Namibia!

Alex and I spent the whole trip singing "Namibiaaaa!" to the tune of the Activia commercial....that's how cool we are.

I'm going to be honest...when Alex and I were tasked with finding a short getaway for while his parents visited, I had no idea where to start.  Enter: Alex's friend Jonathon and Lonely Planet Southern Africa.  JonJon raved about his ten day trip to Namibia, and after looking through the Lonely Planet book, it sounded amazing.

Namibia is located in southern Africa on the western coast, and is about a two hour direct flight from Johannesburg.  It is one of the least densely populated countries in the world (2.5 people per square kilometer!  the US has 33.7 people per square km)--and we saw such few cars and people on our 6 hour drive from the airport to the lodge, that the statistic seemed to overdo it.  Apparently the landscape in Namibia is quite diverse, with Etosha National Park on the northern border with Angola being mostly tropical, rain forest-like areas and then the area towards the west coast where we stayed, being largely desert and sand dunes.

Namibia did not become independent from South Africa until 1988 (yes, in Alex and my lifetime...crazy) after previously being occupied by Britain and Germany.  One of the most amazing things about so many countries in Africa is how young they still are, and how much growing and changing they have done in such a short time.  It's super cool to experience.

So anyway, here are a few photos from our amazing journey to Namibia and our stay at &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge....

 beautiful, stunning red sand dunes of Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park

sand dune

obligatory family photo

the colors on the dunes changed every minute as the sun moved...it was spectacular

before our big dune climb!  Alex was quite handy to have around; he's like a little sherpa and will carry anything he's told.

 climbing!!!

 still climbing!

 and the climb continues!  Alex was crazy and had RUN, in the sand, ahead to take photos

 go Ralph!

almost there!

 Ralph beginning his descent down the dune

 running down the dune!

 Alicia opted for the butt scoot approach

 so cute!

 Ralph and Alicia reunited at the bottom of the dune after a lovely run and bum scoot

 jumpy pic on top of the dune!

 Alex was a good sport and did a jumpy pic, too :)

 my turn for a little dune run

 Alex kicking up some sand on his run down the dune

TA-DA!  you can't see my feet because they are buried in sand

after this, our feet were so heavy because our shoes were full of sand we could hardly walk. 

Deadvlei

used to be an oasis, then the river changed it's course

 breakfast in the bush

 cooked by our amazing guide, Nestor

delicious!

 i love big SUVs

Alex desperately wants a Land Rover Defender...this is as close as we will ever get to having one

sundowners after ATV riding

the wind made amazing striations in the sand

 by the end of the trip....

 EVERYONE

 embraced

 the jumping

PICTURE!

 mom and dad and son

Thanks, Ralph and Alicia, for taking Alex and me on the trip of a lifetime.  It was perfect!

Hotel Room Tour #2

Alex's sweet parents came to visit us almost a month ago, and after spending a few days at our casa in JoBurg, we all got on the plane and headed to Namibia to spend four days at the Sossusvlei Desert Lodge.

I'll give you more details about the AMAZING trip in another blog post, but first, check out our digs.  &Beyond Namibia was flawless.  Impeccable.  Picture perfect.  See for yourself.

Our little home from the outside.  Each couple/family had their own little house....check out the interior.

Our snuggly nest.  It was SO COMFORTABLE.  And we didn't have a forty pound weimaraner trying to cuddle with us.  Above the bed was a skylight for star gazing.  The lodge we stayed is one of the top in the world for stargazing.  All the artificial lights at night are red (least impact on the darkness to view the stars) and there is an observatory that usually has an astronomer there to educate you about the night sky.  (Sadly, we missed the resident astronomer by a week.)

The living area and patio.  Complete with telescope and art supplies to paint or pastel your heart out!

The view from the patio.  We saw a herd of zebras one morning, as well as numerous oryx and springbok.

 The bathroom.  be still my heart...I was living in the lap of luxury.

 annnnnd the outdoor shower.  It was a bit chilly, but I indulged in cleaning myself in mother nature anyway.  A few little desert mice joined me.  (so cute!)

and perhaps Alex's favorite part....this is the view from the toilet.  That's right, a throne with a view.

This was truly a once in a lifetime trip.  Stay tuned for details from the game drives and ATV rides.  

xoxo

Beat Texas

There are a lot of of things that I miss about the USA living in South Africa.  And right after my friends and family, the thing I miss most is OU football.  This week is one of the most important, most legendary, most fun, most historic games not only in OU football history, but in collegiate football history in general.  This Saturday at the State Fair of Texas, The University of Oklahoma and the university of texas will meet again (they've only been doing this since 1900...)

The OU/TX game has much significance for my family.  According to Birkett family lore OU/TX was finally when Tom B. wore Mary down enough to convince her to go on a date with him.  Consequently, Tom and Mary made many trips to Dallas during my childhood to watch football, and would leave Laura and me at home with some rando so they could indulge in funnel cakes and football while reminiscing on the days of old. Eventually  Laura and I got to go with them (Mom always told me that people made out under the bleachers and the toilets overflowed everywhere 'it's no place for children')  I can safely say after my first trip to Fair Park, I was sold on the thrill of this weekend.

A stadium split at the 50 yard line.  A neutral site every year.  An entire weeekend dedicated to football and your favorite team.  A Friday of cancelled classes.  It's football time.

I am so sad to say  I won't be there this year.  In fact, I haven't been since 2009.  You can be for sure that I will be at Fair Park in the Cotton Bowl in 2013--after all, my husband has yet to experience the majesty of OU/TX weekend.

Since I'm not going to be there, here are some of my favorite pics from years gone by.  (sadly, only photos of my college years and beyond...the childhood OU/TX pictures are in shoeboxes in Bartlesville, I'm sure)

 sophomore year--2006

The first trip to OU/TX without being chaperoned by the 'rents

Imagine a whole bunch of your best friends, all staying in the same hotel, in a town four hours away from where you usually party...all followed by an amaaazzinnng football game.

oh, and these are my wonderful friends Annie, Christie, Randis and Kayla, Amber, and me

 junior year

Annie, me, Randis, D, Christie, Emily, and Sarah

another hotel party

 junior year, in the Cotton Bowl

Rachel, Emily, me

 senior year--2008

no more hotels for us--we finally smartened up and started staying at D's house, where her parents fed us well, and drove us to the bars.  Wonderful people!

D, me and Rach with all of our DU boys after a delicious BBQ meal

and I have no idea why Mike put that bunny on my shoulders

 Lacey, the best frisbee catching dog in the world

also, I wish I still had those flip flops

in the Cotton Bowl

amazing seats for our senior year

RAA, with our friend Alicia

post grad--2009

RAA is reunited on the greatest weekend of the year

also, I miss those sunglasses

I'll miss you State Fair of Texas.  and happy 60th birthday to Big Tex.  I promise, I'll be there to celebrate your 61st.