Cape town

We've returned from the trip to Cape Town.. I arrived there after being home for my father's funeral and was able to spend a few days in this beautiful part of the world. It was good to be back with the kids and michelle, but very difficult leaving my mom and the rest of my family with unfinished feelings/ business.
My father's funeral services were unbelievable. All the people who turned out to pay their respects to my dad was a true celebration of my dad and the great man that he was. thanks to all those who sent an email , visited the wake and attended the funeral . I hope you realize how much we appreciate your kind words and support. We will miss him dearly and I can only hope that I turn out to be half the man he was.

It is now Tuesday and we arrived back in Gaborone after a 15 hour drive through South Africa. It was a beautiful drive, and again was par for the course in beauty. I don't know which one was more beautiful, eastern South Africa or the west. The people were kind and the weather was great. Seems like we lucked out, as we packed up our bags in the morning to leave, it felt like winter was settling in.

If you ever get the chance to come to South Africa, go to Cape Town.... without a doubt. http://www.tourismcapetown.co.za/It's not an African feeling place at all, more like an American city, but absolutely beautiful. And a great mix of people. Very diverse, but with its same racial issues as the rest of south Africa. As you drive through the countryside, you see small shantytowns for the blacks and large spacious farmlands, winelands for the whites. It seems like they have a long way to go in repairing the situation here. But I will tell you that the kindness of those South africans I experienced was great. The kids were able to swim with penguins, go to the top of Table Mountain, and of course, eat at McDonalds. After seeing the city for a day and spending an afternoon at Kalk bay, we headed to Franschooek, a small wineland village in the hills outside of Cape Town. It again was beautiful, felt like hyde park a bit. The farm we stayed in was perfect for the kids... plenty of space http://www.reedenlodge.co.za/.

The kids ran around the grounds, we made fires at night and just hung out. On saturday we packed up the car, and headed back to Botswana. The kids are seasoned travellers, and besides the fact that Franny once was able to get out of her seat, undress herself and stand up in the back of the car, the car trip home was great. We stayed in Britstown on the way home, and then trekked to the border the next day. Now, the kids have a few weeks off of school and are back to destroying the house... I brought some sidewalk chalk back with me and the patio is getting a huge makeover. We pitched our tend yesterday and plan on a campout tonight in the backyard.. Funny story... as we opened our tent yesterday, the was a baby scorpion in it, left over from our trip to Khutse. Kate ran screaming bloody murder while Jude tried to eat it. Here's a photo slideshow of our trip...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J5wcEK7V-U AND yes I realize there is a huge typp on the title. I made it while holding Jude, saved it without thinking and can't repair it . SORRY. All for now.... And thanks again to those who showed their support of my dad. It meant alot.