tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48317016288513388082024-03-05T13:13:38.742-07:00Haulin' NotesA look through the private eyes of a world-traveling musician wannabe.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.comBlogger192125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-74840940077023741192012-07-30T23:46:00.000-06:002012-07-30T23:46:51.285-06:00Of Kilts and Haggis (Part 3)OK, now we've come to the part of the trip where I get to make you jealous.<br><br>
Although I was on my own for the first week, Rebeca flew out for the second week I was there and joined me for a bit of touring afterwards.
<br><br>
One of the interesting places we checked out was <a href="http://www.camera-obscura.co.uk/">Camera Obscura</a>, a fantastic museum dedicated to optical illusions and other fun things. I took a ton of pictures here and really have trouble deciding on my favorites.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/7076973891_1ce5eb6a07_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/7076973891_1ce5eb6a07_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7076937599_4454b9fe59_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7076937599_4454b9fe59_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<br><br>
One day we hopped on a bus and went up to Loch Ness. No monster was sighted, except for this one.
<br><br>
By the way, we highly recommend NOT taking a guided bus to Loch Ness. It's a long, uncomfortable drive and you see very little along the way because you're in such a hurry. Take your time and rent a car.
<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5321/7077643457_500e3b9429_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5321/7077643457_500e3b9429_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<br><br>
Finally, to wrap things up, we did a bit of a "movie tour". The first stop: Alnwick Castle. This castle is famous for being used for most of the exterior shots of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies! It has also been used in numerous other movies such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7236/6931579832_29d104425b_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7236/6931579832_29d104425b_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<br><br>
Second stop: Douane Castle - famous for being used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail!
<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7077673903_cfa9958165_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7077673903_cfa9958165_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<br><br>
And finally, the Glenfinnan Viaduct. This is best known as the bridge the Hogwarts Express travels over on the way to Hogwarts!
<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7234/6931776994_52763431e4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7234/6931776994_52763431e4_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<br><br>
There are a zillion other pictures, and some of them are even good.
<br><br>
More pictures from Camera Obscura can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157629815017813/">here</a>.<br>
More pictures from Alnwick and Douane castles can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157629452367770/">here</a>.<br>
More pictures from the Glenfinnan Viaduct can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157629452740814/">here</a>.<br>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-21929170765492986892012-07-22T08:51:00.001-06:002012-07-22T08:51:58.748-06:00Of Kilts and Haggis (Part 2)Edinburgh and Glasgow are the two largest cities in Scotland. Edinburgh is the government and tourist center; Glasgow is the business and cultural center. It's a quick one-hour train ride between the two cities, so I popped over to Glasgow for the day to check it out and to see a concert.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7075635655_0110212814_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7075635655_0110212814_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/7075638819_f8d91468b7_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/7075638819_f8d91468b7_b.jpg" /></a></div>
Here's a neat bridge just outside of Edinburgh on the way to Glasgow called the Forth Bridge.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/7076712191_910c1fa12d_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/7076712191_910c1fa12d_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/7076709839_1cccf2db3f_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="360" width="240" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/7076709839_1cccf2db3f_b.jpg" /></a></div>
More photos of Glasgow can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157629811841735/">here</a>, and a few more bridge photos can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157629814510607/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-59380976264907098212012-07-16T05:26:00.000-06:002012-07-16T05:29:17.007-06:00Of Kilts and Haggis (Part 1)In my previous post I mentioned how my work had sent me to Austin a few times over the previous months. Well, they wanted me to do another trip, and this one a bit more adventurous - setting up a new environment in our Linlithgow, Scotland office!
<br><br>
Linlithgow is a small town a little ways outside of Edinburgh in the southwest of Scotland. The only hotel in town was no longer open, so I stayed in downtown Edinburgh and took the train in every day. It was about three miles of walking to and from the train station each day, so I got in a fair bit of exercise too!
<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7110/6930729264_8e0c01a269_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7110/6930729264_8e0c01a269_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<center>This is Loch Linlithgow with Linlithgow Palace in the background. I walked by here every day on the way to and from the office and the train station.</center>
<br><br>
I was there almost three weeks total. Of course we didn't have to work weekends, so that allowed for a bit of fun...
<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7222/6927723798_ab4dc50d2c_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="360" width="240" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7222/6927723798_ab4dc50d2c_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<center>This is a cemetery in the courtyard of The Parish Church of St. Cuthbert. Edinburgh Castle is in the background. The cemetery was about a quarter mile from my hotel.</center>
<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5155/6927730874_06ee20cffa_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5155/6927730874_06ee20cffa_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<center>St. John's Episcopal Church. I like the crescent moon that was out at the time!</center>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7200/7073814813_bc5e07a83e_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7200/7073814813_bc5e07a83e_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<center>Edinburgh Castle at night. Loaded with tourists during the day, and completely empty once its dark!</center>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7073815671_011171b14c_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7073815671_011171b14c_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<center>Castlehill Road - the main drag leading up to Edinburgh Castle. Tourist touts galore during the day.</center>
<br><br>
More pictures from the first weekend can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157629443217548/">here</a>!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-18513791206189914482012-06-12T22:43:00.000-06:002012-06-12T22:43:04.355-06:00And now a word from our sponsor.I've been sent on a few work trips the last couple of months. Three of them were to Austin, Texas - which admittedly was a nice break from the middle of winter. I dragged my camera along to take a few pictures during my off-time.
