Plus One in Vegas

I love having loved ones that go to conferences. This November marked two years since a friend and I hit Vegas for her Bday and almost to the day, we were back for her conference and I was lucky enough to tag along! We were hoping for hot weather and it wasn't for the first two days but really, you're on holidays and having a good time - does it matter? Really? While she conferenced I walked and walked, shopped a little, and enjoyed the free drinks and snacks in the VIP lounge with which our travel agent extraordinaire hooked us up. And sometimes I just did nothing.

Outside of conference time we enjoyed hanging out, Cirque du Soleil "O" and "Zarkana" and a show called "Le Reve", which was incredible. We did some serious damage at the outlets and visited the Body Works exhibition with two other residents. I've seen this exhibit before and it is very fascinating. It's not for the faint of heart - but you'll learn a lot if you visit with three doctors!!!

We danced like never before... to the point of bleeding feet...

A short and sweet getaway was just what we needed in November...

My Travel Dreams Have Gone Too Far

Happy April Fool's Day! And fools we are... stuck in a snow storm and hunkered down for the day. Nothing like a snow day on April 1!!!

Last night I had the craziest dream. My dream-interpretting son has announced that it is because I have been stressing way too much about our Easter trip and the time I spent looking at flights. With all these storms can you blame me??? We did finally book the trip... and not that we're counting but in exactly 18 days and 23.5 hours we'll be airborne.

Anyway, last night I dreamt that on a month long trip (that took until the end of the dream to figure out) to BC my in-laws took us on a trip to the moon. Yes that's right. THE moon. It started out that we were in this weird area where we had to hop from floating item to floating item without being sucked out into space like George Clooney. Naturally I was quite concerned about Mattea staying put on her pool mat, you know those square things with the layered colours? Obviously THOSE are reliable for space floatation as well. I felt like I couldn't properly open my eyes, so I was always squinting or functioning with my eyes closed. It was so frustrating! But then - RELIEF! I got the call that I was accepted for an interview for law school. (Here, I guess I should admit I watched Legally Blonde until the wee hours of the morning). So I made a plan to go to the interview at noon the next day, well, better make it 1pm in case I don't get back as quickly as I thought. But I was sorry to say that my squash racquet had just drifted off into the great unknown and I would not be able to prove my (non) proficiency with it. "That's okay," he said, "we'll get to that another time."

So, we go for a walk.

And all of a sudden we're walking down a lovely rocky area.  I can still see it so vividly that I just wish I was an artist! Somewhat like I picture Albuquerque, but a bit more mountainous. There was a fun water park, and oh the pictures I took!!! People were everywhere and low and behold - I bumped into a high school friend! But I was starting to feel slightly anxious about my trip home for my law school interview and a little claustrophobic and 'stuck'. I headed off to ask about leaving early. I was told we were meant to stay 3 more days and the only flights out left once a day at 4am. I wasn't sure about the time change, so I figured it'd be best to just stay up all night. Tomorrow's transportation was on a helicopter. "How long would that take?" I wondered. More anxiety (sense a theme?) about being "stuck" on the moon for a few more days. What on earth would we do??? Well, I could leave tomorrow morning, but I would have to pay $1000... for the cups... naturally. I went to the calendar and realized that we would still have 2.5 weeks in BC if we stayed the extra 3 days. But how would I contact the law school without REALLY racking up the phone bill? Yikes. I was looking at pictures on my phone and really concerned about using 3G. When I looked, it wasn't 3G it was simply just "L".

That's gonna cost a fortune.

And then I opened my eyes and couldn't see out the window. Everything was pure white. But try as I might I couldn't close my eyes and get back to the moon.

(PS - The moon doesn't look like the photo I've used - conspiracy theory?)

Cole's Notes version of Scotland

Our train ride to Edinburgh was glorious! Barton surprised us with First Class tickets and train travel is the way to go! The kids, who thought we’d be chugga-chugga-ing all the way to Scotland were mind blown; food, tables for games, free wifi and castles soaring past.

