• Vander Wonders
  • Vander Wonders

Bermuda to Seattle detour

8-dniowa przygoda według Vander Wonders Czytaj więcej
  • Rozpocznij wyprawę
    2 października 2016
  • St. Augustine

    2 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    It was a much needed lazy Sunday.Every busy body needs a break especially after packing up your house selling your belongings and saying goodbye to friends.

    Had coffee on the verandah and Hardus spoiled us with a delicious typical American breakfast with waffles and the full shebang.

    We joined them for Church this morning. The theme of the service was about friendship and people you surround you with.
    "Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals"
    Realized again how lucky we are with wonderful grounded people in our lives.

    After church I was delighted to hear Willem, their 3 year old naps between 12 and 2. Needless to say I felt recharged after a greedy 2.5 hour nap.

    We had a chilled afternoon, hanged out with the Oberholzer's and was really entertained by Willem's witty comments and time out. Later Dolf and I went to Crescent beach for a nice walk. Really surprised by the beauty. The sand felt so fine and not clingy and lots of seagulls hanging about. Roedolf was happy to rinse his feet at the shower next to the boardwalk. We were spoiled with a beautiful Florida sunset driving back over the Mantanza river.

    {Issy}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Simple things, r the best!

    3 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Monday's with good coffee &good company are just bliss.

    "A burger is not a burger is not a burger- Hardus" We had fabulous caramelized onion, Angus beef burger with rosemary and garlic fries at this authentic food-truck, it was all prepared from scratch- totally worth the wait! In the USA you can't go wrong with a burger. It was typical oversized American style, luckily we had the foresight to share.

    -{Issy}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Golf on the King and bear golf course

    3 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    What a pleasure, no a privilege to play on one of the World Golf Hall of Fame courses and that with a good friend like Hardus Oberholzer.
    The King & Bear course was designed by "the King" Arnold Palmer and "the Bear" Jack Nicklaus.
    Beautiful parklands course with lost's of water hazards and trees everywhere.
    Hardus was up by 3 shots in the end, was not the best round of golf either of us have played but so enjoyable!
    Fitting to play this course 9 days after the great Arnold Palmer passed away. #tributetopalmer

    {Roedolf}
    Czytaj więcej

  • St. Augustine Beach

    4 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    St. Augustine claims to be the oldest city in US, known for Spanish Architecture and some beaches.

    I went for my usual Tuesday 6miler today, started 9.45am; it's a tad more leisurely than 6am. Missed my Weekender company though. The rest went to lift. I ran on the beach for a bit but it was high tide so moved onto the main beach road. I dIscovered a park with a long boardwalk that leads to the ocean. Ran over some crosse swamp &spotted a random Bermuda sign.

    {Issy}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Premium Outlets - Shoe shopping

    4 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Anyone who has ever shoe shopped with me will know, its no fun to try and find a size 15.

    But in the US size 15s are as readily available as a size 9 in SA. Naturally I have always said I am going to buy a bunch of shoes in the US on the way back to SA and mail them to myself.

    I just had the most fun ever trying to buy as many shoes as i can fit into a 10x10x15" box. In fact I was spoilt with choice.
    #LoveShoeShoppingintheUS

    {Roedolf}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Parenting 101

    4 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Willem's strong will and wittiness was really entertaining, so was his love for cucumber and hummus.

    "You woke me up" -grumpy tone(similar to me early morning) apparently we were noisy.
    "I can't do that" - when I taught him how to use a foam-roller (and many other times)
    "I can drink whiskey when I'm older" - at dinner when the boys had some Whiskey.
    "Drop the mic I'm out"- when he goes to bed at night he has this classic goodnight move.
    "Can I come over to your house?" -surprised when he realized we are staying with them

    We wanted to crack ourselves various occasions when he had "time -out" or was told off. Discipline is clearly not an easy task, Specially when he responds in a smart way. Great parenting by H&C. We took some notes "look me in the eyeball" definitely a skill!!

    {Issy}
    Czytaj więcej

  • En route to San Jose

    5 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Thanks to loyalty points we are flying in Business class today.

    For anyone traveling from time to time, make sure you are registered for loyalty points with whatever airline or travel company you use.
    It all adds up and you won't believe the benefit you can get from earning miles.

    Shortest layover ever die to delay in Jacksonville! 7min in Charlotte airport, ran from gate D2 to B9, at least we clocked some steps!

    {Roedolf}
    Czytaj więcej

  • East to West in comfort (&doubt)

    5 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    If you travel with 70 liter backpacks you don't belong in priority right? People put things in boxes so easily. The AA representative repeatedly looked at us, with a judgmental tone and raised eyebrows she said "this is only priority" . After the 3rd time she specifically asked if we are in the right lane. I felt pleased when she got lost when I waved the online boarding pass at her...

    Killing time with a Mexican snack in Phoenix after a great flight. We watched "Me before you" - tearjerker!! 1 more to go before we see the Strydom's.

