I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Don't forget: we will not have a breakfast meeting on Dec. 4th since the Boy Scouts will be hosting their Santa's Little Workshop Craft Show in the building that day. Make sure you come out if you are still looking for unique, local gifts!
Bernie Bartel and Jan Palmer provided Casey's breakfast pizza, breakfast burritos, and a fresh fruit salad for this meeting after Thanksgiving and they provided plenty of space for everyone who attended.
Our speaker this morning was Optimist member, Leigh Kottwitz, who had the opportunity to travel to Africa last month for three weeks with friends who had this trip on their bucket list and had originally planned to go in 2018. Stormy Kottwitz, Leigh's daughter, joined them for the trip. They started out by flying into Doha, the capital of Qatar. From there, they traveled to Franschhoek, South Africa, an area that was originally settled by the French Huguenots. The area is known for their wineries and impressive restaurants. They traveled from there to Cape Town, South Africa, where they toured Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent much of his imprisonment. Their tour guide was a former prisoner from there himself. They also visited the Cape of Good Hope, which is the southernmost point of the continent of Africa.
Next, they traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, where they spent two days at the Giraffe Manor, an all-inclusive hotel in an animal park with lots of giraffes. Leigh even shared a picture of Stormy being kissed by one of the giraffes! After that, they traveled to Tanzania and stayed at Chem Chem Lodge for a safari. Chem Chem rests on a wildlife management park in Northern Tanzania, which protects a vital migratory corridor. Chem Chem also provides employment for many local people. She had close-up pictures of elephants and other African wildlife. The biggest downside was seeing young people who were missing school so they could walk to get water for their family. They also visited the Serengeti National Park, which is a World Heritage Site teeming with wildlife. They finished their trip at Zanzibar, Tanzania, an island off the coast of East Africa, where they enjoyed the beaches.
Leigh said that the food was very Americanized and they never felt that they were in any danger while they were traveling. She also said that transitions between countries were difficult and required a Covid test at each border and masks were required when they were in public.
When Leigh was finished answering questions and sharing the many pictures she had brought from the trip, she drew for the Attendance drawing. Dale Wilson, Cory Fischer, and Bryan Chapman had their chance at riches, but since they hadn't made it this week, the pot will continue to grow. Even though this was the last Saturday of the month, because of missed meetings, we will combine November and December cards for the Poker Pot on December 18th.
Letitia DenHartog