Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

Sarah's Birthday Party - Opa!

A few of our good friends and I surprised Sarah on Friday night with a leetle get-together at Taverna Opa! - one of the hot-spots on the restaurant scene in Fort Lauderdale

We had a good time with dear friends and I was even persuaded to let the inhibitions go - yip, dancing on tables happened (Pic 3). A highly recommended experience, although slightly out of character!

Pic 2: Chay's high standards was not easily met! Some belly dancers performed to Sarah's delight.

How to Watch the Currie Cup in Miami?

Ingredients for a good Saturday rugby-morning in Miami:

At least 3 South African moegoes

A Kuduclub subscription

A laptop/desktop/both (surround sound!)

Beer

Snacks

Warn the neighbors ahead of time that there will be screaming and gnashing of teeth.

Graduation Day

October 10. Graduation Day. Now on to bigger and better things, mainly a decent salary which is something distinctly lacking in my current job. I do enjoy my job itself very much. Don't get me wrong.
However, it's sad how there is always something 'bout every job that is disagreeable. Unfortunately in my case it is the most important thing - Money! Or then, the lack thereof.

About the Graduation - a decent event with lots of pomp and circumstance. A hall full of graduates andd guests.

Very noticably was that, by my guestamate, less than 5% knew the words to the Star Spangled Banner that was played to open the event. Eish! And most don't care! - a big grievance for my lovely Texan-born, military-raised wife, and rightly so.

Had a great lunch with some former classmates at the Rusty Pelican afterwards, overlooking the Miami skyline. Come visit us and we'll take you there!

Davie Rodeo

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Captain America

Our good friend Grant from East London recently had the privilege of pledging the oath, after which he received his American citizenship. A few of us had a little bbq to celebrate this milestone.
Being a yacht captain his new nickname among the South African friends are "Captain America". Hopefully it'll soon be my turn - can't wait to get that little blue passport.

Road Trip to Homossassa!

Labor Day Weekend the Ninnemans and us Bouwers headed to the West Coast of Florida, the area North of Tampa where it is all rustic and quiet - away from the city.
Anyplace North of the Northern boundaries of Miami-Dade is fine with us, and this area - the ancient hunting grounds of some of Florida's first inhabitants - is as good as it gets in terms of natural beauty.
The idea was to go camping, kayaking, and exploring the area, and we sure did "rough it" (See breakfast picture on the left)!




Below are some pictures of the three areas in the region we visited: Homossassa, Rainbow Springs, and Silver Springs.

Dodging The Bullet

Hurricane Ike grafted a path accross the lenght of Cuba, barely missing South-Florida.

On Monday and Tuesday we did get some terrific gusts of wind and rain, the remnants of the tail.






AP Picture: Cubans walking amids the rubble of their homes in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

Guess Whose Heading Our Way?

Hurricanes Hannah, Ike, and Josephine and are all heading West accross the Pacific - South-Florida's way.
Hurricane Gustaf just missed Miami, hurtling towards New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico.

This fantastic satelite pic gives a clear indication of the vicinity of the storms: Hannah is just East of Cuba, over Haiti; and Ike is looming behind. According to weather forecasters, Ike has potential to reach Category 5 hurricane strenght within a week. The last storm of that magnitute was Hurricane Andrew in '92, and it obliterated large parts of Miami.

We're holding our breaths.

A Visit From My Boet

A Stroll In The Gardens

The Ninnemans were our guests on Sunday and we headed to the nearby historical landmark of Viscaya.

A beautiful house full of grandeur and priceless works of art. The multi-millionaire built the house to entertain his Winter guests from the North - impressing and surpassing the Joneses was what it was all about.

All glittery and shiny, that is Viscaya - a monument to the plethora of ways man can try to impress others who really couldn't care less.

The gentleman even travelled to Europe about a dozen times and brought back small souveneurs e.g. a small Italian town's centerpiece fountain, another French town's church ceiling, painted by one of the old masters. Additionally, there are nearly a hundred statues in his enormous and elaborate French-style gardens - dating back to the Roman empire. What a magnificent sight - we photographed some exquisite pieces eroding away next to the ocean for our next generation not to see.



Reminds me of another multi-millionaire's house we visited in North-Carolina - the Biltmore Estate. The man built the largest private American house in existence, but his was a philantropist's way and his estate is thriving still today.

Mr. Biltmore's estate is so large that it would take a horse rider nearly two days to circle. He created a forest on some eroded mountain slopes which today still facinates visitors. He build a dairy farm and a town and a school that still exists today.

A big difference in viewpoint and priorities that echo even today.
One who surrounded himself with his wealth, dying a lonely man, while the other built a lasting legacy and truly added value.



Last pic: Megan and Sarah leaning on a Roman altar dating back to 230 B.C.!

Our New Surroundings

We now live in South Miami, about 7 miles from Downtown, and on the edge of the old original Miami. It is beautiful old, tall tree-lined streets and settled older neighborhoods with large houses.

We are about one mile away from US1, which dissects Miami, running North South from Key West in the South all the North along the East Coast towards the Canadian border.