<br><br>
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6578925301_34366b4725_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6578925301_34366b4725_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<center>Texas State Capitol Building</center>
<br><br>
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6764215651_6b27022de0_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6764215651_6b27022de0_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<center>This is a shot I really enjoy for some reason. The harsh shadows from shooting directly toward the sun, the sepia-look from the clouds, and Old Glory (with hints of color) contrasting against it all.</center>
<br><br>
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6764224735_79f3fe797f_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6764224735_79f3fe797f_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<center>I drove down to San Antonio one of the days and bummed around. This is a shot of the Riverwalk, with a water taxi passing by.</center>
<br><br>
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6764227999_3402aab988_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6764227999_3402aab988_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<center>Austin downtown skyline.</center>
<br><br>
A few more shots can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157628583356137/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157629035964989/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-84106313419856284662011-12-27T22:15:00.002-07:002011-12-27T22:32:27.887-07:00Bali, Day 2-14You know, I've just plain gotten bored of blogging.<br /><br />Not just writing, either. Reading them too. I logged into Google Reader today and found that I hadn't read any blogs for over a month. And yet it didn't bother me that much. <br /><br />Talking to a few other people, they felt the same way. Is blogging a fad that is slowly fading? Perhaps.<br /><br />Here are some random pictures from the rest of my trip because I don't feel like breaking it out into individual days any more.<br /><br /><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6224/6307863311_a4b1d0439b_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6224/6307863311_a4b1d0439b_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This is a water palace called "Tirta Gangga".<br /><br /><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6042/6307874391_a2eeccbd69_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6042/6307874391_a2eeccbd69_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This is a water palace called ... hell I don't remember what it was called.<br /><br /><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6239/6319563720_5ba1da1b5a_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6239/6319563720_5ba1da1b5a_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This is a war monument that nobody over there really seemed to know about. It was really odd - this huge gothic monstrosity among the nice beaches and such.<br /><br /><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6235/6338109272_b39e03db57_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6235/6338109272_b39e03db57_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The monkeys over there are perverts.<br /><br />Here are the rest of the pictures:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157627858628790/">Bats, more water temples, and flowers.</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157627943477053/">More of the war memorial</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157628111577288/">The floating temple (not really floating)(and not appearing to be floating because it wasn't high tide), butterflies and bugs, waterfalls, other stuff</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157628112113522/">Trendy toilet paper, monkeys</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157628113118578/">FIRE</a>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-79204168202774234392011-11-03T22:12:00.004-06:002011-11-08T02:51:45.823-07:00Bali, Day 1So here's a little tidbit of info: Sometimes airlines sell more tickets than they have seats available. There are always a percentage of people who don't make their flights, and things usually even out by departure time.<br /><br />But not always.<br /><br />Sometimes enough people show up that they don't have seats for everybody. If you're lucky enough to have this happen to you, you can volunteer to give away your seat in exchange for some vouchers for a future flight (plus a seat on the next flight).<br /><br />We managed to rack up $1600 in vouchers on a trip to Los Angeles back in March. If you have $1600 in vouchers laying around, what do you do? Go on vacation, of course!<br /><br />We chose Bali as our destination. Bali is smack dab in the middle of Indonesia, directly north of Australia. We booked tickets there, flying via Tokyo and Singapore.<br /><br />We hired a driver for the first four days of the trip to take us around the island and let us get a feel for it.<br /><br />The first day started with a trip to Tegalalang, toward the center of Bali. There are some beautiful rice paddies there, and you are welcome to walk among them!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6015/6201919748_ff578a6a60_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6015/6201919748_ff578a6a60_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6175/6201411985_4fea0d22a4_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6175/6201411985_4fea0d22a4_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Just up the road from Tegalalang is an organic farm that grows a variety of fruits, vegetables, and spices. More interesting though, is that they produce Kopi Luwak, which is the most expensive coffee in the world! Why is it so expensive? The production process:<br /><br />1) The fruit of the coffee plant is eaten by an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Palm_Civet">Asian Palm Civet</a>, a small native animal that seems to be a cross between a cat and a rodent.<br />2) The stomach acids of the civet interact with the fruit.<br />3) The fruit is pooped out.<br />4) Yes, you guessed it: The Coffee Crap(tm) is gathered up, washed and dried, roasted, then shelled and ground up into coffee!<br /><br />There are two layers of actual shells that are removed before exposing the coffee bean inside, so you don't need to worry TOO much about eating actual poop. Maybe.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6152/6201414883_5bbca00619_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6152/6201414883_5bbca00619_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><center>Kopi Luwak coffee beans set out to dry</center><br /><br />From there we traveled onward to Gunung Kawi, a temple built in the 11th century. It features 10 shrines cut into the cliffs surrounding the Pakrisan river, each shrine being over 20 feet tall!<br /><br />The day we went there they were preparing plates of food to make as an offering. They also had a duck wrapped up in a palm leaf. He seemed blissfully unaware of his fate that would be arriving a few hours later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6201419503_8e936d3e1e_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6201419503_8e936d3e1e_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6176/6201423847_79909ef80b_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6176/6201423847_79909ef80b_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Just a few miles away from Gunung Kawi is Tirtha Empul, which is one of the oldest sites in Bali. Sometimes known as Temple of the Holy Spring, Balinese travel from all over the island to bathe in the natural spring waters here.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6168/6201945530_0b64d8d8bf_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6168/6201945530_0b64d8d8bf_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We stopped for a late lunch overlooking Batur volcano.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6156/6201434137_9eed58376e_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6156/6201434137_9eed58376e_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />It was now time to head back for the day, but with one more stop along the way: Goa Gajah, or the Elephant Cave Temple.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6201436303_027d8ca945_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6201436303_027d8ca945_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6020/6201951644_32958c0046_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6020/6201951644_32958c0046_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The rest of the photos from Day 1 can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157627671846335/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-90052279980832720242011-10-22T01:25:00.002-06:002011-10-22T01:29:46.874-06:00A public thank-you.After an exhausting day of physical work, I need a bit of a relaxer before calling it a night.<br /><br />I would like to publicly thank Erica for posting about drinking a beer in the shower. Yes, the post was a year ago, or longer, but it stuck in my mind. Tonight I hopped in the shower with a Sam Adams Octoberfest, and it was almost perfect. A blowie at the same time would have completed the trifecta, but I will settle for the beer and shower.<br /><br />So, thank you Erica for your wise suggestion. I owe you an almond pastry from Gourmandise next time you're down here.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-84514773470026746912011-08-07T23:53:00.004-06:002011-08-08T00:14:27.739-06:00Checking in.So I am still here, and every now and then I think about writing something. But you know, you get busy with work and going out and walking the dog and all the sudden it's 1 am and you are way past your bedtime and it gets prolonged even more.
