summer fun and adventures

I am happy to report that it hasn't been all work and no play this summer. Between my new job, my parents moving in, and caring for my home, I was certain I wasn't going to get to do anything fun this summer but I was wrong. I haven't done much biking this summer - it's been way too hot - but I have been camping and to a local water park plus a party or two. I'm hoping to get in some scuba next weekend or I might take the folks to Fredericksburg.

The pics I've posted are from some of this summer's activities, including camping and swimming.

home ownership as a second job

Wow, I'm happy to be the owner of a home that doesn't seem to be depreciating, but I really had no idea how much extra work is involved in maintaining a home. It's almost like having a second job.

moving the parents

After a year of planning, my sisters and I finally got my parents transported from Jacksonville, Florida to Copperas Cove, Texas, where they moved in with me. I bought a home last December with the expectation that they would eventually live with me due to their health problems and it finally happened. I sure hope this works out because if it doesn't, there's really no where else for them to go because they cannot live on their own and take care of themselves. So, I spent the weekend transporting my elderly and disabled parents and their 3 cats more than 1000 miles over two days. Whew...

(Africa trip) final thoughts

Here's my final thoughts about some of the major players involved in the wonderful Africa trip I just experienced.

Journeys By Design (UK) - this is the travel agency that set up our trip for us and picked the designations we enjoyed. Gord, our travel agent, and his staff (Julie in particular) were wonderful to deal with. Gord, knowing that none of us had traveled in east Africa before, picked a variety of different experiences for us to try and was at all times responsive with information. The tour packets we received were very professional and thorough, and the transfers between locations that Gord worked out were seemless. If I'm ever lucky enough to get to travel to Africa again, I would not hesitate to use their services again and I would enthusiastically recommend them to others.

Nomad Tanzania - this is the operation that ran the camp in the Serengeti National Park. This was the part of our stay that was probably the most true to an "authentic" old-fashioned rustic safari experience. The guiding we received from Festo was supreme, the food and service was fantastic, and we were perfectly positioned to enjoy everything the park had to offer.

Singita - this is the operation that operates both Faru Faru and the Sabora tented camp. Both facilities were utterly different in character from each other, but both provided an intense level of service and food quality. The facilities at both locations were stunning and luxurious, especially our individual suites at Faru Faru. Of particular note was a magical dinner we had during our last night of the safari at Sabora tented camp where we ate outdoors on our own personal deck. The staff hung lanterns from the trees, prepared this stunning meal, and layed out a beautiful table. The picture I've uploaded is from that dinner.

Finally, my experience in Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic was everything I was hoping it would be. It's going to be tough going back to ordinary coach flights after that!

So, that's a wrap - on to the next adventure!

(Africa trip) picture wrap-up

These are the last of the Africa trip pictures I'm going to post to the blog. I am in Orlando, waiting for my flight home, and when I get home, I'll make one more post as a critique of the trip but probably not with more pics. I have so many pics and I wish I could upload them all.

(Africa trip) wrapping up

Right now, I'm sitting in the Virgin Atlantic first class lounge at Gatwick airport in London. After I leave here, it is unlikely I will ever indulge in this level of first-class travel again. It's going to be hard to give up but it's about time to get back to the real world. At least I've got another long-haul luxury flight to look forward to.

I arrived in Gatwick with a 16-hour layover to look forward to. Staying in the lounge was not an option because it is not open overnight, so I stayed in this interesting and adorable little cube-hotel called Yotel right in the airport which was recommended to me by the Virgin Atlantic staff. It's based on a model created by the Japanese, and each guest is basically issued a little cubicle with a bed, a fold-down desk, and a tiny bathroom/shower combo thing. Each bed unit, which looked a little like a bunk bed, also had a flat screen TV with 50 channels and movies and free wi-fi. And it was relatively inexpensive to stay there so I ended up with an unexpectedly comfortable night and got an awesome amount of sleep.

Anyway, the trip is wrapping up. Our final game drive to the airfield took us through the migration and I got more video and photos of huge herds of wildebeast, zebra, gazelle, and topi. Our flight was on the same small charter plane that brought us in to the Serengeti and when we landed in Arusha, we were met by our earlier guide, Festo, who took us to a coffee plantation for lunch and for some local shopping before taking us to the airport. By the way, I FINALLY saw Kilimenjaro from the ground, although I was not in a position to get some photos. Once back at the airport, civilization intruded and we were back in the crush of annoying passengers, of which the most annoying were fellow Americans. The flight to London on Virgin Atltantic was great - there was only one other passenger besides myself in upper class so it was like I had my own personal fight attendant. And that's about it - I'll be headed back to the states soon and my next update will come from Orlando.

