What a productive past 24 hours we’ve had! Yesterday, we changed our flight from Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger to Phoenix to Tampa, Florida, on January 23, 2022, the day we will have to leave South Africa. There were no charges or penalties, and as a matter of fact, we ended up with a credit with Delta Airlines for around US $250, ZAR 3726 that we’ll use sometime in the future.
As it turns out, we’re planning to spend time with friends Karen and Rich in Apollo Beach and then take off and visit many friends we have that have full-time or winter homes nearby. We’ve contacted some of those friends already and have received enthusiastic responses. Most have offered that we stay with them, but we’ll see how that all rolls out. We don’t expect to be invited to visit and are fully prepared to stay in nearby hotels.
This will be a real “road trip” for us, something we haven’t done much of during our almost nine years of world travel. On this occasion, with stops for a day or two, it won’t be constant driving. Tom just booked a car in Florida for 74 days at the cost of US $3638.68, ZAR 54409, which averages to about US $49, ZAR 733 per day. (Here in South Africa, we pay about 70% less for a similar car with no mileage restrictions).
There is a mileage limit of 5600 miles, but with time spent with Karen and Rich and not driving much, plus staying put for several days while visiting friends, we should be fine on the mileage restriction. We won’t worry about that now and will keep an eye on the mileage at the time.
In any case, we feel enthused about our new plan and look forward to the time we need to occupy while awaiting our upcoming cruise on April 8th.
As for today, Tom dropped me off at Louise’s parking lot to meet up with Kathy and Rita for the three of us to head to Stoep Cafe for “girl talk” and breakfast. Since I had an appointment to see Dr. Theo for my prescription refills (planned before we decided to stay here another three months), it was great to see the fine doctor who saved my life back in 2019 by discovering I had blocked arteries and would need open-heart surgery.
The warm hug from him, coupled with his diligent medical care, left me smiling on my way out the door. I sent Tom a text explaining he could pick me up at the lab across the street where I’d gone for a few blood tests Dr. Theo suggested. Afterward, Tom drove me to the pharmacy to drop off a six-month supply of my three low-dose prescription drugs. I told the pharmacist we’d be back in an hour to collect them.
In the interim, we shopped at Spar with a revised grocery list that had significantly changed now that we aren’t leaving in a few weeks. We stocked up on every item on the grocery app on my phone, picked up the meds, and headed home. Once we put everything away, I knew that I would prefer to do a shorter post in time for our usual evening on the veranda with our animal friends before darkness falls. It has all worked out well.
Louise has been busy checking into options for our Zambia trip, for which we depart in 17 days. By tomorrow, we’ll have a plan in place and share what we’ve decided. We’re pretty excited about the options.
That’s the latest here, folks. Be well. Be safe and be happy.
Photo from one year ago today, October 4, 2020:
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| This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #195. Pretty scenery at Liliuokalani Gardens in 2014. For more, please click here. |