Better Late than Never

Below are some pictures that I should have posted a while ago, but didn't..

Our Monkey friend who frequently hangs out at our house

Some giraffes crossing the road on our drive back from Naivasha after running a relay from Nairobi to Naivasha

Our Rustic Farm Table hand built by a Kenyan Carpenter from African Mahogany

Fresh Produce from the Market

Post vinegar cleaning the veggies

A tired Pickle on Thanksgiving

A Rose in our garden just outside the front door.  My hand is huge - so let that give you some perspective on how ENORMOUS that rose is!

 

Dik-diks, Morning Hikes and Prior and Forthcoming Adventures

This morning J, Pickle and I went over to Karura Forest for a morning hike.  Karura has become one of my favorite things/places in Nairobi.  There are two parts of the forest (the East and West Side) - which connect to create mile of miles of linked paths.  The West side of the forest is less traveled than the East, but the East side has caves and waterfalls and more options for trails (5K, 10K, and 15K routes).  Pickle especially loves the parts of the forest that are 'Dogs Off Leash.'

Pickle has quickly shifted from sniffing out squirels to pointing at dik-dik and getting agitated by the noisy monkeys high up in the trees instead.  He seems to be adjusting quite well!

Pickle in his element

On our hike this morning, John and I were discussing what we should do with Mr. The Grump for his upcoming birthday (Feb 13th - the day we got him) and decided that he might like to visit a place John and I went before heading back to the states in December; Castle Forest Lodge.  The lodge is on Mount Kenya and offers oppoortunities to hike and be out in the wild - two of Pickle's favorite things.

Below are pictures from our trip there in December.  Grump couldn't join us because we had stayed at the Bush hut - which is a 5km hike into the forest (somewhere Grumps are not allowed due to wild animals, particularly Elephants).  If we go for Pickle's birthday trip then we will either camp or stay at the lodge, where Pickle is very welcome.

John at the lodge prior to hiking to the bush hut

The view of Mount Kenya from our porch at about 6 am on our last morning there

A little hut out in the forest (directly next to the bush hut)

We are hoping that our car doesn't break down this time like it did last time :)

Summer in January?

Summer in January

J and I are back in Nairobi after spending the holidays in the States.  I went from the Polar Vortex (-15F) to 85F degree weather in a matter of a week.  Thus begins our summer in what I have always endured as the darkest of the winter months (Jan-Mar).

I must admit, it is hard to remember that it is January since it is sunny and hot here right now.  

A new year filled with new adventures lie ahead for us.  The first of which is welcoming our first visitor at the end of this month.  A friend that we met during our travels in Nepal is going to spend 4 months traveling throughout E. Africa and will start and end his journey with us in Nairobi.

We are going to work on starting to explore our new home in 2014 which will hopefully lead to more exciting blog posts.  For now, I will leave you with a picture from our Thanksgiving in Nairobi, which was filled with new friends, great food, and lots of laughter.

Thanksgiving 2013 with some awesome people we have met thus far