Day 1 - Nairobi, Kenya

I've decided to start a blog because I have so many things to get off my chest.  let's start with politics..........  I forgot what I was going to say, a hazard of being 60.  Maybe I'd better talk about Africa instead.  We are sitting in the Exchange Bar at the Stanley Hotel, the oldest hotel in Kenya.  It has a very British flavor, in fact we're watching Cricket on TV.  I don't know what the hell is going on.  A guy bounces a ball at another guy who tries to hit it with a flat stick.  Then they seem to run around aimlessly.  I suppose that's pretty much what a Cricket player thinks when he watches American football. 

Our first day in Nairobi, we were picked up by our tour guide, Francis, and our driver, James.  They were speaking Swahili amongst themselves.  I was starting to pick it up and I feel I will be quite fluent by the end of the trip.  Jambo means hello.  I always thought it was a Louisiana dish.  Anyway, we drove over very bumpy pavement, past the famous Nairobi slum to the Karen Blixen Museum.  In case you didn't know who she is, she is the author of Out of Africa.  She also had syphillis and a boyfriend on the side (Robert Redford).  What a bad girl.  She only lived in Africa for 13 years but you'd think she changed the country.  Oh well, interesting anyway.  From there, we headed to the Giraffe Centre where they are trying to breed the endangered Rothschild Giraffe.  We got to feed the giraffe's, they have a very long tongue, Judy was really impressed!  I think they are endangered because they want to live in New York.....maybe that's a different Rothschild, damn 60's!  After that, we headed to a supermarket to buy 4 large bottles of water, quite an endeavor since everyone seems to pay cash.   It seems a credit card is a curiosity.  We had to go to a different counter to get it approved.  The rest of the afternoon was spent having lunch, sitting at the pool and at The Exchange Bar sipping Tusker, a local beer.  Tomorrow we're off to a long day of driving to Tanzania.  We heard from our driver that approximately 1/2 of the 10 hour drive is very bumpy.  Should be an adventure.  (Written by Scott, transcribed by Judy)  Below are a few photos of Day 1.

Guys always think theirs are bigger...

This is where Karen did her dirty deeds.  By the way, she had 2 lanterns, one red when she wasn't in the mood and one green when she was in the mood that she put outside her room at night.  You can't make this stuff up!

Sipping Tuskers at lunch near the pool.