Gorgeous days!!

Pic 1- Our flat is now complete!! Natalie has arrived...this is us on the first flat movie night- what a crazy Friday night!!

Pic 2- Kalk Bay pier

Pic 3- My feet and the Atlantic Ocean

Crazy weekend in South Africa!! Last night I got to do 2 of my favorite things…1. Eat sushi (yippee!! I don’t’ have to go with out my dear spicy tuna roll in SA), and 2. Watch one of my movie faves “Love Actually.” How could it get much better?

Saturday was wonderful too! Saturdays will be our adventure and exploring days, so we had a busy day planned. It started off with a morning run. This is the perfect weather to run because it’s cool, but not too cool. It’s like running on a fall morning in TN. The sky was clear and the sun shining- because of the horrible weather that we’ve had I get so excited about pretty days! Then we came back to the flat, Zana cooked breakfast and we did a little Pilates (I don’t think I’ve told ya’ll about our workout sessions of POWER Yoga and Pilates…we cram in our living room and crowd around my computer…it’s great- and a tight squeeze!!) Anyway, the morning started off so perfect that I couldn’t help but introduce my 2 roomies (yes…Natalie’s here!) to one of the best songs ever…”Oh What a Beautiful Morning,” from the best musical ever, “Oklahoma.” I should definitely note that this is my sister’s favorite movie- (I thought about you Bec ☺)

After we got ready, we embarked on our first day of exploration of this amazing town that we now call “home.” Cape Town is filled with all sorts of different areas and we decided to explore Kalk Bay and Muzenburg (basically because these are the only places we know how to find ☺). Kalk Bay is a cute area with lots of artsy shops, antique stores, and restaurants. There is a lot of Bohemian influence in the clothing, jewelry,and crafts in this area (and there are cutie purses everywhere- you know I love that!!)

In Kalk Bay there is a great pier filled with all sorts of brightly colored fishing boats. As we walked along the pier and looked out over the ocean, Zana, Nat, and I were all in agreement that God is pretty amazing to call us to such a beautiful place with so many new things to see and explore- and to get to do it all together!! We are determined to see and do everything we can during our time here- I am so excited!!

As we walked to the very tip of the pier- guess what we saw!!! A whale!! Whales come in to the bay around this time of year- except I think they are a little early this year. We definitely went out to Kalk Bay in hopes that we’d see one- but me in my usual pessimism figured that we probably wouldn’t see one. Thank goodness I was wrong, because we saw a huge whale surfacing several times! It didn’t seem that anyone else noticed or got to excited, but we definitely did! After we got our whale “fix,” we walked over to a restaurant that one of our friends had recommended. It was a beautiful, breezy place that over looked the bay- it was so beautiful- to bad my camera died so sorry no pics of this fun place.

Left the restaurant and the weather had turned a little colder, but we then went to a beach in Muzenburg where normally there are lots of surfers. Of course we went there to look for hot surfing men, but apparently they had all gone in for the day…sad. I got a phone call as we walked and all I could here was a man’s voice cracking up…finally I heard, “This is your dad!” That’s the last I heard, but I kept talking just in case he could still hear me. It’s amazing to me that I can get a phone call from Goodlettsville, TN all the way in Cape Town- but I guess it’s not that amazing because I couldn’t hear anything ☺

Last stop for the day, we went to watch the sunset at Noorhoek Beach- well we kind of missed the sunset cause I had to make a “pitstop” on the way ☺ I cannot even tell you how beautiful the sky was. I tried to take in all the sights and sounds of the beauty that God has created for me (and everyone) to enjoy. He didn’t have to, He just did! The colors of the sky were amazing- from deep blues to gold and orange. I shut my eyes and listened to the waves and birds and these are the words that came to my head…”The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty, let all the earth rejoice…How great is our God…Chris Tomlin says it well! Then I also thought of the Caedmon’s Call song, “God of Wonders.” This was a great way to end an amazing day of fun- that I feel so blessed to have!!

Oh yeah, another thing about my day is that I have had a horrible crick in my neck all day- it kind of runs from my neck to my back. So, I haven’t been able to move my neck really today, and it feels a little crooked. This time 2 years ago I had a stiff and crooked neck too!! If you didn’t know me then, it was from pretty serious and sudden brain surgery that I had in June 2005. So my crick today reminded me of God’s goodness to deliver me from that whole deal- He was so good to let me live and let me to experience all the wonderful things that I am experiencing here in Africa. I’m so thankful for that humbling and wonderful reminder! Mom and Dad dry your eyes ☺

So this is my long commentary on the day…stay tuned for more Saturday adventures…next week…cliff diving!!