    {Issy}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Day in San Fran

    5 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Lekker walk down memory lane from 2012. Spend some time at Union square, Bay Park and Pier 44.

    Highlight was cheesecake factory for a super late lunch. Was this maybe the last time?, hopefully not !! Well delightful to say the least. We celebrated our 1st anniversary here.

    Randomly we "modeled" for a test photoshoot - it was so much fun, changing in the car running around in heels to catch the golden gate bridge and rays at the exact right time. Danced in the middle of the street of China town & dipped in front of the famous San Fran tram.

    Enjoyed today, I love action-packed days and then crashing!!

    {Issy}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Road to Alcatraz

    6 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    In 2012 when we first visited San Fransisco we were unable to get tickets for Alcatraz cause it was fully booked.
    This time around we made sure we book tickets in advance, however what we did not do, is plan our commute from San Jose to Pier 33 in San Fransisco (where the Alcatraz ferry leaves from) in advance .

    Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but this morning it didn't.
    First we used google maps to estimate what time to leave the house which did not give us a good estimate, then we used uber to order a taxi which was supposed to be 4 min but took 8 min to get to us.
    Then when we got to the train station there were very limited signs that indicated which trains go where and what time they leave as all of this info is now on an "App". After downloading the App and getting help from a random Afrikaans speaking fellow South African who lives in San Jose we realized there was no way we will make it in time for the ferry. Isabel then tried calling Alcatraz to find-out if they will allow us on the next ferry, but was unable to get to a person to speak to, only a computer who could only confirm that there was still space on the next ferry Oct 6th 2017. LOL

    The only other option was to try a taxi which will potentially get us there in time depending on traffic. We already purchased one way tickets at this point, Isabel amazingly walked up to people who were waiting in the queue to buy train tickets and sold our one way tickets for a 25 cent profit. 😜

    We eventually arrived 10 minutes late for the ferry with an uber taxi, but were lucky enough to get onto the next one.

    {Roedolf}
    Czytaj więcej

  • @Alcatraz

    6 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    A San Fran must do!! Usually history (especially American history) bore us a fair bit, but Alcatraz was truly made live, the entire tour was interactive & made it a really fun experience. We also had magnificent views of the bay and the airshow that is currently held.

    Some cool facts about Alcatraz
    1.Al Capone played banjo in the inmate band.
    2.There were no confirmed prisoner escapes from Alcatraz
    3. Alcatraz is named for sea birds.
    Before criminals became its denizens, the windswept island was home to large colonies of brown pelicans. Alcatraz is the Spanish for Island of the Pelicans
    4. In spite of his nickname, the “Birdman of Alcatraz” had no birds in the prison.
    5. After the prison stood dormant for six years, Native American activists occupied Alcatraz.
    6. It was the first named lighthouse in the Pacific
    7.Military prisoners were Alcatraz’s first inmates.

    {Issy}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Santa Cruz- Natural bridges state park

    7 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After a great sleep in, we head to the beach with the boys and Louis. Rather chilly but scenic. You know you are from Bermuda if everyone is wearing bikini's and you sit with a hoodie.

    Me and Dolf went for a walk along the coast, Saw seagulls, butterflies and a sea-lion. Remind me of South Africa's coast.

    Packing up the boys are somewhat a challenge with sand over the sandwiches and pretty much everywhere.
    Czytaj więcej

  • US west coast beach day

    7 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    From Pink Bermuda beaches and the long warm Florida beach to the cold waters of the Pacific on the west coast of the US. This coastline remind me so much of the western cape except for the Star spangled banner on most porches.

    Each of these are beautiful in its own ways, no doubt doubt we will find ourselves on a lot of beaches over the next few months, i hope they will all take our breath away like this one.

    P.S. Spot the girl on the beach who's use to Bermuda summers and not California summer.

    {Roedolf}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Vasona Lake County Park

    7 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Marele had to check out the lightning for her photoshoot over the weekend at the park. We took the opportunity to explore. Love all these beautiful parks in the USA, great for nature lovers. I had a great run, probably the last one on land for a while.

    {Issy}

    Relaxing run in the beautiful park, the next run will be on a track on the boat which will much less enjoyable i am sure.

    {Roedolf}
    Czytaj więcej

  • Party of five

    8 października 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    It was eyeopening to see how the Strydom party of five operate.

    I must say it does make a non parent like me think twice about having more than 2 kids. It seems with 3 or more kids the parents are always outnumbered which makes it hard work.

    The two boys Juaha and Daniel absolutely loved wrestling with me and had a ball, turning my push-ups into a merry go round. Daniel enjoyed Tannie Isabel reading him a book or two.

    Little beautiful Lulu is so cute and always want to sit up or stand, so good for a three month old.

    It's wonderful to have the opportunity to meet the kids and start a relationship with them, i hope they remember us when we see them again.

    It was obviously a highlight spending time with our good friends Louis and Marele!

    {Roedolf}
    Czytaj więcej

    Koniec wyprawy
    9 października 2016