Why I March...

I've written and edited and re-written this so many times now...I hope it makes sense.  I wrote this post in my head in the shower on Monday morning and couldn't get these thoughts out of my mind, so I had to write them down.  I don't intend to bash any one person or group, so if you perceive that, it's not my intention.  This is my perspective.

For those of you that don't know me, let me start by saying I'm a Christian.  And not a lily/poinsettia Christian.  I attend church each weekend.  I serve once a month parking cars at my church. (Because I'm at a big church and people need help parking.)  I attend Bible Study each Wednesday night with a group of people that hold me accountable and challenge me.  I prepare each week for our study and while I could spend WAY more time in the Bible, I do know God's word!  If you don't know me, none of that means anything, because I could be a hypocrite.  It's a matter of my heart being right with God's, but you can't know that...only God can.  I hope you might be able to see that in my actions: (They will know we are Christians by our love. John 13:35)  I'm a work in progress and I'm a sinner.  I fail every single day.  Thank God for his grace that covers this imperfect person!  Let's be honest.  We're all imperfect people.  We're all sinners.  We could do better.

I marched last Saturday in the Women's March that organized in Raleigh, NC.  Literally!  I didn't walk one step, I lifted my knees in a march each step of the way...it just felt right and maybe I burnt more calories (not the point).  How could a Christian march in favor of abortion, you say?  I'm sure that's what many of you are thinking.  And the answer is I wasn't marching for abortion.  There are many reasons I was marching.  The sole topic of abortion wasn't a highlight of my reason to march, but let's talk about it because many have made assumptions and we all have an opinion/stance.
I'm largely pro-life.  I think each life is precious to God (1 Peter 2:4).  I think we're fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  I think God has knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) and knows the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7).  We are his special creation.  Each life matters.  Every single one.
My problem comes when the government starts passing legislation to defund Planned Parenthood and make it illegal to get an abortion.  It's not the government's place to do that.  What about the rape victim that is now pregnant?  The case of incest?  What about the girl that's 15-years-old and had unprotected sex- maybe because she was pressured to lose her virginity, maybe not?  What about the career woman who would rather move up the ranks at work than start a family?  I'm not saying these situations are "outs" or reasons for abortions.  But think about it.  Put yourself in those ladies shoes.  It's no one's place to tell another how to live their life or take care of their body.  And Christians, hear me on this.  If all we're doing is pointing fingers and judging people for getting abortions, we're not making disciples of anyone.  What about loving the people that find themselves in a situation where abortion is an option?  What about getting into the nitty gritty with them and actually hearing where they come from and loving them through it?  If you think anyone is going to just decide to become a Christian because you got rid of abortion, think again!  Yelling at folks that they're baby killers isn't going to make anyone come to Christ.  Those people, if they do want an abortion, regardless of what the law says...they're going to find someone who can do it.  In a back alley, in someone's home, without proper medical care.  I can't stand to think of those situations.
Now, I want to take you back a step.  Those people wanting to term their pregnancies, how did they get pregnant?  Clearly they had sex.  In a loving marriage relationship?  Maybe, but probably not.  Christians!  Christians who are judging others for abortions.  How many of you had sex before marriage?  (I can't find specific Bible verses on this because it's just listed as sexual immorality, but you know what I'm saying.  It's a sin.)  Could that be you?  Could you have made a mistake and accidentally gotten pregnant because you weren't following God's will for your life-abstaining until you're married?  I get it.  We're all sinful.  Now let's put our stones down and walk away!  And those using birth control.  Good job you, right?  You didn't have to get to a place to term a pregnancy because you didn't allow yourself to get pregnant.  I don't even know if that's in the Bible, but there are Christians that feel strongly against birth control as limiting God's will for you to procreate.  Let's not be hypocrites.
If we defund Planned Parenthood, you're not just talking about abortions (which according to my research cannot be funded by federal dollars, so defunding isn't helping the pro-life stance).  You're talking about STD screenings, free or reduced birth control/contraception (which could help avoid abortions), cancer screenings, and basic medical care that will be lost.  The majority of patients are middle and low-income.  Where are those people going to go to get healthcare?  Can we be the church?  Can we change the course of all of this and come alongside those people that need this basic healthcare and help them get it?  Let's act instead of pointing fingers and reacting to things.  Let's make a difference (for good) in the lives of those people.  Can we come up with a solution to help the people that rely on Planned Parenthood?  I have two male co-workers that have told me how they relied on Planned Parenthood for care.  It's not a dirty word, it's a low cost service to the community that real people use.

