It's official! As of today, my paternal grandparents Gary and Connie West have arrived here to Port Elizabeth, South Africa! The day has already been full of adventure, so I'm really going to try and keep up on the blog while they are here, because we are planning to have 18 days of jam packed adventure. With some rest of course because they, and me for part of the time, are on vacation!
Grandpa and Grandma left Minnesota two days ago (Tuesday September 14th, 2010) and trekked along across the world. They flew from Minneapolis, MN to Atlanta, Georgia. During their Georgia layover, they met my Grandfather's brother and sister in-law, Norbert and Svetlana for lunch. Onward from Atlanta they went, trekking on to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam they flew to Capetown, arriving yesterday (Wednesday) and staying overnight in the Conifer Beach House bed and breakfast. The Conifer is where we will be staying for our trip in Capetown, and while here in Port Elizabeth, Grandpa and Grandma are staying in the Conifer Beach House bed and breakfast as well.
I picked them up from the Port Elizabeth airport this afternoon (Thursday). The anticipation has really been building since this last weekend, as I have been so excited for them to get here! While I waited for their plane to land, I went into the airport travel bureau and stocked up on tour/sightseeing brochures, which I later dropped all over the floor. I was eagerly waiting outside the baggage area, on the other side of the glass, keeping my eye out for them to be coming off the plane. With a purse, a bag full of tour stuff, a camera and a lot of anticipation and excitement, I alternated between standing right near the baggage door and sitting in a chair a bit of the way down, just out of sight of the baggage area. After sitting down thinking they must still be sitting on the plane, it wasn't 5 minutes later that they emerged, luggage in hand. I looked up from where I was sitting and had to do a double take because I could barely believe my eyes that they were standing in front of me!
After booking my return ticket for Capetown, we headed over to the car rental place at the airport, to pick up the car we "hired". All went smooth getting the car, except for the fact that I forgot my driver's license. Thankfully the guy said it would be no problem, as long as I came back today with my license. When we left the aiport in the rental car, it was a bit more awkward driving then I imagined. I'm used to what I think is probably a standard stick shift, with 1st, 3rd and 5th gear on the top and 2nd, 4th and Reverse on the bottom. Not in this car. Our Chevy Aveo has Reverse, 1st, 3rd and 5th on the top and 2nd and 4th (I think that's how it's laid out) on the bottom. That combined with shifting with my left hand, driving on the right side of the car in the left lane, and lots of traffic circles (roundabouts), was enough to make driving feel like quite the challenge initially! Thankfully I only pulled in front of one car and ran one stop sign before getting the feel of things.
After showing Grandpa and Grandma my place, retrieving my license and doing a driving tour of North and South campuses, we drove back to the airport, dropped off my license at the airport and then headed to the Conifer Beach House B&B in Humewood, to get Grandpa and Grandma checked in. The room in which they are staying is really stunning and comfortable. There is a dining room, full kitchen (they have an oven and heat!), sitting area, bedroom area and bathroom (with a bathtub!). The place is really light and airy and is decorated beautifully.
After sitting and settling in for a bit we decided it was time to venture out a bit and get dinner. The Boardwalk is really scenic, close by and has plenty of restaurant choices, so I decided we should have our dinner there. I was able to smuggle the car into VIP parking, where Freeman the parking attendant assured me he would keep a close eye on it. The only stipulation was he wanted to earn something out of the deal . With only large bills in my wallet and a bit of change, I was glad when Freeman happily accepted my R7 in coins (1 dollar) as the trade to sneak the car into VIP parking. At The Boardwalk, we ate at 34 Degrees South, a really good seafood restaurant, named for the degrees of, either latitude or longitude. Ah, shoot, I should have either read the background in the menu, or at least paid better attention in Geography class. I had a salmon sandwich on baguette and a Greek Salad, Grandma had prawn curry and Grandpa had a seafood platter that had prawns and fish and some really good rice, as well as a Greek salad.
What would a good trip be without challenges right (great learning and growth)?! Well the night produced a slight challenge when Grandpa (I'm not calling him out cuz my oops is coming don't worry!) realized he did not have his credit card. After ravaging through all of our stuff, and not finding the card, we left to go in search of the card (last used when we picked up the rental car). I called the rental company, who said they did not have the card. When we got back to the B&B and searched through everything, producing no card, Grandpa decided it was time to go call the credit card company. He returned a bit later with a defeated look on his face. Much to Grandma's and my surprise, he reported he had found the card before he had to call and cancel it. He had put it in a compartment in his wallet that he never usually uses. Glorious! Such good news.
We sat for a bit and talked and looked through the tour brochures, deciding that tomorrow we will go to Addo Elephant Park, because it is National Parks Week, so admission to the park will be free. After chatting for a bit, and realizing how tired we all were and how early we have to be up tomorrow, we decided to call it a night (yep my oops is coming). We said our good nights and Grandma and Grandpa sent me on my way with concerned warning to be careful on my way home, driving the night time roads alone for my first time. Well I didn't get very far before coming across an obstacle. As I was backing out of the driveway, the big wood gate driveway door that electrically slides open and closed began to close. It was when I heard the the bumper smash into the gate that I realized the gate was closing and I had just hit it. Ugh that feeling when you know you've hit something! Thankfully there are only two small scratches in the bumper, but I knocked the gate off it's sliding track, and we were unable to manually push it closed. The door would close and then open and 1/4th of the way, continuing to do this opening and closing electronically on it's own. I am really hoping it is just a matter of lifting the door back on the track and resetting the electronic mechanism. We shall see what morning brings for this one! Well that's day 1 of Grandpa and Grandma's adventures here in South Africa with me. I should be going to bed, because we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow out searching for elephants at Addo Elephant Park!
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