2011 Adventure aka Our Honeymoon: Day 10

Today we headed to Tarangire National Park. The park name added to our Swahili vocabulary: "taran" means warthog and "gire"means river. So, the park is Warthog River, but strangely we did not see that many warthogs...

This place turned us into first time bird watchers with the help of our guide. We saw many varieties of birds, from small-to-large and earth toned-to-vibrant. This park also had a variety of terrain from river bed to savannah, so we saw a variety of animals.

Giraffe with Ox Peckers

We learned that birds are a key part of the animal kingdom, and play key symbiotic roles. For example, Ox Peckers eat the bugs of many larger animals hide. They get food, and the host gets rid of itchy bugs. There is no DEET for giraffes!

An indirect relationship is with the "Go-away" birds. These fairly large birds are the first to see a predator. So, when they fly away, it's time for the gazelle herd to "go-away" as fast as possible. They also have cool mohawk heads.

White Bellied Go-Away-Bird

Tawny Eagle

Red and Yellow Barbet

We also saw a very large group of buffalo. They got spooked by something and started running like mad. The ground was definitely shaking and we were happy to be in the safety of the land cruiser. A bit of danger added to the safari experience.

Stampede?

The highlight of tarangire, and possibly the whole safari, was seeing a lion couple on honeymoon. We got as close as 10 feet, er... a few of meters, of the lions.

First View of Lions from our Land Cruiser, we got closer later

Lion and Lioness on "Honeymoon"

After viewing a QUICK National Geographic moment lion style, I scared the male lion. I was moving in the back of the land cruiser, and the lion roared at me! It was like the beginning of an MGM movie, only WAY louder and scarier. Even our guide freaked out! He quickly rolled up his window and snuck down out of view. After a tense few minutes with the male lion showing his teeth and staring us down, he realized we weren't a threat and laid down. Our hearts were racing but we realized that a good safari needs a bit of dangerous animal encounters!

Baby Elephants

As the sun went down, we headed back to our tented lodge under another gorgeous sunset. Along the way, we saw a cute elephant family with many babies playing and our first glimpse of the Tanzania mountains. We could see Kilimanjaro's neighbor, and would see the real deal with more elephants tomorrow.

2011 Adventure aka Our Honeymoon: Day 9

The next day, we went to Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara is much smaller in size (330 sq km) in comparison to the other places we visited but it still offered some amazing sights and life lasting memories.

Every now and then, we would pass a herd of elephants and I loved seeing their range in age/size. When we stopped to watch them pass, they would walk single file from one side of the road to the other without looking back.

The baboons in the park weren't the least bit shy. When another car stopped to take pictures of them, these two quickly jumped on the hood to engage in some monkey business.

Our guide in Tanzania had a soft spot for birds and made sure to point out birds of all shapes and sizes during our trip. We thought these weaver nests were particularly interesting. The door to the nest is on the bottom to prevent snakes from sneaking in.

As we headed out of the park, we saw this monitor lizard slinking off into the brush off of the river bank. Monitor lizards are one of the largest lizards, only second to komodo dragons!

2011 Adventure aka Our Honeymoon: Day 8

MH and I continued our adventure in the great Ngorongoro Conservation Area (aka Ngorongoro Crater). It was interesting to see the difference in of the animals demeanor in the crater to those in the Serengeti. The animals in the crater were completely indifferent towards cars, they would cross the road ever so casually, and pay no attention to the roar of a car engine.

This lioness was lying on the side of the road, literally feet away from our car. I could have reached out of the car and touched her. That is, if getting out of the car was allowed.

In the hills of the crater we spotted a serval cat. They are an allusive animal that look like large domestic cats with pointy ears. Before we could watch it for too long, it quickly turned its back to us and snuck off under the cover of the tall brush.

As we left the crater, we came across a cheetah hunting it's dinner. Unfortunately for it, the herd of thomson's gazelle it has it's eye on was on to it's hunt and scurried off before it could get too close.

2011 Adventure aka Our Honeymoon: Days 6 & 7

After spending two days in the Masai Mara, we headed to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania through the Isebania border. Even though there are roads that directly connect the Masai Mara to the Serengeti, MH and I were required to travel through Isebania since we were not citizens of either country. It was a long and treacherous route to the border crossing since the roads were washed out from the rain. However, we made it without having to get out to push the car so I can't really complain.

When we arrived to the Serengeti the abundance of animals continued. Although we were visiting too early in the season to see the great migration across the Mara river we came across several herds of wildebeests and zebra making their way through the plains.

Just before we had to head back to our lodge for the evening we found a leopard and her cub lounging in the distance. It is remarkable how well they blend into their surroundings and kudos to our guide for spotting them.

The next morning we went out for our morning game drive and the wildlife was a little more sparse. I guess the animals in the Serengeti like to get going a little later in the day. However, the Serengeti didn't disappoint us and we found a trio of cheetahs relaxing in the shade.

The third cheetah is a little tough to see in this picture, since it was lying off to the right behind some tall grass.

In the evening we visited the hippo pool and that was truly something else. The pool was completely filled with hippos and all you could see were bumps in the water that were either their eyes, ears, or back. Periodically a hippo or two would come up for air and cause a ruckus with the neighboring hippos. The hippos would grunt at each other as if saying "hey, what the heck?!?" and then all would be resolved within seconds when they realized it was just a friend that bumped him/her.

