We're Home!

Hi everyone!
It's Monday morning and I've spent the last hour trying to get into my email box, but it's so congested it's not allowing me in (grrr). It's been an interesting few days...
We arrived in Washington just after 6am on Friday morning and had a 10 hour layover. Shortly after lunch, Joe started feeling pretty awful. He spent the next 9 hours in and out of the bathroom with the most violent vomiting and diarrhea (poor baby). We assume it was food poisoning (he was a little suspocious about the cream-cheese stuffed french toast he ate at 4am that morning - the only meal where we didn't have the same thing). It was a miserable afternoon for him (and for me, as it's awful to watch your loved one be so sick). Our flight from Washington to Detroit was just a couple of hours long, and Joe spent the entire time in one of the two bathroom (he even landed in the loo - against the law, but they were so gracious about seeing a need and accomodating him). By the time we landed, we hadn't slept more than 3 hours in the last 30 hours, and Joe was steadily getting more dehydrated. My parents picked us up at the airport and the drive home took an hour longer than usual (thanks to Michigan construction)...Joe spent much of it with his head between his legs in a garbage bag. We arrived in Lansing at about 9ish and headed straight for the ER at Sparrow (the hospital where Joe works). We were so blessed by how quickly we were taken care of (big God and employee benefits, yay!). After 4 hours, 3 litres of saline, x-rays, bloodwork and an anti-nausea prescription, we headed home. I had cried so much that day (partly from my heart aching for my hubby, partly because of pure exhaustion), we were both deliriously tired by the time we made it to our house at 2am on Saturday morning.
We slept the ENTIRE day on Saturday - except for about 3 hours of toilet and soup breaks. Our bed has never felt better!
We were both wide awake on Sunday morning at 4am, so we decided to get up, unpack a little, take showers and get ready for church. Both feeling much better today!
It was great to be back at church - we were loved on and clearly missed by many, it was such a blessing to be home (while part of us desperately misses parts of our trip; people and places).
It's been a rich 5 weeks...we have been lavished with such love, generosity and hospitality our hearts just swell at the thoughts of it all. Thank you, precious friends and family, for taking such good care of us! And dearest friends and family back in Michigan, your love and prayers were just as precious and valued during these 5 weeks away! We are SO blessed!!

So, here I sit...trying desperately to get into my emormous email account (to no avail), so I can start to figure out how to get back into the swing of daily life. We have learned so much over the last month, and have had profound revelation about a few things... and after feeling so overwhlemed about trying to pick up all the chaos and busyness that I left behind, I actually feel more peaceful already just being able to admit that our lives have been too busy for too long and that things are going to change. Afterall, we are human-beings, not human-doings. Amen!

Tuesday Evening & Wednesday (Day 30 & 31): Our Last Days

After our little visit to the Swakop Internet Cafe, we enjoyed a lazy afternoon and then ate at the most amazing little beachfront restaurant called 'The Tug' - an old tug boat that was renovated into a snazzy little restaurant. Our food was incredible, the atmosphere and view over the sea was stunning, and the service was the best we've had in the last 5 weeks (which isn't saying much, we've been appalled at how rude/unfriendly public service is in South Africa and Nam). It was a lovely evening, with much needed alone time. It's odd really, Joe and I haven't been apart from each other for more than 3 hours over the past 5 weeks and yet we haven't spent too much of that time alone together (bar our road trips) - but what has been so awesome is that we have loved every minute of our time as a couple and really crave this time alone. My husband truly is my best friend and favorite travelling buddy!


Wednesday (Day 31)...our last full day in Southern Africa:

Sorry we haven't been able to show you any of our pictures over the last week, the connections we've used have been so much slower that it takes forever to load one, and then often it just gives me an error message. Joe just suggested that when we return, instead of telling and retelling our travel stories (and showing pics) over and over again, that we'll just do a travel 'journal' night at church sometime and show all our pics then at one time and if anyone wants to hear about our journey...they can come and hang out with us there. We'll make a dinner and 'movie' night out of it. What do you think?!?

Getting back to our travels...we slept in this morning, soaking up every last morsel of this trip that we possibly could. After a lovely breakfast, we ventured over to Walvis Bay where we scoped out the dunes, tried to fry an egg on a rock, gazed at hundreds of flamingos in the bay and ate 'slap' chips at the Harbor. It was a blast! We finally headed back to Windhoek, again experiencing the incredible changing scenery...only this time between rain storms! We even had a rainbow. The rain alone was incredible to see/feel as most of the years we spent in Namibia was during a 7 year drought, so the saying here continues: when you fall in a river in Namibia, you stand up and dust yourself off. So, needless to say, it was marvelous to witness a rain storm (with lightning and even a rainbow as a grand finale) over the desert.

