Four Seasons

Hi all,

It has been a fantabulous week in Cape Town, but sadly we’re home again already – seven days in the Cape is just not enough, even though we did a whirlwind tour of all four seasons in such a short space of time.

Monday morning started off with a walk on the beach at Big Bay, one of our favourite spots to be beach bums. We had a nice play and walk, and afterward we popped into Café Sofia where we had breakfast with Aunty Birgitt and Uncle Wayne. Sadly I had come down with a cold, so before long I was ready to snooze and we headed back to our apartment. We spent the remainder of the day indoors as I needed the time to rest; I was also throwing up a great deal so we all focused on my getting better. Mommy and Granny tried everything to comfort me, including long warm baths and cuddled up snoozes. My temperature was high, spiking at 39°C. As a result Mom and I had a really rough night.

The next morning I was feeling somewhat better and I was well enough to go out. Unfortunately the wind was so strong that even the seagulls had buried themselves in the sand. We decided to head to the other side of the Mountain, to Boulder Bay, in the hopes that the wind was less there. En route we drove through mist, and we weren’t very hopeful of a good beach morning at Boulder Bay. Once we arrived we discovered incredibly rough seas, fog over the sea, and winds that were so strong we could hardly get the car doors open. Nevertheless, we opted to see the penguins. We found a few cowering amongst the rocks, and at the beach entrance the supervisor let Dad go down to the beach without paying to see if we could weather the wind down there.

Dad disappeared down the walkway and reappeared smiling! We were going down to Boulder Bay. As the name suggests, there are numerous monolithic boulders strewn around the beach creating natural protection from the wind. After paying and settling down we had a really enjoyable morning on the beach. It was a beach outing of strange contrasts – out to sea, past the boulders, the sea was angry and rough; inland, up the slopes from the beach there was mist and fog rushing by. Yet, where we sat on the beach it was warm and sunny, and only a few gusts of wind. Dad even took a swim in the little bay, and I went in with him in his arms.

Penguin chasing was the order of the day too, and I spent a good deal of my time trying to meet and introduce myself to the penguins that littered the beach – they wouldn’t have any of it though and waddled off each time I came close. In the water Dad even swam near one, but when the bird spotted Dad it darted off at amazing speeds under the water, completely opposite to its clumsy abilities on land.

My snooze time was fast approaching so we packed up to leave. In Simon’s Town we tried to pop into the Scratch Patch for me to experience playing with the stones and pebbles; unfortunately I wasn’t feeling up to it so we had to give it a miss. Mom’s greatest desire for me in Cape Town is to play in the Scratch Patch, but it never seems to pan out. I had a deep snooze in the car, and when I woke up we were back at Bloubergstrand at the Spur to meet and play with my cousins. At first I was a little grumpy from not getting enough sleep but this was soon forgotten once I was playing with Jenna and Erin. We played so hard we hardly had time to eat! My cousins were amazing, looking after me and playing with me so nicely. Jenna even fought off a bully on my behalf, being the youngest cousin on two legs rocks. In the play area was a cute little house, similar to mine back home in Jo’burg. Upon seeing it I had to announce to the world “I got it at home!” Then, seeing the slides into the ball pit I again told anyone that would listen “I got it at home!” At the PlayStation games same again! I was told I was very cute.

Wednesday morning Mom and Dad had a very important appointment that I’ve been asked not to reveal the details about, so having been sworn to secrecy the morning shall remain a mystery. Suffice it to say, they were rather disappointed by the outcome. After the appointment however, we all headed out to the V&A Waterfront for a run about and some lunch. I’ve always enjoyed the Waterfront and it was so stunning to see all the people and the shops. Passing a bookstore I announced that I needed an Igglepiggle book (In The Night Garden) so in we went and I got a nice selection of books. I’ve discovered books and educational items Mom and Dad don’t mind buying me lots of, so I must admit I do capitalise on this sometimes, actually most of the time. And I love books, so it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement! Mom then gave me the freedom to explore the Waterfront so I led everyone on an exploration of the Clock Tower centre, and the surrounding avenues.

I opted to stop our walkabout to watch a performing artist do contortions. I was most impressed. At the need he requested some donations, so Dad gave me some money to give the performer, but not before announcing to everyone it was coming out my college fund. I was so embarrassed. Mom and Granny also bought some clothes for me, and soon we were heading back home. In the late afternoon Mom, Granny and I took a stroll to the corner shop from where we were staying, via the beach, to get ice creams. What fun.

