We had a GREAT Xmas with friends, pretty much overindulged and generally enjoyed the Hot South African weather !! 

This is just a short entry wishing everyone a Fantastic Xmas and New Year ( not Holidays!!!). Here's hoping all your wishes for 2015 may come true, may you have happiness, joy, peace and health!!. Wealth would also be wonderful but if not possible, enjoy the simple things out there !!   :)

God Bless and until next time, ....... ENJOY LIFE !!!!

Father Xmas come to town

GREAT NEWS !!!   Father Xmas has come to town!!!!

How does a person thank someone for a gift that can never be repaid?. How does one reconcile what was once a dream to that which becomes reality due to chance / fate / good fortune / etc?.

However one looks at it, there's got to be a God out there who loves, yet laughs at our feeble attempts to control and manage our lives successfully without him.  Last year we were blessed to befriend a lovely lady and her family while they were visiting our hometown (Vaal Marina). At the time of meeting these lovely folk we had already shelved our travel plans due to a 40% drop in currency value against the dollar and were actively planning alternative local travel arrangements.

After getting to know these lovely folk and sharing experiences etc it became apparent that the son has connections within the Travel Industry and that he EVER SO KINDLY offered us a trip overseas at a fraction of the normal cost of Overseas travel.  No, NO, No, .... it had nothing to do with drugs etc. No mule experience, etc, etc,..... just plain old decent above board offer to travel!!!! What one would associate with winning the lottery is what it was!! . Something so unexpected that it bowls you over, again and again and again !!!!!

Along with the above blessing,, Couch Surfing, wonderful people of America, tight, tight budget etc, etc we managed to travel portion of the USA for over three months. Having enjoyed it soooooo much we were continuously  thinking of ideas that would allow for a return trip in the future.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT !!!!!!  , yep that's correct,....... Father Xmas has returned to Town !!!.  This fine gentlemen has once again offered us the gift of  visiting USA without us blowing the budget.

Unfortunately no names or addresses will be mentioned to protect the innocent but suffice to say, ..........  WOW!!!!  WOW !!!!  WOW!!!!! .. thanks Father XMAS thanks !!!!

That's all for now , .... just thought we have to share the good news !!!!!

Enjoy the pic of happiness and satisfaction !!

A random sample of pics from USA 2014

Messin' at the HON FEST in Baltimore,   great fun!

Gin from Buffalo showing us around Niagra Falls!!

B having found an additional packing case along the way , he, he,....

A few pics from previous USA trip in 1014

As our photo's are numerous and hence stored on an external Hard Drive, only a few are shown below so as not to bore .....

USA Travel Plan= the REAL rough Plan....... please help us populate / alter it.

In the hope for a Xmas present, we've now just completed our draft map in preparation for our 2015 trip to USA. Pretty exciting for us as every time we leave our lovely country we assume it may be our last based on the deteriorating currency challenges. In 1994 our currency was R3.4 to the US $ and currently it stands at just over R11.65 to the US$. Pretty sad state of affairs but one simply concedes defeat after 20 years.

We're still learning this Blog activity so please bear with us while we perfect our entries, info etc...but for now please see below to view the intended USA route planned. Notably our plans will surely change depending on our ability to convince the wonderful folk of USA to accommodate us while passing through each stage of our travels.

Fortunately we have an old MiniVan with 298000 miles on the clock ( Honda Odysseys ) which has proved itself as perfect transport, a camper (Walmarts and Nat/State Parks) or as a Driveway Dweller in cases where a CS's only having garden space for us to overnight.

Being part of Couch Surfing Fraternity has proved to be the absolute best decision we've made regarding our travel modus operandi . What was seen as a cheap way of travel has now become our preferred method The reasons are numerous but suffice to say the people one meets are absolutely marvelous. Not only that but many times they themselves enjoy portion of our travels by pointing us in different directions, offering alternate travel itineraries, showing us around, etc, etc. One cannot beat the local knowledge and inspiring stories each CS has to offer along with the comradery shared.

Any assistance out there that could offer some form of accommodation, parking space, or other would be greatly appreciated. As our travels are intended to be extensive we are hoping for a few CHILL breaks in-between times in the form of House Sitting etc. These House sitting jobs are expected to be at no charge but of course any additional funds earned along the way would allow for a few additional experienced to be enjoyed. We suspect our need for Chill time would require at least four long stops of between 1-2 weeks at points yet to be determined...... by offers from lovely folk out there.

We'll say cheers for now and hope to hear from you soon. God Bless.

Also check out our Profile on Couch surfing : Ron Downs.

OLD ...no more!!

OLD ... no more

OLD.... no more

OLD ... no more