B-DAY at THE CRADLE

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Yesterday, Glen treated me to an early birthday lunch at The Cradle Restaurant. The last time we were there was the morning after our wedding--- our first day waking up as a married couple! All our other wedding guests attended that day as we had spent the night in cabins on the property. The Cradle is located on a small private game reserve in an area called The Cradle of Humankind and as we pulled up to the gate, there was a giraffe crossing the veld-- I took it as an auspicious sign for the beginning of a perfect afternoon which it was!

Spring is in the air and The Cradle provides the most wonderful view over the highveld-- as it's the end of winter (the dry season), the tall grasses were golden and crisp in the warm afternoon sun. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the grand patio, while remarking on the perfect view and sharing a bottle of crisp South African Blanc de Mer (white wine). While we chatted how it has been nearly a year to the day since our arrival back in Joburg (on my birthday last year), our talk turned, as it often does these days, to our future as we wind down our time in SA and head to Canada at the end of the year-- a thought that is both exciting and terrifying as neither of us are heading to jobs! We also talked about how it seems so much longer than 8 months ago that we sat in the very same spot having our wedding breakfast-- it is distant, but very happy, memory. Certain dates have held importance for us-- we felt we really wanted to marry before the close of 2010-- starting a new decade together. As of 2012 we will begin living together in Canada-- Glen, will not arriving as a visitor this time, but as a permanent resident. For the first time since his year in Penn State, he'll be trying out life in a new country.

While we sipped wine and nibbled on venison carpaccio, we recalled the excitement of seeing a giraffe in the distance at our wedding breakfast-- the first siting of African animal in the wild for our American relatives which caused great excitement! I suggested we take a drive through the reserve after lunch to see what we might find. Within a few minutes we spotted some buck (see pic) and some so-ugly-they're-cute warthogs who were far too skittish for me to get a pic. We continued along the rough trail-- this is when Glen always points out to me how great is is that he has a Land Rover! I was hoping to get another siting of that giraffe and then as we rounded a bend, there was the pick of the day: the biggest rhino I have ever seen! We ooh-ed and aah-ed but Glen kept rolling as the rhino, who was not far from the Landy, lumbered toward straight toward us. It was massive, so we moved cautiously. Soon after the trail circled around and brought up back to the main gate. We left on a high note, never thinking that there was a rhino wandering not far from where we shared an elegant lunch!

In two weeks, we are off for a family trip to Kruger National Park and there was no better way to whet our appetite for game viewing than this!