Thursday, January 28, 2016

Thursday Thoughts: readjusting after vacation

1. I feel like a time traveler. We left Johannesburg on Tuesday night at 6:40 pm and arrived at Dulles Airport in D.C. at 6:30 am Wednesday morning. South Africa is seven hours ahead. Whenever I travel ahead of my time zone I want to contact people at home and be like hey guys! I'm from the future! Always a mind fuck and I hope today really is Thursday. 
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2. We went from sweating our asses off in the summer on Tuesday to the leftovers of a snow storm on Wednesday morning. What a shock to the system. Huge props to our dog sitter Amanda for dealing not only with the snow, but with our prima donna dogs in the snow.  

3. I don't feel like thinking about how to write my posts on Cape Town and the game lodge in Limpopo but I'll figure it out and share them next week. In the meantime, here's a video of warthogs in the courtyard outside of our room at Mabula. They make me laugh eating on their elbows and all. 

 4. Spoiler alert: the shark diving expedition was cancelled. Originally we were told it was due to rough seas, but really it was because the water has been too warm and sharks haven't come to the boat in 21 days. I appreciated them cancelling it because then we didn't waste money going out to sit on a boat. Anyhoo we found ourselves with a free day at the last minute. MFD went and got a haircut like he lives there. Of course he made friends with the barber and other locals throughout our stay in Cape Town. 

5. This sign at the Victoria & Alfred waterfront cracked me up. 

 6. Things I miss the most outside of the U.S.: ice, iced coffee, knowing my phone will always work (even when I switch to international, I don't trust it), regular time (vs military time), english units of measurement vs. the metric system, temperatures in fahrenheit, not having to do math every time I wonder how much something is in my dollar. 

7. Thank the lord I slept most of the way over and back on the plane. Even so I managed to read four books, which I will tell you all about in the next Show Us Your Books on Tuesday, February 9. I loved the bookshelves in the lobby of our hotel in Cape Town:  

8. When we travel we like to buy things that are locally made. They had a great place in Cape Town with local artisans in stalls selling their goods. One USD is equal to 16 rand so our money went far over there. We got some animals fashioned out of recycled flip flops for the nieces and nephews, a book written by a local artist for my Lola, an elephant print from an artist who wanted me to show him on a map of the US where his art would be living, baskets made from recycled telephone wire, an awesome necklace they restrung for me to make it longer. All the artists were really lovely. I also got some rock crystal not from a local artisan, but I've been looking for something like that for some time. Of course I bought local coffee and a hand painted coffee mug because of course I did.
9. MFD is heading to the shore this afternoon to assess the damage to our house from the storm this weekend. Please let it be minimal!

10. Ecard of the week as I prepare to play the miles game to get tickets for our next vacation in November: 

And just like that, I'm back. Like I was never on vacation.


39 comments:

  1. what a whirlwind! loved all the pics. kudos for travelling that distance! i'm such a wimp when it comes to long distance travelling so i like valium for that :D

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  2. Can't wait to hear more about your trip. I can only imagine the shock to your senses when you arrived to the snow storm from Africa. GAH, I think it's so cool you went to Africa! So glad you were able to sleep so much on the plane, that is one reason traveling to South Africa is so far down on my list, the long time on a plane.

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  3. My sister tells me happy birthday from the future every year since she lives in Europe now. It's still a little weird.

    I thought about you guys when I saw one of the national weather people doing live shots from the Jersey Shore. Hopefully things are in perfect order when MFD shows up.

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  4. I love the artist wanting to see where his art would live and the flip flop elephant is so cool! Glad the flight wasn't as bad as it could have been (but how did things end up with the stinky guy?) and that you didn't get eaten by a shark.

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  5. Welcome home! I loved stalking your IG and can't wait to hear more after you've rested up :) I love all the awesome goodies you bought to bring home- so gorgeous and unique!

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  6. Loved seeing your gorgeous pics all over Instagram... it looked like an amazing trip!!

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  7. I would have considered it a fail if you hadn't returned with a coffee mug ;) I want to say I can't believe MFD went for a hair cut, but I can. I can believe it. It's still freaking hilarious though!

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  8. Ohhhhhh I love all the stuff you picked up!!! Elephants are my favorite so I love the elephant made from flip flops and that painting!!! And a penguin book! How perfect!!! Is it sad that I cant watch the warthog video without screaming PUMBA!!!!!!! And signing his warthog song. :)

    I thought about your house on the shore this weekend when I saw all the snow everyone was getting. Some news reports said that the storm was worse than the hurricane that had come up there. I hope that isnt the case for your house!

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  9. I cant believe its all over with already - BOO!!!!!
    I think its hilarious he went for a haircut - theres your culture adventure.
    Boo on the shark thing being canceled but your right - glad you didnt spend money on a boring useless thing.
    I love getting hand made things from an area... it makes it so special to bring home those kind of souvenirs
    Hope you sink back into life gently :)

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  10. Wow! You're back already? That went by fast! Loved all your pics though, can't wait to hear about the trip. I think a coffee mug is one of the most useful souvenirs ever!

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  11. I can't wait until we have the opportunity to travel back in time too! That sucks that the shark encounter got canceled, but that is nice that they let you know beforehand so you had the opportunity to do something else that day.