<br />
<br />Not only that, I'm not sure anyone can relate. I mean, I think 90% of my blog readers have been busy having babies lately. How can you relate to a single guy who has nothing but Pringles for dinner?
<br />
<br />OK, I'm not entirely single - in fact, I am quite happily dating somebody whom I may detail in the near future. Maybe. We are kind of private though, so maybe not. In fact, I think I'm done talking about that for now.
<br />
<br />However, the two of us did take a trip up to Oregon with <a href="http://reverentrebellion.blogspot.com/">ernl</a> and her Manzilla. Unfortunately I had to ruin the vacation by working half the time which kind of rained on everybody's parade, including my own. That said, I still had plenty of fun and even got a few photos that I'm happy with!
<br />
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6028/5997156468_06abd68232_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6028/5997156468_06abd68232_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<br /><center>I LOVE COCAINE</center>
<br />
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6139/5997158494_9d218a2f06_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6139/5997158494_9d218a2f06_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<br /><center>One of the porch lights at our beach house kept arcing.</center>
<br />
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6127/5997150566_9b3fe35bb8_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6127/5997150566_9b3fe35bb8_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6138/5991104883_ed4eecea00_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6138/5991104883_ed4eecea00_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6017/5989914652_f97e95cdb5_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6017/5989914652_f97e95cdb5_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<br />
<br />The rest can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157627291032444/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157627188718113/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157627328659836/">here</a>.
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-57414117034661613052011-05-15T22:51:00.002-06:002011-05-15T23:00:21.273-06:00Africa Adventures, Day 18-21: Kruger National ParkI'm tired of trying to describe everything that happened. Yes, even the rhino attack. So here's some more pictures so I can wrap up this trip and blog about other crap.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/5505245914_b193f4d530_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/5505245914_b193f4d530_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><center>I love this. A print of it is now hanging by my kitchen table.</center><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5505246644_6350d4a36b_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5505246644_6350d4a36b_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5505247654_d00f5f9533_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5505247654_d00f5f9533_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5505248394_39b32f4e52_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5505248394_39b32f4e52_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5504657511_2155aeb2f9_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5504657511_2155aeb2f9_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5300/5505255708_830f5402c9_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5300/5505255708_830f5402c9_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5505256792_8893641f77_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5505256792_8893641f77_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5504663581_df8457df48_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5504663581_df8457df48_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />LOTS more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157626088006457/with/5504663581/">here</a>!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-9187147016311874032011-05-01T00:51:00.002-06:002011-05-01T01:21:19.593-06:00Africa Adventures, Day 16-17: The Road to KrugerAfter returning to Jo'burg we headed up north to Pretoria, the "Executive" capital of South Africa. The day turned out to be rather rainy, so we didn't go out a whole lot. However, I bought the hottest striped shirt ever and that made up for the rain. It was so hot that when I put it on I had to get my own phone number.<br /><br />From there it was time to head east. Kruger was a ways away - far enough that we would stop overnight twice before entering the park.<br /><br />Luckily there are some interesting scenic areas to visit along the way. We took a route called the "Panorama Route", which has some of the best views in South Africa. I was quickly running out of memory on my cards and did not take as many photos as I wanted, so things are a bit sparse through here.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5470489102_df3eb94512_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5470489102_df3eb94512_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><center>There is a trio of waterfalls outside of Sabie: Lone Creek (shown here), Bridal Veil and Horseshoe. We checked out all three. Lone Creek is extremely easy to access, Bridal Veil slightly more difficult and Horseshoe is a major pain in the you-know-where.</center><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5469895233_856855d37e_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5469895233_856855d37e_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><center>This is a shot from the Mac Mac Pools. A slow-moving stream in this area provides plenty of areas for wading and relaxing.</center><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/5470490404_c947cd29c2_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/5470490404_c947cd29c2_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><center>This looks like something you'd see in Utah, but it's actually the Bourke's Luck Potholes.</center><br /><br />One thing I wish I had taken pictures of but didn't was "God's Window" - a wonderful view of the Mpumalanga province. Highly recommended if you're in the area.<br /><br />We were running out of time and wanted to get to the edge of Kruger before dark so we headed out, only to encounter the worst rainstorm I have experienced in my entire life. I had the wipers on their highest setting and they couldn't keep up. I was tempted to pull over but I had the good fortune to end up driving right behind a bus, so I was able to follow his taillights all the way to Nelspruit. We stayed at a B&B there, where we heard the loudest frogs in existence. I could not believe how loud they were - it was almost deafening. I never saw one, but we were told that they're actually fairly small in size.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-78280605348858927382011-04-03T20:57:00.003-06:002011-04-03T23:34:37.946-06:00Africa Adventures, Day 14 & 15: Namibian Village VisitToday we took a boat over to Impalila Island on the Namibian side of the Chobe River - we were going to check out some villages over there.