(Africa trip) Serengeti overview

This is a picture I took using a feature of my camera that allows you to take three pictures in sequence and then stitch them together. This is a picture that I think really captures the scope and beauty of the Serengeti.

(Africa trip) Leopards

I just realized that I failed to add some pictures of the leopards I encountered, and that's a shame. I was fortunate to see two, not just one, and one of them was hunting. It was very exciting. I am also back in the world of fast internet access and it is nice to upload pictures without it taking 15 minutes or more.

(Africa trip) Sabora pics

Here's a couple of pictures of the facilities of Sabora, and no pictures of Sabora would be complete without including one of a wildebeast. We are surrounded by them, they are in the camp, and they are endlessly entertaining to watch. At this time of year, the males attempt to herd the females into harem groups, and watching these males run around trying to keep the females in the herd while fending off other males trying to cull their herd and claim their cows for their own is funny to watch. I watched this poor fellow defend his herd from a particular male, all the while another male was quietly culling cows off his herd from the other side.

This is a great camp and I hate to leave in the morning, but like all vacations, they must come to an end. I will be headed back to Nairobi tomorrow followed by a flight to London the next day. From there, it's on to Orlando and then back to Texas.

(Africa trip) revisit with Serengeti National Park

I just realized I had not posted pics of the camp we lived in while in the national park, so I've posted them now (a shot of the library and two of my sleeping tent) When I get the pics up of Sabora tented camp, all three camps and living styles we encountered will be on display. I also threw one in of me on a game drive with a view of the Serengeti in the background.

(Africa trip) Sabora Tented Camp

For those of you who were getting text message from me, I still don't have cell service so no texting. But I do have internet access (obviously) :-)

This is now my second day in the Sabora Tented Camp and my last day out in the African "bush" since we leave for Arusha and then Nairobi tomorrow. This place is amazing and entirely unlike anyplace we've stayed before. Unlike Faru Faru, which has rooms made of bamboo and glass walls with tent-style tops, this camp is truly tented, but the tents are air conditioned, there are running water, telephones, and internet access, and the whole place is beautifully decorated in the style of an early 20th century Hemingway-type camp. I can't describe what this lodge is like so I'm not going to try, but I will try to get some pictures posted. This camp is out in the open right in the middle of the migration, so we are surrounded by wildebeast and zebra, and the wildebeast are even inside the camp. I am supposed to go on a game drive this afternoon but I probably won't go - there's plenty of wildlife to view right here and it seems like the ever-present and persistent tetse-flies we've encountered all throughout this trip have not discovered this camp, which believe me, is plenty of reason to stay here. I've seen everything I really wanted to see except for rhino, and if I went out today, I'm not likely to see rhino today either. So, I think I'll just be pampered in these amazing surroundings.

Last night's dinner was very nice. We chatted with other guests around a campfire over cocktails and then had a gourmet dinner in a beautifully appointed dining room. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but the meals are always stunningly presented and they seem to have been designed by a real chef. Hard to imagine out here, but that's the case. This morning, we elected to sleep in and just let the sun wake us up, and then I followed up a leisurely breakfast with a soak in my Victorian-style soaking tub.

I'm still working on getting my photos downloaded and organized and I'll have some more up shortly.

(Africa trip) Faru Faru lodge pictures

Here's a few pictures of the lodge at Faru Faru. These pictures don't even begin to show how interesting and luxurious this place was.

(Africa trip) Faru Faru / Grumete Reserves

I have spent the last couple of days at a lodge called Faru Faru, which is located in the Grumete Reserves, north of the Serengeti National Park. Before I go into detail on my stay at Faru Faru, I'm going to start by documenting one of the most amazing game viewing nights of the trip. Basically, we got to watch two male cheetahs, probably siblings, hunt young wildebeast in the Serengeti. We watched them hunt, mark territory, and we also watched them interact socially with each other. We got very close to the cheetahs (without disturbing their hunt) and with telephoto lenses, were able to get some pretty amazing photos and video. It was just a stunning display of nature to watch and we were lucky to see it.

