A Place to Call Home

We spent the past four months exploring the world as well as discovering things about ourselves and each other. It was a trip filled with contrasts and also a trip to teach us balance. Over 123 days, we took 27 flights and visited 10 countries. We experienced sunrises and sunsets in both hemispheres. We sunbathed on beaches and froze on mountain tops. We shared joyous hellos with family and friends across the globe, but with the hellos came tearful and hard good-byes. We literally ate and drank our way through countries, sampling all the good food, wine and beer that was indigenous to the areas (and have the weight to prove it). There were times when we shared a twin bottom bunk of a bed in a room with 5 other people, then there were other times when we had a king size bed in a 5 star hotel to ourselves. Transportation ranged from planes, boats, trains, cars, buses, RV's, tuk tuks, our own feet, bicycles, skis, snowboards, horses, and even elephants. We spent time in the cold and warm weather, next to oceans, lakes, rivers, bush, country side, and big cities. We discovered new hobbies and perfected old ones. Most importantly, we did it all together.

The holiday may have ended but the adventure continues as we start a new chapter in our lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon. We picked up everything we owned and without ever visiting the area before, relocated without jobs or friends. In our first two weeks here, we found a place to live, have met people and are working on finding permanent jobs. We have enjoyed the outdoors the area boasts as well as the many weekend festivals the small town offers. Already we have experienced our first dusting of snow. After all of our journeys, we truly feel that we have found home and a place to set our roots.

Oahu, Hawaii

Our trip to Hawaii was ultimately a business trip, but of course we had to mix a bit of pleasure in. We arrived Saturday night, September 13th, after a 5 hour flight from LA. Shaun, a friend of Jacques’ from Atlanta, picked us up at the airport in his big Dodge truck and we went for a bite on the waterfront outside of Waikiki beach before heading to Ewa Beach where he and his family have been living for the past year. Unfortunately, Shaun’s wife, Sue, and their kids were out of town for the week and wouldn’t be joining us for our visit. On the other hand, Sue lent us her car for the week so we didn’t have to rent for our tour and exploration of Oahu.

We woke early Sunday morning for our first tour of the island. Shaun drove us to the East side of the island to Kailua, his favorite beach. The beach had soft sand, minimal tourists and calm waves. The beach was hot in the early afternoon and we enjoyed a dip in the greenish blue Hawaiian waters while discussing all that Hawaii has to offer. From here, we drove up along the coast through the North Shore towns and stopped for a delicious lunch of garlic and shrimp out of a stationary “roach coach” – a little local flare. We drove back to the southwestern side of the island and Ewa Beach for some groceries for the week. This was one of our first research items for the cost of living in Hawaii and we found some things to be outrageously priced (peanut butter was one of the most expensive items in our cart that day)!

We spent most of Monday on the computer researching and comparing jobs and housing in the Honolulu area as well as our other future option of Bend, Oregon. After going stir crazy from being inside all day and sitting in front of the computer, we left the house and went to the local beach for a little downtime and to clear our heads from information overload. We watched the local surfers ride pristine waves and walked along the sandy coast before gaining the energy for more computer time. After 4 months of holiday, our first day of “work” was very tiring. We enjoyed a braai with Shaun under a full Hawaiian moon and warm night.

On Tuesday, we decided to split the day between getting our lives back together and discovering what the island had to offer. We spent the morning researching and applying for jobs in both destinations then took off in the afternoon to the Pearl Harbor memorial, USS Arizona. This holds special meaning for our family as my grandparents were stationed in Pearl Harbor during this historic event and thankfully were both survivors. We took in everything the memorial had to offer and spent our entire afternoon roaming the grounds and exploring the museum. We took the boat to the sacred graveyard of the USS Arizona, sunk in Pearl Harbor by the Japanese entombing over 1,000 soldiers. We marveled at the fact that within a week we experienced the sites and memorials of the three biggest attacks on US soil – World Trade Center, the Pentagon and now Pearl Harbor. On our way back to the house, both of us received a call in response to our job search on the island. I was asked to come for an interview in downtown Honolulu the following morning. We were both excited and a little overwhelmed with the sudden results.













The interview on Wednesday morning was for 9am, so we left in what we thought was plenty of time to drive the 22 miles into Honolulu. Finally after 1 hour and 45 minutes sitting in Honolulu rush hour and feeling a tad of discouragement, we made it 15 minutes late to the office for my interview. The interview was ultimately a success and I was told they would be in touch. After my first time back in a professional environment in over 4 months, I changed from my interview clothes (of jeans) into the true Hawaiian attire of a swimming suit and we hit the touristy Waikiki Beach. Our batteries were a bit recharged and even after experiencing the heavy traffic, we felt moving to Hawaii was still an option. We sweated it out on the beach, took in the scene, dipped in the blue waves and ate our picnic lunch on the beach. We had our fill of the sun after about 2 hours and left a little on the burned side. Again, we sat on the freeway back to Ewa Beach.



