Good Morning South Africa

And we're off!  Met my dad and stepmom Mary at the airport so that we could embark on a glorious adventure.  But first things first.  A sandwich and a beer.  Okay, Mary had a soda, but you get the idea.

 

Bright eyed and bushy tailed in San Francisco before the first 10 hours.

I watched the sun rise over the top of the world from the plane on en route to Amsterdam, our half-way point.  Watching the sun rise from a point of origin not officially on earth (thousands of feet above) while perhaps not what astronauts or space aliens experience, is a pretty phenomenal sight.  We spent all of two hours in Amsterdam, waiting for our flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.  It was overcast, but green and lush, from what I could tell looking from the airplane window as we landed.  I'll have to come back sometime.  Dad and Mary have done this before- they're seasoned travelers. I couldn't ask for better travel mates, thought the joke we all shared while awaiting our flight is that after our trip, we'll not want to see or hear each other for a bit.  Somehow I doubt that.

Post flight in Amsterdam, looking at the next 11.5 hours on a plane. Are we there yet??

Safely in Johannesburg, I slept like a baby in a plush, clean bed.  My shower spit brown water at me shortly before stopping altogether, but the problem was quickly rectified and I was able to wash the airplane travel stink off of me.  I'm sure dad and Mary are grateful.  I watched the sun rise again, this time over the city.  At first glance it is not unlike any sunrise I might have seen before, but upon careful inspection it is very different in subtle hue and intensity.  Probably a different flavor of smog over here.

Good morning South Africa- It's a pleasure to meet you.