The One Where We Celebrate the Birth of the United States Marine Corps (Andy)

Saturday, 12 November, Kerry and I helped celebrate the 236th birthday of the United State Marine Corps at the US Marine Corps ball in downtown Nairobi.

While some people out there have only recently become familiar with this event because of attendance of Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake at other Balls back in the States, the Marine Ball is a big deal for the Marine Corp and it also is a big deal for the overseas diplomatic community because it's usually one of the best parties of the year anywhere you are posted. While some diplomatic veterans don't approach the Ball with the same vigor that the once did, this was the first time Kerry and I had ever been to one and we definitely were excited about going.

After a settling a few wardrobe issues--buying a dress while estimating how pregnant you will be when you put it on and a cumber bun that disappeared at the cleaners only to reappear the day of the Ball--we headed downtown and checked into our room at the Nairobi Intercontinental Hotel, an excellent hotel if you are ever in need of one in Nairobi and also the site of the party. We changed into our party clothes and headed to the cocktail hour to meet friends before the evening officially kicked off.

 Some of you may have noticed that I'm wearing the same tux I wore at our wedding last year; however, out of respect for the Corp, I  did not make as triumphant an entrance as i did back then:

The Marine Ball has been described, callously by some, as "work prom." And while there certainly are elements of that, it was great opportunity to honor all the vets for their service and to learn more about the history of the Corps. There also was an open bar, great food, and we had probably one of the best pictures...well, ever...taken of the two of us. Unfortunately, we only have a print of it, which is currently in our living room, but it looked similar to this.

After the official presentations had been made, it was down to business with the rest of the party. We managed to not take any pictures of that portion, but there was dancing to songs from the 80s and 90s and numerous side bar conversations discussing what people were wearing, who they came with, and how people we knew during the day acted after hours. Actually, it was exactly like prom....only this one had booze, guns, and swords.

Happy Birthday, Marines; Semper Fi. Can't wait for next year.

The one with the hiking (Kerry)

If you are an avid reader of this blog you'll note that I am not quite as thorough as my wonderful husband when it comes to posting our adventures on here.  This one shall be no exception.  I am really just killing time as I wait for thunderstorm #5000 to pass so I can take Mosby to his scheduled playdate with our neighbor dog Emmy at the dog park:)


Yesterday we took a wonderful hike to Mt. Longonot--a dormant stratovolcano according to wikipedia--with our friends Cassie and Devin.  The actual hiking pretty much consisted of marching straight up the mountain, but we were rewarded with great views at the top.  We happened to arrive between two buses full of Kenyans so it was not quite as peaceful as we were anticipating, but it sure was entertaining.  Andy and I went very slow because we didn't want to hurt the baby and consequently some fat Kenyans kept cheering us on, telling us we could do it, which was a little embarrassing:)  All in all it was a wonderful day, we loved getting out of the city, we enjoyed the countryside, and we both have the sunburns to prove it.  


Here are some photos:

This is the crater a the top

  

The one where we go to South Africa (Kerry and Andy)

After three months in Kenya, we decided it was time for a change of scenery. So, we packed it up and went to Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa for a nice little four day trip.  Kerry lived in South Africa in a previously life but this was my first time there, so I was excited to see what it was all about.


After our plane landed, my first impression was that South Africa was a lot less Africa than I was anticipating: well-built highways with well disciplined drivers riding on them, western shopping centers at every corner.
On the drive to our hotel we even stopped at McDonalds and had the first of two absolutely delicious meals.  (Its sad that after only three months in Kenya, that is what we were craving, meals neither of us actually would eat back in the USA).


We were put up at a beautiful guest house in Pretoria in a very posh section of town; numerous Ambassadors residents and consulates surrounded it, so we discreetly carried in our McDonalds value meals to avoid scrutiny from the other one percent.  We enjoyed a nice dinner that night and after an excellent night sleep, took a beautiful walk around the neighborhood.

After our walk, we got cleaned up and headed toward the real reason why we were in South Africa....


wait for it....


We are expecting a baby!!!!!!

While this could just be a ploy to see how many of you out there actually are reading this thing, the fact is that it's true, I am 14 weeks along and the baby is due in early May.  We went to the doctor's office for the ultrasound: we got to see the baby moving all around and we got to hear the heartbeat and even see him (or her) open his or her mouth to drink.  We could have watched it for hours.


