Safe travels!

After what seems like several days of travel we have finally stepped foot on Tanzanian soil for the third year in a row! Those who have visited before are more than excited to be back and the first timers are wide eyed at all of the new sites, smells, and sounds! Now let me explain how it is that we made it safely yet again.... The 9 of us (Marilyn, Valeria, Nicole (veterans) and Amber, AJ, Ellen, Kari, mindy, and Rusty) met on Wednesday July 26th at 11 am at the ever to busy ;) MCI airport for our first short flight to Dallas. After a short layover with Ben & Jerrys and some candy snacks we loaded the plane for our first 9 hour flight to London. Bring the Olympic season, we met many travelers headed to the games for various reasons. Most of us were seated near each other so it was nice to get to visit during the long flight. Marilyn got into a bit of an altercation with a gentelman wanting to switch seats with his wife. He was a total jerk throuout the flint and managed to wake her up mid sleep to use the restroom, stating "it would be routine, so get used to it!!" needless go say we were all ready to deboard and make our quick connection to Kenya! Some of us needed one final sip of Starbucks before boarding :) The next 9 hour flight proved to be a quick one since most of us spent the majority of the time snoozing! Landing at 9 pm we headed for the visa desk and baggages claim. I was longing to be horizontal at this stage of travel... Being this exhausted is not how I envisioned spending my 24th birthday!! We made our way to the Kenya Comfort Hotel and without much hassle were able to catch some zzz's before our 7:15am pick up! Day two.... Or three.... Or....??? At this point we had all lost track and had to remind each other what day it was. Back to the airport we went. We had several hours to kill before our final flight to Kilimonjaro Airport in Tanzania so we enjoyed some window shopping, African soap operas, and some cafe'. Before we knew it we were back on Tanzanian soil and ready to reunite with our favoritest tour guide Efream!!! I was especially excited to see Efream because I had a gift for him that I have been looking forward to giving him since we left last year! Also routinely we made it through customs and baggage claim in no time and were greeted by Efream's warm smile and embrace! Awww.... Back at last! Efream was sporting his USA K-state t-shirt I sent to him and his family months after our last visit. We loaded up all the luggage andnheaded out in two jeeps to the Impala hotel where we planned to stay the night before heading out to Moshi and Lushoto. After checking it, pulled Efream aside and presented him with the brand new netbook that we brought for him! His response was priceless "ohhhh I think I'm dead!!! Holy moly thank you sooo much!" This response has already made my trip worth while! The group headed to there rooms to unpack and then met for lunch on the patio of the impala! The weather is beautiful here and we are enjoying the cooler, jacket weather! I cannot wait to share our adventures with you! Stay tuned!