A co-worker recently told me about a female on social media that was going to get an abortion.  It was someone neither of us knew.  The girl had written a whole post about how she didn't want to get pregnant and she was just starting in her career.  She didn't have the money for a family and she didn't want to start a family right now.  She was off to get an abortion and she was thankful she could do that.  I said to my co-worker, "Well, it's never the right time to start a family.  We all wish we had more money." Reasoning why she should keep her child.  And then I felt so, so sad.  Brought to tears sad.  A precious life was being cut short.  But you know what?  It's not my place and has NEVER been my place to condemn that woman.  She will have to work it out and I just pray (seriously...this isn't just something I say) that she has people that can come alongside her if the going gets tough.  Or who can talk it through with her years down the road if she's carrying guilt.  Or can love her through it all if she decides it's the best thing she ever did.

So why did I march?  Because I'm a woman.  And not long ago we didn't have the right to vote.  We still don't get paid the same as men across-the-board.  My body is MY BODY!  We all deserve healthcare!  (Obamacare wasn't without flaw, but it was a great step in the right direction and instead of cutting it, it could be re-formatted to work better.)  The environment is important to me.  I want the world to be in good shape for my kids.  Black lives matter! (Your life matters too, but this movement is for a reason...our black friends and friends of color need to feel the love right now.)  Refugees deserve a safe place to live.  And I wanted to be there to show my support for those marginalized groups.  Christians- is Jesus Christ not your savior?  Was he not of middle-eastern descent?  Can you really judge all of those people as terrorists?  Hebrews 13:2 always comes to mind when I think about this. "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."  How can we turn our backs on people in need?  An unborn life is not more or less important than a living being from a war-stricken part of the world.
I marched because if Jesus were walking the earth today, I think he would have been at a march.  Talking to the people, encouraging them and loving on them.  I marched because when we were in Israel this year, after visiting Yad Vashem, the world holocaust remembrance center, our guide gave us a challenge.  Our guide was the grandson of holocaust survivors and he gave us the famous Martin Niemoller quote: "First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Socialist.  Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.  Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Jew.  Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me."  Something I've heard before, but it echoed so much louder standing in a place with hundreds of thousands of names of Jews that had died.  Maybe you didn't need to march because you haven't been affected yet or would rather forget/pass from your mind the climate in our nation right now.  I just hope you never have to.  Can we turn this around before it gets worse?  I marched because we have to do something before it's too late.

Let me also mention that the Raleigh march was so peaceful!  I have no idea what the media coverage said, but I was moved to tears at least three times during the day.  Ugly cry tears!  There were children and elderly.  Men and women.  There were all colors and sizes and races and creeds and religions.  And everyone was smiling at everyone.  Strangers were helping to lift strollers and children around downtown.  There was no shoving or pushing or negativity.  And maybe that's because it was a gathering of like-minded people, but it was amazing!  I challenge you to talk to people who were at a march in your hometown or in DC.  They'll tell you the same thing.  The violent people highlighted on the news, rioting, weren't part of the peacefulness.