Anyway, upon our arrival at Faru Faru, we were met by a new guide, Abdullah, who was driving the type of open jeep that reminded me of one of the trucks you'd see at a theme park safari ride. We loaded up and left for the lodge, and on the way, accidentally found ourselves in the middle of a feeding herd of elephants (they were in front and behind us and very close) and we got the chance at some more great elephant pictures. Once we arrived at the lodge, it was clear that we were in for a completely different type of experience than the one we had in the national park. For one thing, this lodge is the most luxurious place I have ever stayed in my life. It's build technically of "tents" but it's hard to use the word tent to describe this place. The rooms are beautifully decorated and the highlight of the room is that one wall is made of glass, which looks out on the Serengeti. It is also possible to open that glass wall with the push of a button and just have the room open to the outside. Our room has an enormous soaking tub situated in a glass corner so it's impossible not to see the outside from the tub, and the shower is actually outside. It is an interesting an enjoyable experience to take a hot shower on a cool morning basically standing outside in the Serengeti. Finally, the lodge had two lovely infinity pools, a library, and covered and uncovered eating and relaxing areas. There is also a spa (which I used) and a small gift shop. I can't do this place justice by trying to describe it, so I took lots of pictures. Up until now, we'd basically been doing morning and evening game drives, but for two nights in this wonderful place, we elected not to do the evening drive so that we could spend more time enjoying these amazing facilities. There wasn't much point in doing a lot of game driving around here anyway - most of the game is a bit south of here and is either migrating or following the migration - but when we move to Sabora Tented Camp today, we will be back in the middle of the big game. We were in the area of that camp when we saw those amazing cheetahs.

One of the interesting things we did here was go on a walking safari around the area. We were led by a new guide, Nick, who took us on a three hour walk. He carried a rifle in case of trouble (there wasn't any) and then we got a chance to see the area up close. We didn't see much game other than at a distance, but we did get to see some unusual birds we hadn't seen before and also got to see some migrating safari ants (very creepy). Our guide said those ants have been known to kill people who were too young or infirm to get out of their way.

Anyway, on to the next location. Two more nights in the Serengeti and then it's back to Nairobi and home.

The pictures I posted are of the cheetahs we saw. I'm going to post pictures of the lodge and walking safari a bit later, assuming I have internet access at the new camp.

photos

If you are seeing this, then it means I managed to upload some photos from my stay in the Serengeti National Park. These are all photos I took myself. I can only do a few because of the slow internet access here (I think we're getting interet by satellite), but I'm definately not complaining!

Serengeti National Park

It's been several days since I was able to update this blog, since I was basically camping out in the bush in Sergengeti National Park. Now I'm in a spot with wi-fi and I can get caught up! Unfortunately, although I've tried, I can't get pictures to upload right now. I'll try to get some loaded as soon as possible. I'm going to try to upload pics of the camp and of some of the wildlife I encountered. Also, ironically, here I seem to have internet access but no phone service. Weird, huh?

As I post this, I am in a spot in Tanzania called Faru Faru lodge after spending 4 nights in a tented camp out in the Serengeti called Nomad Tanzania Serengeti Tented Camp. It has been an incredible few days.

Our big African safari adventure started with a charter flight to Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. This was absolutely the smallest plane I have ever flown on (six seat Cesna) but it was just the three of us and our pilot so there was plenty of room and everyone had a great view. During this flight from Arusha to the national park, we flew over volcanoes and volcanic craters and got some great shots of both, along with some stunning shots of the savannah itself. Once we landed at the air strip (really just a dirt track in the middle of the park), we were met by our guide, Festo, who was with us for the rest of our stay in the National Park. Then we tossed our stuff into Festo's land cruiser and we were off on our big game adventure!

Life at the Serengeti tented camp really was camping, although a different style of camping then I'd ever done before. Each tent contained two beds, a couple of tables, and a washing area, and each also had a short-drop style pit toilet and a bucket shower, which one of the staff would fill once a day with hot water so that we could take a quick camp shower. The rest of the facilities consisted of a lounging tent, where we could hang out, read, or have cocktails, and a dining tent, where the staff laid out a 3-course gourmet meal ever night. Considering the rustic setting and the fact that an electricity generator was only run a few hours a day, it's amazing to me that the staff pulled off the quality of meals they did. The meals were amazing - some of the best meals I've ever had. We also had wonderful appetizers around a roaring campfire every evening before dinner, which was always fun. It was during these times that we would meet with the other guests and trade game-viewing stories, although when we were out in the park, it was just us and our guide. Our daily life in the camp consisted of breakfast, followed by a full day game drive with a packed picnic lunch, campfire, and dinner, or we went out for the full day with a packed breakfast and lunch, then came back to camp, showered, and then enjoyed the campfire and dinner. One day, we came back at mid day for lunch in the camp, although we went back out for more game viewing until dinner. Serengeti National Park takes preservation and protection seriously - game vehicles are not allowed to leave the roads and no harassment of the animals was allowed, either. While this made it difficult to get pictures, it meant we got to enjoy the wildlife in as natural a setting as possible.

