South African Coastal Cruisin

We loaded in the car to cruise along the coastline down to Cape Point. (see lime green route on below map)

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The day wasn't lacking in beautiful shoreline.  Too many beautiful photos to just pick one.

Our day also included hanging with seals.




And scouting penguins in Simon's Town.

Hiking to the lighthouse on Cape Point, the southern most point of the Cape Peninsula.

Visiting the Cape of Good Hope.

Meeting the welcoming committee.

And more breathtaking sunsets to finish another great day.

Cape Town

We returned from South Africa on Sunday, but it took some time for us the conquer the laundry mountain and sort through the bazillion photos we snapped during the trip.

Final conclusion on our South Africa trip: 
Stop whatever you are doing now and purchase a plane ticket to South Africa.  You will thank me later.  We loved every minute in South Africa and are already wanting to return.


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We spend the first part of our trip in Cape Town.

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Our first stop was to Table Mountain.  The top of the mountain is flat and gives a great view of the city.  

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There are cable cars which run to the top of the mountain, but Jonathon and I got antsy waiting in the line and decided to hike.  We should have investigated first, because we were blind sighted by the steep incline.

After 60 minutes on mother nature's stairmaster, we found these lovely people at the top and enjoyed some amazing views.

(Note: It really wasn't that cold.  It was just windy and we got pretty sweaty during our stair adventure.  Okay, maybe we are slight wusses.)

Hydration was in order after all that exercise.  Wine tasting?  Yes please.

The view from our flat didn't hurt either.  It never got old looking out the window and seeing this:





More South Africa adventures to come.

Four Holmes in Motion

We have some exciting visitors:

We made Jonathon's parents really work for the true Doha experience.  We climbed some sand dunes.

And after we worked so hard getting to the top, we ran down.

Now the four of us are headed to South Africa for a wild adventure.  I will be sure to post lots of pictures when we are back.

Happy birthday Kaleigh.  I am so glad that we rode in the same backseat eight years ago.

Outdoor Adventures

The weather is getting cooler (big smiles), so we ventured outside!  The sun touched my skin and I didn't shrivel up.  We had a fun filled weekend on the boat and at the Inland Sea.  Remember when we first went to the Inland Sea? (check out our first trip here)

Getting to the Inland Sea required some dune bashing.

Happy birthday Sarah!  I know this will be the beginning to a marvelous and exciting year.

Happy birthday Chris/Dad.  We are excited to celebrate with you soon.

Happy birthday Dale/Dad. To honor you, I will dress up as a superhero who saves fuzzy friends with a butterfly net.

Oktoberfest

Greetings from Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. 

Nine years ago, I did an exchange program and lived with a host family near Munich for a month.  We were able to meet up with my amazing host student, Christina.  We look the same nine years later and nobody better say otherwise.  (I was a little excited.  When I'm this excited then I cannot be expected to smile without squinting.)

Words cannot do this trip justice, so I will let the photos speak for themselves.

We are sending extra love to our families.  We think of you all constantly.