A Weekend in Chicago

After checking into yet another Days Inn with Stephen and Vivienne we headed into the city on the train. The Chicago Blues Festival was on in Millennium Park. We spent ages having fun around Amish Kapoor's Donut Sculpture before heading to a pub for a local brew and on to dinner at Frontera Mexican Restaurant. On Sunday we started out at Lou Mitchell's Diner for a giant breakfast. Of course we had to queue to get a table. This diner is a Route 66 icon marking the start of The Mother Road. Some say you have to start at the Lion Statues outside the Chicago Art Institute, so we headed there next. It is one of the world's greatest art museums and we hung around for hours and hours. After more time in Millennium Park, we walked all the way over to Navy Pier for dinner which ended up being rather touristy.

USA Road Trip begins...

On Monday 3 June we headed off on a road trip with a hired Chevy Cruze reading 38171 miles on the odometer. The first leg was shortish, Wyckoff NJ to West Chester PA to visit Gary and Karen. On 4th June we continued on to Washington DC via Delaware and Maryland, for lunch with Lindi and then on to Claire and Graeme's place.We went to the Philips Gallery and to a few museums on the Mall. Rooftop drinks at the W hotel were followed by dinner at the Press Club - friends in high places! On Thursday 6 June we drove all the way up to Cleveland, Ohio. Downtown Cleveland seemed boring and souless so we stayed in a Days Inn on the outskirts and ate at a Delmonicos. The next morning we headed back into town to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This has to be one of the most amazing museums ever and before we knew it it was 4pm and we had been there all day! Luckily in summer, evenings stay light quite late, so we could still put some miles on the clock before dark.We stayed overnight in Howe, a one horse town with one dodgy diner serving frozen ready meals and no alcohol.The next morning we drove through Amish country and on to the great lakes. We tried to find scenic routes along Lake Michigan, but this seems not to be possible. Access to the water is limited to beaches and town marinas or campsites in national parks.  Actually, it's not that scenic, just a big expanse of water. We headed into Chicago to collect Stephen and Vivienne from the airport.  The GPS doesn't keep you out of the dodgy gangland neighbourhoods and we were happy it was daylight when we drove through.

Birthday Party No 2 - the New York Bash

Party number two was held in New York . We started out with cocktails at a pub in the Village called The Dove, followed by dinner at a Cuban Restaurant, Cubanyc, just a few doors down. We had jugs of Sangria and Latino food, listening to live Salsa music. Later, we moved on to The Groove for more live music. The Groove is an old favourite of ours. The bands play funk music and the place is always packed. Thanks Megan, Peggy, Bob, Jane, Sandra and Rob for celebrating with me.
                                                                                        

New Jersey and New York

After spending the first day sleeping off jet lag, we were ready to go shopping! And that's after opening more than a hundred ebay parcels that Neil had ordered and had sent to Sandra. PTSD Retail Therapy. On 24 May we headed into NYC for Memorial Day weekend. We met Megan at Yotel, a very trendy spaceage looking hotel near Times Square. The weather was unseasonally cold and wet all weekend. We ate our favourite burgers at 5 Napkin and had an early night. Saturday involved a lot of walking and sightseeing including Chelsea Market and lunch at Spice Market. We met Peggy back at Yotel before heading off to celebrate birthday party no. 2. Sunday started with brunch at Katz's Deli, a new york institution serving Reubens sandwiches and pickles since 1888.We tried shopping at a very busy Century 21, passed by the new Trade centre building and had drinks at the revolving bar at the Marriot on Times Square before taking in Chicago on Broadway and dinner in Hell's Kitchen. We stayed with Terri and Fred and went to a great new Restaurant called Marrow by chef  Harold Dieterle. Back in NJ we carried on shopping and stayed over with Bob  and Jane. They took us to a park to see the very special cicadas that only emerge from the ground once every 17 years! We spent a wonderful family weekend celebrating Lisa's high school graduation .

A spanner in the works

This blog is all about travelling and friendship and" La Dolce Vita", but it's also about the choices we have made about how we live our lives. There is nothing like lying in a hospital bed listening to your physician telling you, " You are very lucky to be alive", to help focus on whether living a crazy, nomadic life for the last five years has been the right decision or not. Pulmonary Embolism is often symptomless and difficult to diagnose but easy to treat, so I am happy to report that Neil was allowed to fly a week later and is very well. So, the lesson learned is that you had better do whatever it is you want to do, before its too late. I have a great life and I never take any of it for granted. With all the admin out of the way and a weekend of fishing in Dullstroom over, we left South Africa for six months of Northern Hemisphere summer.

Botswana Moremi

Distances in Botswana are quite big, so it takes most of the day to get to Maun from the Central Kalahari. We had to shop at Spar and go for drinks at Reilleys Hotel for old time sake. We met up with Tommy, Mandy, Collete and Kyle at Okavango River Lodge for rugby and a steak dinner. After plenty of wine and Amarula we retired to our tented accomodation. North of Maun the road to Moremi is gravel. Just before the main gate we had an amazing leopard sighting. Moremi is a game reserve on the Okavango Delta; which is a large flood plain into which the Okavango River flows. The rainy season in Angola, the source of the river, is between October and December, but the water only reaches Moremi in June/July. The long route to Xakanaxa via 3rd Bridge is very scenic but towards the end towing the caravan through the thick sand became really hazardous. There is a more direct and easier route in but the sand, rivers and log bridges are all part of the fun. Xakanaxa is beautiful and we set up camp there for 6 nights , longer than the average stay. It is wonderful to settle in and have a real sense of a place after a few days. We are pretty organized, with solar panels to generate power, fridges and freezers, tables and chairs. There are new ablution blocks with hot water and flushing toilets now, so no need to rough it much . Of course we did plenty of gourmet braaing and fun outdoor cooking. We even had a selection of imported French cheeses and pates from Tommy and took turns cooking up a storm. That's glamping; no sitting in the dirt cooking Toppers and Smash on a one plate stove for us. We did daily self drives and had wonderful game and bird sightings,tracking the lions without any luck, eventhough most other vehicles did see them. Another sighting of a young leopard hunting one morning made up for it though .One afternoon we did a boat trip on the river. The drive home is two full and long days behind the wheel, with only brief stops for food and fuel.