The opportunities to view wildlife in the Serengeti National Park were stunning. Once we left camp and got out onto the savannah, herds and groups of elephants, giraffes, gazelle, zebras, and other big mammals were there for easy viewing. We also saw ostrich, hippo, and crocodile when we were in the right spots to do so. Finally, we were able to witness the annual migration in which millions of wildebeasts and zebras make the annual trek between Tanzania, Kenya, and back in order to follow water.

One of the biggest highlights for me during the stay at the Serengeti Tented Camp was the encounter with the big cats. We got very close to lions and although they were sleeping away the heat of the day during most of our encounters, we also got to see some neat stuff in their. For example, I got a great closeup picture of a lion cub nursing on its mother. In another encounter, we watched two lionesses greet two cubs in the road right in front of our truck and we were able to get great pictures and video of this lion family as it crossed in front of us and moved up into the rocks. On the following day, we were able to follow an entire lion pride, including a big male with an enormous orange mane, as it made its way across the savannah. We also saw leopard and cheetah, although not close enough to be able to get great pictures. The first leopard we saw was up in a tree (and it had it's kill up there with it) and it was cool getting to watch how the zebras reacted to the tree when they realized there was a leopard up there. The second leopard we saw was actually hunting, and we got to observe it as it stalked some gazelle through a gully and then pounce, although it did not catch it's prey. We didn't get a good look at the cheetah at all - all we could see was it's head in the grass from a distance -but it was still great to see one. Lion sightings were pretty common - besides the nursing mother, we also saw lions hanging out in trees to escape the sun and biting flies during the hottest part of the days. Leopards and cheetahs are much rarer and shyer than lions and I think we were lucky we got to see them, although leopards do spend time resting in trees like lions do. Festo, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable about the area and was very adept at spotting animals, and it was through his efforts that we got to see as many amazing things that we did. It was interesting that although lions and leopards are both big cats and share territories, lions are very social and affectionate within thier pride groups while leopards are very solitary and won't tolerate another in their territory.

I just feel like I need to make a short note about our picnic breakfasts and lunches, since they generally were so interesting. Our first picnic lunch was right in the middle of the big game migration. We pulled up under a tree, our guide spread out a picnic on the hood of the vehicle, and we lunched right in the midst of the migrating herds. It was really cool. Our second picnic (a breakfast) was out on the open savannah, and we ate while we watched herds of zebra, gazelle, giraffe, and elephant stroll by. Our second outdoor breakfast was taken within sight of the hunting leopard, who unfortunately didn't manage to catch anything for her own breakfast while we were watching, but it was still really neat to watch. Finally, our final picnic was a lunch on top of a rock formation called Gong Rock, which was a place where the Masai tribe had gathered for ceremonies and communication at one time, and was now in the center of an area devoted to the preservation of the black rhino, of which only 16 are still known to survive in the park, mainly due to poaching. We didn't see any rhino on this trip, though, which was hardly surprising, considering their numbers.

Finally, I am now in Faru Faru, which is located in a private game park located just north of the Serengeti National Park. This is truly a luxury location and is probably one of the best facilities I have ever stayed in my life (and probably the nicest I will every stay in). I'll be posting more about these facilities shortly.

(Africa trip) Amazing Tanzania

From the moment we stepped off the plane at Kilimenjaro international airport in Tanzania, it was clear that a whole new adventure started. For one thing, this airport is very chilled out and laid back - no chaos there. The plane basically pulled up to the main building, we exited and leisurely strolled to the hanger, taking pictures along the way, and then seamlessly picked up our visas (100 bucks YIKES) and went through customs. From the air, we had a pretty decent view of Kilimenjaro, which ironically, might turn out to be our only view since the weather forecast was for clouds and even though the sun is out as I type this, it is still really cloudy and we still can't see the mountain. Oh well - there were so many other amazing things to see that it's hard to be disappointed.

