This City Should Get Lost

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Power has been our biggest issue up here in Hartsbeesport. With a MacBook Pro, iPad (GPS), 2 cameras, 2 cellphones and a video camera we need several outlets to keep our electronics powered up, so we are ready to capture and share our experiences. Unfortunately power is one thing Moonlight Backpackers is lacking. It is the cleanest, most well put together backpackers we have ever been in except that the only power outlets are in the kitchen and they do not charge worth anything. So today we are off to Mug&Bean to juice up and enjoy an hour of Wifi. Continue reading →

I Want My Tires Back!

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It’s a bitterly cold morning at the Hodge Podge Lodge. I slept completely inside my all-weather sleeping bag with the top covering my head, but as soon as I poked my head out it was meet with air that was below freezing. I tried to get the hot water to work, despite being told by our English friends the night before that the only water to come out was colder than the air. After signifiant fiddling inside and outside with the water heater, I gave up, and soon after that, no water whatsoever was produced by the facets.

We gave a lift to two of our new English friends to the mall, and we set off to find a tire repair shop as we only had made a patchwork solution from yesterday’s accident on the road to the stadium. I was getting very worried about the we we bought as there was significant vibrations while we were on tar, and even worse on the gravel/dirt. Continue reading →

USA – England Recap

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12 June

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The match up that was drawing comparisons to 1776, 1812, and 1950. To have this matchup, one with the country of my family and the country that made the biggest impact on my development as a person. Even though it was nearly 8 years to the day that I was skipping school to sneak off to watch England – Argentina at the 2002 World Cup, I remember that time vividly. That was the first World Cup game I watched in my soccer ‘enlightenment’ phase. Before that I had little concept of the world’s game, and even though I watched the ’98 final in Paris and the Euro 2000 final before that, they were simply events to be watched, not obsessed about. My time in England turned me into the person I am, soccer-wise and more. But in the following years I had reaffirmed my attachment to US Soccer, most significantly through my work as a USSF referee. And it was this match up that had consumed the media and the two publics of these countries with the ‘special relationship’.

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Bafana! Bafana!

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11 June

Unable to find Wifi, face paint, or pick up our World Cup tickets in Hartsbeesport Alex and I quickly decided to change our plans and drive an hour north to Rustenburg.

Our FIFA information stated the Waterfall Mall had a ticket pick up station, so we headed directly there. Wondering through the mall we stopped at several stores including an Adidas to see if they had any Bafana Bafana jackets because Alex is getting nasty stares for wearing his Springbok fleece. No one had anything. The lady at the Adidas store said that they were expecting to get some either Monday or Tuesday, but it all depended on how the team did in the opening match today. It was disappointing to think they didn’t have enough faith in their team or in the spirit of the World Cup to think that even if Bafana Bafana lost people would still want SA apparel.

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