Self Care

Sometimes, an excuse is all thats necessary.

Sometimes, that excuse is as simple as, “its good for my soul.”

Which, I suppose, is to say that I need no excuse at all.

What am I talking about, you wonder? A reason to go. To get away from the city and find peace under the large oak trees at a campground near Stellenbosch.

Why wait for a weekend or a holiday or other “reason” to go, when my very-flexible schedule allows me to go on a Wednesday night?

So that’s what we did. We left after Lisa finished work on Wednesday, and we both went straight back to work when we arrived back in Cape Town early Thursday afternoon.

The weather was perfectly stunning, the timing was right, and we kept reminding each other that this much fun was okay - even in the middle of the week.

Time well spent, and indeed, it was “good for my soul.”

Rocking The Daisies

First things first: Its 10/10/10!!! and its barely past 10:10pm. This only happens once a century, so we should celebrate it! :)

This weekend was GREAT. If you know me even a little bit, there are a few things you will already know. 1 - I love live music. 2 - I love spending time with people and in crowds. 3 - I love the outdoors and camping! 4 - I think it is important that we are mindful of the environment around us and believe we should find eco-friendly, sustainable ways to live.

Lisa, Amy & I appreciating the shade
away from the hot afternoon sun.

This weekend with a group of friends to Rocking The Daisies, a 3-day music festival that takes place annually just north of Cape Town. Our initial “reason” for going was to see Greg play with his band, Nomadic Orchestra. When I agreed to go, I literally knew nothing more about the weekend than that. Let me tell you: it was GREAT!

Ok, so to be honest it wasn’t entirely my scene. I appreciate the culture and energy of the vibe, but I’m just not a hipster: never have been, never will be. But it sooo didn’t matter. and I loved it anyway!

So we had hours on end of live music of nearly any type you can imagine. While I recognize I am biased, I must say my favorite act was without a doubt Nomadic Orchestra - trust me when I tell you that it is a music anyone will love, and anyone can dance to. What’s not to love about Balkan music?

To top of how awesome this music festival was, consider its mantra: “Play Hard, Tread Lightly.” They didn’t sell bottles of water, they invited you to buy a reusable bottle (for cheap!) and refill it with cold, filtered water for free the rest of the weekend. They had entire stalls made up of recycled material. Free t-shirts and bags were given away that were, you guessed it: made of recycled material. They had compost and recycling bins at the ready for use of the campers. They offered free tickets to anyone who walked to the festival instead of driving, and tickets were half price if you cycled. They really were creative in encouraging people to be mindful of ways to “tread lightly.”

So we’re camping. We’re listening to music. There’s lots of people. and they cared about the environment.

I’m home. I’m happy. I’m exhausted. Basically, it was a great weekend with great people, and I’m ready to do it again!

Preparing for the Mountains

Once again, it is late and time is limited, but I do have a few quick things to say!

Nashville was amazing. It was SO great, I absolutely love this city, and every time I visit, it lives up to the expectations I made of it before my first visit. I think I still want to live there some day. I just need to find a reason to now.

That being said... my highlight of Nashville was Saturday: I got to ride!!!! :) (and for the record, a picture to prove I was in full spandex and completely unashamed!) I had never before been on a road bike, but borrowed Criselda's bike to take part in the city ride. Got to hang out with and ride with some cool folks (Jesse, Brianne & Charlie) during the ride - a welcome encounter away from the safety of the van. I rode for a humble near 20 miles- not bad for a first ride, I say! I couldn't have felt better afterwards, either... I only wish I knew how to get my hands on a nice bike so I could ride when I get home in the fall...

We camped last night and it was AMAZING. I've loved all the people we met in random small churches, but I do wish we'd been camping a bit more. Its so... refreshing to start afresh with the sun and chirping birds in the morning. Awesome.

We're now in Knoxville, TN. I'm starting to get scared of the realization that this trip is going to end some day. A day next week, actually. ugh. No good.

Lots going through my mind these days. Lots of decisions and things God has placed on my heart that is making my mind run constantly, my heart beat faster, and my love grow deeper. Its awesome, exciting, and terrifying. and I would have it no other way. In some ways, it feels appropriate that this is right now. It seems I'll be battling some mental battles, climbing some mountains of my own as we move East into the mountains... and I say, bring it on. There is no mountain we cannot climb, no struggle we cannot overcome.

I do not often have time to write while online (in fact, I am giving up essential sleep to do so now), but I do check in often enough to get the short notes and emails you send. Thank you. PLEASE keep them coming (or start sending them if you haven't yet!). Emails, text messages, facebook messages... I get them. I love them. They make me smile and bring me a new, bright, exciting kind of energy that can come only from the fresh air of the life that goes on around us while we're caught up in biking. I love the team, but there is no way I'd have survived this trip without your support. Thank you.

A New Kind of Hope

Today it was REALLY hot. Ridiculously so, really. We had to stop a lot to get folks water. We are all exhausted from being on the go so much, getting so little sleep (and not always a good sleep). For me, lack of exercise (I’m often moving around and doing lots, but its different) and poor diet (we’re eating an athlete’s diet) are also contributing to being tired.

Everyone was so exhausted and overheated that when we stopped for lunch, that we decided not to push on for the day. Our plans were to camp for the night about 12 miles down the road, but there was a nicer camp ground across from the gas station we stopped at to have lunch. So we stuck around and enjoyed a lovely evening under the stars… and I slept better there in the dessert in a tent with screen tops so I could see the stars that I have on the entire trip. It was a beautiful, restful gift from God. So much so that getting up at 3:30 the next morning so we could be packed up and ready to go by the time the sun rose didn’t even seem so bad.