A windy day in Umhlanga

Last night I slept like the dead, and woke up to brilliant sunshine streaming through the curtains. I jumped out of bed to look out of the window, and was greeted by beautiful blue sky for a change. Fine weather really does lift the spirits, doesn’t it? Yesterday when we arrived home, there was so much to do, and not just the unpacking of our cases. There were piles of dead bodies on the tiles in the dining room! Well, they were very tiny dead bodies, but they needed vacuuming up before I could go to bed. I would not sleep well, knowing there were hundreds of dead ants on the floor downstairs.

Today has been really busy, with washing and shopping for food. Of course the cupboards and fridge were like ‘Old Mother Hubbard’s'……..absolutely bare. There was not a single skerrick of food to be found. Then there was the gym membership to sort out, and whilst we were there, we decided we may as well  have a good workout. I’ll probably ache all over tomorrow, but too bad, because we’re both going to ‘Cruel Neil’s’ shape class at 9 am. I remember his classes from a couple of years ago. He’s a hard taskmaster, and I could hardly walk down the stairs afterwards. It was nice to go to a gym with lots of young people, instead of the one at our club in Florida, where we’re about the youngest.  I’m sure some of the Florida gymmers are well into their eighties, but you have to admire their energy, even if they don’t display impressive muscle tone.

It was  really windy today, and these kite surfers were making the most of it.

The beach is looking stunning, and we may have to go and sit on it tomorrow. It’s been a while.

Kissing above the clouds

Sue, of  ‘A Word In Your Ear’, has given us ‘Cloud’ as her Word a Week’ challenge. I have so many sky pics with clouds and sunsets, but I just came upon this really cute one. The clouds are not the main focus, but the love birds really caught my attention. They thought no-one was watching them.

To see Sue’s beautiful cloud pics and links to other bloggers’ contributions, just click here.

 

 

Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Multiples

Coins in the fountain

 

When I saw Ailsa’s new theme, I thought I might not do it, as I was sure I didn’t have any suitable pics for it. However, going through some of my photos, I was amazed to find lots of multiples in them.

Happy families just outside my kitchen window.

Alligator heads in a shop just outside Palatka.

More pelicans in Cairns

Pine trees in Yosemite

Guitars in Ecuador

Umbrellas at my beach in South Africa

Why my hometown is called Umhlanga Rocks

Balloons at Monte Casino

Fairies and black cats in mom-in-law’s garden.

Icicles in Wyoming.

U.S. Presidents at Mount Rushmore

Green Bananas in Florida.

Sweet temptations at the local bakery.

To see more examples of  ‘Multiples’ just visit Ailsa’s blog.

New year, new beginnings

“If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick up one of those pieces and begin again.”  ~Flavia Weed

A new year is often a time when people start thinking about changing their lives for the better. Fortunately for us, any time is a good time for a fresh start, and dreams don’t have deadlines. A new beginning opens up so many possibilities, as we embark on things we’ve never tried before. People do reinvent themselves, and for many different reasons. Sometimes it can be because of what is often called by those who wish they had the nerve to do the same, a ‘midlife crisis’. The re-inventors however, prefer the term, ‘finding themselves’, but George Bernard Shaw once said,  “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” Many people have been brave enough to take that leap of faith into something entirely new and have found that it was the best thing they ever did. There are many examples of  people who did just that.

For example:

Bestselling author John Grisham was a criminal lawyer, before he decided to take up writing full time, and becoming one of the world’s most successful authors.

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UK BAFTA winning comedian/actress/writer, Jo Brand, who has been listed as one of the funniest acts in British comedy started her career as a psychiatric nurse.

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Actor/comedian/director/producer, Danny DeVito began his working life as a hairdresser in his sister’s beauty salon.

Harrison Ford worked for fifteen years as a carpenter stagehand, before being offered an uncredited role as a bellhop in ‘Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round’ (1966), and then a huge one in ‘Star Wars’. The rest is history.

Singer/songwriter, Ray LaMontagne, worked 65 hour weeks at a shoe factory in Maine, until he one day decided to teach himself to play acoustic guitar, and at 30 years old, he quit his day job and went into music full time.