Our drive to the Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge was quite scenic. It took us through farm country, of which the main crop appeared to be sunflower seeds, judging by the large number of sunflower fields. Then we turned off on a track in the woods and the lodge was at the end of the track. To get to the lodge, we had to get out of the vehicle and walk over a home-made wooden footbridge, then go through some woods, and then we were there. Our rooms are amazing - we ended up with two of us sharing a room in the main lodge (which has a private deck with a mountain view, if the clouds ever clear up), and I am in my own room towards the rear of the property (it's a pretty amazing room, by the way). We spent the day walking the property and took many awesome wildlife and scenery pictures. Now we are on the deck with cameras ready in case the mountain shows itself, sipping adult beverages, and are generally enjoying a fantastic day. We also had an incredible lunch of grilled veggies and trout, which was comprised only of fish and garden items grown or caught on the property.

Tonight we are anticipating another incredible meal and if the clouds clear up, we might be able to do some stargazing (we're south of the equator so it's a different sky here). Tomorrow morning we leave on a charter flight for the Nomad Tented Camp in the Serengetti, so it might be a few days before I have internet access again.

The pics I have posted are of me on the wooden foot bridge and a couple of shots of the lodge and grounds.

(Africa trip) Commentary on international air travel

It is an absolute wonder to me that anyone manages to fly to and from a third-world international airport. I have rarely witnessed the sort of disorganized chaos that I saw at the Nairobi International Airport when trying to check in. It was noisy and smelly and chaotic in a way that I've never seen at a US airport, even when traveling on holidays. And since the airport trip was followed by a flight on an ancient, poorly maintained turbo-prop, we had quite the interesting morning of travel. It was so worth it, though.

I'll post some stuff about Tanzania soon. It's just truly amazing.

(Africa trip) Nairobi

Right now, it is early Thursday morning, 29 May 08, and by early, I mean really early. It's almost 0300 and I can't sleep anymore because of jetlag, so this seemed like a great time to update my journal. I don't have internet access right this moment, but as soon as I do (probably when I get to Arusha/Kilimenjaro, I will be able to get logged on and get this uploaded.

Anyway, after having a very enjoyable afternoon at the Heathrow airport, I think the place to start now is with my flight from London to Nairobi. If anything, this was an even better flying experience than my trip to London. I still had a welcome cocktail and my own little sleeping pod, and it turned out the plane wasn't even a quarter full so it was almost like there was a flight attendant for every 3 people. I think this is a reflection of the fact that the tourism industry in Kenya hasn't fully recovered yet from the unrest earlier in the year, and honestly, I don't see how Virgin Atlantic can keep affording to fly that route when there's not enough people on the plane to even cover the fuel. Once landing in Nairobi, going through customs and getting a visa was smooth, then I collected my bag and met the driver that had been sent for me. It was an interesting drive to the hotel - traffic in Nairobi is heavy and something of a free-for-all when it comes to jockeying for position. It was quite the exciting ride. The Nairobi Hilton is located right in the heart of the downtown urban area and while old, it is appointed much like any decent hotel in the US or Europe. Another sign of the times, though - access to the front of the hotel is gated, and our vehicle was searched for explosives before they'd let us in so that I could get checked in. I admit I was glad to see there were some security measures in place. After checking in, I met up with Sally (who had gotten here the night before and who's luggage was still missing, poor thing), and we had a nice lunch at a little outdoor cafe right at the hotel. After that, it was nap-time and then we linked up with Angie when she arrived later in the afternoon.

After having a pre-dinner cocktail at the lounge, the three of us ventured into the city to a seafood restaurant that had been recommended for us by the tour operator. We went there and back by cab - it is highly recommended that foreign tourists do not walk about the area at night and being that we sometimes have a little sense, we took that excellent advice. Again, the cab rides were pretty crazy and exciting - I've never seen anything like Nairobi traffic and how it flows. I didn't get any pictures of the traffic because we'd also been warned not to flaunt camera equipment because it would likely be taken, even if we were together and in a cab, and Nairobi is a dirty, crowded city with a high crime rate, but at the same time, it's very vibrant and it was interesting to venture out for the short time we were here. Our dinner was expensive but amazing - I had a grilled shrimp dinner that consisted of shrimp the size of my closed fist, along with potatoes and veggies, and Angie and Sally had similar dinners. The atmosphere and presentation was great and we were lucky to be early and practically have the place to ourselves. We weren't dressed right - it was a fancy place and we were wearing safari clothes (plus Sally was wearing the clothes she'd been in for the past three days) but they didn't treat us any different than the other customers.