<br /><br />The villages seem to have become accustomed to westerners coming over to visit, as they had a wide variety of trinkets that you could buy that were identical to the ones you could buy just about anywhere else in Africa.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/5452919902_c6e5f607e2_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/5452919902_c6e5f607e2_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />This is a rather large termite mound.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/5452925174_363c957695_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/5452925174_363c957695_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />There was a boat that was no longer in use that some of the village children were playing on. I hopped on one end of the boat and the kids tried to rock me off of it. I played with them for a good hour or so.<br /><br />Tonight is our last night in Botswana. I was sure to grab a sunset picture over the river before turning in for the night. Tomorrow: A bit of laundry and relaxing before heading off to Jo'burg again.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5257/5452970516_9508ac5d07_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5257/5452970516_9508ac5d07_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5217/5452360401_fa51ff363e_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5217/5452360401_fa51ff363e_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-76030853486472021912011-03-18T14:49:00.005-06:002011-03-18T15:01:37.005-06:00Africa Adventures, Day 13: Chobe Game Park and River TripToday is all about animal spotting. Rather than describe what we did, let's just illustrate with pictures.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5432478109_46861ba407_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5432478109_46861ba407_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5432478639_9992a32d20_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5432478639_9992a32d20_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/5432481081_11b6e820bd_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/5432481081_11b6e820bd_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5433095264_c5de1c5fc1_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5433095264_c5de1c5fc1_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5432490049_f77faa4a2e_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5432490049_f77faa4a2e_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5291/5433101686_a0bbe19e63_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5291/5433101686_a0bbe19e63_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157625890879075/">More!</a>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-88155048420013195322011-03-16T00:10:00.002-06:002011-03-16T00:18:50.218-06:00Africa Adventures, Day 12: Victoria FallsThere are always people who tell you not to visit third world countries like Botswana because of the stereotype of instantly coming down with the trots. This is utterly ridiculous, as plenty of people have come and gone without coming down with the trots. So I looked forward to my stay.<br /><br />Unfortunately it seems as soon as I arrived in Botswana I instantly came down with a case of the trots. I don't know if it was the water or the food (I had some bread with dinner which I later found had sesame in it, which I am allergic to), but it was with me the rest of the trip. The first night was particularly bad, as I felt like I had a fever and was just sick in general. Still, I had to perservere - Victoria Falls was coming up!<br /><br />Victoria Falls is the world's largest waterfall (in width). It resides on the Zambia/Zimbabwe border, and you can see it from either side. We chose the Zimbabwe side on the advice of the hotel people (that and the fact that the visa was cheaper). We took a quick bus ride to the Zimbabwe border, went through immigration, and then on another 45 minute bus ride to the city (also called Victoria Falls). Zimbabwe seems to be even more poor than Botswana, but they put on their best show for their main tourist attraction. <br /><br />Admission to the falls is slightly biased: $5 if you are a Zimbabwe resident, $10 if you're a southern Africa resident, $25 if you are neither. We coughed up our money and went inside. It was a very sunny and hot day, and the heat was not helping my sickness at all. I ended up watching maybe 20 minutes of the falls at a time then returning back for pit stops. The falls were very impressive, and they thundered down so hard that it would be "raining" from all the mist. And this was on the other side of the gorge!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5176/5398330125_577001f36c_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5176/5398330125_577001f36c_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />One fun thing about Africa is that a lot of the safety precautions that saddle down civilized placed aren't bothered with her. Most of the cliff edges only had "fencing" consisting of a few branches throw along the side. In some places there was no fencing at all, allowing you to possibly walk right off the side of the cliff. They allow for some fantastic views - if you dare. With my fear of heights - I didn't dare. But others did. I couldn't watch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5398332277_7e62e4846f_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5398332277_7e62e4846f_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />After spending several hours at the falls we walked back into town. People all over the place would try to badger us into buying their silly wood giraffe figurines or whatever. It was a bit annoying, but eventually a uniformed guy wearing a "Tourist Police" badge came to our rescue. He walked with us and chatted, eventually walking us to the hotel where we would meet our bus back to the border. After arriving at the hotel he shook my hand (indicating that he was ready for a tip) - I gave him a few bucks for his "protection". That's Africa!<br /><br />We hopped on the bus back to the border, and about 15 minutes from the border it overheated. Apparently it had been leaking coolant the entire way and the radiator was bone dry. We had some bottles of water for consumption, so we dumped a bunch of them in, hoping to limp it along. Luckily another bus by the same company happened to be driving along and saw us struggling, so we were able to transfer to them and get back home safely.<br /><br />More Victoria Falls photos can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157625807104531/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-31284636397887793792011-03-15T23:59:00.002-06:002011-03-16T00:08:57.226-06:00Africa Adventures, Day 11: Flight to Kasane, BotswanaWe were up at 4am to get to the airport in time for our 7am flight to Johannesburg. From there we checked in with Air Botswana for our flight to Kasane, which is in the far northeast corner of Botswana. We arrived at the gate at our appointed time, only to find the pilot was completely missing. Nobody could figure out where he was. We waited around and he eventually showed up an hour and a half late. We were bussed to the plane, which was a scary-looking death trap that seemed to be on its last legs. Combine that with bad turbulence and it adds to being one of the scariest flights I've ever had.