The plane better get here soon! At $15 a pop drinks are a little steep at JFK.

Here we are at JFK... Sybil and Jerry we will see you in London.

US Air screwed up again! We arrived at the airport in Wilmington to discover that we are arriving in NY at LGA not JFK. This after being on the phone with them all yesterday afternoon to sort out the change they made to our tickets without notifying us. (We discovered the change when we were printing our boarding passes.). So we've had to call Meredith AGAIN. Fortunately she will can drive us from LGA to JFK. We will be happy when we are on board the flight to London WITH our bags.

Frantic Last Minutes Details

OK, our bags are packed and both weigh in under the 33 lb. limit, with my bag weighing 30.6 lbs. and Skip's weighing 31.6 lbs.  In fairness, he has all the heavy toiletries, bug sprays, and sunscreens in his bag. But, the important thing is that we have all the stuff we need and will have ample room (after we consume and give away items) to bring back the all important souvenirs.

After taking care of the packing we next turned to the task of printing our boarding passes.  You can imagine our consternation when we learned that US Air changed our flight from Wilmington to New York.  Originally we were to fly from Wilmington to LaGuardia.  Meredith was going to meet us there and drive us to JFK where we would board a flight to London.  Unfortunately, US Air canceled the direct flight to LGA on Saturdays.  They said we received an email, but Skip searched his email trash and found nothing. They rescheduled us to fly from Wilmington to Philadelphia and then on to NY.  That scenario was not good for us. Thankfully, they worked with us and arranged for us to change our flight.  Now we are flying from Wilmington to Charlotte and then on to JFK.  Let's just hope that will be the only last minute change for us.

We thought that tomorrow morning we might have a leisurely morning and perhaps get in our regular 7 mile walk.  That won't be happening now, since we now will need to leave the house by 8:00 am.  Oh well, it could be much worse.  I never mind waiting at an airport... but I sure do hate being late and worrying about missing a flight.

I got a data plan for my phone, but I don't think I'll be able to post much except where wifi is available.  In and around Nairobi should be ok, but after we leave there I don't think there will be much service.  We will just have to wait and see.

Don't forget that next Friday, February 18th there will be a full moon.  Take a look at it that night if you can and think of us gazing up at it in a place far, far away with no lights (and very little electricity).  I am SO looking forward to that view!!

Wow, I just realized that the full moon in February will be on the 18th.  We will be staying in the above tented camp in Arusha, Tanzania that night.  Won't that be special?!  I'm sure there won't be any lights to interfere with the night view.  I absolutely can't wait for this evening.  In addition, we will have many other beautiful nights with the moon shining brightly.  Think of us when you are viewing the full moon in February!!!

Skip, Sybil, and Bob

Skip and Bill

Jerry, Mary Ann, and Skip waiting for dessert.

Jerry and Bill in a deep discussion about our upcoming trip to Africa.

Sybil, one of the leaders of our "pack"... Thanks for the great dinner!

Overseas Adventure Travel

Below is a link showing the itinerary for our trip to Kenya and Tanzania.

http://www.oattravel.com/Trips/2011/The-Best-of-Kenya-and-Tanzania-2011/Itinerary/Nairobi-to-Arusha.aspx

OFF TO AFRICA

Well, it's only 7 days until we depart for Africa.  During the last week Skip and I have been frantically trying to organize everthing that we need to take so that we will meet the 33 pound weight limit AND still have enough room left over to bring home souvenirs.  Today I think we finally got everything right.  My bags (duffel and backpack) weighed in at 29.5 lbs and Skip's weighed 26.7 lbs.  Actually, even if we brought EVERYTHING back that we are taking we would still have room for souvenirs.  But, we know that a good bit of stuff will be consumed, given away, or simply will be tossed before we return home.  For example, we will consume the shampoo and many other toiletries during the trip, not to mention all the bug sprays, and medicines we needed to have on hand.  Also, we were advised to bring some small gifts for the family who will be hosting a dinner for us in a small village.  Likewise, we will be visiting a school and we were told that it's a nice gesture to bring them some supplies like pencils, dry markers, deflatable balls, protractors, etc.  We were also told that we would be well-fed, but snacks usually weren't included, so if we wanted snacks we should bring our own.  All in all I'm now confident that both Skip and I will have at least 5 lbs. each to bring things back home AND we will have the space in our bags to do so.  

Now that the packing is done, I only have a few things I need to do this week to be all ready.  First thing Monday morning I'm going to the AT&T store to sort out the international calling/text/email options.  I'll be able to use my iPhone (where service is available) but I want to make sure I understand EXACTLY what service I will have and how much it will cost.  I might not be able to blog while I'm there unless I find some available hot spots,  but I will know lots more after I talk to the people at AT&T.

Skip and I are very much looking forward to this trip.  We've never traveled anywhere that has taken more preparation.  I mean we had to apply for our visas months ago, not to mention beginning all the vaccinations.  Skip had to go for 3 rounds of shots over many weeks.  His shots cost over $800.  I already had more of the shots so I only had to go once (but got 5 shots in that one visit!).  Also, we've never been anywhere that we've had to take malaria pills before departing, while there, and for a week upon our return to the USA.  We learned that it was standard procedure to take along Cipro in case we contracted an infection while there.  My doctor said that we should begin it at the very first sign of an infection.  Also we've never been anywhere that we were told to ABSOLUTELY NEVER drink the water... to not even brush your teeth with the water.  Additionally, we've been advised to not even eat fresh fruit and vegetables, even those that we have personally peeled.  I'm not sure how the home meal that has been planned for us will work, especially if there are fresh (uncooked) vegetables (like lettuce, tomato, etc.) and fruits.  We certainly won't want to be rude, but the travel nurse was clearly emphatic about not eating anything that was not thoroughly cooked.  So, there will be lots of firsts for us on this trip.  Undoubtedly, the beauty of the land and the animals will more than make up for some of my concerns about the food.