Our trip from the train station to our hotel was the moment we realized we’d packed improperly! When we travel we waffle between a few large bags, and everyone having their own bag. This would have been where each person having one backpack would have been perfect. If you haven’t been there - Edinburgh is steep. VERY steep. We lugged and dragged our heavy luggage through narrow passages and steep stairways. Our first impression is that Edinburgh is quite beautiful despite the sweat pouring down our faces. So old and quaint. We dropped our stuff in our AirBnB-rented apartment and hit the town. We walked and walked and walked - the theme of our trip! 

In Edinburgh we toured the Queen’s Scottish home, The Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse, which was amazing and we visited the Surgeon’s Museum, obviously the highlight of the kid’s trip. ;) We went into the Scottish parliament and hiked to the top of Arthur’s Seat for a stunning view!

We also visited the National Museum of Scotland, which was quite amazing... until the alarms went off and the huge steel doors dropped. Just like in a movie but we were split up!!! Once again we were part of an evacuation. Luckily I had just met up with two kids on their own. We all met at the front and carried on with our walk. 

Barely 48 hours after arriving we were back on the train to Glasgow for our flight home! 

And that was it! Another quick stop in Reykjavik, Iceland and we were back on Canadian soil. What a life changing experience - can I possibly say enough?  There are no words to describe how lucky and blessed we were to be able to travel to these incredible countries. 

Cole's Notes version of London, England

Hi! It’s been ages - whoops!!! I’m behind on this trip blog and still have so much to share!

After our relaxing trip to Diani Beach we took the Kenyan Air flight back to Nairobi, all 37 minutes of it! We had just a day to get our stuff packed back up and get ready to leave the beautiful continent that we had all fallen in love with. Our flight back to London was via Dubai again but the late night departure and super early arrival had us sleeping across the seats and floor of the airport. Our last stretch to London back in the glorious Emirates Air flight was long but enjoyable. 

We arrived in London just after lunch and hired a car to take us to the hotel. We had the interesting experience of a cab driver falling asleep at every red light. At first we thought he just was a little slow to start on the greens. Then when the snoring began we realized we had to jolt him awake each time. Barton tried valiantly to keep him in conversation while he drove. Nikolai matched his snores in the back seat while I tried to mask my giggles at the ridiculous situation. 

We did eventually reach our hotel safely. It was a beautiful spot overlooking the Thames and we got an upgrade to a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment. We took about an hour to rest and then hit the river walk. 

I’ve wanted to visit London for ages and ages. We walked the river and found some food. I was able to meet up with a friend I’d known for years online but had never met. We visited and walked and ate. 

In the late afternoon Riley and I went on an adventure! First time in London - we hit the tube all the way up to Stratford where we found our way to the Olympic Stadium, newly minted the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. With about a million other people we wandered our way in to watch an incredible performance by Justin Timberlake. As you might imagine the adrenaline stopped around 1am on the tube back! Haha. We did however make it, and thoroughly enjoyed how safe and busy the city was even at that time of the night. 

Day Two in London was the Coles Notes version as our train to Scotland departed the next day! We walked everywhere, we saw Buckingham Palace and happened to get there just in time for the Changing of the Guard. We saw St Mary’s, The London Eye, Tower Bridge, the parliament, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square etc etc etc!!!! We happened to be in London on the hottest and busiest day of the summer! There were more people in these places than we’ve probably encountered in our lives all together. But it was pretty awesome to soak it all in. Barton took off a bit early with Mattea to play in a park and the rest of us wandered through a bit more. We encountered a fire evacuation in a coffee shop (which would be the first of two in our trip!) and walked until our feet were numb and black with dirt! 

We crashed again that night and the next day with our bags packed we headed for King’s Cross Station. Yes THE King’s Cross Station. We might be Harry Potter geeks. Yet we avoided the tourist line to take a picture next to the cart in the wall - no where near platform 9&3/4.

