Catch Up...

We just got back from Croatia today and besides traveling for 7 hours, I consider this a "rest" day. I have no plans to cook dinner, do laundry, grocery shopping, or anything that requires me leaving the couch that I am sitting on right now. Yay!

Anyhow, I really wanted to update the blog and share the past month with all of you. My last blog was about running the Balmoral Race, which seems ages ago! I don't think I've ran outside since then...eeks. I have a 5K the first weekend of July and that will probably be the next time I run, just joking. I have this idea in my head that I will be going on a diet soon and working out to lose a few pounds before our trip home in July, because we all know, all the weight I will try to lose will be gained back in the two weeks that I am there...haha

First of all, I just wanted to tell you about our Safari in South Africa and trip to Cape Town. With the Royal Wedding Holiday in the UK, along with Gerald's Friday off and a Public Holiday on the following Monday, Gerald was able to take 3 days off work and get a 10 day Holiday out of it! Maximizing vacation days is what he does best! So, anyhow, because of this we were able to squeeze in a Safari Trip, which has probably been one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I have a new found interest in wildlife and appreciation for mother nature. God has made some wonderful creatures and they truly are amazing! I'm not going to go into super details of our trip but just wanted to give you some highlights. With something like this, it's best to experience it for yourself without any expectation so you can be surprised and appreciate everything! Overall, we spent 4 nights in Cape Town and another 4 nights in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve at Exeter River Lodge, an &Beyond property.

Cape Town:
- Peninsula Tour to the Cape of Good Hope with a trip to Seal Island and Simon Town to see the Penguins
- Tour of the Wine Lands - amazing scenery and good cheap wine
- Great food! Sushi was amazing and the Brai as well. We ate ostrich, kudu, warthog, & alligator.

Safari:
-Saw the Big Five in 1 Day (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard)
-Other sightings included a leopard killing an impala, elephant grazing on our lodge property, wild dog puppies, lion roaring, lion cubs playing, & rhinos going horn to horn!
-Superb service and accommodation from Exeter Staff - we definitely recommend this
company!
-Saw the sun rise and the sun sets every day we were there! Probably the best sunrises and sunsets I've seen =P

We thought going on a Safari will be a one time thing, but now that we've been, we want to go on more! Some people say once you've experience this, you get hooked and they're not lying. It's definitely a sight to see and thankful that we got do it. We met some people that have been over 15 times, and they say each time is different.

The week we got back from South Africa, my friend, Tim, came to Aberdeen for a weekend. Tim use to work with me at Ryan & Company and now currently lives in Amsterdam. We did the typical Scottish tour of Castles, Distilleries, and highland cattle =) The trip was short but we really enjoyed his company. Now that he's only an hour flight away, we'll probably see each other more often, I hope..hehe.

The following week, after Tim's visit, Mom and Dad Pena received a taste of Scottish life. We showed them a bit of Aberdeen and surrounding areas the first weekend and then sent them off to Copenhagen while we worked for a few days. I took a Thursday off to accompany them to Edinburgh, and then we went off on a 3 day road trip to the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. We stopped by Inverness to see Nessie and then went up towards Plockton and Ula Pool. The weather wasn't so nice during our road trip but that's Scotland for you. It wouldn't have been a true Scottish experience if you had beautiful weather...haha. Anyhow, it was their first time staying at B&B's and they thoroughly enjoyed it!

During this trip is when I decided that one day, I want to run my own B&B. It's just a thought for now, but hopefully I can make it a reality. One thing the west coast has that Aberdeen doesn't is fresh shellfish! Mainly langoustines, oysters and mussles. On the way back to Aberdeen, we stopped by Glenfiddich for some whiskey tasting and they were leaving early the next morning! It was really nice to have the comfort of family around for the couple of weeks and definitely went by way too fast, as with everything else.

Let's not forget that work and Aberdeen life fits somewhere in between all of this =) We've actually built a little community of friends here and I've really enjoyed their company. I really wish I can hang out with them more. We try and squeeze dinners and get togethers in whenever we're in town so that keeps me going as well.

So..that's us in the past month! I'll leave Croatia for another day, soon, I promise.