Jasmine bushes

Been promising to show off our blossoming jasmine bushes:) Obviously the one in front needs some tending to since it's blocking off the path but it's so great to see all the little flowers and have that lovely jasmine smell to welcome us home:)

More B-day celebrations

We went out to the Lansdowns this weekend to celebrate Sara's b-day with some family:) It was a great time with great food and we all enjoyed it! Clark went home on Saturday night because he had to work on Sunday but Sara stayed for the rest of the long weekend (Monday was Memorial Day here in the States).


Yummy birthday cake with strawberry ice-cream inside:)

Happy Birthday Sara!

My beautiful Sara is 27 today! Thanks my luvie for being the ray of sunshine in my life! And I know that with everyone else who follows our blogs (thanks to you all!) we want to wish you a happy birthday and a wonderful 28th year! I love you very much and I thank God that we can share our lives together. Enjoy your day my hoenderboutjie!!!! :)

Sara's B-day Weekend Surprise!

Sara is turning 27 on Thursday but Clark decided to surprise her with a lovely, romantic weekend away in the Napa Valley at a resort and spa:) Clark knows that his wifey loves to be pampered so she was treated to a full body massage at the spa as well. Clark was going to surprise her by waking her up at 3am on last Thursday morning and telling her to pack her bags cause they have a plane to catch! However, fortunately for Clark (!) one of his co-workers told him he should warn Sara - so he told her the night before!



Napa and it's surrounding winelands are truly beautiful - made us feel very homesick for Stellenbosch and Franschoek:(


We went up to Pacific Union College to take a look - it's a really pretty campus.


This was taken at Elmshaven (The home where Ellen White spent her final years and died). That's Sara sitting outside on the stoep. It is truly an amazing experience to visit Elmshaven - we learnt so much and there is really a peace that pervades the house and property.

What a lovely quote from one her famous writings.

In the Petrified forests.

Sara giving a bear hug!

California's very own "Old Faithful" geyser.

St. Helena Adventist Hospital....stunning surroundings! wouldn't mind being sick and having the beautiful hills and winelands to look at:) who knows - maybe one day we could end up working at a great hospital like that!

Canoeing down the Russian River through the redwood trees.

Clark taking a swim during our lunch break.

San Francisco...that's Alcetraz in the background. San Fran is CHILLY!

At Pier 39 - a lot like the V&A Waterfront.

In front of the Golden Gate Bridge. Have you noticed how Sara often ends up being the model in all these pics???? - well, that's because we are both too shy to ask someone else to take a picture of both of us - so it's usually Sara who gets snookered into posing:)! It's okay this time - cause it was her b-day present:)

Picnic Lunch with SA friends

We had a lovely Sabbath afternoon today with SA friends. The weather also played along wonderfully because it's been so hot but today there was a nice cool breeze blowing.

Clark and Carlindo.

Quite a big group!

Sara with little Gisella (Carlindo and Jeni-Joy's new little one) - she's so precious:)

Our friend, Lorissa, actually organised the lunch for her mom who is visiting from SA. I'm posting this pic cause mom will probably recognise aunty Anne from Benoni church.

Medieval Times

After Miami, we headed back to spend Tuesday night in Orlando since we were leaving from Orlando early Wednesday morning to come home. Tuesday night we went out for dinner at a themed restaurant called "Medieval Times."

The castle.

The King and Princess were there to pose with before dinner and the show.

We took a tour of the Medieval village before dinner.

In the kitchen area of a Medieval house.

Before dinner, each person is given a crown for the section that you are going to be sitting in (we were sitting in the red section right in front) and then out come the knights and you have to cheer for the knight whose colour is the same as yours.

Dinner consists of vegetable soup (drunk out of the bowl for authenticity - there are no eating utensils) and garlic bread. Dinner is chicken, spare ribs and a potato....well for Sara - dinner was just the potato and Clark had two chickens! Neither of us had the spare ribs. Desert was a pastry with peach filling. As you eat your meal the knights joust and compete with each other for your entertainment.

Miami

We drove from Key West to Miami late on Sunday afternoon and got caught in a horrific thunderstorm! It was really scary and got us thinking we would rather face the threat of an earth-quake than have to deal with that sort of thing on a consistent basis! Needless to say - our first day in Miami was a bit of a dud since the weather was overcast, gloomy and cold and there was a tremendous wind blowing. So - we went to the movies! Exciting hey?

The view from our hotel room on our second morning in Miami - much better weather.

We went for dinner at Bayside after the movies - very much like the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Enjoyed a bit of shopping and had an early night.

The second day were in Miami - we had to leave early to go back to Orlando in order to fly back Wednesday morning. So, once again, we didn't get to swim:( but we went to South Beach and had a lovely brunch and then took a long walk along the beach.

We would both like to see Miami again sometime.

Key West

Key West was stunning! We were so disappointed that we couldn't spend more time there and didn't get to lounge around on the beach and go for a swim. We arrived (after a LONG drive) on Saturday evening and then we only had Sunday to tour around a bit before heading to Miami. Stupid - we know now! Next time we will definitely make time to just relax and soak up the sun:)

What a lovely picture:) Key West is just like you would imagine an island paradise to be.

We only had a short time to stroll along the beach and feel the water - it was so warm and inviting!

We went out to the reef on a glass-bottom boat to see what we could see. We can now safely say that Clark and Sara will probably not be going on any cruises any time soon! We were both soooooo sea-sick!

About to start our nauseating adventure on the seas!

Leaving Key West behind...

Just an example of what we saw - we actually saw some interesting things - a sting ray, a baracuda, different types of corals and other beautiful fish.

After our boat-ride we took a tram tour through the town of Key West - there's lots of history and many interesting tales to tell. It was SO hot though!

The official start of US highway 1 which leads all the way from Key West to the Canadian Rockies. That's the zero-mile marker and it ends approx 2500 miles later!

Lots of little stalls to shop at.

An old ship-wrecked boat in the town.

At the Southernmost point of the USA.

This is the pool area at our hotel - you can see the ocean in the background.

And this is what a hotel room looks like once the Bothas have hit it!