Two Weddings, Ten States, and an Amusement Park

It was a full spring in the states waiting on our temporary residence visas for South Africa and visiting friends and family. Two weddings, ten states, an amusement park, a concert, and managing to avoid covid were some of the highlights over the two and a half months we were there. That’s a lot of moving around for us. It was completely exhausting and it is not a trip that will be repeated!

First, good news! We applied at the South African Consulate in LA for a four-year temporary residence visa-and got it! The process was surprisingly straightforward but involved a lot of steps and paperwork. It helped that we hired a South African immigration attorney to help us along. We could have done the process on our own, but her experience made the process so much better and certainly saved us some headaches. She had the inside scoop on tips to get a granted a four-year visa vs a two-year visa. Also, she helped us skip the in person interview by going through the embassy in LA instead of DC.

What does it take to get a temporary residence visa? Mostly paperwork to prove we are healthy—a medical form filled out by our doctor saying we don’t have any STDs or leprosy (for real)—and a chest xray to confirm we don’t have tuberculosis. Some bank statements to prove we have the funds/income to support ourselves over the next four years we will be in the country. (The financial requirement is fairly easy to meet for an American with some savings.)

Once we had everything collected, it was a matter of sending it all to the South African Embassy in LA for processing. Less than three weeks later, our passports were returned with our visas.

The visa will allow us to come and go into South Africa over the next four years and also allows us to stay longer than a ninety-day tourist visa. Generally speaking, we'll probably be leaving every three months to continue our travels exploring new places, but this way, we don’t have to leave every three months.

After spending much of our time in Nashville gathering all the documents we needed, it was time to start our whirlwind adventure to hang out with family and friends.

First up was a girls trip to Savannah for me. During the pandemic, I joined a small group of childless GenX women on weekly zoom calls. There are twelve of us from all over the world—making the navigation of time zones difficult at times! We decided to do an in-person meetup for a few days. All but two of our group were able to attend. It was great to meet IRL and indulge in some delicious southern comfort food. The bike tour we took was a ton of fun, but couldn’t make a dent in the calorie intake on the trip!

Next up was a weekend with one of my best friends and her husband. Lisa and Dennis met up with us in Nashville for a fried chicken taste-off, some exploring of the local history, and an opportunity to watch drunk bachelorettes on a Sunday afternoon on Music Row.

From Nashville, we kicked up the adventure and started six weeks of chaos. Over that time, the longest we would be in one place would be fourteen days in Denver. It started with a trip to Baltimore for the wedding of Jim's college roommate, Mark. We spent the day exploring around Baltimore with Jim's friend Brian before getting all gussied up for the wedding.

Baltimore! How have we never visited Baltimore?!

From Baltimore, we drove through DC with a stop in Georgetown to see my cousin and his family and a quick stop to see an old colleague and his family on our way to my mom's in Richmond.

Throwback to my first job where I met this guy! It’s crazy to think I’ve known Jon for more than 15 years now!

Photo credit: My cousin Jimmy.
Jimmy and Lender were instrumental in putting together a surprise wedding reception for my mom and Kel. It was Jimmy's idea to throw them a surprise reception to celebrate their recent marriage (yes, they have been together for like 30 years and are just now FINALLY getting around to getting married!). My mom's oldest brother and sister drove down to surprise them for the reception.

From Richmond, we flew to my dad's in Seagrove Beach, FL. It was a quick trip, but we managed to hang at the beach and do some hikes with my dad between his pickleball games. I also realized while we were there, this photo was taken exactly 21 years earlier… so we had to recreate it, of course! Clearly we look exactly the same.

Sunset at my favorite beach in the world.

From Seagrove, we drove the seven hours to Bradenton, FL, to visit our storage unit, our doctors, and Jim's family. I also had a chance to see a few friends and get my hair color re-energized. I have the BEST stylist in the world.

Fresh cut and color- Mary is truly the best colorist in the world.

We always love seeing our family and friends when we are in town. It never feels like there is enough time though!

From Florida, we flew out to Denver for two weeks of adventuring with friends. Another place that I feel like we never have enough time to play! I managed a few hikes with my best hiking buddy, Ravioli Sunday with my bestie and her family, a few dinners with Lisa and Dennis (no time for baking together 😭), two sushi dates, and loads of other fun outings. Colorado will always be home. It just will. I moved away over 5 years ago and still feel like it was just yesterday!

Oh, and don't worry. The weather gods gave Jim a reminder as to why we don't live in Colorado anymore. May 20 we had snowstorm. Yep. We thought by coming after mother's day we would be safe from snow in Denver. Hahahaha. 🙄🤬

So excited to be at our happy place to see friends!

From Denver, we headed to Columbus, OH for our second spring wedding. Kim is one of Jim's childhood friends and Kim and Kurt met at the Ragnar we did in Niagara Falls in May of 2017. We absolutely couldn't miss the chance to see these two tie the knot. Jim also got to catch up with a few folks he knew in high school. Neither of us have stayed in close contact with many people we grew up with. We each have a handful of friends from childhood we keep some effort to stay connected to, but not many.

From Columbus, we drove to western PA with a stop for lunch with my Aunt Kath and Uncle Jim in Hudson, OH. Western PA had us visiting with Jim's dad and his wife, my mom's brothers and two of her sisters, some of my cousins and my cousins’ kids.

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At this point, Jim and I went different directions. Our niece Katy flew up to spend the weekend with Jim and his dad, while I flew up to Worcester, MA for my nephew's high school graduation.

It was a quick visit with my brother and the family and before I knew it, I was flying to Cleveland, OH where Jim and Katy picked me up before heading to THE BEST ROLLERCOASTER PARK IN THE WORLD, Cedar Point, for a few days! My cousin joined us for a day at the park with his two kids too. More fun family time!

From Cedar Point point we headed to California. Unfortunately, Jim's brother had covid, so we had to get a rental car and a last minute Airbnb. Fortunately, his case was fairly mild and we were still able to hang out poolside with them and our niece. 🥰 We also got to go to LA with our niece to see our favorite band, Toad the Wet Sprocket, at the Greek Theater.

Oh, and hang out with their super sweet and adorable dogs 😍 Ruby and Teddy.

I'll save the headache of trying to get out of the US and to South Africa for another day. Let's just say, I think we picked a good time to not travel for a bit!