Day 15: Cape Chill Fest 2012 / Moonlight Mass

Yesterday was, as the title states. A Chill Fest. We hung around the house the whole day since Brent had school. It was much needed though.

We got to sleep in again, but as late as we wanted. We made lunch: toast, eggs, avacado, mushrooms, cheese (not for me), juice, and/or tea.

After lunch, we cleaned the house, then went shopping and picked up some food for the rest of the week.

The day seemed as if it would be great and nothing would go wrong. As we reached the evening, the three of us were relaxing with tea and snacks before Brent came home. It was quiet and peaceful. Then from across the room, Kyle and I hear, "No...no...no, no, no, no." Our ears perked up and we reacted immediately to what we saw.

Mark had spilled hot tea all over Brent's lap top. We instantly took it outside and got all the liquid out that we could. Mark stayed inside and cleaned up the rest of the spill. We have yet to turn it back on because we don't want to chance crossing any circuits (tech talk for transferring the floppy to the hard disk gigaram). It is currently turned upside on a towel on Brent's desk. We still might try the rice trick. Hoping for the best. Brent's not even mad; what a great guy. Also, it gives him an excuse to get a Mac. The spill has been a new joke.

After letting Brent know the situation, we got ready for the night. Moonlight Mass was our adventure. It is a 9:00pm-late night bike ride that happens in Cape Town every full moon. Before the starting of the ride, a bunch of local companies around town use the event to promote themselves. The first company we went to was named the Field Office. There, we got free pizza and coffee. Get this, no catch. No emails or addresses had to be written down. No guest list to be on. No proving you liked their page on Facebook. No call in your order before showing up. Just free stuff. It was awesome. Next, we went and got some free coffee at Deluxe. Really good coffee and again, really free.

This event had plenty of sponsors, one of them being Levi's, so the companies weren't getting jipped. They gained some great promotion and created buzz about themselves. Pluses for everyone! I hope the event continues and that local companies keep being the face of it.

Anyways, after the free stuff, we picked up our rental bikes, and met with all the other bikers in one spot. There were so many bikers. It was unbelievable. Way more than I anticipated. The bike ride started, and after everyone was moving at the right pace, the whole ride was super relaxing.

The bike ride ended and we returned our bikes. After that, Brent, Mark, and Kyle got milkshakes at Pickwicks (which has the tag line: Eat Your House). I got fried mushrooms. All were good.

After our snacks, we stopped by a coffee/art exhibit/skate spot in town called Clark's. We went to check out the skate spot in the back, but a lady who worked there made it obvious that we weren't wanted, so we left. They said to come back tomorrow night (which is tonight), so we'll see what happens.

Again, to end the night, the four of us headed back to Brent's and went to bed. It was a nice night.

P.S. We had to shove Kyle in the trunk (aka boot) last night so we could bring Brent's bike into town with us.

Day 14: Holicape Murray

Yesterday, we left the house by 9:30am to go swim with penguins at Boulder Beach. This was also included in our drive along the peninsula that we took. It is a gorgeous drive.

Sadly, the penguins weren't doing much swimming. But they were hanging out very close to a gate that we were walking by. So we got some good video and pictures. I really wanted to swim with penguins though.

From Boulder Beach we headed to The Cape of Good Hope, which consists of Cape Point and a bunch of other areas you can check out that are really nice. We walked up to the light house where we had and awesome view of the oceans. We were able to see the Indian Ocean as well as the Atlantic Ocean.

We hiked some more to get closer to the tip of Cape Point and made it to another viewing spot. We almost continued to the actual tip of Cape Point, but had to leave in order to make it in time to jump off of a huge cliff into the ocean.

On our way there, we received a call from Brent's friend saying that it wasn't safe to go jump since the swell was too big, so we just decided to go eat some lunch on a dock. Slap Chips is what Brent wanted. Soggy fries on a bun.

Since we weren't doing the jump, Brent suggested that we hike up Lion's Head (one of the highest lookout points in Cape Town). It was a long journey up and down, but worth it for the view, the good conversations, and lots of laughs. We got to watch a beautiful sunset from about the halfway point up the mountain. It was pretty trippy when we imagined the water was snow. Mark said, "I don't think I've ever watched the sun go all the way down." I don't think I have either. It was nice.

After a couple of semi-failed missions throughout the day, it felt good to finally accomplish one by making it to the top of Lion's Head. And like I said before, the view was awesome. We ate some oranges at the top, hung out for while, and headed down.

Off to Stellenbosch we went for a concert that starred a band called, Holiday Murray. It was a lot fun. They were good! I don't know if I'd listen to them outside the concert, but they were great musicians and put on a great show! Here is one of their music videos: http://blog.onesmallseed.tv/index.php/holiday-murray-jirey-music-video/

After the concert, we went and got something to eat and headed back to Brent's. We were wiped from our long day and went straight to sleep.

P.S. I forgot to mention that Mark almost cried when Jeff and Lynn Holder surprised us with koeksusters, a popular desert here, upon our arrival in George.