East of US1 is about 2 miles to the coast. Within close range is Miracle Mile and Downtown Coral Gables, as well as beautiful Coconut Grove.

The University of Miami's campus, as well as the Biltmore Golf Estate is within walking distance, and Sarah and I often walk at sunset in the working week evenings.

Come visit us, and bring your walking shoes.

Apologies

It's been a busy two months.
I apologize for those taking the effort to open our Blog regularly for the lack of entries lately. Between moving, finishing my studies, Sarah starting her studies, having different house guests for the whole month of July, and my new responsibilities at work, there's been little time to spare.

I will backlog until I catch up.
Missing everyone.

Enjoy the Olympics!

Steff's Visit

The end was not yet in sight for Sarah's wonderfully long Summer school holiday. Back from her trip to the Dominican Republic we had to privilege of hosting another old friend - Stephanie - for a week. Steph's parents went to South Africa many moons ago as missionaries and she grew up in Upington! She's fluent in Afrikaans and knows many good ol' SA recipies.
Great having you over Steph!

Melbourne Weekend

When Bruce Moore said - I know the best wing-joint in town we were sceptical. Wings are wings.

Turns out we should never have doubted Bruce. Frankie's wings & ...er Things happen to have the best wings and shrimp in Florida.
Ons het soos varke gevreet - die kos was hemels.

The other people in the picture: all good friends from Morrison Academy in Taichung, Taiwan.

Awesome weekend.

More pictures from our enjoyable weekend in Melbourne.

Me First American Wedding

The Johnson-wedding in Melbourne (on the weekend after the Fourth of July) was a Taiwan-reunion in itself! It was also what me and Sarah refer to as the start of our Busy Time. After Rob came to visit we had guests all the way through the two month-summer school holiday. Awesome - we love our guests!

I posted a few pics here of some of the events of an all too short, but very busy weekend. In hindsight certainly not enough time to sit down for some quality time with Dwight and Becky Johnson - our parents, friends, and advisors in Taiwan. But their son got married - what did we expect!!

Since we're all christians my first American wedding was unspectacular in the familiarity of the proceedings. Few new things here and there, some differences, but all in all the bride shined beautifully, the groom looked great and speeched well, and they dedicated their marriage to God in front of a bunch of witnesses, many from Taiwan. ;-)

Wonderful to see so many old familiar faces.

Treat Carefully - Turtles Nesting!

Wat is die kans!?!
Die oggend na die aand van die Fourth of July (Nag van die Lang Vuurwerke) gaan stap ons op die strand. Hierdie keer nie Blouberg se strand nie, wel Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Bestrooi van die vorige nag se vuurwerk-geweld, nagedagtenisse aan onwelvoeglike drankmisbruik, harde reen, hoogwater, en oseaan-gekotsde seegras oralsoor.
Vroegoggend.
Tel 'n bierbottel op mits iemand dit dalk later raaktrap en sien toe die gedoente wat afspaander branders se kant toe.

Wraggies 'n seeskilpadjie!!!
Die kans is omtrent 1 in 100 000. Magic! Dit was onbeskryflik om dop te hou hoe een oorlewende seeskilpadjie (sy nes is omgewoel en raakgetrap deur vuurwerk-toeskouers die nag tevore)afsukkel water toe. Elke voetspoor in die los sand is soos 'n berg vir hom. Maar die outjie is haastig.
Dit was 'n fantastiese pasella vir 'n dag wat mooi uitgedraai het verder ook.

Fourth of July '08

This is my fourth Fourth of July spent in the US. I've loved it every time.

We were at the beach in Fort Lauderdale with our friends the Ninnemans, on a strategic spot between two municipality-sponsored firework displays - to the North and to the South. Planning can only go so far though and down came the rain as the shows started. Been there, done that, got my T-shirt wet!

Visitor from Seattle - Ni Hao Ma?

Rob Willett from Taiwan-Morrison-fame graced us with a visit and we had a blast hosting him in Miami.

I took him to the Everglades National Park and that was really uneventful. Thus, we provided our own entertainment (pic)!

The usual reaction of the first time visitor to the Everglades is kind of a deflated: "Oh...". I agree, there ain't much to it and the mosquitoes fly in squadrons of 100 each. They always draw blood. They always get their man.

Not to be outdone in the cultural department by the rest of the country, I also took ol' Rob to Schnelby's Winery - the Southernmost winery in the country. Miami does have culture!

Here at Schnelby's they make wine from tropical fruit, and after a few years of imperfection they are finally making great tasting wines that I would actually consider buying.

On Saturday Sarah and I took our soon to be China-bound friend kayaking on the intercoastal, from Oleta State Park. In Seattle the water is icy and at first it was very funny watching Rob trying his darnest not to touch the 80 degree water. That is until he realised it is never colder than lukewarm down here in the tropics, and after that we couldn't keep him in his kayak!

The Great Pretender

Robin and Curtis graciously allowed me to hold this handsome little fella. Sorry Dad, unfortunately not ours!

Ours first bbq after moving into the new place.