Random Mosby clip of the week

Mosby was distraught when we took down the Christmas tree and I think he blamed the ornaments:

The one about cheese (Kerry)

This past weekend we went to a wonderful cheese farm with several of our friends.  It is so nice to find these little day trips right outside of Nairobi.  We toured the processing factory and then had some wonderful cheese with wine and bread.  We were also able to buy fresh made cheese in bulk right there.  Unfortunately they had no camels' milk cheese:(  


It was wonderful to be outside in beautiful weather in January and I think we will definitely go back soon.  Here are some photos:

The One Where We Spend New Years in Nakuru (Andy)

Happy New Year!! The second in as many posts where we start off with an exclamatory statement. 

This close of 2011 and the start of 2012 was spent overlooking one of the Great Rift Valley's soda lakes, Lake Nakuru. The Lake is located approximately two hours West of Nairobi and is one of the best deals we've found so far. 

Earlier in the week, Kerry and I decided to take a spontaneous trip for New Years. Lake Nakuru has been on the list for a while and it seemed like the best option on such short notice.  Thankfully our trusty gardner Eric was also available on short notice to watch Mosby for the weekend.  We booked a night at the Lake Nakuru Lodge, one of the few lodges with available rooms given the weekend, and set off West shortly after breakfast.  The drive was great--mostly just cars and matatu (public taxi) traffic sharing the road with us--and we got to look down at the Rift Valley from almost 10,000ft. As we approached the lake, our GPS took us on a short detour down a Maasai herding trail that it claimed would take us to the lodge (it did not). We finally made it to the lodge and it was great, with an amazing view of the lake and numerous animals running around.

We grabbed lunch at the main lodge and checked into our room, where we were greeting with this local art work on the wall:

(I still can't figure out why the kid it so angry)

We took a short rest, then hopped in the car and took a drive around the park. Saw lots of zebras, gazelles, impala, and buffalo, and got to see the sun set across the lake. We also saw a rhino--the first we've seen so far in Kenya--with a baby but we were to far away and the light was to poor to get a good shot of them. We also saw two hyenas on the drive back to the lodge.

The lodge was hosting a big New Years party for all the guests. We weren't in a big party mood but the spread was pretty impressive. We stayed out for a bit enjoying the scenery and the night air but weren't able to make it to midnight, leaving 2011 to see itself to the door. 

We spent the first day of 2012 sleeping in a bit and generally getting a slow start. The morning, like most mornings in Kenya, was chilly but with great blue skies and a strong breeze coming up the hill off of the lake. We ate breakfast and read for a bit by the pool, then packed up and drove down to the lake to see if the rhino and the baby were still there. They were, and they had four other friends with them, as well:

The lake is famous for attracting thousands of flamingos and other waterfowl. We didn't spot many flamingos but did see flocks and flocks of large pelicans and cormorants. 

As we contemplate the year ahead, especially the exciting and humbling thought that it will bring the birth of our baby daughter, we wish all of you a wonderful 2012 and look forward to seeing most of you in just a couple of months.