Cape Town: Lessons from Robben Island

The tour of Robben Island was powerful and moving.  It's the dynamic story of South African history and Nelson Mandela.

Imagine being held captive in inhumane conditions...for 18 years because of something beyond your control.

Upon release, you become President of the country, and subsequently forgive all those that tortured you and your closest friends - all with the vision of uniting a country that is bitterly divided.  It is an incredible story, and many deep lessons of forgiveness to apply no matter what your circumstance.

This is a photo outside Nelson Mandela's home for 18 years.

The tour of the island is given by a former prisoner.  This was our guide: Zolile Mgijimana.

Cape Town: Baboons, Penguins, and Whales

Cape Town, South Africa is an amazing place.  The views are incredible, the food is great, and the weather is wonderful.  We were concerned about safety before coming, but haven't felt threatened at all. We felt more concerned for our safety in Barcelona than Cape Town.

It is hard to explain Cape Town.

• It's beautiful like Lake Tahoe, only not expensive.
• It's polite like England, only they don't respect traffic laws.
• It's common to see people waiting on the side of the road like Mexico, only the roads are paved.
• It's racially and economically divided like Missouri, only not everyone carries guns.
• It has wonderful hiking options like Colorado, only you can surf too.
• The shoreline is dynamic like San Diego, only you don't have to go to the zoo to see penguins and baboons.

Of all the places we have been fortunate enough to visit over the past three years, this is high on the list to visit again. If it wasn't so far away, it would easily make a wonderful place to live.

Lake District Again

Sunday was a great day in the Lake District National Park!  We had a great day out with our friends, the Weavings.

Lake District Part 2

The girls aren't back until tomorrow, so off I went to the Lake District again.  The weather wasn't as nice, but still not bad at all.  I remember thinking at one point that it would be terrible to be stuck on the mountain if it started raining...and it did, but wasn't enough to be completely miserable.

Lake District Hike

England's Lake District rivals Yosemite, and at just two hours from our house, it's a shame we haven't spent more time there.  Since the girls are in MN without me, I made the best of some nice weather nearby.  After a two-hour drive, and a two hour hike, I was rewarded with an incredible view:

Trip 24: Lake District (England's "Best View")

To celebrate Mara's 4th birthday, we hit the road to meet up with some American friends in the Lake Distri ct.  We were blessed with incredible weather, great company, and the opportunity to explore some fantastic landscapes.

We found the English equivalent of Yosemite, only it seems like most Brits must not know about it because there were only about 20 other people around.  Maybe it is because you need to drive for 65 minutes down crazy roads fighting sheep, cows, and a few other vehicles on one-way roads like this:

Lake District Drive

The view of Wastwater Lake was unreal.  Check this out...We had no idea that England was so beautiful!

Trip 23: Llandudno

This weekend took us to northern Wales for some new exploration.  We found The Great Orme and explored the top with some sheep and goats.

The views along the northern coast look a lot like the PCH in California...

Mara is becoming a fan of apples (or at least 1/2 of them)...

Mara was a little scared on the cable car when we first got on...

The girls chased some sheep at the top too...

Trip 22: Scotland

Last weekend was a bank holiday - I guess the UK version of Labor Day.  We were fortunate enough to see Grandma and Grandpa in Edinburgh, explore a whisky distillery, and a National Park.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city, and wonderful to visit in August when The Fringe is happening.  We been there twice in August (both last year and this year), and it has easily become our favorite city in the UK.

Trip 21: Peak District National Park

Saturday exploring in our new country...we drove to the Peak District National Park today and braved some majorly windy roads.  We only had to stop once as Jeryn became car sick.  She was a great trooper, and hopefully this was a one-time occurrence.

Mara was a brilliant explorer for her first official hike on her own:)  We also had lunch with the most tame ducks we have ever seen.  We made a great day of it.

Trip 5: Anderson's at Cader Idris

Anderson's at Cader Idris, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Here we are at the top of our hike. We decided not to go quite to the very top since it was cloudy and we were tired. We still made it up over the clouds though!

Way to go Jeryn and Mara!

 

Walking in the Clouds, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

 

Big girl Mara, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.