also need to admit, that my predictions of baby genders (which until this moment had been right so far, for so many) had been wrong this time...as I had really thought they would be having a boy.

The next day was followed by more squash games, seeing those who would make it into the final and another visit from Clair, this time armed with photos of the new addition to our gang.

As with all tournaments, the end was followed by a prize giving ceremony. Mark and John ranked 4^th in the tournament overall, which is pretty impressive considering neither had played doubles before, not to mention, they had not played with each other and only met the morning of the start of the tournament. For their efforts Mark and John received a nice coffee maker each and a six pack of Castle as their prize. Giff and Janine didn’t do too badly either, coming in 8th in the tournament.

That night we headed to Nev and Jen’s (who moved back to SA, just before we moved to Dubai) for good old catch up and to check out their home, not to mention yet another delicious meal, this time by Chef Nev.

The food fest continued the next day, which turned out to be the hottest day so far, we headed back to Nev and Jen for lunch, for a potjie this time, where we were joined by the Rice’s...reminiscent of the good old days in London...the Lansdell’s even joined in by skype!

Time for yet more food, we headed to Marius and Lucia (family friends of the Attwood’s) for dinner, another very delicious braai.

The next morning we headed to the Beach Break for breakfast with the Ogilvie’s and the Rice’s to say our good-byes. Yes, our holiday would soon be coming to an end, but not before a trip to East London Casino...where Mark and Giff revelled in a bit of gambling that evening...I’m still not quite sure if they actually evened out their spending (Mark’s losses at the tables) and winnings (a team effort of winnings on the machines) in the end before heading (after much debate) to Mark and Sue’s favourite place pizza place for dinner...Guidos.

Somewhere along the line, Mark started to feel a little fluey and his glands were swollen so off the the doctor we went, who confirmed that he did indeed have tick bite fever...but thankfully nothing a course of antibiotics couldn't fix.

Just over two weeks had past and it time for our last night of what had been a lovely, but busy holiday... and what better way to finish it off, than with a nice homecooked, family dinner...where Sue treated us to yet another delicious feast, this time roasted venison.

Thanks to everyone for making it another great holiday! It’s now time to hit the gym in a big way and try and work off ALL those delicious feasts...

Signing off from an extremely hot Dubai ...where temperatures this week ranged from 33 to 42 degrees! And summer is only just beginning!! :)