On the way to Kruger National Park with Gastaldo's!

OUR BIG ADVENTURE BEGINS!  

We took off on Rwanda Air to head to Johannsburg, South Africa

on Sunday morning.. arrived mid afternoon and 

finally we found Bob and Elvira Gastaldo

at the car rental place! 

We met Bob and Elvira 22 years ago in Germany where both 

Bruce and Bob were Humboldt winners.... 

We didn't live in the same city but met at an event the Humboldt folks 

arranged in Bavaria.   Our children... their 3 boys and our 3 kids and 

us all hit it off immediately.  We have been together a couple times

 in Pittsburgh and in Maine over the years.. but we are never together enough. 

At Christmas time we discovered that Bob would be returning to do field

work in South Africa and Elivra was joining him..( He is a geologist and then some....)

So, when we had our chance encounter in Atlanta... meeting in the 

airport as we were all on our way back to Africa we decided 

we would go on a Safari together..  

AND THE NEXT SEVERAL BLOGS WILL BE ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCES IN

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK 

SOUTH AFRICA!

YES, we have coats on ... It is "winter" in South Africa.

We made our to our B&B where we would stay the night
before we drove 5 1/2 hours to the park.
What a great surprise we had at the Impangle! 
Walter greeted us with hot coffee and tea and Swiss chocoloates! WOW!
 Walter is a Swiss National and chose to settled down here in South Africa.

No doubt this might have been one of the reasons.
This was the view from his front porch!

A bird sanctuary was right across the street
in this beautiful community!

Looks like winter, right?  Well, the nights are quite cold..
but the flora and fauna don't seem to notice!

The pool and BBQ... which we didn't use. 

Wouldn't it be great to have this built  
       right outside your house?

Simply beautiful! 

And then there was the backyard...

Close up of the sunset and birds.
Yes, it was this gorgeous.

 After a wonderful breakfast with Walter and great converstation
from the night before, we left the 5 Ridgebacks and Walter
and headed to the park.  We will return to stay with him on our way home. 

Driving on the "wrong" side of the road was quite
unbalancing to me.   I'd look in the front to see Bruce looking
at something down on the floor or in the console and I'd want
to yell... 'Get your eyes on the road'.
BUT no worries.. Bob had the wheel on the right side of the car...
and we were driving on the left side of the road.

And now... a few shots along the way

on our Left-sided Road Trip!                                      

From corn fields and nuclear plants...

to  cactus!

Unusual sightings....from Greyhound busses

to orange groves...

 Truck beds of oranges...

.

to rocky cliffs...

 and beautfiul mountains.

If you're old enough ---you will remember this...  
Gas attendants who not only
pump your gas, but also clean your windows.  

 Stopped for a break at "STEERS".
 LOVE THEIR MOTTO.

BUT THEN ( 5 HOURS LATER)  we started getting close to the park...  

not yet inside the park but at the river crossing we stopped just to see

if there were any animals.

This Big Guy was sunning 1/2 of himself and
others were totally taking in the sunshine.

Crocodiles are Huge in Africa!
I don't know if that means they are old--or if they just eat well. 

Still driving on the "wrong"side of the road. 

First sighting was this giraffe.. too far away to see well..
but then wait.. What is that up ahead???

It's the Welcome Committee as we are on our way to Lukimbi Lodge!
At first I thought it was a statue.. but then he moved.

 Ok.. now what do we do??  Should we wait for him to pass?
Should we just keep driving and hope he doesn't pretend our
car is a pancake to flip???

 Whew.. looks like he is going to walk across..

Uh, NO... he's coming towards us..  
We are still just sitting parked in the car.

  Then he started playing peek-a-boo!    Peek....aaaaa....

 Boo!

Then he just took off into the brush and we carried on to the Lodge..
A few rather exciting moments...

So... as we are approaching the lodge we are
getting more and more excited about
what we might experience in this place.

As of now.. we have been pretty pleased about the
sights along the way..

The next blog will introduce you to Lukimbi Lodge!
( and the animals are to come)

See you then..

love,
margie

Brian and Amanda's Wedding Day!! April 14, 2013

IT'S WEDDING DAY! 

AND THIS IS THE HAPPY GROOM!!!  

Isn't he adorable???  Amanda is a lucky girl!!

We felt so privileged to be able to spend some time with Brian on his

wedding day!  Since we had a great meeting place I had asked the family to

come over for breakfast....Truthfully, I was surprised when Brian 

said he was coming.. But oh-- so happy!  

Rob, of course was there... but 
not only did Brian come, but Ann and Joy and

 Nelda, Kristi, Amy and Roger!
It was so wonderful to be with my family.  It had been
way too long and we are never together enough...
We had lots of laughs, fun talking and of course, eating!
This house was perfect for just this kind of get together...
the only problem was it just wasn't long enough.

As folks were heading back to the hotel.. this little guy was
walking across the street.
I said, "Oh look a turtle."

 To which Elizabeth quickly pointed out...
"Gramma this is not a turtle,  This is a
tortoise!"

 And so it was official...This was a tortoise and
 he was really moving!

See?  But he disappeared quickly into the grass 
and we began getting ready for the wedding.  
It was a bit of a drive to get there and a little 
hard to locate... but once we arrived...

 Nathan and Holli were there!  

What a beautiful Mother-of-the Groom!
No wonder David fell in love with you, Nelda! 