To maximise our beach time we hit the beach early on Thursday morning, at Big Bay. I had an excellent play, with lots of digging and building of sand castles. I even went into the water, although my knees were shivering from the cold. I was having such a good time playing in the waves that I momentarily lost concentration and before I could say Igglepiggle I was dunked by a wave. Mommy was very close on hand to help me up. Some more playing and walking on the beach ensued. Before the sun reached its zenith and the day got too hot we were already on our way home. It was less than a ten minute drive from Big Bay to our apartment, but this didn’t deter me from falling asleep before getting home.

In the afternoon we decided to go to Canal Walk and play at the Place of Play. To our disappointment, the Place of Play had closed down a few months prior. Instead I rode on a whole bunch of rides at Wonderland, and Mom, Dad and Granny got their annual fix of Corn Dogs (not available in Johannesburg unfortunately). I had a nibble of some of it too, and I realised why they were hooked on them. Driving home we ended up in some Cape Town peak hour traffic and it started to rain. By now we’d experienced all four seasons, as is common in the Cape, in as little as one day.

Friday morning we hit the beach again. After some playing in the sand Granny and Mommy took me to nearby play park to slide down the slides. I made a friend at the play area, and together we explored the nearby rocks. Back with Dad on the beach Mom and Granny opted to go for a walk down the beach. I stayed inside my tent while Dad and I played games. Soon we started getting the munchies and Dad and I started nibbling on some food Mom had packed for us. It wasn’t long before the seagulls arrived to see what we were eating. Dad threw them some titbits and they crowded our little tent, squawking at each other. It was so funny.

During my snooze we learned of the fact that the Queen Mary II had docked in Cape Town harbour, so after I woke up we went in search of this ship. Some very friendly people at various check-points at the docks let us through and gave us directions to get right up to the ship. She was massive! I don’t think I’d ever seen anything so big before – it even dwarfed the harbour control tower. We later discovered that it took up to three hours to ‘park’ the ship. I wondered what size of tip the parking attendant must have gotten!

We left the dock and headed to the Waterfront where we’d decided to go on the Cape Wheel (a huge Ferris wheel that tours major cities in the world). After a short wait we hoped into our air-conditioned little cabin and were taken on five full revolutions of the wheel. It was amazing to be so high up over the Waterfront and see the world below us. To our delight, we could also see the Queen Mary II on the far side of the harbour.

It was quite cool on Saturday morning, so instead of visiting on the beach we opted for a short walk. A little later we met up with Aunty Birgitt and Uncle Wayne at Capello for cafe lattes. We were in a bit of a hurry, as we were meeting up with all the cousins at Kirstenbosch Gardens for a picnic. I was so excited, and I was going to meet little Izzy for the first time – she was now almost a year old.

By now it was really hot again; we found everyone under a tree in the shade, near a stream. It was so idyllic. And everyone was there, so I got to play with Jenna and Erin, and I sat with little Izzy for a while. After some eats and drinks, Dad, Ricky, the girls and I played soccer on the lawn with my big Barney ball. It was such a lot of fun. I ran and giggled and tumbled and rolled. The girls were much faster than me, but I eventually caught up to them each time the ball got stuck in a garden bed. I also got some really cool toys from my cousins which I immediately got playing with. I should mention that they are presently around the lounge as I was so excited to see them come out of the suitcases once we were home again.

Back at Bloubergstrand in the afternoon we took our last evening stroll along the beach. It was a really pleasant evening, but I was really sad that our week’s holiday was nearly over already. I tried in vain to sabotage our return to Jo’burg by throwing one of my Dad’s sandals off the balcony, seven floors below. I promptly received a time-out, but my plan didn’t work – we were still packed and ready to go on Sunday morning, sans Dad’s sandals. It was worth a try, even at the risk of a time-out.

Very early on Sunday morning we headed down to the beach one very last time. It was cooler and overcast, making it ‘easier’ to go home Granny said. I wasn’t so sure, as I could’ve stayed another week, despite the weather.

The flight home was uneventful and back home in the late afternoon we got to see Roxy, Shatzi and Sonic again. It was actually nice to be home again.

Before I end off tonight, I must share some of the cute things I got up to during our week’s holiday. One of the things Dad really wanted to do was swim in the indoor/outdoor pool on the 12^th floor of our apartment block. It was a stunning pool, with a glass wall splitting it in half – half was indoors and the other half was outdoors. The glass met the surface of the water, so you could swim from the indoor pool under the glass to the outdoor pool. So on our last evening at our apartment Dad announced he was going up to the pool, and would I like to come with. My response? “No thanks, I’ve been!”

Over and above my dispatching one of Dad’s shoes overboard (i.e. over the balcony), Granny’s silk pyjamas also went overboard, but it wasn’t my doing, it was the wind. We spent the next few days looking at all the homeless people in the area to see if any were sporting a new set of silk pyjamas. I really think my folks are crazy.