We woke even earlier on Thursday to drive to the other side of Honolulu for a different 9am appointment – our Hawaiian scuba adventure. This time we allowed 2 hours to get there and made it in plenty of time. We requested 2 dives, a wreck – either an old WWII fighter jet or a sunk barge – and the other a lava tube. As a sign of the day to come, neither of these worked out due to strong currents caused by the full moon which made for bad conditions. Instead, we did 2 coral dives in the bay and saw many sea turtles and eels among the beautiful fish and coral.




































Back on land, we drove further East to a rough but recommended local spot, Sandy Beach. I had visited here 17 years prior and remembered a body bag on the beach from a swimmer who encountered the surf and rocky shore. We stopped in for what was supposed to be an hour or two for some sun and our lunch. We watched the locals and tourists alike brave the crashing waves as they body surfed. Of course, Jacques had to join the fun and decided he wanted to first dive over a wave before he tried out the body surfing and I was to take an action picture. He checked the waves out for some time before making a run for it and leaping into his dive. After the wave passed, he surfaced holding his head and blood was literally gushing down his face. He looked at me and we both started running toward the lifeguard station. I was frantic as the gash was major and so deep it looked like parts of his brain were exposed. As soon as we reached the lifeguards, they strapped him to a straight board to secure his neck and I held gauze against his head while they called an ambulance. I was frightened and Jacques, the injured one, was very calm and with the situation as he answered all of the questions and thankfully wiggled his toes as a sign he wasn’t paralyzed. The wave he dove into forced him head first into the loose coral and rocky ocean bottom which caused head trauma in addition to the deep gash on his head. We knew that we were due to renew our travel insurance policies any day now (it was on our to-do list for the week) and weren’t sure if we were still even covered which made the situation even more stressful. As the ambulance arrived, I was on the phone with Brian back in LA looking for help to find our insurance policy information. Luckily, Jacques was deemed stable enough so the ambulance driver didn’t race down the 10 miles of winding ocean side roads with the lights on to the hospital and I could follow in the car while on the phone figuring out the insurance. With luck (and maybe even help from a guardian angel), we were on our last day of the policy and it was set to expire at midnight that night. At the hospital, Jacques passed all of the spinal tests and was released of a CAT scan, but received 13 stitches in the head and x-rays for his neck, which turned out fine as well. The doctors and nurses were amazed at his “minimal” injuries as they refer to Sandy Beach as “broke neck beach” because nearly 80% of all incidents from the beach result in paralysis. Well, this was our sign - vacation is over and Hawaii is not for us. We were told by several people familiar with the mysterious land that the islands will either accept you or they will chew you up and spit you out, which is literally what happened. On our way home from the hospital that night, a miracle phone call came (from my miracle maker friend, Jenn) with an excellent job opportunity for me based out of Bend. We went home, said our prayers, counted our lucky stars and called the airline to change our flight out of Hawaii from Monday to Saturday – it is time to settle down.











We spent our final night with Shaun over a huge braai, a lot of laughs, sharing pictures and stories from our trip and enjoying the company of a good friend. Shaun was so good to us over the week and we really appreciated the opportunity to get to know Hawaii which gave us the final answer to the looming question we had of where to go upon our return. The week, however, provided us with a good start in getting back to reality and life in the US. We are back in LA now and heading for our next destination on Tuesday! Jacques is slowly recovering from his incident. His face swelled up like a balloon and the cut on his head will take some time to heal. We are very blessed in so many ways.

Back in the USA - DC, W'Burg, NYC

Our departure from the Johannesburg airport was filled with tears, but 18 hours later we were excited to land in Washington, DC to see my Mom and very surprised to find my brother, Adam, in town from LA. After big hugs, we drove from Washington Dulles to Cleveland Park in the District. We were all a bit jet lagged, so after a big breakfast, we spent the afternoon resting and catching up. Once everyone was well rested, we set out on foot toward the Metro station with our picnic in backpacks for an evening spent amongst the monuments listening to live Jazz. Accompanied by wines from South Africa, we enjoyed our meal under a canopy of trees close to the musicians. The skies began to darken and we knew Tropical Storm Hanna was making her way into the area. We were protected from the light rain for some time under the trees, but the musicians called it a night and the people were heading for protection from the storm before long. Jacques and I hadn’t seen rain in months so when he asked me dance in the rain with him, I accepted with pleasure. Once the storm began to overtake the night, we walked back to the Metro, then home again.