Nathan and Holli and Roger and Nelda!
Sure missed David today! 

Right next to the lake, was the wedding spot.
The wind picking up and the sky threatening
but Oscar remained unscathed! 

Kristi and Amy, Brian's sisters waiting for their mom.

The rose petals  are down.... and the rain
is also just starting to come down. 

The brave parents and ushers... Amanda's mom on the right. 

They saw me taking their picture..  and I am so glad...

 Because then I got this beautiful picture.  

And this is pure JOY!  Gorgeous, too! 

And her sister, Julie and her two "little" girls!

I sure have gorgeous nieces.... don't I?

The rain is now coming in across the lake... pretty steadily...

Nelda comes down the aisle in the rain.. but it isn't too heavy yet..

but getting heavy enough for an umbrella!

And just before Amanda comes down the aisle.... This rainbow appeared...
a Great omen... or so we thought.

The Groom enters with his best man, awaiting the bride!

Both the bridesmaids and the rain coming down now.

and the sweet little flower girls.

 My favorite moment of any wedding...the moment
when the groom sees his bride for the first time. 
That moment of truth! 

 And here comes the bride---
looking at her groom! 

And then to us... Amanda and her daddy!
Isn't she beautiful????
Who would know that the rain is coming
down on her (and all of us).

 And now we are to witness the shortest wedding on record! 

Such an idyllic setting..

 Their vows!
Right after this the umbrellas were brought in to cover them up
for their kiss, but it was raining so hard i had to put the camera away.
I think that the entire service was about 6 minutes... and then
they ran to get on the bus...that took them back down the lane to the
reception.

But the rest of us who were sitting in the rain and then
walking to our cars in the rain were seriously wet
all the way down to our underwear...

THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE WEDDING EVER!  

You really can't tell how much it is raining..
but it was really raining hard. 
But it couldn't dampen the joy of the day! 

 Great hors d'oeuvers under the portico!

Jeremy and Nate, my nephews and my son, Rob in the center!
They look related, don't they? 

Rob and Henry having a special moment.
(or are they praying for the rain to stop?)

 My daughter-in-law, Michelle and nieces, Joy and Holli!

 All 3 Nieces.. Julie, Joy and Holli
I must say here that i sure missed my other nephews and
nieces...  Wayne, Richie and Andrea and Christine.
Plus all the other grand nieces and nephews!

Wish you could have been with us, too!

Then it was time for the reception... and we entered this beautiful room!
The air conditioning was on so we were a little bit chilled! 
Yes, can you imagine me, cold?

The take-away candy table.... so sweet!

The gift table...

And the kids taking away the candy...
since their table was right next to it!

Henry had been sick most of the day so he wasn't allowed to eat much...
but I think he had his share of candy......that made him all better. 

Oscar loving every minute.....

And Brooke, Julie's daughter and Elizabeth.. both almost 9... were just like
miniature adults carrying on a huge conversation and
wondering why they haven't been together more often.  Totally sweet! 

We await the Bride and Groom to fill their special seats. 

Their cake was so pretty and I loved the "H" on top! 

Looking great, Amy! 

And here they come!  

 to take the dance floor for their first dance! 

And may all your dreams come true!
So in love...

So happy!

 And such a great looking couple! 

Words from the Best Man and Best Lady! 

FAVORITE PICTURE OF THE DAY!! 

Elizabeth thought that Amanda was another of the Disney princesses,
I think.  She rarely left her side.  

Oscar and his chicken nuggets! 

 Henry with Mommy and Daddy without his chicken nuggets.
Michelle praying that he won't throw up on the way home and
Jeremy taking it all in.  

Sisters, Sisters! 

Nate and Holli!
The now, next-to-newest newlyweds....

 The new addition to the family!
Amanda... welcome aboard! 

Joy with her Mommy and Daddy, Ann and Roger. 

Time to cut the cake.

But first....  clink, clink, clink of the glasses... a kiss! 

Ok.. here we go!    Love all those colors together.
Great choices.
So... will they smear each other with icing
or will they be demur?

The smear is on! 

Cute moustache, Amanda! 

No problem... Brian took care of it for you!

The Krogh boys and Rob and Michelle  had to head back to the house
that was an hour away....but before they left the boys hit the dance floor!

And Elizabeth joined them.  

But then... this historic moment.  Nelda's first dance with her son.

So dear!

I think she likes dancing!! 

 Just perfect! 

"Now, Brian, seriously, don't tell anyone what i just did!"
"Oh, Mom, it's ok, really!"
(Sorry Nelda... just couldn't help myself)

Amanda and her Dad started off slowly but ended with a bang...
totally fun father-daugher dance! 

Then Kristi and Elizabeth.. hit the dance floor.

Learning new steps..

and new moves!

She stayed right beside the bride and groom for the rest of the night. 

Everyone was getting in the action! 

Nearing the end of our evening.  We headed back to our
house around 11:oo after a great time celebrating
with Amanda and Brian on their
special day!

Brian and Amanda...  in spite of the rain,
you had a beautiful wedding and reception.
I hope you had a great honeymoon, too
and are now settling into real life together.

Well, when you work at Disney life might not be quite real... butI guess we can
assume that all your dreams will come true!

Stay true to each other
and true to your Lord
and you will have a wonderful life together.

I'm so glad I was able to be with you
on this wonderful day.

love you both,

Aunt Margie