Category: Travel

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ClustrMaps salute friends and visitors to your site!

Where has your site been?

People visit your web site from all parts of the world and it is interesting to see just where  these folks are coming!  Thanks to “ClustrMaps”,  your visitors are logged on a nice little map showing you where they hail. The map above represents visitors to Pinotageclub.blogspot.com.

This is not a secret for those of us familiar with ‘hit logs’… but to see a graphic representation is always fascinating! The size of each dot represents the number of hits emanating from that particular part of the world!

Karen, Laura and I… along with our family site have put up these maps and it is just getting started. It is interesting to see that  Laura’s Psychology Blog  is so appreciated far and wide…. and I expect that  Karen’s Public Relations Blog  will be too.

Now, I know that ClustrMaps isn’t doing all of this for the good of all mankind… because they have a little directed Google Advertising on the enlarged map… but I think this is a small price to pay… plus I like their suggested links.

So, put a ClustrMap on your site… and see where your traffic is coming from!

Roger Freberg

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Pinotage & “little John”

I challenge you... Claret at twent paces... if you have the 'lafite' for it!... or should we just  

In the Movie with Errol Flynn “Robin Hood”… Robin is knocked off a log by ‘little John’ with the aid of a staff… after some consolation, Robin says,” I love a man who can best me!” Words to live by.

In an earlier post, I wrote on the virtues of “Bobotie” a South African dish of Cape-Malay origin… delicious! I presented it with a Kanonkop wine… just not the recommended one and I got caught! ouch!

To be fair, I had never thought of Pinotage… it had never been in my list of highly desired varieties… but sometimes, we all need ‘grapeness’ thrust apon us… and this peeked my curious mind.

It give me the opportunity to explore my “little John’s” site called  “Pinotage.Org”  … which I have found interesting and helpful … so much so, I decided to buy his book entitled  “Marlyn Merlot and the Naked Grape”  … I just ordered it off of his site… should be a fun read.

In life, we all need our ‘little John’s’,

Roger Freberg

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South African Night Sky

Southern Cross in South Africa's Night Sky!

The “Southern Cross” (CRUX) in South Africa’s night sky — if it is anything like Australia — should be fairly easy to see on a clear night. There are plenty of  internet programs  to show you where various  stars and constellations should be on any given night.

Karen posted  about the “Southern Cross” from her time in Cape town. I sometimes use these programs to see what the sky above people I know looks like… Iraq, Afghanistan, Hawaii and South Africa.

I feel closer to them somehow knowing about the heavens over them.

Roger Freberg

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Wine — where everyone has an opinion!

Wine for all occasions

Wine is a wonderful experience, whether it be for the daily glass at dinner or for a special bottle with special people. However, I have always smiled when I read about those wine buffs who lift their glass and condemn or praise this or that vintage because it was derived from an unfortunate year due to some volcanic eruption in some other part of the world that produced less sunlight and thus an inferior harvest.  blah blah hmmmmm

So too are so many opinions on wine. Sometimes, the opinions reflect nationalistic sentiments or the bias of the individual palate. In any event, good wines are everywhere now-a-days… great ones are still rare … but few disappoint at the average barbecue.

So, Here I am talking about  South African Wines  again… the latest great bargain since the invasion ofAustralian and New Zealand wines made the scene in America. Of course, for those who remember 30 years back or so… even French wines were relatively affordable ( some day I might write about my case of  Château Latour ’55  ( undeniably a great year!) or my fondness for  Château Margaux). As for South African wines, I am also showing above  Kumala and a wine that tells a ‘story’ on each bottle in chapters… aa probably affordably available somewhere near you.

Enjoy! … now if I could only buy Ostrich locally.

Roger Freberg

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Tennessee Road Trip — Part Deux!

Jenny Craig came along with out Road Trip

Okay, this isn’t exactly a  “Jenny Craig”  dessert… but it was one of our “planned indulgences” at the “Texan” in Amarillo. As A matter of fact, we also stopped at the Marketplace in Ft. Smith, Arkansas and an Outback in Tennessee all within 10 days… and I still lost weight!

SO, why did we choose this time for a ‘road trip’? I must have been a moving man in a prior life, because I enjoy helping my daughters move. Plus, I can’t help reminisce about that old U-haul slogan , “Adventure in Moving!” It was a fun adventure after all. This was Karen’s turn and she’s heading to Tennessee to work on her Ph.D. The only problem was that Karen wasn’t around to help, she is in South Africa on an  ‘SC Graduate internship!  …..Hmmmmm

Here’s a link to a few of our pictures.  I am pretty happy with our successful venture… traveling to Tennessee and back, finding Karen an apartment, moving her stuff all within 10 days! whew!

What did I do the first thing I came back? I opened a bottle of  Cameron Hughes Champagne!

Roger Freberg

PS. Yep I did already blog a bit on this very cool road trip… here’s a link!