I was upset this week.  I wanted to hear from my friends that voted for Trump that they too were disappointed with the rhetoric, excessive tweets, etc. that have come since the inauguration.  I wanted my Christian friends to understand that I see a man, who I believe has claimed to be a Christian (and for anyone who doesn't know me, his claim probably holds the same amount of weight mine does).  A man I think is a hypocrite by his words and actions.  When I look on a high ranking official and seek to respect them, I look for their fruits.  What are the fruits in their life?  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control.  What I saw instead was very one-sided blanket statements and memes on facebook clearly promoting Republicans or Democrats.  I wasn't able to understand.  And then I went to Bible study and I brought it up...a really tough, but good conversation.  And I asked those ladies if they could explain to me how they could still support Trump.  Here's what I heard...That for the majority of people, we're not 100% behind a candidate (and I'm guilty of judging others for this..I was convicted).  And so for the most part, those people that voted for Trump clung on to one issue and went with it.  That for both sides, we really just want the best for our country. (Which is not the climate on facebook, but might very well be in real life.)  That we don't know if Trump is qualified, but he's in office now, so we need to support him because where will we be if he fails?  We need to pull for him and pray for him and hope he does a good job.  I'll tell you what...there was healing for me in that conversation.  It doesn't change my beliefs or my feelings about certain things, but it allowed me to connect with people I care about and understand where they're coming from.  What if we all did something crazy?  What if we stopped this grouping of Republican vs. Democrat and we just spoke people-to-people about what we're going through.  I'm sure there are plenty of people that have judged me wrongly because I'm a registered Democrat.  Those people don't know that I'm a Christian, that I am so empathetic that I cry when others do, that I strive for harmony, that I believe in equality, that I'm pro-life and pro-choice, that I'm unashamed to stand up for what is right, that I'm loyal and will fight for those I care about.  Let's have those difficult conversations, because that's what is going to bring us together!

I'm happy for those that marched in the March for Life yesterday.  I hope those participants feel the feelings I felt last Saturday and feel empowered that they're making a difference.  What I can't get behind is the, "My march is better than your march.  You kill babies and we speak truth."  Because it's not loving.  It's dividing.  And it's mean!  We can't understand another person's experience if we're not there and we don't try to understand.

My church is currently doing a series called Unlocking the Music Vault.  It's about the sins in our lives that people can't really see and what God says about them.  Week one was Depression, week two was Racism, this past week right after the march, we went to church to hear about Anger. This week is Greed, and then Pride, Lust, Slothfulness and Failure.  I encourage you to listen.  Our pastor for sure is a Republican, so there are some digs in there.  And please continue listening after the week on Racism.  Pastor Mike apologizes for it sounding like it was black men against the police.  I think it's going to take big strides for all of us in these areas before we can change our country.  Let's work on our own hearts!

Medieval Times

Kevin and I rarely do road trips these days.  It seems like if we're going somewhere, we're jetting off to a far-away land.  However, I've had an urge recently to take a free weekend and just get away locally.  There's tons of adventure in that and anytime we can be together spending quality time, my love bucket is being filled!

At the end of last February, we were preparing for our trip to Israel and we learned that Kevin's grandma (Memere) would be in Myrtle Beach visiting her sisters.  We hadn't seen Memere in about 6 months and we thought it was too dang close not to drive down, so we planned a road trip and a little weekend away.

We arrived late on a Friday night and checked into our hotel to get a little shut-eye.

On Saturday morning, we got up and had breakfast and then drove over mid-morning to see Memere and her two sisters.  We took Memere out for lunch to have some one-on-one time with her (boy did she talk!  I think she was so excited to have some time to catch up).  And then we went back to visit with her and her sisters again.  They had spent a week playing bingo and laughing, catching up...being up until all hours of the night.  So fun! (Not sure how we managed to not take any pictures, but Memere has some on her iPad.)

When we left, we headed towards Broadway on the Beach to walk around.  Everything was closing, but it was quiet and we made a loop before heading back to our hotel.

Pretty soon, it was time for dinner.  Kevin wanted to go to Medieval Times for some reason.  He was just itching to go like a little kid.  So, he made a phone call to get us tickets and we were off.

Seriously...the most fun I could imagine!  We were crowned when we arrived and told we'd be cheering for the yellow and red knight.  We were ushered into the arena to our area and served a delicious meal (that we ate with our hands).

Kevin bought a flag (of course) and waved it wildly to cheer on our knight.  And the action was fun and entertaining!

If you've never done it, you must.  Kids or no kids, it was a fun date night for us!

The next morning we packed up and drove down to the beach to walk on the boardwalk and get some exercise.  I think we walked about 4 miles.

It was time to leave town, but we stopped at Johnny Rockets in Barefoot Landing and then Kevin got a wild hair to shop, so we hit up the outlets...which makes me really happy!

It was just a great weekend.  One where I'll remember the precious time with Memere and I'll never forget the look of excitement on Kevin's face at Medieval Times.

