Cape Town South Africa

Finally we arrive in Cape Town, after 17 hours of flight time, 2 stops one in Dakar to refuel airplane and one in Jo-burg as the port of entry into South Africa, and do the customs routine. The final leg was a two an a half hour flight, we arrive at our final destination Cape Town. I would like to say more, but the bus took us to the hotel were we just crashed, lucky for us we had a wake-up call or we would have missed the next days tour.
Our first excursion this day is to "Table Mountain" a flat top mountain over 3000' above sea level, providing a magnificent back drop to the city of Cape Town. We were in luck this day it turned out to be a very clear and warm day, as we found out many a day the top of the mountain is obscured with clouds or very cool and windy. We finished our tour by stopping at "Victoria and Alfred Waterfront" a combination mall, working harbor and tourist trap. Once in the mall we exchanged some money sat down for a much needed lunch and just people watched. This began our quest for the elusive Elephant Ear

Father Joe's Thanksgiving Day Run

Kristi, Toni, and Vennessa,braved the rain this Thanksgiving Day to help Father Joe's Villages. They did a 5k walk on this cool cloudy morning with about 7000 of Father Joe's closest friends to help his cause with the homeless. As the walk continued at about the 2 mile marker it really began to pour dogs and cats, as the girls made there way to the finish line the rain came down harder and harder. I met them at the finish line all three were eager to to go home and take a warm bath. They all had a great time and enjoyed each others company. Toni, who has always asked me to take a walk in the rain with her was quick to say she was fine for a life time and would not make the request again.

Toni and I enjoying a morning in Balboa Park

     Toni and I spent the morning enjoying the sites at Balboa Park, it was great all the kids are now back in school and the many tourist who visit San Diegos' have gone home, it is so nice to have the park to ourselves and a few other locals. We started at the reflecting pond in front of the Botanical Building, the water lilies were in full bloom and the giant lily pads looked as if you could walk on them, I of course had to take a bunch of photographs, as you fan see from the first photo I caught Toni looking away and her reflection in the pond, she sure has lost lots of weight on her new diet. She looks great. We ran into Ruben from Channel 6 he was doing a shoot for his news segment. He remembered our son Tiger from the morning garden segments Tiger has done every once in a while, Ruben also mentioned he and Tiger have a mutual friend. That's him on the cell phone in between segments.

     We also discovered this cool Butterfly garden that we didn't know existed, so we spent some time there looking at the flowers and the various insects that hang out amongst them. I don't know who sponsors it, but keep up the good work over time it could become a great attraction for visitors especially children. Its located to the right as you walk towards the large fountain by the Ruben F. Fleet Space Theater right after the museum of Photography, you have to walk a few steps into a grotto. Later I found out the name of this garden and its called the Zoro Garden and it was a nudist colony during the 1935 California-Pacific Exposition, can you believe this after all this time the birds and the bees are still happening in this garden.

     Our treat for the morning was a bowl of Endamames we ate them at Japanese Friendship Garden restaurant sitting on there patio under the shady umbrellas watching the leaves on the trees enjoying good conversation with Toni and drinking a good cup of tea. I really enjoyed this  quiet morning, maybe I felt so unrushed as if I had all the time in the world, I look forward to doing this more often it really puts you in a good mood.

Afternoon at the Sea Port Village Car Show

On July 20th Toni and I walked to Seaport Village and discovered a car show in the grassy area. There were what seemed like hundreds of cars lots of Corvettes, Thunderbirds, and many unique custom cars, as we were walking throughout the many cars we heard a voice calling my nickname Junior! Junior! finally I looked up to see were the shouting was coming from and it turns out it's my uncle Mike Ochoa and his son who I had not seen in ages. They were showing their latest project show car. It is a bright green metalic hearst, with lots of chrome, lots of TVs, and a lot of charm. They go around from city to city showing their beautiful work. This was a real treat to see these guys and the wonderful work they do. What a great hobby or labor of love. Great Job Guys!