Diani Beach, African South Coast

When you think of a beach vacation or all inclusive resort, the South Coast of Africa is probably not the first place that pops into your mind! However, upon arriving in Mombassa and driving down to Diani Beach it was quickly apparent that the whole area was an incredible spot. The Pinewood Beach Resort and Spa was the perfect spot to wind down after nearly 4 weeks on the go. Our meals were fabulous, the beach was incredible and the people wonderful. We ate fresh mangos and protected our breakfast from sneaky monkeys. They knocked on our windows and stole our orange slices and toast. How can you get mad at those adorable creatures? 

You want white sand, clear blue water and snorkeling? This is the spot and it was HOT! (for us anyway!) We rested, rejuvenated and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Contrary to many hotels and all inclusive resorts, this one included a full three bedroom apartment with a huge private deck and living space. Using this and a regular room, all 9 of us were perfectly comfortable! 

The Encounter Mara experience

The word ‘safari’ in English and even defined in an English dictionary is used as “any long or adventurous journey or expedition.” and often specifically for hunting or exploring animals (the dictionary even singles out Eastern African exploration). However, the actual Swahili word “safari” is defined more broadly as a good time, usually involving a trip. So, a good time we had!!!

At 6am we were picked up by a passenger van that took us about 6 hours east to the Savannah and Masai land. Along the way we passed through the Rift Valley with incredible views and then through the flat plains. As we travelled we passed through small villages, spotted a few exciting animals and many herds of sheep, goats and cattle. A few random wildebeest passed by. 

Around noon we entered a Masai village where we transferred into two safari vans (we were 9 people). Our two guides, Moses and Patrick who would travel with us for all three days, drove us deep into Masai land. It wasn’t even our first game drive and we were already spotting zebras, gazelles and a giraffe or two. 

We stopped in the middle of the plains where our guides set up a picnic table and laid out lunch; curry chicken wraps, oranges, juice boxes and banana bread. From there we carried on until we reached our camp around 2:30. It was wonderfully warm and we had an hour or so of free time to have our orientation and get to know our surroundings. 

The Encounter Mara camp is set in a beautiful location with a view of a frequented (but currently dry) watering hole. The camp is run by local Masai and is completely non permanent and as ecologically friendly as possible. It does not take long to realize how much thought and care has been put into disturbing as little of the natural environment as they can. The tents are kind of what you picture from M*A*S*H*, sturdy and steel framed. They have running water for the sinks and toilet and a bucket shower they fill with hot water after your evening game drive. They are also conveniently set up with an emergency whistle... eek!

At 3:30 afternoon tea was served and at 4 we met our guides again for our first game drive. The drives are a funny thing. On one hand you’re in this open sided jeep, getting bounced and jostled around which you wouldn’t think would be relaxing. But I found on the other hand, you’re sitting back taking in the sights and sounds and smells, and nothing could be more relaxing. Our sightings started with zebras, gazelles, giraffes, monkeys, owls and then finished with LIONS. True actual, real life LIONS. Freakin’ awesome. Males, females, cubs, all of it. 

Around 6:30pm we pulled over once more in the middle of the savannah and had the ‘sundowner’ - my new favourite thing. They set out a table of snacks and poured the drinks we had pre ordered at afternoon tea. We stood there wrapped in the Masai blankets given out a little earlier when it cooled off and watched the sun drop, just as you would imagine...

When we arrived back at camp it was dark and chilly - odd after a scorching day - and we went back to the tent to freshen up before dinner. Because it was dark, we now needed Masai guards to escort us around the camp. They have spears... and have used them... In our tents there were bottles of fresh drinking water, a warm thermos of water for face washing and the shower bucket was full. It was enough for a few minutes each and felt fabulous. 

We were led to our dinner which was incredible; first course of soup, main dish of meat and salad and a delicious dessert, and coffee and tea are always available. By this time you’re dead tired!!!! We were led back to our tents where hot water bottles were tucked into our sheets. Such a delight!!! 

You crawl in and collapse and it’s so dark it completely matters not whether your eyes are closed.

This first night I awoke at some point, maybe 3:30am-ish. I lay there for awhile and listened to the quiet and then heard... elephants. Trumpeting elephants... like actual elephants... (I asked the next day to confirm and yes, they had been wandering past quite closely.)

