Hearts and Hooters - 11/21/12

Gabriele enjoys the spread

BEN - We woke up today and had a mass exodus of check outs, as we got rid of (and collected) both the four Cape Townians and the German couples' money.  The couple was so happy with their stay and our service, that they gave Gabby and me a R80 tip (about 10 bucks!).  Nice!  We got them out the door, sent the American guys (Michael and Greg) on a hike and actually had a few quiet minutes to ourselves.  The day was extremely grey, foggy, and bit chilly; not ideal for any outdoor activities.  We lit a fire and enjoyed its warmth until the American guys got back.  We hung out and chatted with them a bit.  They were super interested in both Expedition 2012 and Keewaydin.  I think one, or both may actually apply to work their next summer.  What a crazy story that would be if it worked out; 'Well we met Ben at the foothills of Lesotho and he told us about this summer camp in Vermont, and now we work there.'  Eventually, Michael and Greg busted out some playing cards, and knew how to play hearts!  YES!  We played a full game to 100, but the boys just weren't up to caliber, passing shooting hands way too often.  I ended up winning on a shoot.  It was nice to have some American company, and a great reminder of home with a game of cards.

The endless game of fetch with Karoo

After our extremely relaxing afternoon, the evening got crazy.  Steve and Lulu were out of town and dinner was on us.  The guests started rolling in:

• Gabriele and Carol - Two 60 something space cadet Frenchmen.  Very frustrating to please
• Xandra - German couple who were very weird.  He only eats eggs and bread and she a vegetarian.  They told us they have were married in Vegas and love to travel there.  They always go back just to visit Pizza Hut, Hooters, and Walmart.  They will be travelling to Lesotho with Greg and Michael tomorrow.
• 2 South Africa Motorcyclists - Older Afrikaans men who liked to drink
• 2 Argentinian magicians who would be doing a magic show for payment for their room (a typical non money-making deal made by Steve)
• A Luxembourgian Couple - Befriended the old Frenchmen instantly, and didn't speak English again for the rest of the night.

Gabby (with my increasing prowess as sous chef) again prevailed against the herds with a delicious curry chicken.  We all ate happily and talked about this and that.  After dinner, the magician decided to do a show for everyone.  We all sat down and were amazed by a variety of card, ball, and rope tricks; all performed in broken English.  He was quite good, and a pretty cool guy to talk to.  He and his wife have been traveling for almost two years, performing magic to all kinds of audiences.  Interesting way to travel.  Gabby and I cleaned up dinner, served a last round of drinks to anyone who was interested, and retreated from the madness to bed.