After the sonogram we did what anyone who has lived in deepest, darkest Africa would do; we went to the mall!  Neither of us are big mall people, but much like the McDonalds from the day before, we found ourselves drawn to the beautiful, air conditioned, multi-story Menlyn mall of Pretoria.  We got some coffee, saw a movie, and Andy got a new pair of sunglasses.  It was wonderful.  That night we went to dinner with some friends and on Saturday morning we headed to Johannesburg to spend some time with our very good friends the Lockwoods.

We had a great time visiting the Lockwood clan and seeing the sights in Johannesburg. On Saturday we all headed out to the Lion and Rhino Nature Reserve just outside of Johannesburg. While the preserve was pretty much a really, really large zoo, we did manage to knock out three of the big five and got up close and personal to at least one guy who seemed like he would have liked to see us on the other side of that window.

We also saw the laziest pride of lions ever:

Having soaked up as much sun as we could handle, and consuming more McDonalds and pizza that we care to admit publicly, it was time to head back home to Nairobi. Thanks for having us, South Africa. Hope to see you again soon.

The One Where We Go to Amboseli National Park (Andy and Kerry)

We were looking for an easy getaway for the weekend--just something to get us out of the city and away from the remaining items left to be settled into out home. After exploring a few options, we settled on Ambosolei National Park, which is about 230KM south of the city, close to the border of Tanzania. Amboseli is one of the smaller national parks inside Kenya and every guide book will tell you that it is most famous for its elephant population; they also will mention that it is a borderline tourist trap. I feel that last point is somewhat unwarranted, though I certainly understood where the writers were coming from as we encountered numerous buses full of Chinese and German tourists  and our hotel, which we were extremely pleased with and plan to stay there again, was constructed primarily from 1990s African kitche'.  

The drive down from Nairobi went smoothly and we passed through some of the most spectacular countryside we have seen to date.  The primary road you take to the park, Mombasa Road, also is the primary trucking artery linking Mombasa with Nairobi so you spend the first half of the trip weaving in and out of semi-trucks hauling goods to and form the port.  We stopped for fuel in a small town located roughly at the halfway point, the turned down the road that would take us into the park. While I knew we were on the right road, I'd managed to misplace the map I printed out and our hand-held GPS couldn't figure out where exactly we were. Additionally, the GPS in our vehicle is still programed for Japan and appeared to show us cruising smoothly through stop-and-go traffic in downtown Tokyo, so I was forced to put my full faith in the Kenyan tourism bureau's sign department. 

We came to the park entrance around dusk and purchased our safari passes, but it still was another 20km to the hotel. While we were waiting to pay we were surrounded by local Masai villagers trying to sell us africrap and show us around "a real Masai village." While there still is a large portion of Masai that live as nomadic herdsmen, these Masai clearly were the "tourist Masai" that has become more prevalent in this country as the tribal lands have shrunk with time. 

We arrived at the lodge just in time to find our rooms and freshen up for dinner.  The rooms are individual chalets and as requested, we had one with a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  We then went to a nice dinner, had some drinks at the bar, and headed back to our chalet to look at the millions of stars in the sky.

The sound of monkeys woke us up early in the morning and we went out to see breathtaking views of Kilimanjaro and herds of zebra, elephant, buffalo, and wildebeest moving across the plain towards a large watering hole just beyond our hotel.  It was pretty amazing and we spent most of the morning on our porch, with books, just taking in the view.  

After a nice lunch we headed out on safari.  Amboseli is known as the best place in Kenya to see elephants and we were not disappointed.  We saw many elephant herds and several babies.  We also saw lots of antelopes, zebra, and wildebeest.  

Once we'd seen our fair share of animals, Kerry noticed on the map that there was a Lake Amboseli located on the corner of the park and wanted to check it out. I agreed, but as we drove toward it the roads became more trails, and the trails more suggestions of place to drive. Soon, the track marks were simply indications that at one point in history, someone had traveled in this direction. But just as we started to lose faith that we in the right place, we saw in the distance the tell-tale signs of water and animals grazing in the distance. I aimed our vehicle towards the water and started driving:

About two minutes into the drive, I realized there was no water. It was a mirage, as classic as any a Looney Toons character might have fallen for. My wife, however, remained convinced that water was near; "just a little further," she would reply as I continued to say we should turn around. Finally, enough dust and scattered bones convinced her that there was no water where we were. In all fairness, had we studied the map a little closer, we would have noticed that the lake is only a lake approximately one month out of the year. The rest of the time it is bone dry.  Admitting defeat, we retreated back toward civilization.