The night before we let our guard know what time we wanted to be woken up. Breakfast is at 6 so around 5:45 we heard a shout out that it was time to get up! It feels cold and it’s so crazy dark...

We were escorted to breakfast which is small, a cookie and some fruit and by 6:30 we were back in our open sided trucks and heading out for the morning game drive watching the sunrise. We were wrapped in our blankets again and enjoying the sites. Today was filled with more of the beautiful and insanely unique animals you would imagine to be there. Not only are you seeing them, but you’re taking in the sounds of the birds, the actual crunch under the feet of giraffes and vultures pulling apart the body of an elephant, killed two weeks earlier in an elephant fight. 

We were back by 10:30 to enjoy a massive brunch with a mixture of delicious breakfast and lunch foods depending on what you feel like! You then have free time until 2:30 when it’s high tea time again! There is a common tent for games and reading, multiple sitting areas around the camp and of course your own porch and chairs overlooking the watering hole. 

On our last day we turned our morning game drive into our trip to the airport stretching it instead until about 1pm! This time we left the Mara Conservation where we were lucky enough to be the only trucks around, which really helped the feeling of the lack of commercialization. The second we crossed into the national park there were trucks everywhere. 

This day we were treated to one of the world’s phenomenon - the wildebeest migration. Twice a year an estimated million wildebeest travel in and out of Tanzania in search of food and water. If you catch them at the right time you will see massive herds cross rivers one way or the other and sometimes back and forth a few times!!!! We sat for hours watching these crazy animals and their ridiculous patterns. They’re not the smartest in the world... the funniest thing was that it was often a zebra or two that would lead them across! Once they got the drift, a group would run across the river bleating and barking and jumping on each other and slipping and falling. Then one would get spooked and I kid you not - they would all run back to the side they started on!!! This would happen multiple times... they spooked so easily, even if a thousand were right THERE nearly across. It was quite humorous. 

We slowly but surely made our way to the airport, passing another beautiful female lion and about a million more wildebeest. We said goodbye to the incredible savannah with a few last lessons in Masai counting from Moses and Patrick. 

As I finally edit and get ready to post this blog 3 months later, I am awed at how frequently the discussions of this experience come up. Mattea’s memories of the animals and related facts is quite phenomenal and I only hope that with enough discussion and reviewing of pictures she’ll never forget. The rest of us still refer to this as the highlight of the trip. If anyone can ever consider this trip for themselves, I cannot recommend the Encounter Mara experience. 

Leaving Nairobi

The day before we left on safari we met a man at our going away BBQ named Tony. Tony and his wife are the kind of people that within about 2 minutes you feel the hole of what could have been, why hadn’t we met earlier? What a rip off. 

Tony is a pastor and it doesn’t take long to get an idea of why his services would fill with churchgoers eager to hear his stories. Tony tells everything from happenings at the grocery store to deeply spiritual ones with passion, clarity and connection. Funny enough, we had met his son a few times over the past couple of weeks on campus and he struck me as a shockingly articulate and knowledgable 12 year old... it didn’t take long to see where it came from!

When I mentioned that we were heading out on safari Tony’s reaction wasn’t what I was expecting... there was a part of me that thought maybe local Kenyans thought it a bit silly that vacationers would pay to drive around and stare at their local game! Tony launched into an emotional description of how he himself had gone on safari and though he kept trying to describe the experience to me, he would fall short of words and then say, “It’s just phenomenal”. He said there were moments where you were out on the savannah watching these animals and you want the whole world to see what you’re seeing, that everyone who hasn’t is missing out... but at the same time you want to back away quietly and hope that no one would ever go and disturb them again. Then he launched into a story about his car and a rhino...

 If I hadn’t been before, I was deadly excited now!!!!

I’ve been putting off writing about the safari, because where do I even start? And every time I start thinking about it I get emotional. It was so much to take in, even though it was such a simple journey. You sit in a truck and watch, that’s it, but you’re changed forever. In a word - it was phenomenal.