Travel- South Africa

If you haven't been to South Africa and it's on any sort of bucket list for you, go!  Go now!  It may be my new favorite country (Italy held the top spot for a long time).  It is so beautiful and different from anything I've ever seen.  Did you know that the Cape is it's own Floral Kingdom.  There are only 6 floral kingdoms in the entire world and the Cape's is the smallest.  Things grow here that aren't found anywhere else on earth.  Thank goodness my best friend Ashley was living down there last December to give us a great excuse to visit!

Travel there is not easy.  We came from Paris and spent almost a full day flying with a stop over in Doha, Qatar before we arrived.  Going back was the same deal except we flew from Cape Town to Doha to Vienna to Amsterdam to Atlanta and home.  It was LONG and tiring and parts were literally the Amazing Race and I didn't want to see an airplane for a long time after we got to Raleigh.  But, South Africa was worth it!  Plan to go for at least 6 days.  If you can make the trip longer, do it!  I recommend 10.  You'll see I would have added another day or two to each of my highlights if I could have.

Cape Town is a good starting and ending point for a trip to South Africa.  I'm sure Johannesburg is too, but we didn't visit Jo-burg, so I'll give you the Western Cape scoop.

Getting Around: Cape Town is a little different than European Countries in that I didn't notice much (if any) public transportation.  We got a taxi from the airport to Ashley's flat near Cape Town City Center and luckily she had a car we were able to borrow to get around.  Uber seems to be safe in Cape Town and our airport taxi was safe, but you do have to be careful.  We did notice people everywhere we went who not only hired a car, but also hired a guide to go with them and show them the sites.  Many of these "guides" ate meals with the families.  We opted to do it on our own.  Having a rental car is definitely a plus because you want to be able to get around to different areas of the Western Cape.  Just know that most cars are manual and you're driving on the opposite side of the road.  This is truly an experience!

Where to Stay: We were fortunate enough to save some money by staying in Ashley's flat on the nights we were in Cape Town, but there are beautiful hotels at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront that look fantastic.  I also found some AirBnBs near the V&A waterfront that looked nice.  Ashley wasn't too trusting of those, but they looked fine.  When we stayed at the Game Lodge in Albertinia, we had accommodations there and we had a cute Bed and Breakfast in wine country for our few nights there.

Ashley's flat in Cape Town

Our Bush Chalet at the Garden Route Game Lodge

Centre-Ville Guest House in Franschhoek

What to Do:  South Africa has so much to see and most of it is outside in nature.  So, pack your hiking gear and get out there. https://www.sanparks.org/parks/table_mountain/

#1 Cape Point (and Cape of Good Hope):
Cape Point is part of Table Mountain National Park and is a full day's trip.  I recommend going early in the morning so you beat the crowds.  The drive from Cape Town is about 2 hours.  We decided to hike from Cape Point down to the Cape of Good Hope.  It's about an hour and a half long hike on the coast.  You can drive to both places, but then you miss the beautiful views along the hike.

 Cape Point is a park with wild animals, so you may see baboons, ostriches, daisies, eland, antelope, mountain zebra or other animals.  They may come up to you..it's crazy!

There is a private beach off the trail connecting Cape Point with the Cape of Good Hope, so you can pack a picnic and take the stairs down to the beach.  We didn't do this because we decided to eat at Two Oceans Restaurant, which was delicious!

Once you've finished your hike, you can walk or take the flying dutchman funicular up to the lighthouse.  This was really crowded in the afternoon, but still a fun time.

We also hiked down to the new lighthouse closer to the coast and then took the funicular back down to the parking lot.

There are trails that lead to shipwrecks and cultural and historical spots throughout the national park.  It's so beautiful!

#2 Table Mountain (and Lion's Head-Signal Hill):
Table Mountain is the huge mountain in the middle of Cape Town.  It looks like a table, hence the name.  You can hike up to the top, or, I recommend taking the gondola up and you can always hike down if you don't get enough action at the top.  Occasionally when the clouds come low, they slink down the side of the mountain (this is referred to as the table cloth).  When this happens, it can be dangerous because you can't see in front of you.  Sometimes if conditions are really bad, they close the gondola and you have to hike down, so be prepared.