Life is short, and we only get one crack at it, so if it’s a new beginning you want, why not do some careful research, plan your strategy and then just go for it? Who knows, you could be the next Richard Branson, who in spite of suffering from dyslexia, and having a very poor academic record at school, is now a billionaire and the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom. Some of his ventures didn’t work out, and he has lost more money than most people could dream of making in their entire lifetime, but he has never given up. It is his daring and willingness to give things a go that has seen him succeed, and he’s always come back stronger than ever. He’s such an inspiration, and reminds me of that 1930′s song,

Nothing’s impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start All over again.

I found a few quotes to encourage us as we start out on this new year. :

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth… not going all the way, and not starting. ~ Buddha

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. ~Alan Cohen

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.  ~ J. B. Priestly

Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose – not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember. ~ Anne Sullivan

You don’t need endless time and perfect conditions. Do it now. Do it today. Do it for twenty minutes and watch your heart start beating. ~ Barbara Sher

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Don’t wait for something big to occur. Start where you are, with what you have, and that will always lead you into something greater.  ~Mary Manin Morrissey

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. -Maria Robinson

Wishing you all a very happy, prosperous and fulfilling year.

Ailsa’s ‘Liquid’ travel theme.

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
~ Mother Teresa

For Ailsa’s theme, I have a few photos to share, all involving the uses of that most necessary liquid commodity, water. Click on any image to see slideshow.

Adding beauty to an already spectacular view in the Hinchingbrook Channel, south of Cairns.

Washing the boulders along the beach in Umhlanga, South Africa.

Lots of liquid at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Bringing in the tourists to a beautiful African country suffering from a failed economy.

Creating hydroelectric power at Niagara Falls.

Jet skiing in Key West.

Keeping cool on a hot day in Phuket.

Sailing down the Nile in a Felucca.

Skiingi n Whistler, Canada.

Creating icicle patterns on wheels in Wyoming.

Old Faithful, just letting off steam in Yellowstone.

Liquid home for a shark at uShaka Seaworld in Durban, South Africa.

Doing the weekly laundry in Morocco

Decorating my son’s house for Christmas, in New York.

Getting all your ducks in a row on our lake in Florida.

Providing a great fishing ground for the pelican and anhinga in Florida.

Reflecting the Washington Memorial.

Creating the stunning blue of the Grotto Azzurra on the Isle of Capri.

You can click here to see other bloggers interpretations of Ailsa’s theme.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal

This is a lovely challenge, and I see that many bloggers have posted beautiful nature pics for the theme.

To my mind, renewal means a bit of respite from the daily grind, and if one is very lucky, even a holiday.

Yesterday, we were on our way to Home Depot for the umpteenth time, to look at ‘stuff’ we need for redoing the kitchen. I spotted a Starbucks along the way, and we pulled in there for a bit of rest and renewal in the form of a cappuccino for hubby and a chai latte for me. I really don’t know why that chocolate brownie is sitting on my keyboard, but it seemed a shame not to eat it.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my home in South Africa. The summer holidays are coming up, and then the town and the beach will be swarming with work-weary holiday-makers, who have come down to the coast for a bit of well-earned renewal.

Moms will have time to sit under an umbrella and read, whilst dads will become little boys again, as they play sand castles with the kids.

Older couples may prefer to find renewal away from the crowds, and sit contemplating the waves in peace.

Dogs just love to run free along the beach. Their joy and exuberance just says it all.

Some companies send their employees down to the ocean for a few days, for a bit of renewal in the form of ‘Team Building’ activities.

At holiday time, I like to stay far away from the ‘madding crowd’, and find renewal just sitting at the top of our beach steps, watching the ever changing pattern of the waves.

What does the word “renewal” mean to you?

To be taken to more posts on the theme, just click here.

Only four more sleeps.

Only four more sleeps until we are off again on our way to Florida, via England. The six months has just flown by, and we’ve had so much fun. We’ve been for many walks just lately, to get our fill of the beach and sea, because after Tuesday, we won’t see it again, until April next year.

