Travel: Kenya with the Foley family

We decided to go to Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks with few nights of camping in the middle.  Camping in Africa is hard because it is so dusty, it takes hours to get anywhere, there are no real campsites, and you run out of anything cold day one-  not like Alaska where your beer sits outside your tent.  But we braved it for a night and then were told the rich safari travelers needed our one spot so we moved to a guest house of a colleague David works with.  We still did our camp food outside because there was no kitchen but slept on beds and had a shower!!!! Dust was in every crevice by then.   Overall the trip was a success.  Lots of beautiful scenery.  The family we traveled with have become good friends and are so easy going that the whole trip stayed positive despite camping setbacks.  I have a lot more trouble with the staying positive part…No not you Joey  .Matt and Lisa and gang were with family living the life on a real safari and Zanzibar trip. 

 

Just so you remember this is our car- now named Lola- a P rado that wiggles and bounces like it has no shocks.  Lots of random down time in the car and on safari when no animals around. 

 

The boys have been into Avatar the airbender cartoon and they like to meditate in random places in order to attain the power of the four elements. 

 

These whistling thorn trees have lots of tiny balls that ants make to live in.  The ants then come out and sting any animal that tries to eat the tree.  The field and land is filled with millions of these.  I truly think ants will take over the world some day. whistling thorns

   

Lots of sundowner time.  The kids start to ask around 4 where the sundowner will be…

     

 

animals in a row-  Elands, elephants and oh oh oh oh  cows…Elands info

 

    

Places we stayed and fun we had. 

    

 

Went to Mizma springs in Tsavo west.  There were 50 hippos but a drought last year lowered the number to 13.  See how they have signs posted everywhere about the crocs and see how David passes the sign with the kids to get better pics.  Really they were far away.  And of course while David is taking the pics of the underground warnings, I am taking a pic of cute Cole hanging his hands out the window.  Ughhh  if the kids come back in once piece it will be because I super-glued them together.  Yes that is our hippo ranger guard with a gun walking with our kids. 

     

Cool Lava cave we all forgot to bring our torches for.  Isn’t there an app for that- the torch on David’s  I phone did not cut it.  We kept seeing lots of bats flying out of the cave as the kids went in, but no one was scared.  We kept expecting one kid ot notice and freak and then yell and then 100s of bats would fly out with 4 screaming kids- but nope- everyone loved the bats flying by.

Women selling us stuff. 

Travel: Safari mom does it alone

I was a safari mom and drove thru Tarangire without David. I did not get stuck, I fought off tsetse flies biting kids in the back, I sited animals (kind of), and packed a great picnic lunch all on my own. Lisa decided to help in my car just as we drove into the park, so actually I had lots of help with the kids. Not sure if we helped or confused each other as we named animals and spurted out animal facts to the kids. Birch the Birder only rolled his eyes a few times. “Mom that is the exact same hornbill we see all the time it is just the female” roll eye, disgusted sigh..

Here are some of my favorite pics.

It is a stampede of…….. safari cars to watch the one lion lay in the grass.

elephants up close

Ground hornbill and secretary bird and 1 million ostriches.

Inside the giant baobab hunter’s hideout.

A hug for safari mom Lisa and the campsite gang-

Even on safari kids get bored. This is Birch reading while on safari. He is even in the front seat and giraffes are crossing the road. ughhh

Lesson: School plays are fun

 Outside the kids classrooms bats hang around.  Really- just outside. 

But otherwise school is normal for the boys.  If you can stand it look below for great Cole in action videos.  It takes lots of lip motion to really make the words come out well.  No matter what language you sing in French, Spanish, or Swahili. 

Adventure: or not – easy lazy Sept in Arusha

 Sundowners in Arusha.  A drive out to see the sunset that the car and the car only got stuck once.  This is Lisa and Matt’s car “ sugar” that we all piled in to to have a sundowner.  Our kids know that means wine and beer and fanta and cheese.  Great sunset and Mt Meru view. 

 

 

                                

 

Birch caught a bird in the air.  It is a spectacular starling.  He was so proud that all of his chicken catching had paid off.

picture of the bird up close

Travel: Kirumu Under Canvas and Manyara Ranch

We just went for a night to camp and be together before David starts his Sept of travel.  We have had him home for a whole month!! We slept at a tented camp and then visited friends for lunch and a game drive at Manyara ranch the next day. 

 

Cole watch out- don’t step in that Elephant poo….

 

baobob trees…. so big.  Can you find birch hidden in  the third picture?

   

 

 

We hiked a little and saw some Maasai male children that had been in the open savannah for 40 days with their father doing a traditional preparation for Moran and circumcision.  They were age 5 to about 12 I think.  They had only eaten meat from four cows and green leaves boiled in water.  They sleep on open ground with Acacia thorns around them to protect the little ones form coyotes.  They still had to eat two goats before they could go home.  No women are invited. 

This is Birch standing in front of one of the cow skins drying out.  The other is a picture of a home similar to what the kids will get to go home to when the tradition is complete

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maasai culture 

Us reading elephant tales by the campfire.

 

"how the elephant got its trunk"

 

termite hills, elephant footprints, and lunch… safari style.

   

Adventure: Maji Moto (hot water)

 

These are cool hot springs about 2 hours away.  You have to look for crocs before you dive in, but if there are lots of other tourists there you are usually ok.  It has a big undercurrent that drags you around in the pool.  We went with some new friends Clint, Kati, Jack, and Acacia and our lovely house sisters one day for bbq and swimming.

You really have to know the way because you drive through about 6 villages on dirt roads to get there.  The last village which is all mud huts has a huge cement and stained glass church.  I mean it is the middle of nowhere.  You can just imagine some person loved Maji Moto on a trip once and said I am gonna donate tons of money to that village to build a big old church.  I am ok with churches and religion, but maybe they could have donated a bunch of money for food or houses or med clinic… 

 

       

When we got home the kids were tired, but active.  They wanted to “deconstruct”.  After going for my camera, a computer, the iPod…. We finally talked them into a broken spotlight.  Then we had to set strict rules that they could only deconstruct home equipment if they asked first.

 

Lesson: Summer ends and you have to go to school if you are a big boy

First day of school at ISM.  Birch is P3 and Cole is P1.  Both have lots of friends and are happy.  Cursive writing is our enemy at present, but may be resolved as little fingers and self esteem grow.  David keeps reminding me it will all be computers soon anyway.  But… David writes worse than Birch. I guess I need to keep working on my typing.  “yes, everyone who reads my blog says.”

ISM their school