We spent about an hour hiking on top of Table Mountain, but you could be up there all day.  There are trails that lead over to the back side of Table Mountain to the area called the Twelve Apostles.  It's gorgeous from the top.  We visited Table Mountain on the day we flew into Cape Town, so we hiked and got ice cream at the top before coming down.

Lion's head can be accessed by the same roads that lead to Table Mountain and hikes here offer amazing views of Cape Town and of Table Mountain.  Signal Hill is at the top of Lion's Head and a cannon goes off mid-day every day as the "signal", so don't be alarmed if you hear that.  This is a perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Lion's Head...because it looks like a lion laying down.  Signal hill is at it's tail.

#3 Safari:
When in Africa, you must safari!  The Garden Route Game Lodge was the spot recommended to us.  It was a 4 hour drive from Cape Town, which is quite far, but it was the best game reserve in the shortest driving distance.  Kruger National Park is the big one, but you have to fly to Jo-berg and then drive a ways to get there.  At the Garden Route Game Lodge, you can stay in the lodge or in a chalet overlooking the game reserve.  We opted for a chalet.  It was beautiful!  We were only there one night, but that included a game drive on the night we arrived, dinner, a game drive first thing the next morning, breakfast and access to the reptile house before we left.  We took a "safari" in the states for our honeymoon, but I've never been so close to such amazing wild animals.  This is the one moment I wish I owned an awesome camera.  We did pretty good with our iPhone, but it could have been better!  If you can stay more than one night, do it!  They have spa services and a pool.  I could have made this my home for a few days. Many of our animal videos have been uploaded to Kevin's YouTube page.  Here's the lion, but feel free to browse them all and sorry in advance for the wind!

Animals from our first game drive

Our second game drive the next morning

Visiting the Reptile House

#4 Wine Country:
The Western Cape has a great wine country: Paarl, Stellenbosch and the town where we stayed, Franschhoek.  Wineries are abundant and the small towns with dutch influence are so quaint.  I really wanted to ride the wine train during our visit to Franschhoek, but we were there right at New Years and it wasn't running.  I would recommend it if you visit.  You can hop on and visit 5-7 wineries without having to drive.  Franschhoek is a safe enough town to walk on foot.  Do keep your eyes open, but we found it safe.  We stayed at the Centre Ville Guest House here.  We had friends stay at Les Chambres Guest House and we had drinks one night at Klein Oliphant Hoek Houtique Hotel.  All of these Guest Houses (Bed and Breakfasts) offer a room and a large breakfast served to you in the morning.  Two nights was wonderful, but again, I could have stayed longer for sure.
Wine highlights for us were Babylonstoren and the Spice Route (which is a series of smaller shops with wine, food, beer, ice cream, etc).  It's a beautiful area and you can't go wrong picking a winery here.

Beer tasting at the Spice Route

Wine pairing at the Spice Route

Relaxing in the shade and ice cream

Walking around Babylonstoren after our tasting

#5 Beaches (and scenic drives):
The Western Cape has some of the best beaches and most scenic drives in the world.  Many car commercials are filmed along the coastline at Chapmans Peak.  This, however, wasn't my favorite drive.

I really enjoyed driving around Boulders Beach and Gordons Bay.  Hermanus was also beautiful.

If you're here, drive the coast!  You can find penguins in Betty's Bay and Boulders Beach.  At Boulders, you can put your towel down right next to them on the sand.

Depending on the time of year, whale watching is big in Hermanus.  Hout Bay was beautiful.  And we love lighthouses, so the Slangkop Lighthouse near Kommetjie and the drives there were gorgeous.

Other Highlights:
*Southernmost Tip of Africa- Since we were there, we couldn't drive past the Southernmost Tip of Africa and just skip over it, so we took a detour on the way to the Garden Route Game Lodge to visit the spot where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean, L'Agulhas.  The water is a gorgeous bluish green.  We climbed the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse and then raced to the game lodge, barely making it in time for our evening game drive.  This is one of the spots I would have loved to stay and explore more.  It's just a beautiful town.

