I awakened at 3:00 this morning, searching for my flashlight, wondering, “now where is the bathroom in this place?” Acclimating to the dark I realized, “I’m home. I’m familiar with the path to the bathroom and I don’t have to worry about stepping on a scorpion along the way.”

Our trip home proceeded as smoothly as one could hope. We left Nairobi Saturday night arriving home 26 hours later, easily making our two connecting flights, surviving multiple security checks, a trip through customs, and airplane food and “rest,” to arrive home ahead of schedule with all luggage and treasures in tact. Success.

Simply stated, we fell in love with East Africa: her breathtaking landscape, engaging people, and of course, amazing wildlife. I have never heard a heartfelt Welcome, or “Karibu,” as often or as sincerely as when we traveled Kenya and Tanzania. These beautiful people have suffered setbacks with the past Kenyan election debacle, the economy and fall-off of tourism, and now, drought. We were showered with thanks and appreciation for visiting. BF received an email from Lima, our Tanzanian driver, thanking us again for visiting his country and sending well wishes. He closed the email with “God bless the USA.” How precious is that? I don’t believe many people around the world hold similar sentiments toward our country. We invited him to bring his family and stay with us and I hope he does.

I have many experiences and photos to share, but for now, I must busy myself with real life and the responsibilities thereof. Re-entry is tough. I would be remiss not to mention what a pleasure it was to travel with Micato Safaris. I have never felt so entirely spoiled. Early wake-up calls consisted of steaming coffee delivered to our room, we were treated to surprise cocktail parties in the bush, our bags simply disappeared and reappeared each time we moved to a new location, and the closest we came to “roughing it” was being rained on once, and of course, our driver stopped and immediately provided us with ponchos.

One of my favorite sayings is, “You get what you pay for.” On this trip, we paid . . . and we got! It was worth every penny. I left home thinking this would be a once in a lifetime experience. I left Africa knowing I’d be back. Our plan now is to return in two years to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro with our dear, new friends we made on this trip. I start lifting weights tomorrow. Gotta train.