I started the 'in-desperate-need-of-a-miracle' packing project while Joe and Chrissy went off to pick up dinner and a movie I insisted Joe 'experience' before we left. Our last night...what a perfect time to watch 'There's a Zulu on my Stoep'. And it was a roaring success, Joe laughed out loud just as many times as I did (and this is the 3rd or 4th time I've watched it). Yay for Leon Schuster - I just giggle like a kid whenever I watch his incredibly S'Efrikan-flavored movies.
I now sit on our bed, sneakily tapping into the wireless internet of the stationary store across the street for one last, late-night blog. What a memorable journey we have taken over the past 31 days - and it has been such a treat to feel as thought we have you travelling along with us.
We fly our tomorrow afternoon and will be arriving in Detroit on Friday evening. We have a wedding on Saturday night, so while we may be a little jet-lagged, we're really looking forward to that! Can't wait to get back into the swing of life and look forward to 'implementing' the many things we've learned about life, ourselves and each other over the past month. God is good!

Thanks again for taking this journey with us...and stay tuned for the next season of this blog: The McMillan Makeover...coming to a blog near you! Joe and I will be competing to see who can lose the journey-jiggle first!

Coastal thoughts of an American Country boy:

Hello to you all! I just wanted to give one last glimpse from my mind... what I am experiencing at this point. The diversity, both in the people, and in the land, amaze me. It is so amazing to drive for a few minutes and do a 'recheck' of my surroundings, only to discover a totally new foreground and backdrop. It was so cool to be approaching the city with a weird name that we are staying in now... and have there be a haze where the ocean starts. Up until the ocean, there were crystal clear blue skies, at the ocean... total haze, beautiful. I am running out of time, so I will unfortunately have to continue another time, but we will see you in a few days. Ps, Africa is the most beautiful continent on the planet... no bias. Totsiens

Tuesday (Day 30):

We are sitting in a little internet cafe in Swakopmund, a little coastal town on the coast of Namibia where our family often vacationed (it also happens to be the highly-publicized location where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie brought their child into the world). We left early this morning from Windhoek on what Joe likes to call 'the Autobahn' - no cars + flat road = zoom zoom! We passed baboon, warthog, ostrich, and tons of ostrich eggs! It is so amazing how the scenery changes every 20 kilometres...lots of trees, more shrubs than trees, no trees, different color sand, and mountains that turn to dunes.
Upon arrival we drive from one Bed and Breakfast to another trying to find an open room and finally ended up at a German hotel/B&B. We have a lovely little room that overlooks a huge garden filled with poppies, snapdragons, sweet peas and loads of other beautiful blossoms.
After relaxing for a few, we took a stroll down the beach and the jetty. We enjoyed watching the seals play in and out of the water, barely 30 feet in front of us. We came across a dead seal that must have washed up on the beach, very sad. Joe marveled at it's huge fangs! Funny that these are some of the things I recall from Swakopmund...live seals, dead seals and lots of jellyfish - we saw them all!

Sunday and Monday (Day 28 & 29): Windhoek

Sunday (Day 28):

We went to All Nations Christian Church this morning - the church we grew up in. It was great to see the familiar faces and to see how the church has grown and changed. Pastor Volker had me come up and update the congregation on what God's been doing in our family over the last 10 years - fun!

We then headed off to Daan Viljoen for an afternoon of animal watching and lazying in the sun. We vacationed here many times as a family so it was wonderful getting to take Joe and experience it as an adult - again, much smaller than I recall (funny how that works!).

Christine was invited over for a braai in the evening, and seeing we were with her, we were invited too (invite one, get two free). We had a wonderful time with her friends Mark (from California) and his wife, Elke (from Germany) - and their 6 month old little girl. Amazing how quickly one is able to connect and feel as though they've known people for years! It was a great sun-filled day!


Monday (Day 29):

Today we are in desperate need of some clean laundry...only problem is we can't find Christine's washing machine. Everything is in German, and the only machine we can find looks suspiciously like a dryer. But people in Windhoek don't use dryers....so we took a chance! And Houston, we have water!! Yay, we found it...only other problem is...we stopped it too soon and now have clothers that can stand up on their own. But atleast they're clean :)

Joe and I did a little more shopping and driving around Windhoek this morning - we went to our first house in Windhoek and were amazed at the changes as it's been transformed into a snazzy media company. I was quite tempted to walk into the entrance (where my bedroom used to be) and announce to the people behind the desk that they were sitting on my bed! But I refrained.

We met Bernhard and Suzanna for lunch. Today is Bernhard's 55th birthday! We had a wonderful time with them, and then spent some more time wandering around the street markets and shopping mall.

After returning home, Joe cooked a wonderful meal for dinner, while Chrissy and I went through her travel photos and ours. We polished off the evening with 'Driving Miss Daisy' which was a delightfully sweet movie.

Another full day! Tomorrow, Joe and I head off to Swakopmund until Wednesday, and then we fly out on Thursday. See you all soon!

Wednesday through Saturday (Day 24 - 27): Joburg to Windhoek

Wednesday (Day 24): Our last night in Joburg

We’ve had such an incredible time with Gwen, Terry and the ‘girls’ (and yes, darling Bryne, it just wasn’t the same without you!). We spent our last night playing Warlords and Scumbags – a card game us Douglas girls spent hours playing with the Joynerwood girls every chance we got – and I’m proud to say Kirsty and I are the reigning Warlords!

After a morning of [re]packing, and a few hours spent one-on-one with Gwennie (what an awesome God-ordained time her and I had together), we kissed and hugged and moved onto our final home-away-from-home in Joburg. Tonight we will sleep in the 10th bed of our vacation, at the Gebhardt’s home.

