Welcome Alison!

Eighteen hours is a helluva long time to be in a plane. Trust me, I know this all too well. I also know that the financial cost of spending those eighteen hours in a plane,well, it ain’t cheap. That’s why I haven’t been too upset by the fact that I’ve been here in South Africa for nineteen months and haven’t had any American visitors…until now, that is. That’s right; Roger and I are welcoming our first American guest today. I’m headed to the airport in just a few hours and will be ready and waiting with a big obnoxious sign that reads “Welcome Alison!!!!”

It’s no surprise that Alison is my first guest. In the fifteen years I’ve known her, she’s never turned down an opportunity for adventure. And coincidentally, our adventures have often run parallel. From her road trips to Nashville to visit me at Vandy, to travelling through Europe together, to our shared summer in New York, and of course, when my semester in England was winding down, it was Alison who suggested I extend my stay and meet her in London for the summer (where I subsequently met the impossibly charming boy who would become my husband). Yes, Alison is always up for an adventure. In fact, after her graduation from the University of Georgia, she bravely moved up to Boston where she didn’t know a soul. She decided it would be a cool place to live, so why not? (She soon discovered that it was indeed cool. In fact, so cool it was cold. Freezing actually. Then she came home.) Alison embraces life in a way that inspires everyone around her. That’s not to say she doesn’t stress and worry and take forever to make decisions, but in the end, she chooses adventure every time. And I love that about her.

I’m absolutely thrilled to show Alison my world. Tomorrow we leave for the Wild and Free Game Reserve where we will hang out with the animals for three days. After that, it’s back to Joburg for a night before leaving for Cape Town where we will see Cape Point and Table Mountain and Robben island and of course spend a day in Stellenbosch touring the wine farms. What could be better than that?

So, I’ll be out of action for a week or so. Then again, perhaps I’ll check in once or twice and post a few photos…just to make you jealous of course.