I couldn’t possibly describe how incredible the night sky in the Serengeti is. I’ve been lucky enough to witness some brilliant night skies in Alaska, but nothing compares to what we’ve seen in the middle of these plains. The moon doesn’t make an appearance until well after dark, so every constellation is visible. To see the milky way in all of its glory with the naked eye is simply awe inspiring.

After a successful afternoon drive, our guide drove us to a hilltop where our camp’s staff had set up the greatest bonfire and bar I have ever seen.

The odds of seeing one of the two rhinos on the 350,000 acre reserve was, to say the least, against us. But Sonia and I tend to be lucky. The rhino makes four out of the big five. Only the leopard remains.

At the current poaching rate, rhinos will be extinct in the next couple of years. The Chinese, and even more so the Vietnamese, believe their horns cure cancer and are an aphrodisiac. Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same stuff that makes up our finger nails. Nevertheless, ignorance will kill these brilliant creatures before any grandchild of mine has eyes to see.

Our guide was tracking a rhino when we were surprised from behind by a herd of thirty elephants.

We found the elephants down on the plain and had a much closer encounter.

Our first elephant sighting. Three of the big five in the books. We did some major off-roading as our guide tracked a heard of elephants in to the thick of a hillside.

Hard to take a picture of the experience that is waking up in a tent in the middle of the Serengeti. Harder to describe it. It’s a feeling. A feeling that I could never tire of.

They make coffee an unforgettable experience.

I’m always my own travel agent. I do a lot of research, but I had no idea what we were in for. I knew I booked an exclusive mobile tent camp, but I didn’t know that exclusive meant just Sonia and I. Upon arrival, we were met by a staff of seven that informed us they were there for our every want and need.  Mind blown.

And this wasn’t just some ordinary camp. Below is the main tent.

This is our tent.

We then spent the evening eating, drinking and gazing at the stars.

Food was incredible.

This is sticky bread. Dough wrapped around a stick and cooked over the fire.

We landed on a small dirt landing strip at the base of a hill in the Serengeti.

We were immediately met by our guide, Aloyse. He is a native Tanzanian who has been a guide for Signita for the last seven years. We will be staying at one camp and two lodges over the next eight nights.

“Singita Grumeti, situated adjacent to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, is an integral part of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem, the home of the Great Migration. The reserve was created by the Tanzanian government in 1994 in order to protect the path of the annual wildebeest migration and the indigenous biodiversity of this vast and important ecosystem. In 2002, the Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund, a not-for-profit organisation, was granted the right to manage and conserve these 350,000 acres, for the benefit of Tanzania, Africa and the world. Four years later, Singita took over the management of the property, at the request of the concessionaire and began the task of generating, via low impact tourism, the funds necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the reserve through conservation and community partnerships.”

We will spending the first two nights at Signita Explore, a mobile camp. It’s a 30 minute drive from the airstrip. Almost immediately we saw a cluster of impala and Topi.

A couple of jackals.

Our first Zebra sighting.

And giraffs!

And down on the plains, Cape Buffalo. Our first Big Five sighting. The Big Five consists of lions, elephants, cape buffalos, rhinos and leopards.

We left LA on Sunday morning. It is now Tuesday afternoon and we’re finally on our final leg before reaching the Serengeti.

Breakfast at the Fairmont Hotel in Kenya. I probably should have figured out the currency before signing this bill.

A 24 hour layover in Nairobi and then we’re off to the Serengeti in Tanzania. We probably won’t have internet for a few days, so here’s a preview of our first stop.

With a five hour layover in Amsterdam I decided to change up my blog format to display larger pictures.

Arrived at our 2nd layover point.

1st leg complete in our journey. A quick layover in the state of my birth.

Caught my nephew Kaden’s all-star game. He’s a ballplayer.

Brit is back to playing club and what a difference. They won their first game of the National Cup tourney 2-0. Brit scored one and assisted the other.

No one hates a graduation ceremony more than I. But today the two seconds of pride when Brittany was called up to receive her diploma made me forget about the two hours of utter torture. The icing on the cake was the after party. I don’t think Brittany will soon forget the expression of love from each and every member of her family. I know I never will.

The Class of 2013. I swear it was just yesterday I was walking Brittany to kindergarten. We’d throw pinecones at trees and I tell her variations of a story I made up called Willard the Worm. But now she’s a graduate with a bright future. I couldn’t be prouder.

Last day of high school for Brit. Happy to trash any remnants.

I think we screwed up the yeast. Time will tell.

If I asked my doctor what I should do about my cough I’m pretty sure he would have said, “don’t go to Vegas or clean your garage.” I did both.

Back in Blahbank. My punishment for visiting Sin City is a debilitating cough that may be the death of me… Or Sonia.

An interesting take on bacon and eggs.

Dinner at Mizumi at the Wynn. Beautiful atmosphere, but a little underwhelmed with the food.

Spoke too soon. We’re flirting with losing our shirts. Sonia doesn’t have much more to give.

We haven’t lost our shirt yet on the tables, so I purchased my first Brioni sport coat.

My favorite pizzeria in the world opened a restaurant at the Palazzo in Vegas. Although it doesn’t match the experience of walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and waiting in line for a half hour to eat at the original, the pizza is damn near identical.

Cashing in her Mother’s Day gift.

Dinner at Sinatra at the Encore was superb.

Poolside at the Encore in Vegas. Just preparing for Brittany’s final week of High School.

We’re going to give the other end of the strip a try this time.

Up in the air….

I’ve driven past this place for the last two years, but didn’t stop in until today. After seeing Chili John’s featured on a recent episode of “Dives, Diners and Drive-ins”, the place reminded me a lot of my favorite late night neighborhood joint, Real Chili in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And wouldn’t you know, the first Chili John’s was opened in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1900 by a Lithuanian immigrant. In 1936, his son moved to Los Angeles and opened his own Chili John’s. Needless to say, I’m a fan.

Not sure what we were doing here with the baskets, but you always tried to make it fun.

A friend of mine loves chicken fried steak. This was his birthday cake from last night.

Mildly entertained. And I mean mildly.

Passively looking for our next home. This one had a great view, but bad bones.

Thank God this only happens once.

Brittany’s dress was designed and made by her mother. One day she’ll realize how special that was.

I should just call this a work in progress for life.

Sonia, Brittany and I have been taking pilates classes for a little over two months now. In that time I’ve gained ten pounds because I think I can eat whatever I want after I work out. Another pound and I’ll hit the 190lb mark which I hope will be a last straw. With that said, the cardio exercise has brought the blood pressure down from the hyper tension levels to a normal 120/70.