<br /><br />At some point the cockpit door was opened and left open for the remainder of the flight, allowing us to watch the pilots land the plane. It's a bit nerve-wracking to watch yourself approach the airport - I was certain we were going to miss the runway or descend too fast right until the last second where they dropped the plane down perfectly.<br /><br />I hadn't lined up a place to stay the first night, but there was a driver there for a resort that sounded nice. We hopped into his shuttle to check it out, and it turns out the place was INCREDIBLE. It's called the <a href="http://www.crestamarakanelo.com/content/view/32/77/">Mowana Safari Lodge</a>, and it claimed to only be a four star lodge, but I see no reason why it shouldn't have a full five. It gets its name from the mowana tree which is a huuuuge tree that lives for very long periods of time. The lodge was originally built around a tree estimated to be around 1,500 years old. A fire during construction of the lodge destroyed about a fourth of the lodge, plus the tree. A replacement tree was brought in (this one being at the spry young age of around 300 years) and the rest of the lodge was built around it.<br /><br />In 1992, then President Bill Clinton and family stayed at this lodge for a three day visit. There is a room named after him - and of course it's the most expensive room in the place. I found out about it after we left, otherwise I would have gone to check it out.<br /><br />The drive to the lodge was very educational. Botswana is obviously very poor, but I felt incredibly safe. I don't think I'd have any issue walking along any of the steets in town by myself. The driver instructed me not to walk at night however - not because of crime, but because hippos tend to roam the area at night due to the proximity of the river. Seeing as hippos are one of the most aggressive animals of the area we chose to heed his advice.<br /><br />We lined up some activities for the next few days with the office and had a lovely dinner at the lodge (with an excellent waiter named Pono - we would kidnap him home if possible), then off to bed for an early start tomorrow!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-55976068805478022132011-03-11T06:14:00.002-07:002011-03-11T06:23:44.297-07:00Africa Adventures, Day 10: StellenboschTime for a day of rest! We had had a busy week and I was in desperate need of some clean clothes, so I took half a day to do laundry and wrap up loose ends here and there. I finished mid-afternoon which left us plenty of time to drive up to Stellenbosch! Stellenbosch is in the middle of wine country, and has the feel of a small European town. There were plenty of cute shops and cafes, the obligatory church, and plenty of German tourists. We stopped and ate a place called "No. 5", which is now the second place I have eaten at with that name (the first being an ex-pat bar in Singapore).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5214/5398754158_d2bf9d86e0_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5214/5398754158_d2bf9d86e0_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I ordered a springbok steak - springbok is a variety of antelope here. I was quite pleased, and even more pleased at the South African <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melktert">melktert</a> I had for dessert!<br /><br />We dropped off the GPS on the way to the airport because we would have a way early start tomorrow. A quick walk to the beach to catch the last sunset we'd see over the ocean capped a perfect evening!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5020/5398153487_9274749ffd_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5020/5398153487_9274749ffd_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-62777294426146049362011-03-04T00:36:00.004-07:002011-03-05T11:12:41.936-07:00Africa Adventures, Day 9: Table Mountain, Cape of Good HopeToday was one of the busiest days of the whole trip! On the docket: Table Mountain, driving along the west coast to the Cape of Good Hope, then back up the other side for penguin spotting until we turn home.<br /><br />Table Mountain is a tall mountain behind one side of Cape Town. It's completely flat up top (hence like a table), and you can take a cable car ride to the top if you are gutsy. I am not gutsy so I let Saskia go up for herself while I took a few cityscape shots and filled out postcards.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5396046191_234bde9cc6_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5396046191_234bde9cc6_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />On the other side of Table Mountain is the rest of the western cape, with some of the nicest beaches on earth! We decided to drive along the entire western cape.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5396645332_8ed8ca921d_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5396645332_8ed8ca921d_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />At the far end of the cape is the most southwestern point in Africa, the Cape of Good Hope! The weather was incredible until you about about half a mile from the cape, at which point it turned into pure fog.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5091/5396645606_cbdffe032c_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5091/5396645606_cbdffe032c_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/5396049067_d99145574b_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/5396049067_d99145574b_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Continuing along the other side of the cape, what can you see? Penguins! You can find them roaming about naturally in the area, and we stopped in for a visit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5131/5396052833_56a0db189e_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5131/5396052833_56a0db189e_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/5396652988_5d6e72584a_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/5396652988_5d6e72584a_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The day was exhausting and we arrived back to town starving. We popped into a local pizza chain called "<a href="http://www.debonairs.co.za/">Debonairs</a>. There was a bit of a wait (since it was a holiday most places were closed), and while we were waiting we were graced by some speeches and singing by a guy hanging outside the restaurant. He appeared to be homeless and either drunk, high, mentally impaired, or possibly all of the above. He was ranting and rambling, saying not to let the white man keep you down, among other things. We were slightly uncomfortable at first, being the only caucasians in the place, but I was relieved to see everybody else amused at his rantings. Eventually he broke in to some R. Kelly, singing "I Believe I Can Fly" at the top of his lungs. At some point he was escorted off the premises, but continued his tirade a half a block down. We were sure to cross the street to the other side on our way home.