Today is our last day in Africa. We enjoyed a quiet morning by the pool and then headed to Nairobi by was of the giraffe rescue center. The center is dedicated to insuring the existence of the Rothschild’s Giraffe that is facing extinction due to loss of habitat and the casualty of warfare. One Mom was ready to give birth but she was friendly and let us feed her and pet her. Some folks held a piece of giraffe “candy” in their teeth and so “kissed the giraffe”. Not me though. After a wonderful time of giraffe petting we headed to the Karen Blixen house. She wrote “Out of Africa” and it was interesting seeing where she actually lived with the Baron and entertained Fitch-Haden. Our final African adventure was dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant. We ... read more

The morning was bright and sunny. By lunch the clouds had rolled in. We headed out to a different area of the Mara for our afternoon drive. A group of velvet monkeys handed us off to a family of baboon. The Marabou Stork was on sentinel duty and the Secretary Bird was off to work. This bird is named for it’s appearance and it’s behavior. It walks with a very proper strut and when it catches it’s prey, a snake, it looks like it’s typing as it holds it down for a meal. It has with white legs (like stockings) and black feathers like a mini skirt. It even looks like it’s wearing lipstick. We saw a handsome black mane lion and then spotted a group of females stalking a gazelle. They were very cautious and ... read more

Hope these pictures come through. Especially for Anna Caroline, Alana, Tyler and Justin, Sabrina, Kyle and Ian.... read more

At dawn we watched a herd of elephant take their morning drink enjoyed an otter moving around the water, had breakfast and were on the road at eight. We arrived at Lake Nakruru in time for lunch and then started out on our first game ride at 3:00. Within minutes we were twenty feet from two female lions who were napping, saw Thompson’s Gazelles and Impala, savannah baboons, saw our first bee eater and it just got better; more gazelles, Impalas, and zebra, waterbuck and a white rhino and a black rhino and Cape Buffalo. So within the first day in the parks we saw four of the big five: elephant, lion, and rhino, Cape buffalo with only a leopard to go. It is impossible to describe the profusion of animals. Almost everywhere you turn there ... read more

INTO AFRICA Our marathon trip started at 6:00 pm on 9/2. Quick trip to JFK, traffic surprisingly light, ticketed, 45 minutes through security and now a three -hour wait for the flight. Turkish Air rocks. We had comfortable seats, really good meals with real utensils, drinks and wine and beer. Nine hours later we were in Istanbul, then a three - hour layover and another six hours to Nairobi. The time at arrival was 1:30 am 9/4. We met our van drivers, ours is named Bunsen, and drove through Nairobi to our hotel. On the way, Bunsen pointed out storks roosting in the treetops. I saw a tree with what looked to be large white flowers all over it. It turned out to be ibis roosting for the night. Never did figure out the lights but ... read more

Breakfast this morning was fascinating. I chatted with a fellow and his wife from Palm Beach. He had gone to Yale. He remembers seeing John Kerry since Kerry usually wore his Navy uniform on Campus. George W. was the president of the fraternity house next to his, Howard Dean was in his class and both Bill and Hillary were in his law classes. He remembers Bill as a friendly but purposeful guy and very well liked. He remembers Hillary as a formidable mind and quite serious. What a time to be at Yale. At 10:00 I was at the door of the Van Gogh Museum. The crowd was huge and I started my tour on the third floor and worked my way down. I had the third floor almost to myself but when I walked down ... read more

The day was partly sunny as we crossed the North Sea to The Netherlands. I went to the embarkation show and got teary as usual as the crew sang Love in Any Language. Then it was packing and the Hold ‘Em tournament. Came in third and since there was no cash game that money is gone. Grabbed a bite and a Guinness and was reading when the Captain announced that we have diverted to let a helicopter pick up a very ill passenger. Royal Air Force copter # NZ586 arrived and it was fascinating and frightening to watch the action. Of course my batteries died in the middle. The entire process took about thirty minutes. First the passenger’s wife was taken aboard by wrapping her arms and legs around one of our crewmen in a harness. ... read more