As we left the Serengetti the next morning, heading toward our next destination, we passed 'Lion Rock' and lo and behold we found this guy!

There was another lioness sunning on another rock nearby. It is easy to understand why 'Lion rock' had its name.

2011 Adventure aka Our Honeymoon: Days 4 & 5

The next morning, we packed up our things and headed to our second destination, the Masai Mara National Reserve. On our way into the National Reserve we came across some giraffes hanging out in the plains.

It was amazing to see them in their natural environment. They look different than the giraffes I've seen at the zoo and I marveled at their size.

Our camp in the Masai Mara National Reserve was one of my favorite accommodations (although, it wasn't one of MH's favorite's because of our distance to the dining area). We stayed in a tented camp with a veranda that over looked the Masai Mara plains and the first afternoon we were there, a herd of elephants passed through to feast on the shrubbery.

We were able to snap a photo of this little guy as the elephants passed through. From what we could see, there were 12 elephants in the herd. It was an wonderful sight!

In the afternoon, we went out for our first safari of the Masai Mara National Reserve. We saw more giraffes and elephants, a variety of antelope, a black rhino, a cheetah, and a trio of lions. Our guide suspected the lions were a group of young brothers based on their size.

Shortly after we encountered them, they laid down and fell asleep and it was comforting knowing that our presence wasn't a threat to them. Although we weren't too close to them, if they wanted to attack us it wouldn't have been difficult since the only thing that separated us were the thin walls of our 4x4 Toyota safari minivan.

In the evening, it started to rain and we returned to our camp. A thunder storm passed through and I enjoyed hearing the steady down pour of rain mixed with the crashing sounds of thunder and watching bolts of lightening illuminate the plains. As we climbed into bed for the night, we could hear the cries of elephants and hippos. It's was something that I will never forget.

2011 Adventure aka Our Honeymoon: Day 3

Once we arrived in Nairobi, we met with our guide/driver and headed off to our first destination, Lake Nakuru National Park. It was a fairly quick two hour drive and when we arrived we were greeted by monkeys at the Park gate. Thereafter, it seemed like animals were lurking where ever our car turned. Here are a few of our favorite sightings while we were there...

White Rhinos

White Pelicans & Flamingos

Leopard

We were very lucky to spot a leopard on our first day on safari. Our driver spotted it lounging in the tree and we watched it in awe until it must have sensed it was being watched and decided to move out of sight behind a branch.

2011 Adventure aka Our Honeymoon: Days 1 & 2

On our way to Nairobi, MH and I had a layover in London, so we tried to make the most of it. We invested in an all-day underground pass and visited as many stops as we could before we had to head back to the airport to catch our connecting flight. Here are some of our favorite sights...

Tower Bridge

Buckingham Palace

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the actual changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, but one guard was checking in on the other guards that were standing post so we were able to take a picture of him on the move.

Stonehenge

Getting to Stonehenge was our biggest challenge. We had hoped to catch an organized tour to Stonehenge. However, much to our surprise, the tour we wanted was already sold out so we had to find our own way to Stonehenge via the train to Salisbury. Although the rock formation was much smaller than MH and I anticipated, we both thought that it was still worth the trip. We definitely lucked out and had fabulous weather while we were there.

Wedding Recap

Even though MH and I were both forewarned by all of our family and friends that our wedding day would come and go faster than we could ever anticipate, MH and I still faced each other at the end of the day and and asked where the time in the day went. There are some things I remember as clear as day, and other things that are just a blur. Of the things that I remember the most, I remember seeing MH for the first time when the doors opened to the ceremony room and the overwhelming feeling of joy and happiness that came over me as I walked down the aisle.

After planning for 9 months, we are proud to say that we felt the wedding went off without a hitch. Thanks to our awesome wedding party, family, and vendors, there weren't any catasrophe's or even minor disasters. Sure, there are some things I would change if we did it again, some things could have been better, but we're only getting married once so what is done is done. Now, our focus is on our life together as husband and wife.

Thank you to everyone who shared our special day with us. We were honored to have you with us to celebrate our union and hope you cherish the memories of the day as much as we do.

Kogi: Korean BBQ-To-Go

After years of hearing all of the hype, MH and I finally tried the Kogi truck.

If you have never heard of the Kogi truck, its a Korean Taco truck that popped up in Los Angeles in late 2008. You can check out an article from the Wall Street Journal about it - here.

Three Taco Combo: Short Rib, Spicy Pork, & Chicken

We happened to stumble across the truck in Venice on our way to meet our florist. Since the line was surprisingly short, we decided to give it a go and ordered the three taco combo. It was a little too spicy for my liking, but MH and I agreed they were pretty good, with the short rib taco being the best. Our main critique is that the tacos were on the smaller side considering their price. Tacos a la carte are $2.10 +tax and our combo which included a can of soda was $7.00 +tax.

If we happened to come across the truck again we'd be willing to try something else on the menu, but we don't think we'll be seeking out the truck on our own anytime soon.

T-10 Days!

The wedding is in 10 days! Am I excited or nervous? Yes and yes.

I'm not worried about the getting married part. It is the actual wedding that keeps me up at night. Despite the fact that we have been planning this day for months and months, I know that something will be forgotten, and we won't know what that something is until the big day.

You can plan, and plan, and plan, but how do you plan for the unexpected?