Forty-eight hours before our flight to Israel, our plans completely changed. With war breaking out we reluctantly canceled our trip, not yet knowing how the conditions on the ground might unfold. Still in LA visiting family, we booked a last-minute flight to Cape Town, South Africa. We had vaguely planned to traverse Africa from north to south (Cairo to Cape Town), so without much thinking we switched to the reverse direction (south to north).

After a 14-hour red eye from Atlanta we landed into the modern, cosmopolitan city. Opting for the quickest accommodations we booked an Airbnb in the Sea Point neighborhood and were pleasantly surprised. Cape Town is perhaps the most breath-takingly beautiful city we have ever visited (tied for first place with Rio de Janeiro, but we can’t seem to decide?).

Side Note: During our previous travels (link to Gili Air blog) we met a dear friend, Carryn. We have stayed in touch all these years. We forgot that she worked for years in SA tourism. Well, lucky for us!

Side Note: During our previous travels (Gili Air blog) we met a dear friend, Carryn. We have stayed in touch all these years. We forgot that she worked for years in SA tourism. Well, lucky for us! .

Carryn has treated us like a VIP client: showing us the sights and sounds, which have yet to disappoint – an ocean-front promenade, Nando’s (our longtime favorite fast food chicken), sea glass filled beach at Hout’s Bay, exceptional and cheap food (and wine!), an ostrich farm, a penguin colony, the rocky and very windy headlands of Cape of Good Hope, lots of Uber rides, a cave of gemstones, a sort-of-illegal join up with a 10K, a hike up Table Mountain, white sand Camps Bay, and an evening of singing by Ndoluvu Youth Choir (a trip highlight thus far – of America’s Got Talent fame).

Oh, and Everett is home-schooling so he’s taking online classes but also learning by experiencing and interacting with the world around him. Latest discussions: the metric system, time zones, apartheid, and the history of Israel… not bad for week 1.

The everyday vibe is comfortable and a bit like a laid back European feel, so it’s been a low-stress transition. The city is affordable, well developed, safe, and bustling with things to do. We just haven’t gotten enough yet, so we are extending our stay for a second week.

Check out Ndoluvu Choir!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpLdMeHhrYQ

Random Quotes & Notes:

Everett: “I still can’t believe we’re in Africa!”

Hillary: has been unconsciously speaking with a local accent and doesn’t realize she’s doing it

Ken: “I love the Dollar to Rand conversion rate. Shouldn’t be we suffering more? I could definitely live here (Is Omar right???).”

The Website

As the people closest to me know, I fell in love with photography about three years ago when my wife, Hillary, and I went on year long honeymoon around the world. We only had the bags on our back and no room for souvenirs. We both decided the pictures and memories we took along the way would be our only keepsakes.

This methodology spilled over into my everyday life, but for some reason I took a few years off from photography once I re-integrated back into "normal" life back at home. This all changed in an instant, not because I was looking at the beach and thought, I need to capture this so I can remember this moment forever. No, instead I was sitting in my dentist's chair. That's right, you read that correctly. I was getting a regular cleaning and I noticed my dentist, Gregory Chong, had some of the most beautiful landscape photos I had ever seen. He was telling me how he wanted to hire a photo guide for his next adventure. He even seemed rather defensive about hiring help. He was telling me about how fisherman do it to be more product and.... All I was thinking was, man I would pay this guy to to teach me the skills he already has. So thats exactly what I offered. He immediately retorted, "You don't have to pay me, I am going to Utah for the July 4th weekend, you want to come?" Man I was thrilled. I said yes before even realizing I and been home from adopting a baby boy for less than a month. I would have to get the free pass and be away from him for 5 days. My wife is amazing so she let me go without any hesitation. So it was settled, off I went with my new friend Greg to Utath. Here is one of the pics we took on that trip:

After that trip I started shooting pics with Greg all over town and then eventually started going with other friends, other times it was just me and my camera. Friends started to see what I was doing and asked me to take some pics of their family and pets. The passion definitely re-ignited and I am glad to be back at it.

Recently Greg and I were chatting and he asked "So are you going to build a website and blog or what?" Well, I could't get that thought out of my head, challenge accepted. Without further fan fair, here is the new website and blog. I am excited to get your feedback, so let me know your thoughts in the comment section