Five Years...

Candace and I celebrated five years of marriage just a few days before going to South Africa. We've instituted a new anniversary tradition this year, thanks to our friend Casey who gave Candace the idea. For every big anniversary we'll be taking a photo with a little cupcake and candle. :) We took this photo at the same place we had one of our first married photos taken five years ago. I'm thankful for five years of marriage with my beautiful bride.

 Wedding photo from 4th March 2012. :)

Cape Town skies...

This is the view from the upstairs window in Cape Town. We have a beautiful view of the back table of Table Mountain (at left) and Devil's Peak (at right). A thunderstorm was rolling in during one of the evenings and made for some nice photos. :)

 Riaan enjoying the view.

 Clouds rolling in over Table Mountain and Devil's Peak.

 Much-needed rain on its way.

The sky as seen from the back garden.

Back Garden Fun...

We had lots of fun relaxing in the back garden in Cape Town. We played lots of cricket with my nephews, had some hula-hooping competitions, played basketball, and enjoyed spending quality family time together. :) It's always fun to spend time outside!

 Back garden cricketing fun. :)

 Candace tries her hand at cricket.

 Dad, Rhy and Flicka.

 Back garden cricket is the best!

 Hula-hooping fun.

 Candace having fun in the back garden.

 Riaan and I on the stoep.

 Flicka on the lawn.

 Little man enjoying playing in the sand.

 Basketball! (It's actually an old netball hoop.)

Little cutie. :)

Cape Town LifeCycle Expo...

Twelve hours after landing in Cape Town we joined my parents in visiting the Cape Town Cycle Tour Expo, one of the largest health and fitness exhibitions in South Africa. (Thursday, 9th March.) It is also where cyclists entered for the 109-km (or 68-mile) Cape Town Cycle Tour collect their race packs at the registration. 

We had planned our trip to coincide with the Cycle Tour on Sunday, 12th March, and so we were both entered for this iconic event. It would be my 25th tour and Candace's second tour. Candace last cycled the Argus, as it was known then, in 2013 and my last time was in 2014. Little did we know then that things would take an unexpected turn on race day itself. More on that in a future post. :)

We enjoyed browsing at the various stalls, collecting freebies and free snacks, and soaking up the energetic atmosphere of Cape Town again. It was a lovely first morning in Cape Town!

 Driving into Cape Town's CBD.

 Table Mountain with its famous table cloth on top.

 Cycle Tour banners on the poles heading into town.

 Driving past the Cape Town Civic Centre.

 Nelson Mandela's image is displayed on the front of the building. Desmond Tutu has also now been added to the left of Mandela.

 Cape Town Stadium, where the LifeCycle Expo was held.

 Beautiful stadium inside. It played host to one of the 2010 World Cup semi-finals.

 Walking to the entrance of the Expo.

 City of Cape Town branding.

 Club 21 is an elite club for those who have cycled 21 or more Cycle Tours

 I joined Club 21 by cycling my 21st Tour in 2011, aged 27 years old. I started cycling when I was really young. :) Here I am having signed next to my name.

 My parents are also Club 21 members - as is my brother. My parents signed their names too.

 Candace and Riaan in front to the Children's Hospital Trust stand. Candace was entered to cycle to raise funds and create awareness for the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town.

 Leaving the Expo and walking back to the car.

Lots of bicycle awareness posters in this cycling-mad city. :) I love it!

Travels to Cape Town...

The three of us flew from Indianapolis to Atlanta, Atlanta to Johannesburg, (aircraft that flew us that leg - Boeing 777-200LR - pictured) and then Johannesburg to Cape Town. It worked out cheaper to buy two separate tickets - the Indianapolis to Johannesburg flights with Delta, and then the Johannesburg to Cape Town flight with Kulula.com, a budget South African airline. Both Delta and Kulula impressed us with how accommodating they were to this little family of three.

We departed Indianapolis on Tuesday, 7th March, at 14h30 local time and arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday evening, 8th March, at around 21h30 local time. (GMT +2.) Here we are at Indianapolis prior to boarding our first flight. All flights went well and Riaan was an absolute champion. We seriously could not have asked for a better little travelling baby!

My dad met us at the airport and drove us home to our family home in Cape Town. Riaan loved meeting his grandparents and really acted as if he'd known them all his life. This photo was taken late at night on the night we arrived in Cape Town. He wasn't the least bit shy and fitted right in to life in Cape Town, South Africa!

 Watching the planes at Indianapolis.

 Having a snack in Johannesburg.

 Walking the aisle on the Kulula flight to Cape Town.

Sign on my parent's stoep (porch) welcoming us back to Cape Town! :)

Back to the blog...

Candace, Riaan and I have been visiting family, friends and plenty of beautiful locations in Cape Town, South Africa, over the past two weeks. We arrived in Indiana this past Wednesday and are slowly settling back into a routine of normal life here. I have many photos and stories to share from our time in South Africa, and so the next few posts will be exclusively focusing on our South African travels. So stay posted for more! :)

Storm damage...

It was an eventful week in Daviess County, Indiana, last week. There was a severe weather event on Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. (28th February - 1st March.) There were confirmed tornadoes on the ground just 15 minutes south of us. We stayed overnight at Candace's parents when it was clear that it was going to be a rocky night. We were thankful since this was the scene that greeted us at our home the next morning. Our neighbour's apartment had its roof ripped off. There were pieces of metal, wood and insulation spread out in the fields and trees over a kilometre away! Thankfully no one was hurt, although the same can't be said for some beautiful trees that were badly damaged.

 The debris field.

 Insulation in all of the trees nearby.

 Twisted swings.

 A large pine tree snapped in half and jammed into the ground.

 Another damaged pine tree.

A weeping willow by the pond was also a casualty.