Good Morning from Africa!

It might take a long time to get here, and it's a pretty miserable trip (try sitting in a folding chair, OK a padded one, for 28 hours)! But I got off the plane in Gabarone, Botswana, and said to myself, Holy Cow, I'm in Africa!  Then I said it out loud--HOLY COW I'M IN AFRICA! I just never imagined that I would actually be able to go, but sometimes things just work out!

Drew, Sara and Lila met me at the airport, and after what seemed an eternity, we were HOME!  (Did you know they drive on the other side of the road here?!!)

After not sleeping much on the plane, I was pretty tired, but wanted to wait till a more reasonable time to go to bed. First things first, a swim!  It's mid summer here, and they have a pool, so Lila and I went swimming for almost an hour. That woke me up a little, but it didn't last long!

So in an effort to support that need to stay awake, Drew suggested a short drive through the local game preserve-- not long, he said, just a half hour or so. The Gabarone Game Preserve is only about a 10 minute drive from their house. It was early evening by then, a good time to see the animals feeding. Drew said they must have known I was coming, because they all came out to greet me!!  What a drive! Ostriches, impalas, zebras, monkeys, warthogs, elands, and they all had babies except the elands! I had seen pictures of monkeys running with their babies clinging to their chest, but last night I saw it in person!  The Ostriches had about 20 babies, there were at least 3 baby monkeys, lots of little impalas, and two baby warthogs who were nursing!  Imagine having that so close to home!

Time then for dinner, with another mother and her baby, then bed!  I thought I would read myself to sleep as usual, and I made it through 1 1/2 paragraphs before I was dead to the world!

Today is a new day, with all kinds of new things to experience!  I'm ready!!