Yesterday, we were out really early, and it was quite cool and cloudy, but still warm enough for shorts and T-shirt,

This cargo ship looked really close, because it was bigger than the rest, but hubby assured me that it was just an optical illusion, and it was much too far away  to swim out to.

I have to confess that this time, we didn’t make it past the old life guard’s restaurant, because the breakfast smells were so irresistible, and we hadn’t eaten yet, so in we went and ordered eggs, bacon, and two glasses of orange juice. I’m the mushroom fiend.

It’s not at all smart, but we love to sit out on the wooden benches, watching the waves and the comings and goings on the beach.

Some holiday makers were preparing to go out for a spin through the waves on one of the ‘rubber duckies’.

It took them forever to get their life-jackets on, but eventually they were all set to go, and the SUV pushed them into the sea.

Then it was off through the rocks,

and out into the ocean.

I wasn’t envious, because it looked like a really bumpy ride, and I prefer my sea-going craft to be much bigger than that.

I was amused by this bell and the sign on the wall of the restaurant.

We have seen dolphins on occasion, but I’d need a much better camera to get any decent photos. We’ve ordered a new one for delivery when we get to the States, as their half the price there, and I’m hoping that there will be a great improvement in the quality of my photos. At the moment I just have a 6-year-old Sanyo, and my iPhone. So watch out Phil, you may have competition with those egret and heron pics very soon.

We walked our breakfast off, and went up into the village to do some shopping. On the way back, I saw a tiny sapling on someone’s grass verge, and it reminded me of that 1970′s Tony Orlando song, “Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree. ” Isn’t it cute?

Tomorrow we’ll be off up the hill to take my mom and sister out for lunch, and say our goodbyes, and then it will be down to the nitty-gritty of packing, which as you can imagine, is no mean task. I wish you all a very happy weekend, doing lots of relaxing or exciting stuff, or both.

Jake’s Sunday Post theme: From a distance

Jake’s theme this week is a lovely one, and I have found a few photos to show you.

The first one is of Alcatraz Island, taken from Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. It’s often referred to as “The Rock,” and was firstly a military prison in 1868, and then a federal prison from 1933 until 1963. In 1972, it became a national recreation area and in 1986, was designated a National Historic landmark. I was reading some of the history of this island on Wiki, and it was so fascinating. One of the best know inmates was Al Capone, who was incarcerated there in 1934, for four and a half years.

I guess I had to include one sunset shot, and this photo was taken whilst crossing the Nile from Luxor. In the distance is the ‘Valley of the Kings’, where can be found the tombs of the Pharaohs and noblemen of ancient Egypt.

Back on dry land, you can see the pyramids way in the distance. You can tell how far away they were, because my teenage son looks so huge in comparison.

This photo, was taken whilst skimming across Lake Titicaca from Bolivia to Peru, in a high-speed Hydrofoil. We had a breathtaking view of the snow-capped Andes mountains in the far distance.

This last one was taken much closer to home; in fact from my bedroom window. If you look carefully, you will see a funnel-shaped cloud, which is a tornadic water-spout, way out at sea in the Indian Ocean. This is apparently quite a rare event, but not uncommon off our part of the South African coast towards the end of summer.

I hope you enjoyed my collection of “from a distance” photos. To see what other bloggers have come up with for Jake’s theme, click here.

Ailsa’s Travel theme: Night #2

This weekend our seaside village had a “Winter carnival.” Many people travelled down to our bit of coast, as on Saturday was the “Durban July” horse race at the Greyville racetrack in Durban. This is an annual event, and the main attraction for the Press, if not the punters, are the ladies who go all out to be noticed in their OTT outfits, and especially the hats.

The other event was a rugby match played on Friday night at the Kings Park Stadium, between two of the country’s top teams, ‘The Sharks’ and ‘The Blue Bulls’. Of course our local team, the Sharks won.

Many holiday makers were here for one or both events, and there was a jazz festival advertised in our local newspaper, for Friday evening.

