Well We've made it here to South Africa !!!
    But let me backtrack a bit ....

                              So this is our first flight from JFK to London ....
                                        
       
                                        
               Within lets say  ... 15 minutes of being on the plane .. as we were taking off..
    Ann managed to break the head rest of her seat .... And we spent the next 20 minutes hysterically
laughing and trying to get it back on ... which was not an easy feat ... but finally she figured it out
                    Needless to say the woman sitting next to us was less then pleased ... Meh.


         Our 7 Hour flight was garbage ...we didn't sleep a wink and the food was terrible
  (naturally)and Some lady dropped a bag on Anns head (LOL) but we survived ...and then decided to putz around London for a while since we had a 9 hour layover.... our need to get some fresh hair was stronger then the need to sleep lol

                 
             

         
                  This is just some randoms ... I had to DL them as smaller images so the
      quality isn't super great but for now it'll have to do .... And yes I am obsessed with my
              new fish eye lens LOL


                              
    I literally have no idea whats happening here but for those of you who know me ... and know
my second dream adventure to take pics in Chernobyl...... Its a SIGN !!!! (literally)
    On our train ride back this poor young lad had a TERRIBLE nose bleed the WHOLE 30 mixture ride....I will spare you the details but it was EVERYWHERE ..... and then there was the boy who must have had an OCD and was constantly scratching his hair in the same spot..HARD ... also for the duration of the trip .... Never a dull moment thats for sure ...
     *** Random .... no matter what is happening or what is being said if its in an English accent
                                     its pleasant and wonderful  ....
                              The English LOVE mayo .....(dead)
                              The signs say "Way out" instead of "Exit"
                              Everyone is wearing Doc Martins .....

     OK so then we headed back to the Airport (ugh) and got ready for the next leg of the trip.

   The 11 hour plane ride was ok ... We got a row to ourselves and were so excited....I got onto the floor and laid down and we both finally fell asleep when some CREEP flight attendant showed up with her little flashlight and forced me to get off the floor bc I "wouldn't be able to reach the airbag in case of emergency" I told her Id take my chances but she responded with "there is in no way that that will be acceptable" so I got up reluctantly and took a sleeping pill and that was that.

             10 1/2 hours later we got our first ariel glimpse of where we were will be staying for the
                                                                next four weeks

                 I hadn't realized that the region we would be staying in would be as mountainous
   as it was .... and these pics don't really do it justice but take my word for it ... they're high!!

                         So my internet is shut off during the day and my work day is
     from 630AM until 530PM so I will post as much as possible when Im off duty.
      I will also figure out how to upload these pics at a higher  format so they don't look
          like garbage as these ones do (sigh)
   
    Thats it for now !!!!     Tomorrow we finally meet the ELLIES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     

We'll Here We Go Again !!!

Ann and I will be volunteering at Knysna Elephant Sanctuary in Knysna, South Africa2.

We will be there for a month and will be doing who knows what .. but it will be to ensure the safety and comfort of Elephants that have to be kept in captivity due to poaching issues, and others that have  been rescued from circus's and other unsavory places.

Hopefully we'll be able to help make a change, even if its a small one.

For those of you who know me know its been my dream to be with Elephants for as long as I can remember and I am beyond Elated that its finally coming to fruition.

This trip has been a year in the making, from finding the right place to Volunteer, (There were many places to chose from but we narrowed it down to Knysna based on the safest area for us and the best treatment of the Elephants) picking the best time to go ... and doing all the necessary preparations. 

Aka getting all our shots and meds and packing and buying our flights etc etc ...

Some may say I'm a hypochondriac ... I like to call it 'being prepared' 

After days and days of packing and stressing Im finally all packed and ready to go.

Normally when I go away packing is an easy job, considering Ive done it so often, but how can you make sure your packing correctly when your told that South Africa has 'four seasons in one day' !!

So Ive got it all ...from jackets to tank tops ..from boots to flip flops ... I even packed one of my bed pillows and a throw blanket. LOL

The hardest part was finding clothes that weren't covered in Elephant prints .. considering thats mostly what I own ...I don't want them to think I'm a Wierdo. 

This evening we fly out of JFK and Arrive in London 7 hours later .. Where we have a 9.5 hour layover.  Then were off on our 11 hour flight to Johannesburg .. where we have another 3 hour layover before getting on our final 2 hour flight to George, South Africa.

From there I believe its a 30-45 min drive to the park.

So ... basically we will be traveling for 40 straight hours. 

#nightmare

I will post as often as possible .. Giving you the best descritpion of our journey that I can.

I will be thinking about all of you and Ill see you on the Flip Side !!!

Jean and Matt - Baby Bump

Congratulations Matt and Jean !!

We had a fun day doing this shoot at the Reservoir  !!

Hopefully we'll see them again when their beautiful baby is born !!