Anyway, I'm going to try to get a nap before our 0400 wakeup call to get ready for the trip to Arusha/Kilimenjaro.

The pics I have uploaded are of the three of us at dinner, the view of Nairobi from the hotel window, and my dinner (pretty impressively sized shrimp).

(Africa trip) may be signing off for a bit

This might be my last post for a bit of time - I'm sure I'll have internet access at some point while in Africa but I'm not sure when or where, so no worrying if I don't update this for a few days. Anyway, I'm off for a light dinner and then I'll be headed to my flight! I will post updated adventures as soon as I can.

(Africa trip) Orlando to London

Before I lay out my adventures of the past 24 hours or so, I feel like describing my current circumstances. Right now, I am in Virgin Atlantic's premier Upper Class lounge at Heathrow airport. I just finished a wonderful lunch of mushroom and spinach lingini, I'm sipping on a complementary Cosmopolitan served up at a bar easily the equal of any nice bar I've ever been too, and I'm waiting for my complementary spa/salon appointment in about an hour. Definately not a bad way to spend the afternoon!

Anyway, the fun started as soon as I boarded the Virgin Atlantic plane in Orlando. I have never seen anything like this Upper Class cabin (Upper Class is what Virgin Atlantic calls 1st Class, by the way). The compartment was located at the very front of the bottom level and my seat was the very front seat at the nosecone. Everything was all decorated in purple, and the seats were enormous and could be adjusted electronically (later, the seats were converted to beds for our napping needs). At the rear of the cabin, there was a little cocktail bar from where the flight attendent served us our boarding beverage of champagne in real glasswear. Each pod seat had it's own TV with numerous viewing options and movies to chose from. The service was fantastic and I had the best meal I have ever had on an airplane. And get this - when I was ready to sleep, the flight attendant turned down my bed and provided me with pajamas to change into! Obviously this was quite different than the sort of trips I'm used to.

Once we landed in London after a 7.5 hour flight, I sailed through customs and then reality had to intrude upon my happy existance for a bit. The flight from Orlando landed at London-Gatwick but my flight to Nairobi is out of London-Heathrow, so that left me with the need to get from Gatwick to Heathrow. The only way to do it was by bus, and although the bus ride wasn't bad, just lining up in a crush of people to get on the bus was a strong reminder of how I usually travel and made me appreciate my luxury treats that much more.

On a side note, I had forgotten how crowded European international airports are. Moving through Gatwick and Heathrow is best described as semi-controlled chaos, and I found myself unbelievably grateful that I had a civilized place to go. In comparison, the terminal I was in at the Orlando airport (I believe it was terminal B) is positively tranquil.

Anyway, once I got to the lounge, civilization reasserted itself and I am back to truly enjoying my vacation in every way. The first thing I did was take a nap, then lunch, and now I'm hanging out waiting for my appointment. After that, I'll probably have another cocktail and a snack, and then it will be time to head for the plane!

The pictures I have uploaded are of the Upper Class cabin seat, the cabin bar, and a couple of shots of the lounge and spa at the Heathrow lounge.

(Africa trip) true first class travel

Now that I am at the Orlando airport, the pampering has really started. As an "upper class" passenger on Virgin Atlantic, I got to check in through a special line that let me basically cut in front of around 100 other people who had been waiting for who-knows-how-long. Then I was given an invitation to enjoy Delta's first class lounge (the Delta Crown Room) because Virgin doesn't have a lounge at this airport and I have truly entered a world that is something special. I am very glad that I decided that just once, I would travel in luxury. The photos I have uploaded are from inside the first class lounge.

Anyway, my next post should come from London!