We enjoyed a fabulous evening with Jeannie (my dad’s little sister) and her hubby, Anthony (or Ant, as we fondly know him), catching up and indulging in a truly South African dish, Bobotie, with Tipsy Tart, chocolate and coffee for dessert. We have been so incredibly blessed on this trip: the love, generosity and hospitality we have experienced have been unprecedented.

The tail-end of this ‘bug’ I’ve been fighting left me with incredible nausea and dizziness – it was almost a little scary, not being able to get up and actually stand up without hitting the wall, but by midafternoon on Thursday I was a-okay!


Thursday (Day 25): Namibia, here we come!

We had a relaxing morning waiting for Ant to return from a meeting and wisk us off to the airport. My dad had jokingly suggested I remind Ant of the time he missed a plane while chatting to him, mindlessly in the kitchen one morning. I’m proud to say we were at the airport in perfect timing (phew) – thanks, Ant!

We arrived in hot, dusty Namibia at around 2 in the afternoon. Joe now understands what I described as Namibia’s stark, arid landscape. We picked up our little Toyota Tazz outside the airport and headed into Windhoek. Joe found in very amusing being in a completely foreign country, and having his wife say, “turn right, okay drive a little further, turn left, turn right, etc”. It was wonderfully being back in Windhoek, and even though it has changed drastically in the past 5 years, being able to navigate our way around without breaking out the ol’ map. Christine (a dear friend who actually visited us in Michigan 2 years ago) met us in a parking lot and we followed her home to our final home-away-from-home (and our 11th bed). We were welcomed by a sweet little note and some of my favorite chocolates in our room…we’re so spoiled!
After catching up a little there was a knock at the door and a very excited Bernhard was there to welcome us home (he said he just couldn’t wait until Monday when him and his wife were planning to see us). This is the wonderful friend of ours who personally walked my passport into home affairs and got it back to us so quickly – so in a way, it is because of him that this trip was even possible! We joined Chrissy and Bernhard at their church home group (the church I grew up in) then went to a look-out point where we could see all the city lights at night. Hmmm, beautiful.


Friday (Day 26): A drive down memory lane

We slept in this morning…aaah…and after a leisurely morning hit the road. We visited one of our old homes, my old primary school where we had a lovely chat to my 1st grade teacher (who is now principle), and my old swimming and ceramics teacher – oh, what a treat! Some things never change. We then moved onto the girls hostel/high school where my dad was superintendent and where we lived for our first 5 years in Namibia (when we moved from South Africa in ’83). Oh, the memories!! What is so unbelievable to me is how small everything is. At the schools and at our old home, I recall everything as being so big and stretched out, and yet everything is so much smaller now. Amazing how when you’re little your perspective is that everything bigger than you is just enormous, and yet now that I’m all grown up…it all seems so small. We moved onto my old high school and then a few other places that were my ‘stomping ground’ as a kid.

After picking up a few groceries, we picked up Christine and headed off to a braai at the Recholtz’s home where we spent the evening catching up with them, the Backhauses and Margie Hoffman. Time flew and before we knew it was late and we were all full with food, laughter and memories – it was a stunning night!


Saturday (Day 27): Food, glorious food!

As a thank you to Christine for taking us in, we whisked her off the The Dunes restaurant for a sumptuous breakfast – a treasured place our family indulged in on very, very special occasions (amazing what paying in American dollars can afford you here). We then meandered through the Saturday morning craft markets, one after the other. Between the heat and the shopping my precious man got weary fast, so after one final stop at the Namibian Craft Market, we went home for a nap (Siesta!). I now sit here at the kitchen table, catching you up on the past few days of our travels, while my amazing hubby cooks dinner – what a guy! It has been so wonderful introducing my beloved family and friends to this man I have the honor of calling husband and best-friend – he seems to click instantly with people and so has made these numerous introductions effortless. But, he will be the first to tell you that he is getting a little road-weary and looks forward to resting amidst the ‘known’. We plan on having a relaxing dinner while watching The Whale Rider (1 of Chrissy’s 3 DVDs, which happens to be one we haven’t seen). And then, goodnight world…

Monday & Tuesday (Day 22 - 23)

We've had a lovely, relaxing (and very needed) few days in Jo'burg. Joe and I both have fought a cold in the past week, I think our bodies have both been saying, "okay, stop. Slow down!". Not to mention that we've stayed with 2 sick people, and we're a kissy/huggy family.

We went to visit the South African Herbalife headquarters, which was great to see. Joe went out with Terry for 'Guy's Night', so us girls rented a chick flick and ate lots of chocolate. Just what the doctor ordered!

Today (Tuesday), Joe, Kirsty, Taryn and I went to Gold Reef City. GRC is Johannesburg's historical theme park, founded around an old gold mine. After a few rides, a 4-D presentation and more rides, we enjoyed some authentic african dance, including the 'gum boot' dancing I've been telling Joe about for ages. It was great! Joe and I then took a tour down into the mine, which was just incredible. We travelled to the 5th level (around 250 meters under the ground), and it's just phenomenal to think there are 57 levels to this mine, 0f which the lower 38 are flooded. We learned so much about mining in the early days, and that tt takes 2 hours to travel down to the bottom level. Nelson Mandela also worked in this same mine at one point in time. We then watched real gold being poured - stunning!
We had a full, sunny, exciting day with the girls!