As already mentioned, a favourite saying over the past week has been “I got it at home!” Whenever I was shown anything I would announce that I had it at home – Mom and Dad thought it was really cute and funny.

A favourite pastime was blowing soap bubbles off the balcony at every opportunity I got – I loved watching the bubbles rise higher than our building and out of sight. I was really impressed by this, as I’d never seen bubbles go so high before.

Our apartment was very minimalist modern industrial chic. Even the dishwasher was inside a cupboard. The unit didn’t have a dishwasher however, so Dad used this as a favourite hiding place to scare me, and every time he did it I got a fright, announcing “Oh my heart!” Granny incidentally also got frightened out of her skin by Dad doing this.

My Barney Boogie CD was left in the Merc at the valet parking in Johannesburg – guess what I most wanted to listen to in Cape Town? Barney Boogie! Each time we got in the car to go anywhere I wanted to listen to Barney Boogie, and each time Mom and Dad would explain to me that it was in Jo’burg, and would take at least a day to fetch it. My response? “Daddy go get it!”

The apartment building was fitted with elevators – my job was to push the buttons for the appropriate floor. I loved doing it.

Given the super modern design of the building we were staying in there was lots of granite and marble everywhere. As a result echo’s were everywhere, and I quickly learnt all about them and even learned to say the word ‘echo’.

Dad had a very embarrassing moment at Big Bay shopping centre when he tried to use an information board as a touch-screen. He kept trying, thinking it had malfunctioned, when he realised it wasn’t a touch-screen, just a normal display board.

On the beach I spent lots of time on Daddy’s shoulders as we walked. It was such fun. I would hold on his hair or ears, and occasionally covered his eyes – actually I did that often!

Hugging my cousins each time I saw them was a big thing! It was such fun.

Well that’s it for tonight. Tomorrow it’s back to the littley grindstone!

Love,

Jay-Bee

Photo 1 I love Table Mountain

Photo 2 Looking out to sea

Photo 3 Time to make sandcastles

Photo 4 Digging

Photo 5 I love it at the sea

Photo 6 Going for a stroll

Photo 7 Mommy and I at the beach

Photo 8 Running from the surf

Photo 9 Ooh, seashell

Photo 10 Cutie pie

Photo 11 Perma-smiles

Photo 12 Sandy hands

Photo 13 Chilly day at Boulder Bay

Photo 14 Warmer down below at water’s edge

Photo 15 Granny and I exploring

Photo 16 Off to test the waters

Photo 17 Not too cold . . .

Photo 18 Happiness

Photo 19 Now where’s that penguin?

Photo 20 Look!

Photo 21 Meeting the locals

Photo 22 Gang leader

Photo 23 Dad and I swimming

Photo 24 Boulder Bay

Photo 25 With my cousins Jenna and Erin at the Spur

Photo 26 Jenna and I riding a dino

Photo 27 PlayStation time

Photo 28 Stopping play to get a quick bite in

Photo 29 I got it at home

Photo 30 At the Waterfront – not the Queen Mary II

Photo 31 Granny playing with me

Photo 32 Toot-toot

Photo 33 And some giggles

Photo 34 Bath time

Photo 35 Showering my froggie

Photo 36 Running on the beach

Photo 37 Flotsam and jetsam

Photo 38 Washed up tyre makes for perfect play

Photo 39 Hi!

Photo 40 Help turtle, help!

Photo 41 Strolling with Mommy

Photo 42 Bigger Jay-Bee

Photo 43 Loving the water

Photo 44 All done

Photo 45 Later!

Photo 46 Essential giggles

Photo 47 With Granny and Mommy

Photo 48 Dad helps with building a sandcastle

Photo 49 Jay-Bee the Explorer

Photo 50 Looking at sea creatures

Photo 51 Swimming in the sea

Photo 52 Oh dear, that’s a bigger wave

Photo 53 Dunk! Help!

Photo 54 Playing at the apartment

Photo 55 Wonderland

Photo 56 Looking out to sea

Photo 57 Walking with Granny

Photo 58 Spiderman on the beach

Photo 59 Dad and I at Big Bay

Photo 60 Loved playing with my turtle

Photo 61 Swim turtle, swim!

Photo 62 Beach smiles

Photo 63 Granny and I on the Cape Wheel

Photo 64 Queen Mary II in Cape Town Harbour

Photo 65 Riding Dad’s shoulders

Photo 66 Mmmmm

Photo 67 ‘Soccer’ with Jenna and Erin

Photo 68 Erin with the ball

Photo 69 Loving Kirstenbosch

Photo 70 Cape Town reunion

Photo 71 Last sunset walk

Photo 72 Getting a time-out for throwing Dad’s sandal over the balcony

Photo 73 Til next week!