Double WOW day

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It was a double wow day. We woke very early for a 520am departure for the hot air balloon flight. The roads in the Mara are gruelingly bumpy. Having had a sore tailbone since the second night at Ngorongoro, just as it was feeling better the roads got worse. Not that I am complaining, just an observation for those who think they would like to go to Kenya and Tanzania, but may have a weak or sore back. I'm glad I was pretty we'll trained before leaving home. I digress. The hot air balloons were on the ground, ready to be filled. We climbed in and sat with our backs toward the ground, feet up, holding on to a rope, pretty claustrophobic while the captains and crew tried to fill the balloons and take off. It was too cold an too.much wind, so after several attempts, the captain called it a day. We were driven to a field afar and a gorgeous buffet breakfast in the bush was spread out for all to enjoy. We had a game drive on the way back to the hotel. We saw a pride of lions playing around, because the weather was so cool, they were out in the daylight. The cubs were adorable, the females scolding them when they got too close to our vehicles. If the balloon would have taken off, we would have.missed this gorgeous pride. Seth said to meet at 500pm at the vehicles. No word where we were headed, but after a seemingly hours drive up into the hills, there was a lovely bar setup, and chairs set around a campfire, overlooking the Masai Mars plain and a gorgeous sunset. This "sundowner" was our final chance to mingle with the whole group, and what a wonderful group of people we have gotten to know a bit along the way. Seth gave us all photos of the group and Kelly collected email addresses and he had them copied. Sharing a trip like this one is a bonding experience. No cell phones, TV or other distractions, mixing up people in the Land Rovers daily really let's you get to know people pretty well. I will miss everyone when we get back home. After the cocktails in the bush we had dinner at the hotel dining room while Masai dancers entertained in the bar. Back to our amazing tent for the last night on safari, we fell asleep to the birds calling and hippo grunting as they made their way onto land for nighttime browsing. I thought about going home, and how I wish this trip would never end. I asked God to show me his "to do list" and hoped it included a return to this beautiful part of the world.

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