Tonight is our last night with the Joynerwoods, tomorrow we move to Jeannie & Ant's (my dad's sister and hubby). Hard to believe our trip is winding down...we fly out to Namibia on Thursday, and then fly home the following Thursday. And it's been good.

Friday through Sunday (Day 19 - 21): Camping in Pilanesberg

We arrived in Johannesburg, Thursday afternoon, at the house of some of my favorite people in the world…the Joynerwoods. Gwen and Terry have been two of my parent’s closest, most precious friends for as long as I can recall (going on 20 years now). My sisters and I practically grew up alongside their 3 girls – can you imagine what vacationing must have been like…9 females and 2 men! Talk about heavy on the estrogen. So needless to say, I couldn’t wait to introduce my precious man to these precious people. We had a relaxing evening planning our weekend camping trip in the Pilanesberg.

Friday morning was spent catching up, planning and packing. Half of us headed out on Friday afternoon to set up the 4 tents before it got dark. Gwen, Terry and Taryn arrived at around 9pm with the bedding and food, just in time…within 20 minutes, the skies opened and we were almost drenched as we ran, bedding in hand, to our tents for a damp nights sleep. It was such fun going to sleep to the sound of thunder and rain pelting our tents. The side of the tent was stuck to the top of my head and my pillow was partly drenched by the middle of the night. I must say, I’ve never camped during a storm and it was a blast. Joe and I went to sleep huddled up with smiles on our faces.
We were rudely awakened at around 5:30 by our early-riser-neighbours who were loudly getting ready for the drive through the Pilanesberg game reserve. After a lazy morning, a delicious brunch and a dip in the pool, we headed off for our own drive through the game reserve. We spotted zebra, impala, waterbuck, wildebeest, and rhino. It was a delight! We then braaied as the sun set, and packed it in for the night. (oh, I forgot to mention we had a fair share of ‘wildlife’ on our side of the fence…we had impala, baboons (and a few little babies), an ostrich that walked right between our tents, 3 huge warthog that roamed freely (yikes, the tusks on those things are lethal!) and a sweet, mommy cat who had planted herself and her 5 minuscule kittens (who stole my heart) behind a bush outside the bathrooms.

We woke up early again this morning (thank, loud neighbours) and headed back into the the game reserve. This time we spotted loads of zebra, buck, giraffe and the rhino. We took a leisurely dip in the pool and headed for the Sunday buffet at the restaurant – yum! After another cool dip (before the hot trip home) we loaded back into the cars and headed for Jo’Burg.

After unpacking and lining up for the loo, we made a light dinner and sat down to watch Syriana (interesting movie). What a fabulous weekend with phenomenally fun people!

THANK YOU

We just wanted to take a minute to thank you for your prayers, your support and your love! We have been so blessed by how many people (in the States, in South Africa, and in Namibia) are following this exciting journey of ours. Every time we get a chance to check the blog, we snuggle in close to the laptop and giggle our way through the comments, savoring them like choice morsels. It's such a blessing to read your thoughts, comments and prayers (and of course, it's lovely to know we're missed!).
We're having a spectacular time - God has overwhelmed us with favor everywhere we've gone - and we've so enjoyed sharing our thoughts with you. Thanks for taking the time to check up on us...keep reading, and we'll keep writing!
Love & hugs to you all,
The McMillans

2nd Thoughts of an American Country Boy (on Bungee Jumping)