Day 13: Escape

Tombstone Pete. That guy. We'll get to him later.

Two days ago started with another relaxed morning. It was also a rainy day. But it wasn't that bad. It just messed around with us throughout the day.

We went into town, met up with David, another one of Mark's childhood friends, and got some lunch. We went to this Eastern food place. Kyle and Brent got falafels. Mark, David, and I got bunny chows. So much food.

After lunch we went to the waterfront and just walked around for a while. Brent also took some pictures. Hopefully they come out alright.

Back to Brent's house we went to create our mission for the evening. Brent has been awesome by the way. It's great to be with a local here. We found out about some live blues music playing downtown and went for it. Tombstone Pete. That's all that mattered. This show was so awkwardly funny and horrible. The concert consisted of:

-The lead man of the main act also being the opening act.
-The second act, Tombstone Pete, flashing the crowd his chest about 5 times.
-Tombstone Pete sharing his story about having no money and gum disease in London.
-Tombstone Pete playing the same slap/percussion guitar songs over and over.
-Tombstone Pete hip thrusting the air.
-Bass McGee crazy staring some girls down.
-Us leaving during the main act.

After leaving the concert, we started walking towards the car and luckily Kyle looked to his right. Right on the other side of the glass inside this pub we were passing, a man had just puked into his hand. Right after puking into his hand, he completely lost control and puked all over the window. It was like watching an animal in a aquarium! All while this is happening, the song "Wonder Wall" was being played by a cover band inside the pub. We will never feel the same about that song. It has been a running joke in the group since it happened.

We headed home and went straight to bed.

P.S. Thank you everyone for the prayers. It means a lot to us.

P.P.S. "Bass McGee looked exactly like Toby McGuire as an evil elf king from Lord of the Rings."- Kyle

Day 12: Cape Crusaders

Yesterday, we woke up and took our sweet time. Brent had school in the morning, so Kyle, Mark, and I got ready for the day and did some research on the adventures we plan to accomplish while here in Cape Town.

Shark Diving is booked. Yes! It's going to be crazy. Table Mountain may have to be hiked. The cable carts up to the top are in maintenance during the exact time we are here. That's okay though, we'll appreciate it more.

After Brent got back from class, we did some shopping, came back to the house, had lunch, and then set out on our adventure. First, we headed to a fairly popular skate spot here and had some fun. Again, we ended the skate session with a game of "skate". Mark beat Brent and me...in switch.

We then went for an after session swim in the Atlantic Ocean. That is now three oceans marked off! it was freezing. Our bodies weren't happy.

After dusting the sand off our feet, changing clothes, and helping push start a car, we headed to a seafood diner called Ocean Basket. Brent told us that they have a special on Monday nights where you buy two fish & chips dinners and get to watch a movie at a nearby theater for free.

We went to dinner and had awesome fish & chips. I worked my magic with the waiter and got us some extra bread during dinner. The problem is that it was a waiter. The food was great though!

Later, we got peanut butter smoothies at Kauai. Full-on peanut...butter.

We then headed to the theater to watch the "Dark Knight Rises", which I enjoyed very much. Good storyline with some good twists. You should go see it.

We ended the night by going to a local jazz club and listening to some live music.

Day 10: George Again / Day 11: Traveling to Cape Town

Yesterday we got to sleep in! Oh, it was so nice.

We woke up to Jeff cooking. He made waffles! We had cooked apples to put on them. Also some bananas and other fruit if we'd like. It was a great breakfast.

After breakfast, we got ready for the day. Mark went and visited some friends nearby while Kyle and I stayed with Jeff and Lynn. We went to a little farmer's market area and did a little shopping. While there, we met a few of Jeff and Lynn's friends and had some cool conversations. The market had a lot of local cooks, bakers, and artists selling their work. I didn't even think to take pictures though.

Jeff and Lynn took us back to their home for lunch where we made sandwiches. It was very nice to just have a basic ham sandwich. Some tomato, lettuce, avocado, mustard, etc. I'm trying to make this post as exciting as possible. It was another relax day.

The good ol' Olympics captured us after lunch and we watched it into the evening.
"U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!" -Kyle

A little later, Jeff picked up Mark and some dinner. We ate on the couches and continued to watch the Olympics. Phelps isn't doing so well. I think all three of us had Skype sessions with Moms and Dads as well.

Soon after, I went to bed.

This morning, we had a nice breakfast before going to a church service with Jeff and Lynn. Since the speaking was in Afrikaans, I didn't understand much of the message. It was out of Mark 9 though. What did come across, is that we need to consistently be reminded of how to live so it stays on our hearts.

We had a great spaghetti and salad lunch at the Holder's, packed up, and headed to our BAZ Bus pickup spot.

