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.
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