The next morning we enjoyed some lovely tea on our porch and inadvertently left the tea cups outside until we heard them clatter and saw that the monkeys were in the process of stealing them.  I gave some strong raps on the window as I normally do to scare squirrels and birds back home but to my surprise the monkey attacked back!  He pounded on the window right back at me!  Another monkey sat on the outside of our window and watched us get ready.  That window did not have blinds and it was slightly creepy. 

After breakfast we packed up and hit the road back to Nairobi, normally about a 3 hour drive.  Unfortunately our car started having some issues and the trip ended up taking over 5.5 hours because it wouldn't go over 30 kilometers an hour.!  I held my breath as we went up each hill, hoping we would make it up.  I was really proud of Andy for managing the car the whole way home because we were in the middle of nowhere and had no cell phone reception and it would have been a long walk home:).

The one about nothing (Kerry)

Hi Friends.  I realize we haven't posted anything in awhile and it is mostly because we haven't really done anything particularly noteworthy.  However, I thought I'd just bring you up to speed on the happenings around the house.


1) Our household effects arrived!  We were mentally prepared for a 3-4 month wait for most of our stuff but we were pleasantly surprised when the boat arrived in September.  Now, I can't say that we are fully unpacked yet, but we are nearly there.

This is the big truck that pulled up outside our house with our stuff!  I was going to take more pictures but shortly after this was taken, one of the movers injured himself (one of those metal straps broke and whipped him in the face, drawing a lot of blood) so I was off to find our first aid kit.  

Mosby was more interested in sleeping on all of the packing supplies than actually helping us.  

2) Our garden is growing!

Here is our garden as it looks now.  Eric the gardener built that fence to keep Mosby out as he has a fondness for digging everything up and burying his bones in the dirt.  You are looking at our watermelon plants, the spinach, and the green peppers.  

Here is our baby spinach up close, I just picked a bunch last night and we had it in a wonderful salad for dinner.  

3) Mosby is growing!

As you can see from these photos, Mosby has quickly outgrown his little laundry basket bed.  

Here is Mosby in the same bed the back on the first day we got him.  So sweet!

Okay, that's all I have for now, catch you next time!

The One Where We Go on an Urban Safari (Andy)

(Author's Note: to counter the fact that we literally were doing a Safari in the middle of the city, I had to alter my photos so as to make you think we actually were back in simpler times).

Clearly, one comes to Kenya for the Safari: the early morning game drives; the large, tented encampments; watching the elephants, silhouetted by the setting sun, graze peacefully while you sip your Gin and Tonic to slyly ward of malaria.  However, if one were on a budget or pressed for time, he or she also could go on Safari right in the center of downtown Nairobi. 

As I've stated in a previous post, Nairobi has been a sleepy, backwater town for much of its short life. As a result, it is no stranger to African wildlife.  The rapid expansion of Nairobi over the past 15-20 years could have pushed Kenya's biggest commodity, its wildlife, further and further out into the plains.  But for whatever reason, and I think it was a brilliant one, the Kenyan government decided that the city should have a game preserve and it set aside 172 square kilometers of city land to house every animal any visitor to Kenya could ask for. 

The size of the park truly is amazing and you're immediately taken by the fact that you have no idea how a park this size could remain so well camouflaged in such an urban environment. Upon entering the game area we were immediately greeted by a giraffe, which I thought was nice, then set off on a road to the center of the park, randomly selecting trails that we felt would lead us to the largest sampling of game. 

Like every person on Safari, our main goal was to see lions. But, we warmed up with a few Grant's gazelles, zebra, ostrich, and kudu:

After about an hour of driving around, we were beginning to think our chances of actually seeing a lion were slim. Then, as the road curved around by a watering hole, we spotted a small pride getting some shade under a tree.

After that sighting, it seemed like there were lions everywhere. Seeing a lion in the wild was definitely a first for me and it seemed surreal to actually be that close to them.  We also were lucky enough to spot a lioness with her cubs, a first for all of us,

As we started to drive away, we noticed a male lion in the distance. We were never able to get close to him, but he cut a magnificent profile on the horizon.