*Bo-Kaap- This neighborhood in Cape Town is famous for it's brightly colored houses  It's formally known as the Malay Quarter and is home to the oldest Mosque in Cape Town.  I don't think this area is very safe, but the pictures of the houses are beautiful.  If I'm ever back, I'm driving by, if only for a picture!

photo from google images

*Kristenbosch Botanical Gardens- Acclaimed as one of the greatest botanical gardens in all of the world.  We did not visit, but I'm sure the gardens display those unique plants that are only found in the Cape Floral Kingdom.  If you have a few hours, check it out!

*Sunset Champagne Cruise- My one regret in South Africa is not taking a sunset cruise from the V&A waterfront.  Some of the cruises I found are aboard a pirate ship.  What could be better?  Most are 90 minutes and give a beautiful view of Table Mountain with the sun setting on the water.  Add champagne...that's my kinda fun!

*Tour Robben Island- Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.  There are tours that leave from the V&A waterfront for the island at least 4 times a day.

What to Eat:
*When in South Africa, have meat!  My favorite dinner was at The Hussar Grill.  There are many locations, but we visited the one in Camps Bay.  A large steak dinner is equivalent to about $10 USD.  The meat is good and it's cheap.  You can also try ostrich or other game.  I didn't, but where else can you enjoy that meat?

*We ordered pizza delivery from Butlers Pizza the first night.  It was delicious and very reasonably priced.
*Our meal at Two Oceans Restaurant at Cape Point was one of the nicer ones and so cheap!

*All of our meals at the game lodge were included in our reservation.

*We had a quick bite at On The Edge in Betty's Bay for lunch.

*The V&A waterfront has great restaurants and there's a mall there too which has some fast food options.

 

*Biltong- Biltong is dried, cured meat that originated in South Africa.  You can buy it in bulk or enjoy it with wine parings.  It's so much better than beef jerky and we enjoyed our fair share of it, especially in wine country.

*We discovered Wimpy at the airport.  It was great for a breakfast sandwich or lunch.  I'd say it's a mix between one of our fast food burger restaurants and a 60s diner.  Milkshakes looked delicious.

Other tips:
*South Africa is not the safest.  Ashley was mugged at an ATM when she first arrived.  There are the standard pick-pockets, but then there are more serious crimes too.  I would not visit an ATM unless it's in a bank or in a secure store.  We visited a few that were in gas station/supermarkets (Woolworths).  They were safe. When the residents live in buildings with security gates, guards, codes to get to different floors and bars on the windows, you know you're not in Kansas anymore.  Make sure your hotel has security!
*When you leave your vehicle, don't leave anything out.  Nothing visible, even trash.  Put everything in your trunk.  In the US, we ride around with CDs visible, drinks in the cup holders, umbrellas on the back seat, extra jackets stashed around the car.  Those things in SA are an invitation for someone to break into your vehicle.
*There are many people below the poverty line that make up jobs to earn money.  One of those occupations are "car watchers".  Men will stand in parking lots and watch your car for you while you're in a store/seeing an attraction.  It's customary to tip them for their "help".  They may not be doing anything, or they may prevent your car from being broken into.
*Everything is at a much slower pace.  Going to a meal is a 2-3 hour affair.  There is no rushing in SA.  And you have to ask for the bill when you're ready.  You will never be presented a bill.  South Africans would rather you sit at the table (hoping you might just want another drink or a dessert) than usher you out to wait on someone else.  Their reasoning is that you are a paying customer, so they'd rather get more from you than potentially not have anyone to serve after you.
*Even with googlemaps, factor in an extra 30 minutes to an hour to get anywhere.  Once you leave Cape Town and head East, the landscape changes, it becomes more desert terrain and traffic isn't always fast.  Going through small towns can slow you down a lot!  We found that out the hard way after making our pit-stop in L'Agulhas and almost not making it to our game lodge in time to make our evening safari.
*Your dollar will go a LONG way!  The exchange rate for dollar to Rand is about 1:14 right now.  It was about 1:17 when we were there last December.  Everything is very reasonably priced and in turn VERY cheap for Americans.  That should be motivation to visit!
*Always prepare for whatever you've planned to do to be cancelled.  South Africans don't update websites.  They don't answer phones.  And when they want to close, they'll close without warning.  We didn't have too much experience with this, but it's not unusual to arrive somewhere expecting it to be open, only to find it closed and no one to call.

Get yourself down to South Africa and check out the Mother City for yourself.  You'll thank me!