The One Where We Finally Have a Weekend to Ourselves (Andy)

This past weekend was the first weekend in a long time that we've had together has a family with minimal interruptions. As we noted in our last posting, we recently returned to Kenya following three weeks of leave back in the US. We spent the following week getting over jet-lag and getting Aliza back on her schedule. I then had to leave again to attend a conference in London, during which time I missed getting the cold that took down both Aliza and Kerry. And while a week in London sounds nice--and generally is--all I really wanted to do was not be traveling. I did, however, get to spend time with our friends Jeremey and Janell, who live in Cambridge, and who took me out to an excellent restaurant on the edge of the city where we got to catch up and plot their potential trip down this way.

I returned to Kenya late Friday night and, unfortunately, that was when Aliza's cold was at its peak. She slept terribly and, as a result, Kerry and I didn't sleep well either. Saturday was pretty much a wash, but we took a nice walk around the neighborhood and spent some time out by the pool. We decided that if the weather still was good on Sunday, we would take a family outing down the street to walk around Karura National Forest. We are embarrassed to admit that, despite being literally 5 minutes away, we have never actually been there in the year-and-a-half we've leaved in Nairobi. This was a factor of three things: 1) I didn't actually know where the entrance was; 2) there was a problem with crime in the park a few years ago; 3) a couple people have reported seeing cats, specifically leopards, on the trail. I didn't buy that last one, but certainly there are some extra variables to consider when calculating taking a walk in the woods in Africa.

With the weather holding, and having had sorted out the entrance issue several months ago, we packed up the family after lunch and headed out. As you may recall from previous postings, Mosby hates riding in the car and generally dislikes anything that strays from his established set of routines. So while this trip would afford him great sniffing opportunities, they didn't really outweigh his desire to get in the car and leave home. But we paid our entrance fee, bought a map, and decided to take one of the loop trails that would take us through the woods and past a waterfall.  

The trails really are beautiful and there is some wildlife to be seen. We saw two Duikers (similar to deer) and a handful of colobus monkeys. I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of cats. Despite traveling with my knife and an ASP in my pocket--and my faithful guard dog--I wasn't totally convinced I would be coming out the other end of the forest if we encountered something. Luckily, we just came across more people like us out for  pleasant day in the woods.

Shortly after we returned home, we got a call from the front gate that we had a delivery. My bar had arrived!

Months ago, I contracted Morgan, a local carpenter, to make me folding bar similar in design to ones I'd seen online. He had made someone else one and while I could tell from photos online that the craftsmanship was a little rough in some places, it still was what I was looking for. I chose to get mine made from Mahogany given the availability of the wood here and the more reasonable price you pay for it here than back home. The price I ended up paying for mine was worth it just for the wood, so that fact that it also happened to be shaped like a bar was a bonus. 

I might mention here my ongoing curiosity over the following bottle of bourbon, called John Lee bourbon. This is the only real bourbon sold in Kenya outside of the US and other western Embassy commissaries. The bourbon is definitely drinkable, but my real curiosity is over the bottle itself. I just can't quite figure it out. 

The markings indicate that it is distilled in the US, in Kentucky no less; yet, there is no address for the company. Additionally, you'll note the random logo photo of U.S. Grant on the front of the bottle. What's he doing there?

I have reasoned that either this brand was the preferred choice of U.S. Grant during his drinking days, or there is someone in "Kentucky" (i.e. Kenya) with a very skewed understanding of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. I haven't searched for the real answer online cause in many ways I prefer to leave this one a mystery.  

That's all for now. Time to enjoy the last few hours of peace before the week begins.

The One Where We Go on R&R (Andy)

We arrived back in Nairobi on Thursday following a very nice--and much needed--R&R back in the States. It's not necessary to detail the entire three week trip, give that the majority of it was spent doing nothing but resting and relaxing, hence R&R, but I will give you the overall gist. 

We left Nairobi on Sept 13th following being stuck in traffic for almost two hours where we witnessed the car in front of us, which also was stuck in traffic, get its side mirrors busted off by robbers. Luckily they just lost their mirrors; the mirror thing is generally part one of a two part operation that ends with you being carjacked. Aliza was getting fussy sitting still for so long, so our R&R was off to a tense start. Luckily, the first leg of the trip was uneventful, save for a woman on the plane being put out by having to switch seats with me so I could sit next to my wife and child, which both Kerry and I found odd (did she really prefer to sit next to a potentially screaming baby that wasn't hers?). 

Beginning of flight #1

The seven hour layover in Amsterdam was brutal, but we did manage to find out that Schipol airport has specific quiet rooms for people with children, which were fantastic; unfortunately, we didn't discover them till we almost had to board for the next flight. 

Kerry and Little A taken advantage of the comically oversized cribs

Aliza demonstrating to the folks at Schipol airport her newly discovered ability to scream.

They also have a hotel in the airport that rents rooms by the hour. In any other circumstance, that would seem pretty skeevy, but for the wary traveler with children, it is a godsend and we will utilize it during our next flight back home. I don't remember much about the second leg of the trip or the drive to Pennsylvania because i was exhausted.

We had an excellent visit with Kerry's parents back in PA and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the life of leisure that you get to live while you are on extended leave. We worked out, had great food, and went on a number of great walks along the rural roads looking at the farms and getting to experience the beginnings of fall in the US, which is definitely my favorite time of year.  

Aliza seeing her first field hockey in Mechanicsburg

We then spent a great week down in Virginia with my parents and I got to catch up with with my brother and his family and some other good friends we haven't seen in a while. 

We also spent the day with our friends Chris, Fitz, and Amanda at the Watermellon Park bluegrass festival in Berryville, which was awesome and definitely on our list for next year. We also utilized the time to do a little preliminary house hunting for when we return next year.

The big event of the trip was going to Philadelphia for the wedding of Kerry's brother, Chris, and his fiance, Colette. My parents also came up to join us to help out with Aliza while we were doing wedding stuff. We all stayed in the really great Independent Hotel in downtown Philly right near terminal market.  We had a nice time catching up with Kerry's side of the family during the rehearsal dinner and at the reception held at the Philadelphia Racket Club. Aliza was passed around from relative to relative and seemed to take all the traveling and the gawking in characteristic stride. We finished up our leave back in PA doing last minute shopping and packing before the big trip home. 

While coming back to the US was easy for all of us to adjust to, coming back to Nairobi is taking us a little longer. The first leg of the fight from Virginia to Amsterdam was pretty miserable despite our good luck in getting a last minute upgrade to business class. Aliza cried for the first 30 mins of the flight and the KLM flight team wasn't really on top of its game. Short layover in Amsterdam before our final flight to Nairobi. That flight turned out to be the best of the lot as we were able to sit in the upstairs of the 747, which gave us more room and less noise and the flight team was fantastic. 

Our bags were pretty much the first ones off the carousel--a first for us at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport--so we cleared customs in a hurry, found Peter waiting with our car, and flew home in record time. Mosby greeted us with his traditional happy dance and I impressed Kerry with my ability to pass out solidly from 11pm-6am and not be woken at all by any of the noise she or Aliza made throughout the night. Since then, Aliza has had trouble getting back to her normal schedule but I think in a few days she will be back to normal. The weather is gorgeous here and while it was a truly fantastic trip back to the States, it's nice to be done with traveling for the time being and back in our own home.