After months of anticipation, the Huseby family vacation was underway. Brimming with excitement, we filed onto the Boeing 777 and obediently took our seats. I made clear that if Kevin (my sister’s boyfriend) misbehaved, I’d shake his seat from behind. We’re all quite mature.

After our nine-hour redeye, we arrived in London. My lovely girlfriend had decided to come to the airport to visit us during our layover (she’s a good one). However, upon arriving at the airport, she was nowhere to be found. It turns out we were in different parts of Heathrow’s Terminal 5. After much sleep-deprived confusion, we finally got our act together.

A six-hour layover and a short twelve-hour flight later, we arrived in Cape Town. Scarcely able to remember our own names, we managed to recognize it on the sign greeting us at the airport, and we made our way to the hotel.

After a quick yet delightful breakfast, we made our way to Cape Town’s gorgeous botanical gardens.

Complete with an amphitheater, the sprawling gardens are home to all sorts of interesting flora and fauna, inducing some miniature green pineapple-shaped foliage.

Next up, we hopped in the van and directed ourselves towards Boulders Beach. With 25mph winds whipping fine grains of sand into our eyes, we made strange faces as we walked along the boardwalk. Why, you might ask, would we subject ourselves to such conditions?

Penguins!

Here’s the whole crew.

After going for a walk around Cape Town and having dinner at 5:30, we decided it was time for bed. I tried plugging in my phone to charge overnight, but nothing happened. In my sleep-deprived state, I had forgotten that electricity is rationed in South Africa, with mandatory blackouts to save energy. Eventually, power returned and Day 1 came to a close.

(Of course, today I woke up at 3:45am because my body is furious with my time-traveling nonsense. So here we are.)