Robert and Laura Malone

malonetravels2

Robert and Laura Malone


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Former TravelPod Member: malonetravels2


Joined: June 28th, 2007
From: lives in United States



Africa » Zambia » Northern May 1st 2017

Geo: -12.895, 31.9228Got to the campsite and there was a Welcome Robert and Laura sign on Campsite #7 which had reserved once we had bought our tickets. Got our tent set up, showered and headed over to the main restaurant for dinner and to see who was still around!The Typical Day at Wildlife CampAfter a night of the sounds of hippos, lions, owls, elephants, and ground hornbill we are usually awake by 5:30am to go fix a cup of coffee and sit out in front of our campsite and see what wildlife is up and moving about. This year because of the abundance of water, we saw quite a bit of bird life up and moving around. Some of the pleasant sightings were the ground hornbills and the yellow-billed stork. Lots of different wildlife over the ... read more
nice sunbird
river view on Wildlife Camp side of river
acoss the ri

Africa » Malawi April 29th 2017

Geo: -13.2543, 34.3015In Llongwe, Malawi, we have found a great place to stay, Mabuya Camp that has both camping and rooms and a dorm. We opted for a room this trip and got settled in and had a nice evening of great food and fun visiting with other travelers at the bar. Because this is a backpackers camp, you meet lots of interesting people from all over that are traveling, working in the peace corps or other organization and so a lot of information is shared around the table.We spent two nights there which allowed us to walk to the downtown and do some shopping in preparation for our trip to Wildlife Camp in Zambia. This year managed to not buy out the stores and enjoyed our tuk-tuk ride back to the camp.Crossing the Border:In past ... read more
hills in the distance
bicycle with load of sugarcane to sell
beautiful mosque in town

Africa » Malawi April 28th 2017

Geo: -13.2543, 34.3015Every year Robert does a tremendous amount of research to plan our trip to Africa and beyond. Besides figuring the best airline deal we can get, he also researches the availibility of campsites at Kruger, and if we are going somewhere after Africa, how best to do this.When possible, we use air miles to travel but this year we did not have enough and were ging to have to pay for our tickets so he did research on the best deal we could get. As we have done in past years, we decided to fly to Oakland, visit with Paul and Kjersten and camp from Monterey to Mendecino and fly to Llongwe, Malawi via San Francisco. It is not an easy journey but worth it once you get here. Left San Francisco at 8:15pm ... read more
view on the way
man on bike with sugarcane load!!!!
beautiful mosque in the town

North America » United States April 24th 2017

Geo: 39.6395, -99.8438We always make at least one trip out to the country property near Vacaville when we visit with Paul and Kjersten. For us it is a chance to see what new projects they have going on or what has changed since we were there last.Have some nice meals, sit outside by the fire and drink wine and visit while checking out the stars. This trip Robert hit the jackpot in the "reduced veggie" section at the Berkeley Bowl and so we had sauteed greens and brocolli rabe, grilled asparagus, brocolli, sqaush, and golden beets. Had an appetizer of some delicious cheeses with a glass of wine. Had fixed a fruit salad but were all too full to eat so it was the beginning of breakfast.After a nice breakfast and a walk out to feed ... read more
lovely flowers
the country property
walking out to the orchard


Geo: 37.7792, -122.42Before we left on this trip, Robert had signed us up as participants in the March for Science that was going to be in San Francisco. Kjersten had signed up for the one in Berkeley that also had a visit to a garden and invited us to go with her and we had thought about doing that but in the end we decide d to stay with plan A and go to the one in San Francisco.Took the bus to the BART in West Oakland and rode in to the Embarcadero stop. It was easy to see where everything was going to be happening. Hundreds of people with signs were on the BART and when you got off there were people coming from all directions to the park where the speeches were going to ... read more
People Mover airport to colesium
San Francisco
March for Science San Francisco

North America » United States April 21st 2017

Geo: 39.6395, -99.8438Rained during the night but was clearing it appeared but got our tent down and then it started raining again! Got coffee and croissant at Moody's and were on the road. Took the Coast Road south. It is winding in several places and there were impatient people behind us several times.There are lots of beautiful overlooks that we took advantage of. Stopped In Elk at the park there and walked down to the overlook and enjoyed the crashing waves and the setting. There was an informational sign about the marine life in the area.Continued down the road and stopped at headlands near the Point Arena Lighthouse and checked out the seals and walked some of the headlands and enjoyed the view there as well. We also saw more of the gray whales migrating which ... read more
lovely flowers
early morning fog
mystical

North America » United States April 20th 2017

Geo: 39.6395, -99.8438Because of the continued rainy weather, we decided to cancel our last night and start to head back earlier so we could get things repacked at a more leisurely pace. We hiked the Russian Gulch headlands and while we were out each saw at least four whale spouts moving along. We also saw commorants on their nests on the side of the hill balanced precariously.Decided to go check out the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse again and actually went in some of the old homes that are open and filled with furniture and items from the time when this was a manned lighthouse. Once again while we were there, there many spouts off in the distance.Fixed our lunch at the picnic table near the offices at the front parking lot. Had one last dinner at Flow ... read more
beautiful flowers
nice vegetation
beautiful flowers

North America » United States April 17th 2017

Geo: 39.6395, -99.8438Mendocino is not a very large town but is set against a beautiful backdrop of the ocean and the walk around the headlands is very interesting. There is a nice coffee shop, Moody's, where you can enjoy good coffee and free wifi. Mendoza's, the grocery store is a great place to shop. They have a very large selection of food choices, a great deli, and a salad bar as well as many other nice choices.We read the bulletin board at Moody's and discovered there was a senior yoga class at the community center and so we went and had a very nice workout. Drove up to Fort Bragg which is not very far from Menocino and checked out Noya River Headlands Preserve which is a very nice area. There are several places that are ... read more
watch tower and Flow Restaurant
street facing the headlands
view of headlands from town

North America » United States April 16th 2017

Geo: 39.6395, -99.8438 Word of advice before setting out on any kayak adventure on one of these rivers. It is always good to check the weather and even more importantly, the tide times. The incoming tide can be very strong and make for a real workout heading back. If the tide is going out, makes the return very easy but it you do not time it right, you could be pulling your kayak part of the way back! Decided while the weather was sunny, we would kayak the Albion river. Got to the campground and they did not open until 9:00 a.m. so we went and checked out the Van Damme campground to see exactly what the campground looks like. This is an enormous campground but seems to be nice.Got back to Albion Campground where we ... read more
houseboat that is out in the river
paddling up the Albion River
interesting campsite at one of places on the river

North America » United States April 15th 2017

Geo: 39.6395, -99.8438After breaking camp, went over to Breakwater Cove to see if any seals or otters were out and we got to see some more seal antics and baby otters with their mother. The drive back to Berkeley was uneventful and we stopped at Berkeley Bowl for lunch.Back to the outlet to regroup, rearrange the car and dry the tent out. Paul came by and told us we were invited to the house for pizza in the evening and Walter would be there as well. Never pass up a chance for Paul's pizza and said sure. Took the bus to near their house and walked the rest of the way. Great pizza, salad and wine and lots of fun conversation. Took Uber back to the cottage.Leave around 9:30 and stop in Santa Rosa at the ... read more
master of the pizza making
good food and great friends
cooking at the headlands




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