<br /><br />More pictures can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157625926593010/with/5396649182/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-76881814276938252582011-02-22T03:11:00.002-07:002011-02-22T03:27:40.948-07:00Africa Adventures, Day 7: Cape AgulhasAfter a lovely breakfast (thanks to Jackie) we were off for the final leg of this round of driving: Cape Town! However we decided to make a slight detour (thanks to the recommendation of Jackie) and see the very southern tip of Africa. We drove through endless fields and a handful of tiny towns before arriving to a cold and rainy strip of rocky land called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Agulhas">Cape Agulhas</a>. It was a hike of a couple hundred meters before reaching the place where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet, and we arrived cold and soaking wet but pleased!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5219/5386760146_9fc440f09b_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5219/5386760146_9fc440f09b_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5386761046_1e36d55dd1_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5386761046_1e36d55dd1_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br><center>Yours truly at the southernmost point in Africa. To the left is the Indian Ocean, to the right is the Atlantic Ocean.</center><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5216/5386764600_80d23efef3_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5216/5386764600_80d23efef3_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br><center>There were lots of rolling hills in the Western Cape. It seemed a lot like parts of the midwest United States.</center><br /><br />From there we drove up the west coast to Cape Town, which is a busy tourist and beach city. Very popular for vacationers, especially the Germans, English and to a lesser extent the Dutch. We had a three stay booked at a B&B, however due to some poor communications we were double-booked. We ended up at another place run by an retired <strike>soccer</strike> football player named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Keller_(footballer)">Ferdinand Keller</a>. He played for the German national team and had retired to Cape Town, running this B&B with his wife and daughter. It proved to be extremely popular with Germans - I was the only non-German speaking person in the whole place! Luckily we were going to be out-and-about the whole time.<br /><br />Since this was New Years Eve we wanted to see what excitement was going on. We had heard about a fireworks show at the beach, so we wandered down to check it out. Around midnight some semi-impressive fireworks (think of the best fireworks you can get from Wyoming) started going off. It was obviously an amateur show but still enjoyable. Then ... the police showed up! Apparently not only was it an amateur show, but an illegal one too! The cops started chasing down everyone who looked like they had fireworks in their possession. We watched several people running down the beach with pyrotechnics in hand. We got out of there quickly before things escalated.<br /><br />Some more photos from the drive can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157625775589349/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-10719230466083354582011-02-14T22:15:00.002-07:002011-02-14T22:23:32.393-07:00Africa Adventures, Day 6: Garden RouteWell we've arrived to what we've been wanting to see - the Garden Route. A scenic route that runs along the southern coast of South Africa, it's supposed to be quite beautiful. And you know what - it was, but it was vastly overrated. The sights were nice, but there weren't any "must see" scenes, and there were all sorts of tourist trap places all along the route. Admittedly we left kind of disappointed.<br /><br />It was still quite a ways to Cape Town, so we spent the night in a town called Heidelberg. We picked it on purpose because of the town in Germany with the same name. The town was tiny - maybe a couple hundred people at most, and the lone hotel in town had closed up shop. However we found the most charming little bed-and-breakfast joint, and their staff person Jackie was absolutely wonderful and adorable. Perhaps I will steal her from her boyfriend and kidnap her to the U.S.<br /><br />This is the view from the back deck of the bed and breakfast. A nice river and empty fields as far as you could see.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/5379057139_ce03bfb993_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/5379057139_ce03bfb993_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />This is the mosquito repellent of DOOM!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5288/5379058305_4615cc1c0f_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5288/5379058305_4615cc1c0f_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-31762186625782027492011-01-30T21:02:00.003-07:002011-01-30T21:07:10.745-07:00Africa Adventures, Day 5: Addo Elephant ParkLuckily our early bedtime led to waking up early. We got a good 7am start to our next destination: Addo Elephant Reserve! The reserve is about an hour and a half outside of Port Elizabeth. After a few adventures with the car involving poorly marked streets, hard-to-find gears and speed limits that seemed way too fast for this car we arrived safely.<br /><br />Unfortunately the weather was rainy, and had been all morning. Rain causes most of the animals to go into hiding. Even the elephants don't care for it because it washes the mud off their skin, leaving them vulnerable to parasites. That said, we were still able to see several elephants.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5378981984_dd89d1ffdf_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5378981984_dd89d1ffdf_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/5378983610_fb0a212686_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/5378983610_fb0a212686_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We also managed to spot a few other animals, including a zebra, several antelope, a warthog, ostriches, and a rare dung beetle! The poor weather lead to horrible picture taking and I only got a few photos worth keeping.<br /><br />We gave up on the park after a few hours as spotting was scarce (one of the guides said we were fortunate to see what we had!). We decided to set off toward Cape Town and find a place to stay on the way. After looking at a map we decided on a pleasant-sounding town called Oyster Bay. Sounds cozy, right?<br /><br />After plugging it into the GPS we found ourselves driving nearly 20 miles on a dirt road to get there. And what do we find when we get there? A town of maybe 30 houses, one general store, and definitely no hotels to speak of. While we didn't feel unwelcome, it was pretty obvious there wouldn't be anywhere to stay. Instead we backtracked to Jeffery's Bay, a surfing town and popular vacation destination for South African locals. The town had a definite party atmosphere, as the hotel we stayed in had several bars across the street, and they were hopping well past 3 am. If the bars weren't keeping me awake it was the people in the room across from ours, who were making us well-aware of the paper-thin walls with their (remarkably short-lived) sexy time. Not to be too hard on the guy's stamina, but if you were to use them as an egg timer, your eggs would be done over VERY easy.