Table Mountain

We have been to Cape Town before, but this trip had two major differences.

1. The Gators agreed to be our travel buddies.  Scary name, but they don't bite.

2. It was windy.  Really windy.

Alright, now this story will make sense so let's talk about Table Mountain.

Table Mountain is in the middle of Cape Town and the views from the top are AMAZING.  A cable car provides luxurious rides to the summit, but said cable car doesn't operate in strong winds.  Since we knew you readers wouldn't be happy without photos from the top, we tied our shoes tight and tackled mother natures 90 minute stair master.  My legs were sore for a week.

Our treacherous journey:

Hiking reward:

  

After taking in all the amazing views, we got our behinds off the mountain because it was cold and windy.

Although, going down wasn't much easier than coming up.

After all that physical activity, we kicked up our feet and relaxed.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.  We are thankful for all of you.  Happy anniversary Greg and Mandy.  You inspire me.  Happy birthday Meghan.  I will have a study break, dance party in our honor.

Stellenbosch and Franschhoek

There aren't too many places we have visited where we want to return.  Not because we didn't enjoy the trip, but because we have so many new locations we want to explore.  We traveled to South Africa last year but when we were invited to a wedding in the Cape Town area we booked our tickets without hesitation.  We love Cape Town and the surrounding region.

It helps that Cape Town is only a nine hour flight away.

source

The trip started in the wine country of Stellenbosch just outside of Cape Town.  We relaxed with amazing views and tasty wine.

We were confused when the wine disappeared.

Thankfully there was more wine nearby in Franschhoek.  We joined all the wedding goers for a wine tasting tour.  We hoped on the Springbok bus which happens to be the name of the South African rugby team.  Some kids ran after the bus thinking that we might be famous players.  That must have been a let down when we stepped off the bus. 

 

 

This was our first South African wedding, but I'm guessing that a chicken in the reception hall is typical.

The fun doesn't stop there, but this post will.  Next post will be about our week in Cape Town.

Very special birthday wishes to McKinley Frankie.  We hope you had an amazing birthday.  Happy anniversary Kaleigh and Jared.  We are excited for your exciting future.

Whirlwind Week

We had a completely random but busy week over there.  I'm not even sure how to pretend the pieces fit together, so I'm resorting to a numbered list.

1. I took a super quick trip to the Netherlands this week.  Seeing fall weather was a dream come true.  I had goosebumps multiple times and felt raindrops.  Oh how I miss seasons.  

And it is already Christmas in Amsterdam.  Thank you.

2. When I returned to Doha I jumped for joy because I didn't immediately break into a sweat.  The weather changed overnight.  Right away I ran to my closet and put on my boots.

Doha weather:

3. People hibernate during the summer heat, so we are busy socializing again.  We celebrated the Marine's birthday and thought lots about Greg.

Now, I need to go pack my bag because we are off to celebrate a great couple getting married.

It's a Circus!

How is it already November?  When did that happen?  We finished October strong with some running...

And of course Halloween.  Our costumes were inspired by our trip to Sri Lanka.

Happy birthday Haley and Grandma Jones.  We are celebrating with you in spirit.