(Africa trip) Adventures in Orlando

Like I said in my previous post, my sister and I spent a night in Orlando. We decided to experience some night-life Disney style, so we concentrated our fun on downtown Disney and Pleasure Island. It's hard to imagine, but Disney actually has a theme park area dedicated to adult drunken nightlife, and I admit I always wondered what Disney nightlife might be like. Anyway, Leigh and I had a great dinner at a downtown Disney spot called Portebello's and after doing some shopping, we set out to enjoy some nightlife. We went to every club, including the comedy club, the hip-hop club, the top-40 club, and the techno dance club, but the one we liked best was called 8-trax and it played music from the 70s and the 80s. Leigh and I danced until after 0100 in the morning and had a really fantastic time. After that, we took the shuttle back to the hotel and settled in for the night. After checking out of the hotel the next morning, we did some more exploring of downtown Disney and then Leigh dropped me off at the airport. It was truly a great time and I'm glad I got a chance to pass through Orlando. After all, I'm heading to countries that are far removed from the lifestyle we enjoy as Americans, and yet I started my trip with a visit to a location that's as American as things get.

The pictures I've uploaded are of me and Leigh enjoying ourselves on the dance floor at 8-trax. It's not easy taking a picture of yourself while on a dance floor!

(Africa trip) started the trip

Well, the trip has finally started and it started in style. I decided for this one trip, I wasn't going to do things on the cheap - this time, I was going to fly first class. So, besides booking a first class ticket on Virgin Atlantic to Nairobi by way of London, I also booked a first class ticket on Continental to get me from Texas to Orlando because my flight overseas was from Orlando. I have to say, flying is way more civilized from the front of the plane. While domestic first class isn't all that fancy and doesn't come with the perks that international first class does, it's still pretty nice. After getting early priority boarding (which I missed, by the way, because I was in the restroom), you get presented with a pre-flight cocktail to enjoy as the rest of the flight gets settled. Then, you spend the rest of the flight enjoying a comfy seat and even get a light meal on real plates with real silverwear. My first class experience started with the trip from Houston to Orlando because there is no first class service out of Killeen (the planes are too small) and I admit I was actually a little disappointed at the amount of legroom available in first class on the plane I was on, but the service was great and the flight was totally enjoyable, although at two hours, pretty brief. Once I got to Orlando, my sister Leigh met me and we drove to our hotel, the Buena Vista Palace, and we were given a very nice room which I unfortunately didn't take a picture of. I will be taking pictures of every place I stay for the rest of the trip, though.

The images I've loaded are of me in the Killeen airport prior to starting my big adventure and the other is of my boarding pass indicating "elite access" which is a bit amusing because I missed my chance to enjoy "elite access" because I was in the bathroom taking a picture of my boarding pass because I was too embarrassed to get caught taking it out in the open. Ironic, isn't it? :-)

(Africa trip) baggage issues

Believe it or not, for a 2.5 week trip to Africa, my traveling companions and myself were each restricted to only 33 pound of luggage TOTAL, including carryon baggage and camera equipment. This was because of weight limits on some of the charger flights we will be taking. Anyway, they let us up our allowance to 42 pounds when one traveler in our group backed out of the trip and when I weighed my luggage yesterday, I squeeked by with 40 pounds. So, even though I made the weight, I'm going to try to thin my stuff out a little. One way to do that would be to ditch my laptop, but I don't want to do that unless I have to. For one thing, I'd love to be able to keep up with this blog :-)

(Africa trip) putting final touches on the big trip

I started this blog because I thought it would be neat to have a place where I could document my impending trip to Africa which I booked to celebrate my safe return from service with the Army in Iraq and my retirement from the Army after 23 years of service. I booked the trip almost 8 months ago and finally leave this weekend. Before the trip is done, I would have spent two nights in Orlando, a night in London, two nights in Nairobi, one night at the foot of Kilimenjaro, and 9 nights out in the bush on the Serengeti plain. For the first and only time in my life, I am traveling first class the entire way. I have always wanted to fly international first class and I couldn't think of a better time to do that than on this trip. I'll be flying on Continental to Florida and on Virgin Atlantic from Florida to London to Nairobi and back. I plan on taking lots of pictures and I hope to be able to get on the internet during the trip so I can update this blog and post the photos. I've done everything I can thing of - bags are packed, passport is current, and camera batteries are charged. I think I'm ready!

On a side note, the hardest thing to get used to was the fact that each traveler in my group is restricted to around 33 pounds of total luggage, to include camera equipment! Since I won't leave my camera or laptop behind, I had to cut a significant amount of clothing that I planned to take. I'll be doing a lot of sink laundry LOL.

By the way, this photo has nothing to do with this blog - I was just testing to make sure I could upload photos! This one was taken this month in Florida.