Joe’s accurate recollection of his BUNGEE JUMPING experience… The only words that I could come up with after jumping off of the largest bridge in SA, and the highest point from which to bungee jump in the world, were, “what the hell was I thinking.” I am soooo not the kind of guy who jumps off of bridges, or so I thought. I blame it all on Dave Moore, he told me I had to or else I wasn’t cool… well he said nothing about not being cool, but he told me I had to nonetheless, so I did. Upon jumping, you free fall for 4 seconds and then are snapped back up two times to do a lesser version of the fall. The following four second excerpt was taken verbatim, from my free fall of 160 meters… 5-4-3-2-1 jump Joe – Short scream, followed by falling at terminal velocity (about 75mph) while attempting to breathe - gasping for air – now beginning to realize the magnitude of what I just did to myself, I attempted to scream in sheer fright, but it was then that I realized that no one could hear my lame whimpering so I stopped all unnecessary bodily movement and prepared either to have my ankles dislocated and become 3 feet taller or to become a shish-kebob for a leopard on one of the millions of trees below me, orrrr a nice flesh pancake for the lions that surely lurk in the night. No jokes, all of this runs through your mind in four seconds… After all, you were crazy enough to jump off of the largest bridge in SA with only a rubber band attached to your ankles. Continuing on in my experience, I finally reached the bottom of the band’s elasticity, and felt like stretch armstrong, as what seemed like 3 or 4 g’s pulled at my eyeballs. I tried to remain silent, but there was some strange groaning that was occurring from deep in my guts – I think it was my intestines unnaturally bonding with my heart, lungs and liver, but I am not sure. The Yankee was yanked back up to what I soon found to be the painful part of the jump. Since this trip was all about special moments, why not yank me up to a horizontal position (unusual according to my jump coaches) and do it all over again…the second fall is still higher than any other jump in the world by the way… (insert repeat description) After snapping me a second time I remembered what my coaches said, “you will bounce three times and then we will come and get you.” At this point I got a tremendous wave of courage and I screamed, knowing that I had conquered death. It was a rather girly scream, one that would put Celine Deon’s high C to shame, but I thought I was entitled to let it all hang out after what just happened. Then the peace came… I didn’t die… I said, “Whoa, I just jumped off of the largest bridge in the world. I just hung there peacefully for 1 minute with the blood rushing to my head, until a guy on a winch line yelled, “heh, whatcha doin?” I told him I was just hangin out, watchin’ the world go round. Then he asked me if I was married, and I boldly said yes. He asked me which was worse… since 80% of the blood in my body was in my head at that point and I totally felt on top of things (no pun intended), I wittily responded with… UMM (pause) no question man, marriage was much easier. He proceeded to come into my view. Just then, I felt him grab my legs and then I saw him disconnect me from something that looked like a bungee cord and reconnect me to something else… big mistake dude – his legs were promptly placed in what is aptly called vice-grips in wrestling. He is the one who didn’t tell me that he was disconnecting me so he deserved the pain he felt at that point. The words of my bungee coach were coursing through my head, “you will think that he is disconnecting you from the cord, but he is not, don’t worry.” I thought for sure that it was a conspiracy and that I was going to die any second. They tricked me… lied even, and now the strap, which I had built a relationship with and learned to trust, was disconnected and I had to learn to trust a whole new substance – this guy that is surely trying to kill me. If you are reading this and thinking that I am over-dramatizing it, go ahead and try it out… sissy, this was the scariest thing I had ever done and all rational thinking was just thrown off of a bridge, remember? The guy’s legs remained clamped by my arms the whole way up with him repeatedly telling me to loosen my grip, and we eventually reached the top of the bridge again. Think the fun is over? Not a chance… now you get to maneuver Joe’s 220lb body onto the mesh platform, from which point he can see the earth some 650ft down, and disconnect him from the bungee cord…. The bungee cord? Yes, I was still connected and No I didn’t die. The guy who rescued me, who was surely an angel and not the man who tried to kill me, laughed and said that I thought his legs were hot and that I asked him to marry me instead on the way up, during the rescue. This is surely not true, is it? After your jump, you get to watch the other suckers do their jump, and laugh at their facial expressions in the process. When we get back I will tell you more, but I trust you had a gut wrenching laugh at my “special” moment. Can’t wait to see you all soon, I miss you and love you. – Joe

Wednesday (Day 17): On our way to Jo'Burg

We can hardly believe we’re only half way through this adventure! We have been so blessed everywhere we have gone.
After breakfast with Ruth and Hugh, we headed out on the road again in our cute little red Polo. It’s been a blast trekking across this country together, with just a map and a passion to travel. Joe has done an absolutely incredible job of driving on the 'right' (that would be left) side of the road. We’ve enjoyed living off biltong (for the Americans, that would be jerky), appletizer and chocolate (hey, I’ve got 10 years to catch up on!)
We’re bunking in a little Bed & Breakfast tonight in Aliwal North, it's called Lord Somerset B&B. We're a little bummed that the town's hot springs are under construction as that is really the only reason we pin-pointed this location as a half-way point), but it feels good to just kick back and relax (and catch up on Egoli - ha!).

We’re both feeling a little weary tonight, but considering our busy schedule the past two weeks, and the amount of junk we’ve been eating, it’s no wonder (and yes, our waistlines are getting a little, uh…blurry). This is the first time we've actually sat in front of a TV for more than a couple of minutes. It feels good to relax.

Only problem...we didn't even think about dinner, and everything closes early here, so... protein bars and copious amounts of Milo it is. Bon Apetitt!

Goodnight world.

Tuesday (Day 16): Kenton on Sea

Joe went with Hugh to their local farm this morning, while I made my way down to the lagoon, braved the sand-blasting from the wind whipping over the dunes, and then walked down the beach. I think this is the most astonishingly beautiful beach I have ever seen – what a stunning combination of sea, rock, white-caps, rock pools and dune. Joe joined me (much to my delight – it’s so sad seeing stunning things and not having your hubby there to enjoy it with you) and we managed to snap some stunning shots despite being blasted by sand.

