I had planned a bucket list of travel desires with the goal of checking off one of those desires next year for my seventieth birthday. But, next year, some of my family and I will be attending the
Crowley Clan Gathering in Macroom, Ireland. The coming Gathering will be my second. This ancestral trip will directly conflict with dates for the type of South African trip I wanted to experience, so I asked my husband, Larry, "Do you think we could go this year?" After only a short minute, he answered, "Yes!" After that decision was made, everything fell into place easily: we got seats on the October 9th trip (17 days), and we got a wonderful local house/dog sitter who was available to stay for the entire time we will be away. We are very excited.
I also decided to use this opportunity to write a childrens' book for my grandson. Our little friend, Logie Bear, will be joining us. I will write about this trip from his unique perspective. It should be a fun challenge.
But, I do plan to write a little of our own adult experiences in this new blog also. Our flight leaves very early from Logan Airport on October 9th, so we will be spending the night at a Park/Sleep/Fly Rodeway Inn three miles away the night before. Our room fee includes a free shuttle to and from the airport and we can leave our car there for the entire trip!
We have already received our preventative innoculations, and just have to get our malaria pills. We cannot drink the water there, and remembering to ask for "no ice" will be a challenge. No salads or raw food. Only fruit we can peel is allowed if we want our tummies to stay healthy.
We will fly in and out of Johannesburg for an Apartheid education in Soweto and Petoria. Then we will take a thousand-mile train ride with private car to Cape Town where we will see African penguins. We venture by bus along the south coast to a vineyard and gardens ending in Port Elizabeth where we will take a small plane to Makalali Private Game Reserve next to Kruger. There we will experience five game drives before flying back to Johannesburg and then home again.
Friends and family have warned us about the dangers in South Africa, but since we know lots of loved ones who made the trip recently, we are not concerned. Plus, I will place my "cloud of protectiveness" on every part of it, so I will remain worry-free. It should prove to be a very exciting and varied trip. Stay tuned!
I am sorry to tell you that instead of continuing this blog, I wrote a children's book about our trip. I will receive the proof copy this week. Once approved, I will self-publish it on Amazon.com. Once it is published, I will post the link. I hope you will buy it.
