Wednesday, February 19, 2014

On the Serengheti . . .

Africa surprised me with its open spaces. Once we were on the Serengheti Plains, animals wandered about their lives, seemingly unaware of the rumbling, open-air tourist jeeps that parked nearby.

A lioness makes her way down a rocky hill on her way to find breakfast.while a herd of antelope grazes nervously thirty feet away. 

Looking for breakfast (Camp 2012)

Two giraffes amble on hilly ground, munching on the tops of thorny trees.

A landscape of giraffes (Camp 2012)

Herds of wildebeest cross in front of our jeeps by the thousands on their annual migration.

The Great Migration (Camp 2012)

Early one morning, we surprised a mother lioness and her babes at a watering hole.

At the watering hole (Camp 2012)


 And at the end of the day, the African landscape shimmers at sunset. Beautiful memories!

Camping near Serengheti Plains (Camp 2012)


Friday, February 14, 2014

Friday: Do It Different Day!

Friday. We planned a scrumptious lunch of sushi to celebrate Valentine's Day after the morning mix of snow and rain slowed. But I went out to the garage to go for a morning swim at a gym nearby. The car would not respond. Not a click. Not a moan.

Thankfully, the AAA guy was here in under 30 minutes to diagnose a dead starter. He pounded on the starter with a big hammer, and our little Toyota sprang to life! So we drove to our car repair place here in Spokane and are now home, waiting for news.

Today is definitely "do it different" day!

Instead of leaping into the projects that await my attention, I wanted to post here, the first entry since January 3. What stops me from posting more often here? We're not really on the road these days, though we have two trips coming up this year that I'm excited about -- one to Oregon this spring and the other to Canada late in the summer. But day-to-day, we're home in Spokane. I thought you might enjoy reading about past trips, but posting here seems to fall to the bottom of the list.

How about random pictures from travels? What do you think?

Here's are are two leopards taking a little siesta before bounding out to hunt. Perhaps these are appropriate for today -- Happy Valentine's Day!

Nuzzling Leopards on the Serengheti (Camp 2012)

Getting Close on Valentine's? (Camp)