After a light lunch, Ruth and Hugh took us to the stunning, 5-star Intsomi Lodge (www.intsomi.com). We were met at the door with warm hand towels (to freshen up) and lovely grapefruit cocktails. This lodge is absolutely breath-taking!! We were given a private tour of the lodges and the chalets – an ideal place to honeymoon – wow, talk about exquisite lodging! We were then taken on a top-notch nature drive where we saw all sorts of fantastic flora and fauna, along with plenty of hartebeest, some zebra and a gemsbok. It was so precious…apparently a zebra and a gemsbok were orphaned at the same time and were brought to this reserve. They must think they’re brother and sister and have been inseparable since their arrival. They were side-by-side both times we drove past. We drove over a hill and our jaws dropped…before us was the most stunning view of the dunes and the ocean, and the sun was at the perfect angle to cast the most beautiful shadows in the dunes. We snuggled up in blankets and watched as the sun dropped behind the dunes. OOOoooh, wow.
Upon return to the lodge, we were again met with hand-towels, and ushered into the library where we were waited on hand and foot, and enjoyed an incredible 5 course meal (I didn’t know there was such a thing as a ‘pre-starter’). And I’ve never seen as many knives, forks, spoons and glasses before one person in my life. The chef came out to speak to us at the before the meal, telling us what he would be making us, then came out after the meal to find out how we liked it. Because it’s a newer lodge and our visit was during the week, we were the only people there, so we had all 6 staff standing by, waiting on our every need. This must be what it’s like to be a celebrity! It was luxury like we’ve never experienced…thanks Ruth & Hugh!

The Sea View Lions

Monday (Day 14): Port Elizabeth

Vaughn and his precious wife, Ilsa, planned a lovely day for us – they packed sandwiches, snacks and drinks for us (before we even woke up), then Vaughn loaded us into the Landrover and we rode off to Sea View Reserve. After seeing two stunning lions (a lioness and a white lion), we rode up on some giraffe standing in the road - much to Joe's delight! He did actually think for a minute...this is my only chance to hug a giraffe...but the thought quickly left him as he admired their size and strength. We then moved up the hill where we enjoyed several 10-day-old cubs, and then…and this is the best part…we got to play with three 3-month-old cubs. This was such a memorable, precious experience!

We then moved onto Addo Elephant Reserve, which also was an incredible treat! We saw 50+ elephants, buffalo, zebra, loads of Kudu buck, little vervet monkeys and much more! We were literally surrounded by elephants at one point in time – it was fabulous!! As we were heading out, driving up a hill, there was a beautiful, huge lion sitting on the edge of the cliff looking out over it’s Addo buffet (deciding on dinner most likely). What a lovely end to our ‘wild’ day.
We headed out to Kenton on Sea that afternoon to spend a couple of nights with my dad’s sister, Ruth, and her hubby Hugh. We enjoyed a lovely meal with them and then hit the sack (still a little wired from our astonishing bridge jump on Sunday…we’re still a little bewildered that we even did that!!).

Sunday night...hearts still racing!

We're sitting at Vaughn's parent's home, tapping into their wireless internet and catching up on 5 days worth of blogging. Vaughn Botes is one of the interns that came over from SA to Michigan to Joe's church in Imlay City/Lapeer area. We went to Walmer Methodist Church with him and his lovely wife, Ilse, tonight - what a treat to visit the church where Rodney (the pastor who married Joe and I) was youth pastor before he moved to the States. What a fantastic, adrenaline-pumping day! WOOHOOO!

Saturday (Day 13): GUESS WHAT WE DID TODAY...

We bungee jumped off South Africa's highest bridge...which happens to be the World's highest bungee! Bloukrans bridge on the Garden Route, 216 metres high.
Can you believe it?!? It was insanely cool....in fact, even though we did it hours ago...our hearts still speed up at the mere thought of it.
WOW!! We jumped of a stinkin' bridge today! We're more adventurous than we thought :)
It was, hands down, the coolest - scariest - most exhillirating- thing we have ever done. And out of the five people on our trip...I (Joy) was chosen to jump first. Yikes! Check out their site at www.faceadrenalin.com

Carmel by the Sea

Carmel is the beautiful guest house where my parents first met, and where - four days later - my dad proposed! Needless to say, this is favorite family spot!

Our stuffed giraffe, and travelling buddy had to feature in at least one fancy shot.

We had tea with Beryl, my dad's cousin, and her hubby Andrew - who manage the place.

This is the view from our balcony room...

The Last Week (in a nutshell), continued:

Friday (Day 11):

We rented a gorgeous little VW Polo (yeah, just what I wanted!!) and headed out on the Garden Route. First stop, Hermanus, for a bit more whale watching. We looked down into the bay and to our delight, laid eyes on a mommy whale with her month old baby. It was a stunning morning! We had lunch at a sweet little shop - the most delicious salads you could imagine - on the coast and had a beautifully, tearful conversation about starting our family :) We then headed onto Carmel, at Victoria Bay, a christian guest house owned by my dad's side of the family.









Saturday (Day 12):

Our first morning in Carmel...and guess what...perfect weather! We ate a delicious breakfast, and then headed down to the bay. We hiked down the mountain, along the train track, and climbed down to the road...it was a wonderful hour long trek. We climbed up enormous rocks and found a comfortable perch to watch the water...and the blessing continues...we saw over 100 dolphins frolicking in the sea. They swam by, pod after pod after pod. 9 different groups of dophins, each making their way past us in an incredible display of sea life! WOW! We didn't take the camera because we didn't want to lug it down to the beach...we also happened to forget to take any cash with us (big mistake). After a couple of hours watching the water, we collected shells along the shore and in little pools along the the coast. Wonderful memories from childhood - I love this beach! After 4 hours, we were thirty and starving...and had an hour, uphill hike home. We were practically delirious - it was hilarious! We staggered our way up the road, along the track - found a packet of chips...CLOSED...(the skies must have opened and this supernatural manna arrived in our path, can't you just hear the angels singing?). We ripped it open and devoured the delicious contents (aah! like a glass of water in the desert!)...continued up the hill and finally made it back to our room. Our legs were practically buckling beneath us on the final few steps...we were laughing and almost crying in absolute exhaustion. What a workout :)

Joe's First Attempt...