The drive to Cape Town is awesome. Very scenic. Beautiful fields that lead either to the ocean or to mountains. Sunflowers are everywhere, making huge patches of land golden in color. Now that it's night we can see the Cape Town city lights. The area that the lights cover is giant. I am excited for Cape Town. We have been told numerous times that it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Hopefully we've been told the truth.

Now we are at Brent's house relaxing. Goodnight.

P.S. Today, I almost entered a women's bathroom; enough to where people saw the mistake I was making. One of the people who saw was Mark. Another goof on Daniel.

Day 8: Another good day in Plett

It was good day.

After waking up and getting ready, we had a light breakfast and headed to the bridge.

When we got to the bridge, Kyle and I flipped a coin to see who would go first. Since Mark had already done it before, he was going to go last. Later, we found that we have no choice in the matter. Kyle was going first, Mark was going second, and I was going last.

We headed up to the bungee through a gated bridge and could see the ground below us. All of us were getting very anxious. My palms were sweaty and my hands were shaking. I began to wonder if I could actually get myself to jump off, but I knew that not jumping was not an option.

Kyle was the first of our group to go. I could barely stand to watch. I was getting very nervous. They strapped Kyle in and had him hop to the platform. We all started clapping and cheering for him. It was so intense. He gave a little "hang loose" or "chill vibes" sign and then they counted, "One, two, three, bungee!" and Kyle jumped with no hesitation. We watched him free fall for 6 seconds on the screen above the platform and then was caught by the cable. My body was shaking uncontrollably at this point. They brought him back up and we hugged.

Mark was next. Same process: strapped in, hopped to the edge, "1, 2, 3, bungee!" and Mark leaped out. He got a huge jump too. It looked awesome. Again, we watched the screen to see Mark free fall and again, we all hugged when he was brought back up.

Two more people went before me. A really funny German guy and a Danish girl named Louisa. The German guy was so pumped about the whole experience. He definitely showed the most excitement out of all of us and he had the funniest looking free fall. He was awesome.

It was now my turn. My heart was pounding and my body was shaking. I was taking deep breaths and fighting the thoughts of backing out. My fear of standing on the edge of the bridge had kicked in. The workers strapped my legs and had me hop to the platform (I'm feeling shaky as I'm writing all this). Kyle came over to the platform to try and comfort me by saying, "It's not even that high." I wasn't having it though. This jump was high...really high. I took a few more deep breaths and hopped to the edge. I was still fighting with myself about backing out, but it didn't even matter at this point. The workers were going to push me off even if I didn't jump. Before I knew it, the counting started. This was it. "1, 2, 3, bungee!" and I jumped.

The feeling is almost indescribable. Everything happened so quickly. 0-60mph in 4 seconds. The only way I can explain it is that my body thought it was going to die. My peripherals became foggy and I was focused on the river below. I began scrambling for something to grab so I could save my life. This caused me to have the second funniest looking free fall. The mixture of fear, excitement, and adrenaline was overwhelming. Then the bungee cord finally pulled and I hung upside down in relief.

The three of us could not stop smiling the rest of the day. We would talk about it and my heart would start to speed up again.

After the bungee, we went back to the hostel, went and got some lunch, and then did a little bit of shopping.

A little bit later, we went on our safari and saw tons of wildlife. We were incredibly close to some rhinoceros. That was my favorite part.

We ended the night with another braai at the hostel with a bunch of people. We ate, talked, and laughed. It was another good day in Plett.

Day 7: Plettenberg

We are on our way to jump off a bridge. THE HIGHEST BUNGEE BRIDGE IN THE WORLD.

Yesterday was great. We thought we had booked a safari for the day, but it is booked for today. So, yesterday was super chill.

We left Island Vibe at around 8:30am and got to our next stop; Albergo in Plettenberg about 11:30pm. This is a nice, chill vibes hostel in a nice, chill vibes town. We'll be here for two nights.

I'm gonna stop writing for a little bit. We are about to jump of a bridge.

I can't even explain what I'm feeling right now. I'm still processing it all. In the next post I will try to.

Back to yesterday. It was nice to not have any plans for a day. We had lunch at a small diner. The owner talked with us for a while and the conversation ended with talking about the death penalty in different areas. Kind of an odd way to end it. We met the actor, Andrew Wilson, while at the diner! He was here for the Durban Film Festival and was just passing through other towns while here. Luckily, Kyle recognized him and asked him to take a picture. He was really nice about the whole thing. Then we headed to the beach.

At the beach we had a very relaxing time. None of us talked much. We just enjoyed it. Except Kyle had a headache. That's why he didn't talk. I collected a bunch of sea shells.

Afterwards, we went shopping for a while and picked up some stuff for the braai (aka barbecue) we were having at the hostel; chicken, lamb chops, boerewors (a South African sausage), chutney (a really good fruit sauce), some seasoning, and some desert. It was all very good. The night was very low key and laid back.

After the barbecue, we got some hammock action and headed up to the room after that. We talked for a while with one of our dorm mates. A lot of jokes about unicorns were made. We went to bed soon after; all of us anxious for the jump the next morning.