owls and cheetahs and porcupines, oh my!
Dec. 6th, 2012 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aryanhwyQuick update, since I'm really tired and want to head to bed soon (neither of us slept that well last night since we're still getting over our colds, and one would cough a bit and wake the other up all night long).
Guntram and Garsiyya picked me up around 9:30 this morning and we headed out to the cheetah sanctuary -- only to find that in fact, the cheetahs had moved, it was only the birds of prey there. So we spent an hour or so checking them out, including getting the chance to hold some barn owls:
Then we stopped briefly at a brandy distillery so Guntram could pick up a bottle, and then continued into wine country. We went to two -- Morganhof:
where the tasting came with a choice of five, and then Warwick, where we had lunch and a tasting with seven. All on an amazingly beautiful and gorgeous sunny 26-degree day. I then napped in the car as we headed off to the cheetah sanctuary. I got to pet a cheetah!
I had no idea that cheetahs purred. I thought only the small cats purred, not the big cats. But this one did, and he seemed thoroughly happy and contented the entire time.
In the evening, I had dinner over at Garsiyya and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wolverine_nun's with their two lovely daughters, A and K. A and K are big fans of Gwen (they'd met her at the welcome braai Tuesday night), and for awhile, until she asked me to remind her my name, A simply referred to me as "Gwen's mom". Sweet girls, and clearly members of the Queen's Fanclub (along with Emma, whose room Gwen and I have taken over, and who has been just thrilled about entertaining "the Queen of the SCA". I have to admit, a little bit of girlish adoration goes a long way towards completely erasing any of the hassle and worry and stress that comes with being Queen. These are the parts that I'll remember after I step down, not the less pleasant stuff).
Guntram and Garsiyya picked me up around 9:30 this morning and we headed out to the cheetah sanctuary -- only to find that in fact, the cheetahs had moved, it was only the birds of prey there. So we spent an hour or so checking them out, including getting the chance to hold some barn owls:
Then we stopped briefly at a brandy distillery so Guntram could pick up a bottle, and then continued into wine country. We went to two -- Morganhof:
where the tasting came with a choice of five, and then Warwick, where we had lunch and a tasting with seven. All on an amazingly beautiful and gorgeous sunny 26-degree day. I then napped in the car as we headed off to the cheetah sanctuary. I got to pet a cheetah!
I had no idea that cheetahs purred. I thought only the small cats purred, not the big cats. But this one did, and he seemed thoroughly happy and contented the entire time.
In the evening, I had dinner over at Garsiyya and
wolverine_nun's with their two lovely daughters, A and K. A and K are big fans of Gwen (they'd met her at the welcome braai Tuesday night), and for awhile, until she asked me to remind her my name, A simply referred to me as "Gwen's mom". Sweet girls, and clearly members of the Queen's Fanclub (along with Emma, whose room Gwen and I have taken over, and who has been just thrilled about entertaining "the Queen of the SCA". I have to admit, a little bit of girlish adoration goes a long way towards completely erasing any of the hassle and worry and stress that comes with being Queen. These are the parts that I'll remember after I step down, not the less pleasant stuff).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-12-06 07:49 pm (UTC)At the Rainforest Zoo outside of Hilo, HI, I got to pet a tiger. He purred too.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-06 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-07 06:15 am (UTC)I'm in Cape Town for the week. :)
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Date: 2012-12-07 03:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-07 06:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-07 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-08 01:10 pm (UTC)Of course, that space probably exists in *our* heads as well. :-)
Warm regards to Garsiyya, Marie-Jean, Guntram and Jehanne.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-09 08:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-09 09:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-10 05:10 am (UTC)