Kady and Rich prefer to spend time on our veranda rather than embarking on tours or long drives through Marloth Park. Kady tends to get queasy riding on the uneven, potholed dirt roads, which ruins the experience. Instead, they are content to watch the wildlife in our garden that arrive in a steady stream, dine out in one of the restaurants in the area, and enjoy our homemade dinners, such as the one we had last night.
We had delicious, well-seasoned lemon pepper chicken flatties, roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, and a Greek salad. While the flatties cooked on the braai, the four of us played the card game Five Crowns and enjoyed sundowners on a perfect-weather evening in the bush.
After many late nights, we all went to bed by 10:30, and Tom and I managed to sleep for at least eight hours. Feeling much more lively today than we did yesterday, we had only gotten five hours of sleep the previous night.
Today, at 3:00 pm, we’re leaving for Ngwenya to watch wildlife on the Crocodile River and then have the buffet dinner in the restaurant around 6:00 pm. The food may not be quite as good as what we’ve had at our past dining experiences since they arrived last Saturday, but the ambiance makes up for that.
Then again, tomorrow and Saturday, we’ll be making our usual visits to Jabula for dinner, and we’re excited to share the fun times and great food we always love at the lively bar and restaurant, as well as commiserating with owners Dawn, Leon, and their manager, Corrine.
Kady and Rich haven’t completely recovered from jet lag. Combining that with all of our fun late nights, they tend to sleep in while Tom and I are out on the veranda early in the morning. Tom is always outdoors an hour or two before I am, since I stay in bed longer and then shower and dress at the start of each day.
Kady and Rich said this will be the first time in their lives they have been outside the US on the Fourth of July Independence Day holiday, which is celebrated tomorrow. No, there are no fireworks here in Marloth Park for two reasons: one, the fire hazard in the dry bush is high, and two, there are very few Americans here.
This has been our lives for almost 13 years since we began traveling the world in 2012. I think there was one time that we happened to be in the US during the Fourth of July, and we celebrated the occasion with family.
When holidays, celebrated in the US, occur while we are in other countries, we don’t mind at all. We’ve grown accustomed to letting those dates pass without the usual fanfare. It’s all about embracing where we are at any given time rather than hanging onto the past.
Enjoy more of our Kruger photos. We’ll be back tomorrow with more.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, July 3, 2015:
