Uganda Part II

We left Entebbe and then headed to Humura Resort, where we stayed our first night.  The room was comfortable, with the requisite mosquito net covering the bed. We took much-needed showers and then went to the bar to have the first of many Ugandan beers and to meet with Peter. We then went to the Serena Hotel for burgers. It felt a little surreal being there, like--are we really here? And we were all so tired. I don't even remember what we talked about. The wedding, maybe, and the safari. But it was good to be there. And we all slept well. 

We left for the safari around 9am on Wednesday morning. We were all so relieved to be able to sleep past 6am.  Michael picked us up and we made the 5+ hour journey to the Paraa Safari Lodge.  So much to see.  We stopped a few times, including once to buy some bananas from some aggressive sales ladies, and another time at a beautiful fruit stand. We had lunch in Masindi at the New Court View Hotel.  I had tilapia, the first of many seafood meals.

The scenery was amazing, both looking at the shacks and the soccer fields and the school children. We finally made it up to Murchison Falls.  Wow, what a view. The only damper (no pun intended) was that we got drenched after only a few minutes of exploring the top of the Falls and looking down upon the beautiful Nile River. Crazy to think we saw that, we were present there.

Afterwards, we headed up to the ferry crossing, though we missed the 5pm departure by only a few moments.  We hung out along the south bank and watched the birds, the warthogs, and the baboons, who were quite playful. Loved the mama with baby riding on her back, and the "siblings" who chased each other on the roof of the park ranger site until they were shooed off.  Apparently they were sneaking in food!

Once we crossed, we changed and then went to dinner. We had an abundance of Indian food on the trip.  We also opened up a bottle of port, hung out for a while chatting, and then got to bed early for our 6:30 a.m. game drive. More on that to come...

Uganda: Part I

I have much to recap, but let's start from the very beginning...

We had a crazy start to the trip. We barely made our flight. We loaded up in Brownsville after South Padre and the reunion, and then we got on the plane to get to Houston.Every flight that day had left on time, of course. And as we taxied out, the pilot announced there were bad thunderstorms in Houston, and we'd be stuck on the tarmac for a while.  And then we turned back to the terminal. Of course, we freaked out and began making all sorts of contingency plans. Maybe fly to BWI. Or head to Newark.

After a couple of hours of delay, we finally left. And thankfully, our next aircraft had been diverted to San Antonio. So we barely made the flight. Maybe ten minutes to spare. But it meant we were getting in two hours later, at 1am, so we didn't get home and in bed til after 1:30 am. Fun, fun. Four hours of sleep, laundry to do, and then packing in the morning.

So we go up, literally threw some stuff in suitcases, and then Shea and Shannen arrived to pick us up. We got to IAD in plenty of time, met up with N, and then we headed to breakfast.

Thirteen hours on our first flight. Ethiopian was not very bad, actually. Lots of entertainment options, though the new release movies were not great. I did watch the Sound of Music. And Runaway Jury.  We landed in Addas, and we immediately searched for wifi. We are news nerds. None of us slept. But leaving at 11:15 am was good, in a way. After a few hours in the decrepit older terminal, we flew on to Kampala.

And in early afternoon, we landed. We were in Africa.

Plan to Raze Detroit

Detroit is finally going to start wrecking their abandoned buildings.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's administration already has demolished 4,500 "dangerous and abandoned buildings," according to press secretary Naomi Patton, and plans to tear down another 1,500 vacant structures by the end of September — part of Bing's pledge three years ago to demolish 10,000 derelict buildings by the end of his term in late 2013.

Veepstakes:2012 Edition

I received the email from the Romney campaign about "Meet the VP!"  Yes, we are days or weeks away from the big announcement.

I would like Paul Ryan. Or Tim Pawlenty or Rob Portman or even Bobby Jindal or Marco Rubio.  The latest candidate du jour? Condi Rice.

Bill Kristol discussed this prospect a week ago. After the Drudge headline, Peggy Noonan jumps in, too.  Condi has huge positives (80%!) and does not seem tampered by her long association with the Bush Administration.  Net negatives? Her mild pro-choice stance, and she has never run for elective office.  And Dick Cheney was not a fan. Conservatives really won't love it.

But she is smart and tough, and the first female VP being a black woman? Well, if we can't have Janice Rogers Brown on the Supreme Court, would this do?

We shall see, sooner rather than later, won't we?

TV Impact

What televised events resonate most?

For me, 9/11, certainly. I'd follow that up with the Challenger disaster, the OJ Simpson car chase, the death of Princess Diana (and her marriage to Prince Charles), Katrina, and U2's Superbowl show after 9/11. And everything associated with the 2000 election. So news events.

Entertainment wise? Probably series finales of shows like Friends and Seinfeld and ER. "Love's Labor Lost" of ER and that Ross & Rachel kiss. The finale of Lost. The finales of the Cosby Show and the premiere of the Simpsons.

What am I missing?

Uganda Reading

I finished The Teeth May Smile but the Heart Does Not Forget by Andrew Rice over the weekend.  The disappearance of Eliphaz Lak during the idi Amin reign of terror is the subject of the book, which details his son's Duncan's search for justice.  The tale doesn't have a happy ending in some respects--no conviction--but somehow closure and a form of justice and accountability is found.  The themes of forgiveness and accountability resound in the book. I feel like I know the country a bit better and I understand how people want to just move on.  A significant part of Uganda's population was born after 1979, anyway, and anyone younger than I am would have very few if any memories of that era.

I am getting excited as we approach two weeks. And a part of me just wants to get to the "after" part of the trip. But an adventure does await...

Family Visit Memories

Joey yelling at everyone that flip cup "was stupid! Don't play this stupid game! I'm from the police and I'm going to arrest you! You're bad!!!" And telling the poor waiter, that too.

Joey: "There are no time outs in this house! There are no corners in this house!"

Joey: "This bathroom is so cool!"

Hanging out at the building museum and that awful Subway.

Steve popping wheelies in the stroller.

Watching the amazing fireworks on the 7th Street block party.

Watering the flowers and the tomato plants.

All of those red to go cups littering the house. "I will get you water!"

Playing Apples to Apples with the family. Joey kind of playing.

Joey trying to drink our beers.  And wanting to name all of his future siblings "Stewie" or "Peter" or "Brian."

His surfer bus and FBI truck gifts.

Joey liking all of the sour cream and potato chips, and liking the spicier almonds.

Lemonade.

The horrible 95 degree plus heat.  Which led to the meltdowns.

Lots of fun.

Zombies Invade Detroit

Ah, what to do with lots of empty houses? Urban farms and zombies!!

DC Derecho

Everyone in DC is now familiar with the term "derecho" after this past weekend's destructive storms that left hundreds of thousands of homes without power. In triple digit heat, that is not fun (see Pepco on Twitter).

The month started memorably, and family will be here soon. There's the 4th of July this week. Then possibly Miami and Philly. Then Texas. Then Uganda. Then ordinary time? Well, a visit to Cincinnati. And I will have a chance to congratulate my brother & Megan in person. Baby. Wow.

We went to the DC United game this weekend.  It was nice to have some time on our own. And then we spent time watching the pathetic 4-0 trouncing of Italy via Spain in the Euros finale before getting sucked into the Olympic trials. Those athletes are so amazing to me. Has it really been 4 years since the last one? Beijing?

Here is hoping for a a great July. At least my clean new contact lens are here and I can see!!!

Amazon Picks for July

Amazon always has a great collection of $5 albums. Here are mine for July...

Brothers by the Black Keys...one of the best albums of 2010.
Plans by Death Cab..."I Will Follow You into the Dark" is one of the most romantic, dreamy indie songs ever.
O by Damien Rice...romantic dreamy music, too.
Manners by Passion Pit...Check them out in advance of their upcoming album.
Langhorne Slim...one of my favorite albums of 2012.
Dookie by Green Day...an alternative classic that is now 18 years old!!! I was that age when it was released.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco...another alternative classic.
Mixed Emotions by Tanlines...another great 2012 release.
Colours by Graffitti6...."Free" is a favorite track of 2012.
Signs and Signifiers by JD McPherson..."North Side Gal" is an old school track.

What am I missing?