Tighten Your Brakes

Safari Day!! It's not every day you get to say you went on an amazing African Safari with 12 other amazing people. We left bright and early this morning and headed off for a two-hour drive to Nakuru National Park to see all the awe inspiring creatures God has put in this place. It started with baboons... lots of baboons. Kenyans are actually amazed that we don't have baboons roaming around everywhere in America. Baboons in Kenya are as common as squirrels back home, however Kenyans have no clue what a squirrel is and it's harder than you think to explain it to them. Anyways, after the baboons we headed to the flamingos. Thousands of flamingos cover the beach at the park. It is so beautiful to se shades of pink and white covering the shoreline. White rhinos, leopards, zebras, and giraffes were among the many amazing animals that inhabit the reserve. It is one thing to go to the zoo and see them in enclosures and cages, but a whole other thing for them to walk right next to your car and interact with you! It was so neat to feel so exposed in our open top safari van. We looked for lions for a long time and began to lose hope of finding them. We were ready to break for lunch when we came upon a whole pack of them! Mostly females and cubs... but so big! No binoculars needed, just up close and personal (25 feet away)! It was so cool to hang out with the King of the Jungle for a while. We finished up with a late lunch at a restaurant in the park. Baboons once again were our special guests. They came and sat at the table next to us, climbed on the roof above us, and we watched as they tried to break into our van to steal our snacks. They became such a nuisance that the waiter gave Joe a big stick that he used as a fake gun to run them off. They listen when you shake a big stick at them! Even though lunch was a lot of fun, we also had the privilege of listening to our driver and friend Elijah tell the story of his life. What a strong person with such inspiring words. With all he has been through it is amazing to see the faith he has maintained. We could all learn from wisdom like that! The ride home was quite adventurous filled with laughter, jokes, singing, and overheating... enough said :) Back at Bob and Julie's tonight with a wonderful dinner prepared by Dan (our lawyer/botanist/remodeler/chef friend) we are enjoying lettuce wraps with pineapple rice (YUM!) and 3 different kinds of pie all prepared in honor of Michael's birthday tomorrow. Although today was a great and relaxing day of play, we are all completely exhausted! Joe is sleeping on the floor and Katie Mayer's head has been laying on the kitchen table for quite some time now :) Time for sleep... Good Night (Good Morning).

-Katie Rooney