The Past Week (in a nutshell):

We've had a delightfully busy week - it seems our 2 weeks in Cape Town just flew by. We have been so blessed by perfect weather, incredible sea-life-sightings, and fabulous times with family. Oh, what it is to be blessed! :)

As we haven't had access to the internet for the last week, here's a brief summary of what we've done for the last several days:

Wednesday (Day 9):
We were picked up by my sweet cousin, Roxanne, and taken to our next 'home' - for our final days in Cape Town. We visited with my dad's sisters-in-law that afternoon, catching up on all the Douglas family news.

Thursday (Day 10):
Uncle Rob (my mom's brother) - who just so happens to be a tour guide - took us on a spectacular Cape Tour. We hopped from mountain to mountain, from coast to coast, stopping to watch seals, dolphin, ostriches, eland, guineafowl, bontebok, and what added up to be 23 whales. We went to Cape Point - the most South-Westerly point of South Africa. We stopped for a wonderful meal on the beach, and then made our way to boulders beach, where we enjoyed thousands of penguins. What an incredibly, stunning day!

Day 5 through Day 8

Day #5:

After a few games of pool, we headed for ‘The Fort”, another lovely little lodging Dave and Al own. It was one of the most incredibly breathtaking journey’s we’ve ever taken. It was hot, bumpy and dusty, but boy, was it beautiful! The was a point along the way that Al smiled at Dave with a ‘knowing’ look, the music was cued, and as we neared the top of a cliff…the music climaxed and we sat in awe as we came to the most awe-inspiring view you could imagine. The Ou Berg Pass (Old Mountain Pass). Wow, we were literally without words.

After another couple hours on the road – and more stunning views – we came to the Fort. I had been to the Fort 5 years ago when our family was last here, but I desperately wanted Joe to experience the Karoo in all it’s glory. We enjoyed another braai (Lamb) that night, and then lay out on the campfire benches in the pitch darkness and again were speechless at the beauty of the skies. There were millions of stars. And the milky way was a clear as day. What an incredible sight. I wished I could capture it on film for you, but there’s just no way to even verbally describe what we saw. We passed out that night – it was a long, dusty day – being sure to keep out door shut and the scorpions out (Gecko’s present and welcome).

Day# 6:

After taking a ride in the ‘Couch Tour’ bus…actually it was in the leather couch on top of the bus…we headed for Ceres. This is where some of the most delicious fruit juice in the world (Ceres) is produced. Go check it out in the international food aisle at Meijer (hmm mm, good!). We stopped at the Calabash Bush Pub on the way through – I snapped a shot of the most stunning little girl.

Thanks to an exceptionally well-traveled uncle, we sat down and planned out our travels for the next week – where to go, where not to go, who to see and who to name drop with. Having created, directed and filmed several seasons of his awesome show ‘Going Nowhere Slowly” (S.A’s favorite travel show!), he is a wealth of information in this arena. Check out the star of the show, The Chili Pepper and their site at www.goingnowhereslowly.com (you will soon be able to indulge in the same exquisite views and eccentric accommodation as just did through the upcoming ‘Africa Unplugged’ tour they are putting together).

We wrapped up this first leg of our trip, packed up our bags and made the move to Jen and Merv’s place. (Aunt) Jen was one of the only members of our S.A. family that was able to make it up for our wedding – so it was lovely to connect again after 3 years (and to have Joe have a familiar face amidst all the first-time introductions). They have a lovely little place in Tableview, with a stunning view of the Mountain. It’s been a little chilly (although, together with the warm sun, it’s been beautiful) and quite windy, so the ‘tablecloth’ has had a constant presence over the mountain.

Day# 7:

Jen and Merv packed us into their Mercedes and toured some of the beautiful wine estates of the Southern Cape. We did a wine tasting and then ate lunch at the Chamonix Vineyard (stunning!!). The view was gorgeous!! Wow, I didn’t realize how much I loved the mountains until I didn’t see any for 10 years. We then headed off to Boschendal in Franshoek, then to Lanzerac in Stellenbosch (where Jen and Merv honeymooned). We stopped at Hillcrest Berry Orchards for coffee and dessert – what a delicious experience for all our senses!

We drove around the campus of Stellenbosch University, enjoying the sun as it disappeared over the mountains. I was in heaven behind the lens of our camera…a true shutterbug! I even got some pictures of a new favorite flower of mine (I’ve had them sitting on my coffee table for a few months, not quite sure why I was so drawn to them…): the Pincushion Protea. Aaawww. Merv was so gracious in pausing for my Kodak moments (and felt thoroughly rewarded when I introduced him to the wonders of Shutterfly’s free software). After a lovely, long day in the winelands, we got home and decided to have a Sushi night. This was quite scary for me…but we really wanted to be adventurous and give Sushi a second chance to lure us into it’s faithful crowd of followers. We were not disappointed! What fun (as long as you don’t take too much wasabi).

