Back to Jackpot.

I just don't know what it is about me. Maybe I am going though Men-o-pause. Something to do with temperature at night. This is also new for me. Either a part of me is too hot and another part is too cold. I am constantly shifting the covers to try to get a balance. Unfortunately the "balance" does not last long, so pretty soon I am tossing and turning and shifting covers once again. I also seem to do my share of staring at the ceiling. How happy I am when morning comes.

This moring I tried the coffee from the Delonghi bean machine, but it did not hit the spot. Brother and sister in law had to go to work this morning. Such a pity that we did not have any work to do. We are currently "retired" for the next 10 weeks. It actually feels rather weird that they are up in the morning and off to school and we are just up in the morning.

We try to make a general plan the evening before so that we have a basic idea of what the following day will hold. We were planning to wait till 09h00 for one of the shops to open (The one where my braai shorts were purchased). I really have to say that South Africa still is old school in that regard. There are a lot of kind of small botique shops with knick knacks and one could be tempted to splash out on a this or a that. It is sooo cute to go shopping here. One has the feeling in Holland that no matter which town one goes to, one is always confronted with the "big players", the main men, Multi national conglomerates that had a finger in every pie. Here is is still a little, the old days, where entrepreneurs are still able to have a piece of the pie. BUY LOCAL!

Our wait was so that we could miss the Monday morning rush hour traffic. After the braai short shop we were going to a little coffee shop. Dutch people don't think that you are the only ones with coffee shops! Ours just serve different things, like coffee and cakes, and breakfasts or light lunches. We rolled the dice and went for brekkie at the coffee shop first. Fortune favours the brave... traffic was going the other direction! 

Driving here is quite different than in Holland. No, not just that these people drive on the left hand side of the road, but rules in traffic are also quite different. Red stop light are just a suggestion during the day. If there is nothing coming, one could possibly, perhaps run the red light. Stopping behind the white line is also optional. It is preferred if the car at the front of the queue stops his vehicle just before they would form a hinderance for traffic crossing the light from the left.

A 3- or 4-way stop is what I really like here in RSA (Republic of South Africa).  At, for example, a 4-ways stop it is a first come first served affair. The person that stops first can pull off first. The next person that stopped is next in line. It does not matter from which direction one approaches the stop. It tends to make one respect the other drivers as they also have a right to get to where they are going.

After our good brekkie, we made a short stop at the Builders Wharehouse. I was looking for some Duct tape to tape my wave deflector onto the surfski that I had been lent. A wave deflector is a V-shaped piece of thingy that one puts on the front of ones surfski just in front of ones feet to deflect the water that comes over the bow of the surfski when either going through a wave or surfing a wave. We are also on a mission for my youngest brother. The deck at his house has some algae and we are trying to find the most "green" option to get rid of it. Of course it will come back at some stage, but preventative maintenance is always the best option. Speaking of that, Jackpot is pretty well maintained!

After Builders we went to braai short shop. All 3 stops this morning were within a 2 block radius. Funny aside, Ingrid who would not normally get out of the car but at a Builders Wharehouse she came in with me. I asked her why and she replied, "It gets too hot in the car". This at 09h00. I can not fault her. Google maps and back to Jackpot. We had 1 more stop along the way at the Mall in Jeffreys bay as Ingrid wanted to source some ear plugs for the wind at the house on the hill. Clicks stocked said item and we shopped at the supermaket for dinner and made our way to Jackpot.

On arriving at Jackpot we were surprised to find a crew of about 8 men fixing the potholes in the road in which Jackpot lies. I had been secretly filling the potholes with pebbles (rounded so as not to harm the tyres) the last week or so. Here was the crew at work! They stopped just before the house and I guess that tomorrow they will finish this street. Great work team!

Last week Wednesday I took the surfski for a time trail and today I had decided to put her through her paces in the Ocean. I wanted to test a few things. One being myself, could I navigate through the waves. I was also keen on trying out my new webcam, since I lost my last one overboard that fateful day when I damaged someone elses sufski. Of course I wanted to test the wave deflector. How that went I can not yet say. I got our through the break and the camera took a hit and was pointing to the stars. Once I felt that I was safely beyond the breakers, I climbed off the ski and adjusted the camera. This too was a test for me. Could I get back into the surfski? We call it remount.  And that is why I love the Vault (model of surfski that I was in), I can remount in all conditions without a thought of, "Can I do this?" Bam. Nailed it and my camera was pointing in the right direction.

After paddling into the wind for a bit I turend for home and caught 2 screamers on the way back. Yipppeeee!! I arrived at the beach with everything still intact. This was not the case 2 years ago, when the surfski folded in 2 on me. I have to still think that it was physics with both the front and back of the ski being pushed up by water and me in the middle with my body weight pushing down. It was too much for the ski and it cracked through the middle. That ship has sailed and I am greatful to the Carbonology Sportnfactory for lending me another surfski this time. I am going to get this one home in 1 piece. They must be nervous though....

Now we sit and watch the wind churn up the sea and have Jackpot talk to us. Whilst I am typing this blog, Ingrid is watching a series on Netflix. Eposide number next. I think that after dinner it will be the bunker for us. Less disturbance from the wrath of the wind.

The kids both worked today in the practice. First Fleur did a stint and she was later relieved by Bo. Unsure of the reason for the switch, but they obviously had worked it out between them. Still Proud of the chickies for their effort! Thanks ladies! It was lovely to speak to them both this afternoon. They seem to have found a great balance at home and for this we are thankful. I asked if we could extend our sabattical and Fleur said, "Why not?". They have things under control.

We really enjoyed our stay to brother and siter in laws. Thanks people for the relaxed atmosphere and good weekend. We will be back!