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-47222276116139028632011-01-27T23:19:00.003-07:002011-01-29T16:09:07.128-07:00Africa Adventures, Day 3 & 4: More flying, Port ElizabethTime for the second long-haul flight of the trip! We dragged our butts out of bed at 3:30am to get to the airport in time for our flight to Johannesburg. This time we were flying KLM via Amsterdam, which is one of my favorite airports!<br /><br />Unfortunately the flight was less than ideal. There was a box for the in-flight entertainment system directly under the seat in front of me, leaving very little foot room, and forcing my legs off to the side. Uncomfortable for an hour, and brutal on an eleven hour flight. I ended up with a really sore knee which took several days to recover. I can't say I recommend the aisle seats on the KLM 777s.<br /><br />That said, the flight had some enjoyable moments. Flying over the Sahara Desert was fascinating - sand dunes as far as the eye could see.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5372815256_cb03529c8b_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5372815256_cb03529c8b_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Also onboard our flight were the <a href="http://www.sowetospiritualsingers.com/">Soweto Spiritual Singers</a>. They're a popular choir down in South Africa who performed, among other places, at the 2010 World Cup. They had just completed a successful European tour and were returning home. When we landed they provided us a few impromptu songs while we waited to deboard!<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5rY_e-7Wi9s" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe><br /><br />We arrived into Jo'burg around 10:30, had our luggage and was out of customs and into a crappy airport hotel by midnight. We slept for three hours, then back to the airport again for our final flight to Port Elizabeth, on the southern coast of South Africa.<br /><br />Port Elizabeth is the fifth largest city in South Africa. There isn't a whole lot to do there, but they have some decent beaches. The airport is pretty small - no official gates, and just two baggage claims. I was grateful for this however, as this would be the starting point of one of my major adventures: driving on the left side of the road! We were stuck with a Kia Picanto - a tiny car (possibly smaller than a Geo Metro) with an ultra-sensitive gas pedal to make up for the zero horsepower it had.<br /><br />Besides the crazy gas pedal, there were a few other things to get used to. The turn signal and windshield wiper stalks were reversed, so whenever I went to signal a turn I ended up with the windshield wipers on instead. Getting in the mindset of yielding when turning right took a bit of work too. <br /><br />After spending a few minutes driving through some neighborhoods getting used to the new feel and new road rules to learn, we were off to find the beach! Luckily Port Elizabeth is a small city and it was not hard to find. We found a nice quiet patch of sand and relaxed for a bit - and then realized we were really tired! I guess only sleeping six hours in the last 48 does that to you. We found an inexpensive hotel on the beach and took a nap.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5289/5372214187_ab48e45505_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5289/5372214187_ab48e45505_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />It was still light out when we woke up. There was a dock directly across the street from the hotel, and we wandered down it just in time to see a pod of dolphins swimming around!<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sCtVeg4yLnc" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe><br /><br />We hit up some places across the street for dinner, then went walking down the beach. Along the way we came by a carnival that had set up show. I stopped to take a few photos before calling it a night.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5372214639_1f4d637079_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5372214639_1f4d637079_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />A few more photos can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157625866887582/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-44075024156546808642011-01-24T22:12:00.003-07:002011-01-25T13:09:30.134-07:00Africa Adventures, Day 1 & 2: Hamburg, Germany(?)And we're off! After at Christmas Eve flight through Paris, I met my friend Saskia in Hamburg. The temperatures were even more frigid than Salt Lake City - about 10F, but with humidity! Even the slightest breeze cut right through whatever you were wearing.<br /><br />We celebrated Christmas at her parents place with a tasty meal of pumpkin soup and roast beast. Their house is one of the most amazing houses I've ever seen. It's pretty decent sized, to start, but some of details are stuff I've never seen in the U.S. Stuff like having their ceilings adorned with wood. It was beautiful. I want it in my own house.<br /><br />We had a day to kill before hitting up Jo'burg, so we drove around Hamburg a bit, visiting the docks and downtown. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5371421547_3f6c7121d1_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5371421547_3f6c7121d1_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/5372028958_1321bbb960_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/5372028958_1321bbb960_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />This church was destroyed by a bomb in World War II but was still left standing, and left uncleaned on purpose. It's a bit eerie to see this damaged abandoned steeple sticking out among all the other buildings in the area.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/5372031706_5f36e62ca4_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/5372031706_5f36e62ca4_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The rest of today's photos can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157625864811530/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-36709424025782167972010-12-22T08:19:00.004-07:002010-12-22T08:43:29.976-07:00Around the world around the world around the world around the worldDid any of you see the movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1193138/">Up in the Air</a>, where George Clooney's character has a goal of flying 10 million miles in his lifetime?<br /><br />Admittedly, 10 million miles is more than I think I will ever manage, and I'm glad for that! However, the sick person I am, I think a cool million miles is perfectly feasible and reasonable. <br /><br />On January 17th, somewhere in the skies above Manitoba, Canada, I will have reached the 25% mark of my lofty goal - 250,000 butt-in-seat miles. Slightly over the distance to the moon. That's a lot of sore ass time!<br /><br />Some interesting facts about my flying time so far:<br /><br />- I've spent a total of 588 hours (24.5 days) in the air.