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  12. LOVED all the pictures from the trip! And I know the pups were so happy to have their snuggle partners home!

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  13. A book for "my Lola" made me cry! Such an awesome bond you two will have. I love elephants and that the artist wanted to see where his art will live. Pictures are great but little stories like that are priceless. And extra lights and Angels for minimal damage at your shore house. Love. Your. Momma.
    Can't wait to read that book to Lola !

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  14. oh noooo the shark thing got cancelled?! now what am *i* supposed to do?! hahaha. i needed you to do it and survive so that i could feel comfortable. gosh darn it. those warthogs are absolutely hilarious!

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  15. Wow. Just wow. And I pray all is ok at the shore house... thought of you frequently during the storm.

    And the elephant picture!!!!! (I know it must be for me, no?)

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  16. I hope the shore house is ok! All your goodies are amazing! I love buying local made things too, they always have a memory attached. Those animals from recycled flip flops are too cute! I can't wait to hear more about the trip.

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  17. I love that he got a haircut. It amuses me.

    That sign is SO DAMN FUNNY!!! I love that you read 4 books ON VACATION. That's more than I read being home because I have been fighting with Owen Meany.

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  18. Welcome back!! I'm sure it will take some readjusting. I got a good chuckle over the fact MFD decided to get a haircut while on vacation in another country!! lol

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  19. I was thinking about you guys with the shore and the storm! I hope all is well. I hate that JUST BACK, WAS I REALLY TRAVELING feeling! And I gotta catch up on your instas! Welcome back (and I too, love that sign)

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  20. Love the hamster sign! Can't wait to see your recap! And good vibes on the shore house!

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  22. My family messes with my uncle when he visits Australia and tease him that he's in the future. You picked up some cool stuff. I like the idea that the artist has art living all over the place. You've made me want to add South Africa to my list.

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  23. over here trying to read blogs while making my calls at work + literally laughed at out loud at the hamsters sandwich board

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  24. I love that not only did he get a haircut but that he made a friend out of it. That made me laugh. The hipster hamster sign is awesome!

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  25. Bummer that the shark swimming was canceled, but I'm glad they did that rather than waste your time. And that hipster sign is hilarious!

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  26. The miles game so is my fav, so I can't wait to hear your strategy/plan for November vacation.

    Love the hipster/hamster sign!

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  27. I just cannot handle that he got a haircut. It is beyond awesome!

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  28. Shark diving - wow! That takes some guts, we did the swimming with the dolphins but I don't think I have enough will do to it with the sharks!

    Stopping by from stuff n things :)

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  29. I love all the local stuff you got, especially that elephant print. I love the cute note that MFD left you! Hope he wasn't too bummed out about the shark diving. And yes about temperatures in Fahrenheit. The other day someone at work described something in Celsius and I had to stop and think does that mean it was really hot?

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  30. Welcome back! I was in awe of your instagram pics, and can't wait for your many recaps! And how sweet is that note from MFD when he went for a haircut, hoping there's also some material for the next Shit MFD Said :)

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  31. Your pictures have been awesome! I can't wait to read about the trip. Hopefully all is good with the house. You missed a pretty epic storm.

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  32. Welcome back! I'm glad you guys made it home safely!

    I'm really looking forward to your recaps, but I know what a pain in the ass going through all of those pictures and thinking about all of the things you want to share can be. (Clearly ... I still haven't finished my New Mexico recaps and that was a few months ago. Haha.) Still ... I'm excited to read your posts!

    Oh, and I always buy at least one coffee mug as well. We're running out of cabinet space for them, but dammit I love coffee and I love coffee mugs!

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  33. I love this post! Welcome back...I know it's a shock to the system on all levels after a vacation. Especially with such drastic temperature changes. Whoop for getting to read a ton of books while on your vacay and lots of sleep on the planes!
    Praying that there's no damage to the shore house! I saw the news about Wild Wood, and thought of your place! Fingers crossed!!!

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  34. I loved all of the pictures you posted on Instagram of your trip. It looked amazing and I'm glad you had such a good time! The necklace you bought is beautiful, I love the colors. Welcome back!

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  35. I can't wait to read more about your trip! I love that MFD got a haircut. Hahaha! I also love the recycled flip flop animals. So cool!

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  36. Was thinking of you this weekend when I saw how bad the flooding was down the shore. Hope to year it's not too bad! Thanks for the mini-recaps of your trip; it seriously looks amazing and inspiring. I'm dying over MFD getting a haircut there though, that's the best thing I've ever heard of!

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  37. Not even gonna lie... I was kind of glad when I saw that the shark diving was cancelled. I was scared FOR you. The anxiety was real. lol
    MFD and his haircuts... lmao

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  38. Tour operators who are honest? That's AWESOME. Love that sweet note from MFD... and that he's brave enough to get a hair cut elsewhere. That's really too good. I'm inspired to know that it's not just me who is annoyed by hipsters. It's universal! I have mixed feelings about the recycled flip flop animals, but ultimately, they are pretty cool!

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  39. That sign is hilarious! MFD is a brave man for getting his hair cut locally. I am so chicken when it comes to my hair.

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