Two Years...

Candace and I celebrated our second anniversary on Tuesday, 4th March 2014. We escaped Cape Town's city limits and spent a couple of nights at Woodlands Guest House, a little Bed and Breakfast in Somerset West. We enjoyed being based here and exploring Somerset West and the surrounding areas.

On our anniversary we hiked in the Helderberg Nature Reserve. There were many different plants and beautiful views to see. We had a lovely lunch at the Oak Cafe Restaurant in the Reserve. It was a great outing!

We then drove to the beach at Gordon's Bay in the afternoon, but the wind was really pumping and cut short our visit. We headed back to the B&B and prepared for our anniversary dinner. We went to the Cattle Baron Steak Ranch and had a delicious steak dinner! It was a great day celebrating two years of marriage!

Really cool inscription at Helderberg Nature Reserve.

Pretty flower.

Another interesting plant.

The pond at the nature reserve.

We hiked up dirt roads and jeep track.

The view towards Gordon's Bay.

View towards a hill covered in vineyards.

Heading back towards the Information Centre and the restaurant.

Oak Cafe Restaurant, where we had a lovely lunch.

The beach at Gordon's Bay on a very windy day.

All dressed up and ready for our anniversary dinner! :-)

Pizza with Michelle...

In the evening of the day that we went kayaking (Saturday, 1st March), we took our Mercy Ships friend Michelle out for pizza. Michelle and her family did Gateway, the Mercy Ships long-term training course, with Candace back in June-July 2011. It was lovely reminiscing about the ship and all our friends there.

Kayaking at Marina da Gama...

My brother took Candace and I kayaking at Marina da Gama (a suburb of Cape Town) on Saturday, 1st March 2014. We travelled out in his bakkie (pick-up truck) with the two inflatable boats. When we arrived, we inflated the boats and headed out onto the water. Lindsay had a single-man kayak while Candace and I used the larger rowboat. We were amazed at the fish and bird life visible here, as well as the beautiful scenery around us. We enjoyed it so much that we returned a couple of weeks later! :-)

Candace and I on the water.

 Linds goes under a road.

The houses come right down to the water.

Candace relaxed while I did most of the rowing. :-)

The mountains above Muizenberg and Silvermine.

Linds ahead of us.

Candace deflates the boats.

Silvermine and Noordhoek...

Just twelve hours after Candace landed we drove to Silvermine where we had a lovely morning relaxing by the dam. (27th February 2014.) We also had a picnic lunch. Silvermine is one of our favourite spots to enjoy the peace, quiet, and beautiful scenery.

From there we went to Noordhoek and visited Cape Point Vineyards, for their weekly Food Market. There were many different food items and it was quite a difficult decision choosing our supper, but we ended up having a lovely meal together. We also sat on the beautiful lawn and watched the sunset with our new friends Riaan and Shea. It was a wonderful way to end the day!

Dragonfly at Silvermine.

Egyptian Goose.

Water lilies at the dam.

Another view of Silvermine dam.

 Candace and I. :-)

Cape Point Vineyards.

The wreck of the Kakapo on Long Beach with Slangkop Lighthouse in the top left of shot.

My beautiful wife and I.

Picnicking on the lawn.

Enjoying an ice-cream as the sun gets lower.

Breathtaking!

I love a good sunset! :-)

 Golden colours on the clouds.

A perfect end to our first full day back in Cape Town!

Candace's Arrival...

Candace came to South Africa at the end of February so we could be together for our two year anniversary. She spent three weeks here, before heading back to Indiana. It was our first time together in almost four months! I will be blogging about her trip to Cape Town over the next few days. I'll also be updating this blog with our latest newsletter soon. :-) The photo here was taken at Cape Town International upon her arrival on February 26th. We were really happy to be reunited again!

The KLM flight that brought my wife back to me! :-)

Estelle's Wedding...

My Mercy Ships friend Estelle - who was in my Gateway group in 2009 - got married in Riebeeck-West on February 22nd. Riebeeck-West is a quaint farming village about 75 kilometres from Cape Town. There is often a Mercy Ships reunion that happens whenever a Mercy Shipper ties the knot. It was wonderful to share in her joy and also see old ship friends again. :-) Congratulations Estelle and Mauritz!

 The pretty NG Church.

Wherever Mercy Shippers gather, a Nalgene bottle is sure to follow. :-)

 Inside the church.

Mercy Ships photos on the slideshow.

 Estelle and Mauritz Van Den Heever! :-)

Lovely view at the Reception venue.

Mercy Shippers table.

Marmalade jar.

Mercy Ships group photo. :-)