Saturday, September 6th was spent inside due to the heavy rains from the Tropical Storm in the area. Jacques and Adam watched UGA football while Mom and I went for manicures and pedicures in Cleveland Park. We all pitched in for the best home cooked pizza ever. On Sunday morning, Adam left bright and early for the airport while Jacques and I packed it up again this time headed south towards Williamsburg, VA to see my Dad and Grandmother. We loaded Mom’s little Miata packed to the brim (literally things were pouring out of the convertible) and hit the highway. We arrived around lunchtime in Williamsburg and spent the afternoon amongst the trees and Dad’s gorgeous garden catching up.






My Grandfather was retired military, so Grandma has access to all of the military bases in the area. On Monday, my 94 year old Grandmother drove us into several military bases for an up close and personal tour, something most civilians do not have access to. Our first stop was the Norfolk Naval Base and we were able to walk on the docks for a closer view of the aircraft carriers and other naval ships. In Hampton, we drove through an old and historic Army base, Fort Monroe where Robert E. Lee was stationed and Jefferson Davis was held prisoner after the Civil War. Our final stop was through the famous Langley Air Force base where fighter jets took off directly over our heads. After another night spent in Williamsburg, we left after a Chick-Fil-A lunch and more sad good-byes. We stopped in Fredericksburg, VA to visit my other Grandparents before continuing our 2 ½ hour drive back to DC. We went for a big Mexican dinner including margaritas with Mom back in Cleveland Park.



On Wednesday, September 10th we walked from Mom’s house to the Metro station at 6am with only our daypacks for our trip to New York City. We caught a bus for $21 each to NY from DC’s Chinatown. We arrived at Penn Station 4 ½ hours later and Eric, Jacques’ friend, met us at the bus drop. We grabbed a quick bite to eat before he headed back uptown for work and we spent the afternoon walking the streets and sights of NYC. We started in Time’s Square before walking in the direction of what I thought was Rockefeller Center and Central Park. I lived in the city 7 years ago and used to know my way around like the back of my hand, but things changed and time passed and before we realized, we walked about 20 blocks in the opposite direction. At least this detour found us one of the best slices of pizza in NYC. With a new map in hand, we walked back in the direction in which we came from and towards our next landmark. Finally at Rockefeller Center, we decided to do the “Top of the Rock” tour and take the elevator up to the roof for the spectacular views of the city on the perfect autumn day. Back on the ground, we walked by the Plaza hotel and into Central Park on the East side, strolling along the paths headed to the Upper West side. We visited Eric at work then met him for happy hour on Amsterdam Avenue before continuing our long walk to the top of the park where he lives, close to Harlem. All in all, we walked probably 9 miles our first day in New York and our feet were throbbing but we were in need of the exercise. We met Eric’s girlfriend, Andrea, at their apartment on the 4th floor. After a much needed shower and a couple of cold beers, we walked to a soul food restaurant for dinner.











We rose early again on September 11th and caught the express train downtown toward the World Trade Center site for the memorial service. The barricaded streets were hectic and crowded and the sounds of non-stop sirens; and one couldn’t help but think of the chaos this same morning seven years earlier. We managed to find a spot across the street from the ceremony and could see the main stage and family reading the names of lost loved ones. The bells tolled and moments of silence were observed at the exact time each tower was hit and fell. Sky divers carrying huge American flags at their feet fell from the sky at the time when the first tower fell – a chilling sight. We spent 2 hours mourning with the crowds and listening to the 3,000 names of those who died and stories from their loved ones before leaving the area and meeting Eric for a coffee and good-bye. From the Financial District, we walked down to the Staten Island Ferry terminal and caught the free ferry across the rivers for a closer look at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We stayed on Staten Island for close to a minute, before turning around again on the ferry back to the city. Our bus departed New York from Time’s Square at 2:30pm, so we caught the subway uptown and before we knew it we were back in the Lincoln Tunnel out of NYC and back to DC.















We spent our last night with Mom in DC and woke extra early on Friday morning to join her for rowing on the Potomac River with her row team. Jacques and I rode in separate boats and went in separate directions. Unfortunately, Jacques had the camera and went down the river toward Georgetown without any real views. I had the best views up the river, by the Kennedy Center, Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Monuments with planes landing at DCA over my head. We were on the river for the sunrise and after the team’s practice, Mom drove us to the airport for our 9:30am flight to LA. We landed in LA and Nic, Jacques’ cuzi, picked us up at the airport. We went to her hair salon and she gave me exactly what I have been craving – a new hairstyle. After 4 months of ponytails and braids, we cut about 9 inches off.  We went for a sushi dinner with Nic and Brian then played Nintendo Wii back at their place. On Saturday morning, Adam and Cara picked us up for UGA game-day. The game was nail-biting and we cut our departure time to the airport down to the wire and had to run for our flight to Hawaii. It all worked out in the end, with a UGA win and we settled into our seats for the next 5 hour trip and the last leg of our 4 month journey. Our first week back in the States was truly all-American in everything we did. It is good to be “home” but now the hard part comes – where will home be???