A Day on the Combahee River

I spent a few days with my brother and sister-in-law in Beaufort recently. We saw The Secret Life of Bees which was quite good and on Monday, Jimmy and I went out in his new jon boat to try to catch some fish. While we didn't catch any fish, it was a beautiful day on the river.We saw egrets, lots of crows, swallows, great blue herons and a wood stork. Since the weather was still warm, numerous butterflies flitted around the purple asters and the goldenrod.Some of the cypress trees had russet colored leaves and others, like the one in the photo, were weighted down with Spanish moss.

There were several cottages built on the little bits of solid land in the marshes. The one in the photo was particularly appealing with cedar shake shingles and a boat dock under the house.

Fall at the beach

We had our first cool night last night but today was a beautiful fall day. I spent much of it inside doing my part with the phone bank at Democratic headquarters. I really don't like to make phone calls. I suppose I fear rejection but today I got to call committed Obama supporters to remind them that they could vote early.That was fun because there is so much excitement about the election, especially on the part of the African-American voters I spoke with. One 85 year old lady said " Bless Jesus, I've waited all of my life for this."

Now I have the Malarone for my trip, the newest anti-malarial medication.My friend Susan and I will share it since I have twice as much as I need.I have about $3700 in Rand, the South African currency. The US dollar is about the same against the Rand as it was 8 years ago so that is good news. Gas stations take cash only and we will be in some areas that have few ATM's.

Tomorrow I'm doing my monthly detox fast, drinking only cranberry juice and water.It makes me feel good, clears my head and I usually drop a couple of pounds.I'm hoping to be able to get in my usual exercise on the trip.

This is just practice for the trip where I'm sure I can write about more interesting things.

Nita

Packing for big trip

I retired to travel and the first big trip is coming up the day after the election.Eight of us are going to South Africa for three weeks, seven Democrats and one Republican.Seven of us hope that we will be celebrating a big victory at the polls.

Packing is always fun! I've ordered Tilley socks that dry overnight, tiny ziplock bags for my vitamins and supplements.Thankfully, I don't have to take any prescription medications.

This is my first attempt at blogging and I've come to it kicking and screaming but I wanted a way to keep in touch with my family while in South Africa.I want to find out how to upload photos before I go.