<br />- My longest flight in distance is 5,663 miles (Paris to Los Angeles)<br />- My shortest flight in distance was 106 miles (New York City to Hartford, Connecticut)<br />- My longest flight in duration was 11 hours and 50 minutes (Salt Lake City to Tokyo)<br />- My most frequented airports are Atlanta (26 flights) and Paris (16 flights)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://maps.flightmemory.com/inland/us174481293031792.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 370px; height: 214px;" src="http://maps.flightmemory.com/inland/us174481293031792.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://maps.flightmemory.com/welt/welt174481293031793.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 370px; height: 150px;" src="http://maps.flightmemory.com/welt/welt174481293031793.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-80210075688326273422010-11-25T22:20:00.002-07:002010-11-25T22:26:34.346-07:00(Almost) A Hero's LifeThis evening while walking Goomba in penis-retracting temperatures, I noticed a house whose smoke alarms were going off. I blew it off as somebody burning Thanksgiving dinner and continued walking.<br /><br />I went around the block where the house was beeping. While on the other side of the block, I could still very faintly make out the smoke alarms still. "Huh," I thought - I would have expected them to be off by now. A bit concerned, I decided to circle the block again. <br /><br />I arrived at the house in question, and it was obvious there was no one home. I checked out the place and saw no signs of smoke or flames. However just to be sure I called a fire department. After describing the situation, they advised me to call 911 to have an engine sent out from the correct company.<br /><br />I called 911 and they sent out a truck. I stood by as some fire fighters scoped out the building. They managed to open a window and ......... there was nothing. No smell of smoke. Just a false alarm.<br /><br />They thanked me for being vigilant and headed off. I did not rescue a family from near death or save a building from destruction this time. But my day to be a hero will come eventually!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-33029289326737807802010-11-15T17:55:00.002-07:002010-11-15T18:29:02.793-07:00It's vacation time!Have any of you noticed I haven't posted any big trips this year? That's because it's a very late one! All my flights are booked now, so I think I can safely announce that I will be spending nearly four weeks in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and other surrounding countries!<br /><br />Since a few of you seem to fret whenever I leave for places unknown, here's my flight itineraries. I'll be checking in as I can to let you know I'm still alive.<br /><br /><u>December 24</u><br />Delta 170<br />Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) to Paris-DeGaulle, France (CDG)<br />Departs (SLC) at 05:00pm and<br />Arrives (CDG) at 11:20am (next day)<br /><br /><u>December 25</u><br />Air France 2310<br />Paris-DeGaulle, France (CDG) to Hamburg, Germany (HAM)<br />Departs (CDG) at 03:25pm and<br />Arrives (HAM) at 04:55pm<br /><br />(Here I will meet up with my friend Saskia and see Hamburg for a day.)<br /><br /><u>December 27</u><br />KLM 1776<br />Hamburg, Germany (HAM) to Amsterdam, The Netherlands (AMS)<br />Departs (HAM) at 06:25am and<br />Arrives in (AMS) at 07:40am<br /><br />KLM 591<br />Amsterdam, The Netherlands (AMS) to Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB)<br />Departs (AMS) at 10:20am and<br />Arrives in (JNB) at 10:20pm<br /><br />(Quick overnight stay in a hotel by the airport.)<br /><br /><u>December 28</u><br />South African Airways 401<br />Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) to Port Elizabeth, South Africa (PLZ)<br />Departs (JNB) at 05:50am and<br />Arrives in (PLZ) at 07:30am<br /><br />Here we will rent a car and drive along the southern coast of South Africa over the next several days until we arrive in Cape Town.<br /><br /><u>January 3</u><br />South African Airways 306<br />Cape Town, South Africa (CPT) to Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB)<br />Departs (CPT) at 07:00am and<br />Arrives in (JNB) at 09:00am<br /><br />Air Botswana 214<br />Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) to Kasane, Botswana (BBK)<br />Departs (JNB) at 11:30am and<br />Arrives in (BBK) at 01:50pm<br /><br />Kasane is the gateway to the Okavango Delta, where animals come to drink during the wet season. We will be doing a short safari here, then spending a day driving up to Victoria Falls on the Zambia/Zimbabwe border.<br /><br /><u>January 7</u><br />Air Botswana 213<br />Kasane, Botswana (BBK) to Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB)<br />Departs (BBK) at 02:40pm and<br />Arrives in (JNB) at 05:00pm<br /><br />From here we will be renting a car and driving east, hitting up game parks in South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique.<br /><br /><u>January 15</u><br />Air France 995<br />Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) to Paris-DeGaulle, France (CDG)<br />Departs (JNB) at 08:20pm and<br />Arrives in (CDG) at 05:55am (next day)<br /><br /><u>January 16</u><br />Air France 1410<br />Paris-DeGaulle, France (CDG) to Hamburg, Germany (HAM)<br />Departs (CDG) at 07:30am and<br />Arrives in (HAM) at 09:00am<br /><br />(A quick day to drop off Saskia and maybe do some laundry.)<br /><br /><u>January 17</u><br />Air France 2511<br />Hamburg, Germany (HAM) to Paris-DeGaulle, France (CDG)<br />Departs (HAM) at 07:25am and<br />Arrives in (CDG) at 09:00am<br /><br />Delta 171<br />Paris-DeGaulle, France (CDG) to Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC)<br />Departs (CDG) at 10:22am and<br />Arrives in (SLC) at 02:00pmDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831701628851338808.post-87496376503410210162010-11-11T17:52:00.002-07:002010-11-11T18:02:27.733-07:00Dead Horse Point Trip - The Other 0.5On the way home from Arches, my friend Mary was telling me about a ghost town I had never heard of. It was just a short detour on the way home, so why not check it out?<br /><br />The winter of 1982/1983 was a very wet one, with above average snowpack. A sudden warm spell cause the snow to melt rapidly and caused flooding throughout the Salt Lake City area (which I remember very vaguely). Further south, the mountains around the town of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thistle,_Utah">Thistle, Utah</a> were saturated with water, causing the land to slump and destroying almost the entire city.<br /><br />Today there are just a few random outbuildings and houses remaining.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1080/5138866532_627c387d21_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1080/5138866532_627c387d21_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/5138256331_a16e2fcc53_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/5138256331_a16e2fcc53_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/5138868204_9e0f96c388_b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/5138868204_9e0f96c388_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />A few more photos can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastahanky/sets/72157625169398163/">here</a>.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579131202503632999noreply@blogger.com0