Our last day in Cape Town we had planned to ride the tram up Table Mountain but the weather was really foggy.  Instead we made our way over to Green Market Square for some shopping.  We weaved in and out of the tents and came away with some pretty cool stuff.

Zach found a Nelson Mandela shirt he fell in love with and I found a Zulu tribal necklace.  Mark bought a Zulu spear to display up at the Hendo cabin.  The weather still hadn’t cleared up by the time we were through so we decided to drive to Simon’s Town to see the Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach.  It took about an hour and we made our way through several beach towns until we arrived in the little city of Simon’s Town.  We walked down the board walk to see all the penguins.

Zach loves penguins (his second favorite wild animal, he says) and Mark and Zach would have been entertained for hours if Jeanene and I wouldn’t have dragged them away.  We watched them waddle around on the beach and surf in the waves.

Then we had lunch at a restaurant near the beach.  We drove back to Cape Town with a drive around Table Mountain to end our day.  We didn’t end up riding to the top, but had great views of the surroundings.

We left Cape Town late that evening to catch our flight to Amsterdam.  We flew from Amsterdam > Chicago and then Chicago > Salt Lake.  25 hours of flight time.  The only hard part about traveling to Africa is most definitely the long flight.  But with some stroke of good luck, Mark and Jeanene got Zach and I upgraded to first class on the way home!  It was both our first time flying first class and it was like heaven.  We ate ice cream and some fancy salmon stuff as we crossed home over the Atlantic.

South Africa is the most incredible place we have ever been.  We both have made memories that we will never forget.  The people have made a mark on my heart and I think about them every single day.  I am so grateful to Zach and my amazing in-laws for letting me share this experience with them.