Well, I’ve got my Gumby on. It is Thursday night as I write this…I should have been about ready to go to the airport to collect my family. Instead, I am wandering around our modern apartmentS (yes, that’s two, two-bedroom apartments, suitable for the 8 of us) at the lovely V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. I have included a photo of the view from our room…if you look closely at the left-side horizon, you can see the red Lego guy that was built in the harbor for the 2010 World Cup. In case you’re curious, the “V&A” stands for Victoria & Albert, as it was Prince Albert who built up this harbor for his mum (as they say in England), Queen Victoria, back in 1860.

Anyway, the family is finally flying, though they didn’t leave until about 5pm Cape Town time. This means they’ll arrive in Johannesburg around 8am Friday morning. Then they have to rebook their hopper flight down to Cape Town. Why on earth South African Airways couldn’t do this for them from DC is beyond me. So, I cannot rebook our airport shuttle yet…and I had to pay 250 Rands to book their Robben Island Ferry that was scheduled for tomorrow. Give me a “G”…give me a “U”… (you get the idea).

Yes, I’ve got my Gumby on…so must the seven travelers making their way across the Atlantic and down the continent of Africa. Tomorrow at this time, it will all be a fading memory (well, maybe not that soon), and I’m sure there will be good stories to tell. Reed is doing great through it all – he’s such a trooper. I hope they can start receiving more of those “journey mercies” our Swazi friends talk about from here on out…they have earned them! May I ask your permission to retract my “cross slowly” philosophy in this situation? Please, oh please, airplane, can you cross over to me as quickly as possible?!

Oh, and the rain just started…it is scheduled to be with us everyday while we are together in Cape Town. That’s not a plan-changer when you’re in Oregon, but it can be here as things like the Robben Island Ferry and Table Mountain Cable Car don’t operate in foul weather. G-U-M-B-Y!