Day #8:

I can’t believe we flew in 1 week ago today. What an incredibly full, wonderful, exciting week we have had. It’s hard to believe we have 3 ½ weeks left.

We tackled the Two Oceans Aquarium at the Waterfront this morning. It was probably my 4^th visit there – and it was as exciting as my first. I’m like a kid in a candy store when I enter places like this. In fact, my sweet hubby says he loves aquariums, but even more than that, he loves watching his wife in an aquarium. It’s a hoot! We saw Nemo and Dori (x 500), starfish, jellyfish, eels, every-other-cool-fish, and the most amazing creature our little minds could dream up…the Basket Star. You’ve got to google this thing! It’s gorgeous, incredible, cool and unbelievable all at the same time! I had no idea something like this existed. WOW! From there we witnessed the largest stinking crabs you would ever want to know exist. They’re literally two feet tall and their bodies are the size of a football. We felt as though we were on the set of Men in Black. Freaky and awesome all wrapped up in one little, er..huge, thing!

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant – Cantina Tequila – which tasted good, but it’s exceptionally clear they are nowhere near Mexico. Joe thinks it was a pathetic excuse for Mexican food (he wanted me to type that). But it was fun sitting on the waterfront, feeding the little sparrow on my seat little grains of spicy rice. We hit the mountain after lunch – driving up Signal Hill, we soaked in the beauty of Table Mountain, gloriously displaying it’s tablecloth of cloud. The view of the city below was outstanding. We checked out a couple of craft stores, made a delicious meal and called it a night.

Day 4: Matjiefontein and Sutherland

We headed out to Sutherland today – location of Africa’s main astronomy observatory – in the Great Karoo, Northern Cape. It was a beautiful scenic 4 hour drive. Dave & Al own a backpackers lodge there, aptly named ‘the White House’.

On the way we stopped in Matjiesfontain, where Dave and Al honeymooned. It’s a stunning little town that used to be a British settlement. We posed for a ‘wedding’ photo in the little chapel.

Today is our 3^rd Anniversary (woohooo) and we get the Honeymoon Suite here at the White House (Oooh, la la!). We walked into our room to find champagne on ice, 2 glasses, chocolate on a pillows and fresh flowers in our room. It was such a treat!

We walked through the tiny town of Sutherland, saw a beautiful Dutch Reformed church, and checked out a couple of the little Ko-ops (little stores). I giggled my way through the aisles, recognizing everything from my favorite soap and fruit juice, to the cleaners and crackers I remember from my childhood. I of course purchased a bar of Breeze, my all time favorite soap (to this day I have a bar I purchased 5 years ago in my undies drawer!).

It was a hoot to be so needed by my hubby. Sutherland is a strictly Afrikaans town, so Joe would be buying something at the till…the cashier would ask him something, or give him a total…and you’d hear this helpless, “uuh, hoooo-ney?!?”. It was adorable. Joe’s Afrikaans is steadily improving. He can almost say, “Sorry, I can’t speak Afrikaans”.

Joe got to experience an authentic South African Potjie this evening. Dave is quite the chef!! It was wonderful. We enjoyed a lovely, romantic dinner…with Dave, Al and Vic (Dave older brother). It was delightful!

Oh, the Wonderful World Wide Web...

Hi there! We have SO much to tell you and share with you, but we haven't had access to enough of a wireless connection that we can impart the vision, beauty & travel stories our laptop holds (hmm, that sounded quite deep).
So we just wanted to let you know we're alive and kicking - can't wait to spend some time at an [expensive] internet cafe and spoil you with the details. Hopefully within the next 48 hours (before the next exciting leg of our trip takes off...the Garden Route on Friday).
We love you and miss you and have so enjoyed reading your comments...keep 'em coming! :)

The McMillans (galavanting in S.A.)

'Granny' Ali with Emily Alison

(baby Em is now 10 weeks old and just as cute as ever!)

Our Visit with Granny

We had a delightful visit with Gran at her new home, Pinelands Place - across from the street where my mom & her siblings grew up, and where Sarah and I first lived. Her window overlooks the school sporting field where my mom went to school, and has a lovely view of Table Mountain.

Gran is looking SO well, and we so enjoyed our time with her. It was hilarious at times, in a sweet, little-ol'-lady kind of way, as Gran was a little forgetful at times - but it was lovely!

Day# 3: Lunch at the Waterfront with Ali

Infront of Table Mountain at the Alfred & Victoria Waterfront in Cape Town

The seals soaking up the sun on one of the many docks at the Waterfront

A Salute to the South African Sunset

The Beautiful Table Mountain

We drove down to Tableview and got the perfect view of the mountain. Joe finally gets to see the real thing (after staring at the panoramic picture I have of it hanging in our dining room for 3 years)...
And it's as breathtaking and majestic as ever!!
Rikki (and Emily), Joe and Ali

Our wonderful family (& gracious hosts)

Our Lovely Lodging #1