Day 1 and 2

Yet another Sellers adventure is set into motion. Wifey saved up all her money that she scammed from the State of Delaware over the past year and scheduled another African Adventure. This particular plan and itinerary was 9 months in the making. The plans were arranged, rearranged, and then re-rearranged. Finally we had a schedule of what to expect and where we would be visiting. Shots were administered, pills were prescribed, travel insurance bought, all in anticipation of visiting East Africa. The plan was 2 weeks following the Great Serengeti Migration through Tanzania and then off to Rwanda to visit the mountain gorillas and see what, if anything, we could do to help them with their poor excuses for hairdos. The trip has come and gone and already feels like years ago now that we are home. Maybe we got malaria? Maybe we had traveler’s diarrhea? Maybe we adopted a young African child to smuggle home? Maybe hyenas ate us, even though the events have already happened, I don’t want to ruin any of the surprises of my ramblings.

Day one went off without a hitch. Mark the Russian picked us up at noon in Rising Sun for our drive to the Newark airport. It was an easy trip to the airport, riding in the back seat is usually simple. I had been awake for the previous 35 hours before Commie Mark arrived. I got up early the previous morning and spent an awesome day hiking and geocaching with Josh in Cunningham Falls Park. We did 6 strenuous but awesome miles. It was a fun day to put a close to a personal 370-day geocaching streak. After all morning and afternoon hiking it was a 2-hour drive back home. I was at home for a couple hours and then into work for my mandatory, overnight, first of the month shift. 10pm-10am at work and then back home to clean up and fall asleep in a strange mans car…again. After so much time awake I fell asleep somewhere in Newark, Delaware to be awoken in Newark, NJ.

Our flights were Newark to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro. 8 and 9-hour flights respectively, with about a 3 hour layover in Amsterdam. Not nearly enough time to partake in hashish and hookers. That would be at least a 10 day commitment. Everything could not have gone smoother. Thanks to my 2-day nonstop party I slept almost all of the time in the air. I read a bit, ate when they woke me to eat, but mainly snoozed. My favorite kind of traveling, it feels a lot like time traveling, or a hospital visit with a self-administered morphine pump. Fall asleep one place, wake up worlds away, ahhhh bliss. I fell asleep even before takeoff in NJ and woke up with a full stomach in Europe and then Africa. I don’t even remember changing planes. Not too shabby.

We landed in Kilimanjaro and were met by a man named Salapion aka SP. We did not know this at the time but he would soon become our new best friend. SP had a nice sign with our name on it, even spelled correctly. He gave us a ride to the Coffee Lodge in Arusha where we stayed for 2 nights. Our first day was completely dedicated to winding down, getting adjusted, taking minds off work related crap, and of course doing whatever Wifey wants.

First wild animal sighting

We were welcomed to our room by our first wild animal sighting of the trip, a praying mantis being stalked by a lizard. Let the safari begin!

Here we sat, in Arusha Tanzania. Sipping coffee that was grown outside our front door, recouping after over 24 hours of travel, getting free Wi-Fi in a place I never expected, and wondering what life threatening adventure Wifey has in store for me. This is my first travel plan where I really have no idea what is happening and when. I know that scheduled somewhere in the next 2 weeks is an event that will lead to life insurance collection for Wifey.

It has been smooth traveling to get to this point. I have never felt safer on a plane. The plane out of Newark yesterday was over half full with Hasidic Jews. There were funny half hats, giant beards, curly fry hair, BO, and unflattering attire everywhere. The entire preflight orientation was spent moving Jewish men around because they can’t sit next to a strange woman. I guess it is true what they say, it is powerful. Strange is powerful enough to make you forget god. Wow, religions get dumber and dumber everyday I am alive. They spent 8 hours of the flight constantly getting up and down and simply wandering around the aisles. You might have thought the plane was a desert.

Still safe, still alive, and ready for an African Adventure! Some pics from the first couple days HERE.