I've been going since yesterday. The thing is.. I'm not even tired really. The thing that's been slowing me down today is hunger. I've waited until ~12 to eat just to stay on some semblance of a schedule.
The day really started yesterday. We (Dad, Charles & I) spent the weekend in Aurora w/Becky & Matt (& Alice). Dad got the guest bed, Charles took over the couch & I got stuck on the love-seat. Now, when I went to NOLA this past summer I spent the entire week on one, but there was something about Becky's that I just couldn't fall asleep. I could curl into a ball but that wasn't comfortable for very long. I could stretch out but that cut off circulation to my legs. So, I ended up rolling onto the floor (which was still quite uncomfortable). Becky told me where to get blankets & I made a bit of a nest and slept somewhat. The rest of the day was highlighted by napping and watching "A Christmas Story" on TV.
Neither Charles not I went to sleep that next night. For one, I was too excited/jittery about going to South Africa, and two, I was sure I'd never get comfortable so I didn't even bother trying.
Dad, Charles & I then left for O'Hare at 3am Monday morning. We arrived just before 4 and I had to run through some barricades to get inside. Once there, I waited for them to open up the check-in lines and when I finally got to the counter they finally told me I was in the wrong line. (They had told me to go to this line by-the-way.) I got everything sorted and acquired my tickets. I got to my terminal and waited. Read some Kipling and received a phone call from Mike as I waited.
We finally got to board the plane and had a fairly uneventful flight to D.C. We got in at 8.40 eastern time and I got to spend an hour in line just so I could ask about my next flight (where it was, &c). There was a large family of people from South America & surfers trying to change flights, so I had to wait for them to finish redirecting baggage and all that jazz before I could get my question taken care of. Once I figured out where my terminal was I hitched a ride on one of the large tank-like monstrosities they use to transport people. It was a pretty moving experience. I may have to come back and ride them to kill some time in my five hour lay over.
On my way to the terminal I found a construction site. It reminded me of a large set of LEGOS and I quite literally sat on the floor and watched them for a few hours. I grabbed some over priced food (pizza I think it was) and took a nap as I waited for the plane.
The flight over the Atlantic was a good fifteen hours. I got to watch "Little Miss Sunshine" and " You, Me & Dupree." I'd recommend them. Other than that I read some more Kipling and slept maybe an hour. We touched down in Johannesburg at 4pm local time Tuesday (around 8am central time). Customs was just fine and I was able to quickly make it to my next flight to East London. It was a two hour flight and Brett was waiting for me at the baggage claim. We hopped in his bakkie (pickup truck) and drove back to his house. It was close to 8 or 9 when we got in. He introduced me to his brothers Gareth (the twin) and Warren and also to his parents. They fed me some apple crumble and custard (more like a watery vanilla pudding to us). Afterwards we just chatted about Cederberg and what to do before we go.
Around 10 I was introduced to Murray (or Fennell). From what I gathered he's kind of been the little brother to them and is also in their troop. Getting hand-me-downs, coming over for dinner unannounced, that sort of thing. I could tell already that he was going to make my stay quite interesting.
I promise the rest of the posts will get more exciting than me talking about catching flights. Anywho, here's some pics of my South African Family:
Brett & Warren
Gareth & I
The Parents (Alan and Pam)
The infamous Fennell
Murray showing us how he hops from stone to stone on his bike. And manages to stay balanced.
Getting ready for my first ride.
