I never said it had to be a good beer. We messed up the yeast part of the equation which resulted in a flat, bitter brew.

Beautiful night at the ballpark with Sonia, Georgeanne and my Dad. Giants lost by a couple of inches.

Although I think it would’ve been a cool project, remembering to take a one second video every day became too much of burden.

Summer Weekend. Food. Pool. Bronco. Repeat.

Thank you for introducing me to nature and sparking my love for animals. I probably never would have cared to travel to Africa if it wasn’t for you.

Their choice for dinner, our choice of movie. Kids picked better.

First time I’ve done this in well over fifteen years.

Father’s Day dinner.

Happy Birthday to my Aunt Ona. Thank you for teaching me and giving me everything most adults at the time deemed inappropriate. Love you.

Beers are bottled. Two weeks away from a tasting. Not optimistic.

Enjoyed the newly opened Hinoki and the Bird in Century City. chili crab toast, beef tartar and baked yam.

“To see ten thousand animals untamed and not branded with the symbols of human commerce is like scaling an unconquered mountain for the first time, or like finding a forest without roads or footpaths, or the blemish of an axe. You know then what you had always been told — that the world once lived and grew without adding machines and newsprint and brick-walled streets and the tyranny of clocks.” ~ Beryl Markham ~

As a kid, I drempt of Africa. Maybe it was because of Alaska, or the safari boat ride at Disneyland, or the National Geographic magazines read while at the dentist’s office. I loved lions and giraffes and elephants, but I hated zoos. I wanted to see these animals roam. Ten days ago I made this dream come true. Signita, the company that manages the 350,000 acre Grumeti Reserve, is considered the best safari company in world, so my expectations were sky high. My expectations were exceeded the minute our 12 seater prop plane landed on the red volcanic rock landing strip in the middle of the Serengeti. We certainly mortgaged our near future for the experience, but, as you have probably guessed by this blog, Sonia and I have vowed to buy memories over retirement planning. My only fear is that this vacation has ruined all future vacations. On our first night, we were awoken at 3am by an animal sniffing at the entrance of our tent. We had only been in camp for about twelve hours when I turned to Sonia and told her I already missed this place. They say an African safari is restorative. They say it fills a hole you didn’t know was there. But for me, I knew the hole was always there. Unfortunately, Africa just ripped it wide open. All I can think about is returning. And while I hope future trips will produce the same magic, I can’t help but be a little pessimisstic. Africa, like the rest of the world is changing. The population is growing expotentially and places so pure are quickly disappearing. We already know that the rhino will be extinct in short time, probably before Brittany graduates college. Elephant poaching is again on the rise as the suddenly rich Chinese crave ivory ashtrays and hairbrush handles. It’s hard to imagine that the great migration will be so great in ten years time because it’s too damn hard to deny the math of population growth. I think that’s what affected me the most. When you see something so great and perferct you immediately think about your children and grandchildren. Even if they don’t get a chance to see an elephant walking slowly and confidently across a grassy plain, just knowing that such a thing and place exists makes the world a better place.

Watching TV for the first time in over ten days, but my mind is on the plains watching the sunset.

Hard to describe this moment. I’ll try to in the next post. We were both a mess. So much harder to say good bye to Africa and our guide, Aloyce, who spent at least eight hours a day with us over the past eight days giving us an experience that has forever changed our lives.

The wildebeests have arrived in camp.

No, it isn’t our honeymoon, but everyone here at Singita continues to make us feel like we’re staring in Out of Africa. Never have experienced such service, warmth and flat out magic than here at the Sabora camp.

I’d shower three times a day with this view.

Sonia and I toured the local community that has gone from a poor village to a prosperous one with several schools and successful businesses because of the partnership with the Grumeti Reserve. We met with a local farmer who invited us to his home and showed us around his poultry farm. He and his sons seemed genuinely happy to have us and gave us four eggs when we parted. We later visited the farmer’s market that supplies the Singita lodges with much of their fruits and vegetables. We ended our visit at the secondary school where the boys were enamored by Sonia and her long hair. I was pretty much invisible. Most of the kids we talked to asked for us to give their personal greeting to Barak Obama.

Slept in and watched the sunrise from the tent.

One of my favorite shots. A double exposure accident.

I’ll lose the weight in July.

Poolside at Singita Sabora Tented Camp, Tanzania.

Best wifi hotspot ever.

Back from the spa.

Lunch.

Siesta.

Happy hour at the balloon basket bar.

A Night around the fire.

It took five days and nights of tracking, but we finally found the elusive leopard. This sighting completes the big five. I’m in a constant state of awe.

This is the paradise we’ve been searching for.

Safari time.

Breakfast, then the drive to the Sabora Tented Camp on the Serengeti Plains for our final three nights.

Spot the giraffes.

It’s been rated the number one hotel in the world by several top publications over the last five years. Easy to see why with the turn down service alone. It was first class service and luxury, but we’re excited to get back down on the plains.

This is not getting old.

If we’re not on a game drive, we’re eating.

I’m getting used to daily high tea.

Dinner under the gazebo at Sasakwa

One Male, Two lionesses and four cubs each.