Hubby and I decided to go up about 9pm, to check out the jazz, but were quite disappointed to see that it was just one group playing in the street near to the car park. ‘Beat-Route’ is described as a “traditional funky swing jazz combo, but we weren’t terribly impressed, and the only way to hear them, was to stand in the street, not more than a few yards away.

We thought we would be able to sit and have a drink at one of the bars or cafes whilst soaking up the jazz, but each establishment was so noisy, with its own canned music blaring out, that we gave up, and just took a few night photos for this weeks travel challenge.

Umhlanga’s favourite tapas and wine bar, “The George,”  was full to overflowing with very merry customers.

The lovely aromas were very tempting as we passed the ‘Bangkok Wok’, and ‘Luigi’s Pizza & Pasta’ looked so inviting inside, with candles flickering on the tables. Unfortunately for them, we’d already eaten dinner at home, so couldn’t be tempted.

The ‘Ponta D’Ouro’ Portuguese/Mozambican restaurant is another great place to eat, and above this, is a new Cuban restaurant, which I think we’ll try out whilst our son is here next month. ‘Little Havana’ has already got a great reputation for its wonderful cuisine.

Right next door is ‘Angelo’s Trattoria’, which boasts “the wickedest dessert menu in Umhlanga.” That really does sound like my kind of eating place. Why do I cook at home, with all these interesting restaurants on our doorstep? Probably because hubby always says that he enjoys my cooking the best.

So, after listening to the jazz, and inhaling the delicious food aromas, we decided that it was past our bedtime, and went home. It had been great to be part of the night vibe in our lovely village for a while.

Jake’s Sunday Post challenge: Village

I decided that for Jake’s Sunday Post challenge this week, I would show you my seaside ‘village’ of Umhlanga Rocks, situated on the east coast of South Africa, facing the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Visitors from overseas, as well as all over South Africa, flock to our resort village, to relax and have fun on one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. The warm subtropical climate means that one can have fun in the sun all the year round. We are so proud of  this brilliant new pier, which was built only a couple of years ago.

This area was once the home of the San hunter-gatherers, but was later occupied by Nguni-speaking people who were unified under King Shaka in the early 1800′s into the proud Zulu nation. It came under British control soon after, and became part of the large estate belonging to Sir Marshall Campbell, who sailed to South Africa in 1850. Indian indentured labourers were brought to work on the sugar plantations, with the result that today this area has a vibrant and colourful multiracial flavour. The sugar plantations in our area have all but disappeared to make way for property development.

In 1869, the first beach cottage was built on a rocky site overlooking the sea. The owners served tea and scones to passers by, and the reflective roof of the cottage was used as a beacon by passing ships’ captains to navigate safely around the rocky headland. This cottage was converted into the Oyster Box Hotel hotel in the 1930′s, and in 1953, this distinctive red and white lighthouse was built right in front of it. This hotel has recently been upgraded to the highest 5 star standards, and is an absolute pleasure to visit. It has some of the best restaurants you could ever wish to dine in.

Umhlanga was a favourite family holiday destination for us for many years, and when we retired, we decided to leave Johannesburg and settle here at the coast, as the climate is wonderful. Over the past few decades we’ve seen a lot of change, and the older hotels have either been refurbished into magnificent 5 star establishments, or demolished to make way for huge holiday apartment buildings such as this one.

The village as such hasn’t got any bigger, but of course it’s changed a lot. There used to be just a  few small shops along the main street, mostly selling buckets and spades, sun hats and swimsuits, but now, there is a plethora of restaurants and pubs in order to cater for the increased inflow of tourists.

The George pub is a well known watering hole in our village.

and of course there are the african curio shops for the overseas visitors.

Holiday makers  and locals alike come here in winter and summer to catch a tan,

paddle around in the rock pools,

do a bit of spear fishing,

or even fly fishing, which I found rather unusual.

Mostly it’s just nice to relax and watch the surfers doing their thing.

At peak times, it seems a rather overcrowded village to us locals, and we can’t get a parking space for love or money, but for the rest of the year, it’s the ideal village to live in.