Roadtrip! (Part 2)

The journey continues... . Over Lucy's fall break, we drove down to the South African coast.  About halfway, we stayed overnight at a guest house (south of Piet Retief).  After a bumpy drive down a dirt road, we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the surrounding hills.

 After breakfast, Lucy hit the trampoline. (She said something like, "This is the Curves of the Toddler Set.")

 Noah looked at her longingly through the window, wishing he could be out there jumping, instead of eating his boring egg and toast.

The house had a fun Scandinavian vibe.  We were the only guests and Lucy became friendly with Hannah, the proprietress, and was suddenly running off into the kitchen to help feed their dog. 
(Just make yourself at home, Luce.)

We packed up and headed out down the road. Soon enough, we pulled over to check out a nearby hot springs that Hannah thought the kids would enjoy.  (The sign makes it look much fancier than it was.)

 Adam was skeptical, but gave in.  The place seemed to be popular with slightly heavy Afrikaaners (hauling coolers, ready to braai) and more svelte Indians from Durban.  

 The water was nice and warm. Noah approved.

 Each pool was a different temperature.  Lucy couldn't decide which one she liked best and kept jumping into each one (with greater fervency as we tried to leave).

Behind the rock was a crazy water slide. Lucy went down it multiple times (in Adam's lap) and dreams of getting a luge scholarship to Cornell. 

Lunch time!  The spa restaurant looked terribly slow and we were anxious to get moving again, so we decided to forgo it in hopes of finding a quick bite on the road.  Bad idea.  We soon discovered there aren't a lot of restaurants in this part of the country (Kwa Zulu Natal).  Who knew?  We hit a small town, but it was Sunday and all the shops were closed.  Hungry and tired, we hunted for food anywhere we could find it.  Finally, a gas station guy pointed down the road to an old hotel.  The front porch had a bevvy of South Africans who looked like they had been drinking for quite a while already.  In the back, we met a nice woman who said that while the kitchen was closed, she'd be happy to heat us up some frozen hot dogs ("Russians") and fry up some "chips" (french fries).  We'll take it!   

Noah and the young lady really hit it off.  She had an interesting story. She's Indian and from Durban (which is on the coast, south of where we were trying to go).  Her uncle decided to buy this old hotel to try to fix it up, and apparently she came along to help. A few years before, she had been an au pair for a dutch family in Holland.  Now she was living in this tiny town (no traffic lights).  Let's just say she was extremely happy to see us.

We'll have a double dose of veggie tomorrow, right?  (But for now, the fries were delicious.)

We got on our way and drove another few hours, straight to our destination, St. Lucia (click to view map).  The sun was beginning to set, but we all agreed that after such a long haul, we needed to see the ocean.

 One skinny dude likes the sand.

 It's a beach town so there were a number of food options (hurray!).  We picked a Greek place, which happened to have live music and a lively crowd.   Lucy took the above photo!

 De Kidz

In an extraordinary moment, the one-man band suddenly started playing Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver ("West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains...!") 

Noah just had to dance.

Quick baths and then (all of us) to bed.  Tomorrow, the South Beach Safari Edition!

xo

Glenn