I cannot recall where I packed the kitchen sink...(posting from the road)‏

Do you ever agree to something, thinking that it is just the best idea ever...and then 11 months pass and you wonder how drunk you must have been when the original plan was formed. I am sitting in yet another Delta lounge, Minneapolis this time, waiting to board a plane for Amsterdam. Upon arriving I am going to scour the terminal in search of a girl that I haven’t seen in over 13 years. Once I find her, or someone vaguely resembling her, I will sprint to the next gate and board a plane for...Nairobi Kenya!

A la Amazing Race style, Leila and I will try and locate a cab driven by a man who possesses no inkling to kill us and, using our best Swahili, get him to take us to the address of an apartment. This apartment, our first pit stop on the Dark Continent, belongs to a girl named Susan that Leila met on the internet. The next two nights are spent at a luxury giraffe dude ranch sort of place before we leave the hustle and bustle of modern Nairobi for the wilds of Africa.

Getting back to my Girl Guide routes, I will be heading out into the vast African wilderness, just me, Leila, a tent and of course an air mattress. We are going to camp our way through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania – communing nature up close as we shoo it out of the tent each night.

In preparation for this great adventure I have packed, re-packed and ultimately over packed. I have “just the essentials”. Do you remember that scene from Dumb and Dumber when Jim Carrey goes out with instructions to only buy the “essentials” and comes back with a case of beer, a pinwheel and a foam cowboy hat? That is how well I am prepared – I have a sleeping bag, enough medicines to open a clinic, SPF 70 sun block, 2 hairbrushes, a wetsuit, a UV light water purifier and 50 number 2 pencils. I cannot recall if I packed a bra...that could be problematic...I may have to wear that wetsuit more than I intended.

So join me as I embark on another adventure, this one easily the least thought out of all of them (I would think that night one with an internet stranger should be a clear enough indicator of that). I have no idea if the Eastern African Wilderness is equipped with wifi, so I may be batching my adventure tales to you...you don’t need to read them all at once (this is directed to Caitlin, Jolie, Brendan,Matthew....)...I just need to send them when I can. Sharon, I will do my best to keep the photos available to match the stories. Please, feel free to respond (thank you Staci and Crystal)! I may not get a chance to directly write back but I LOVE to read messages when I am on the road (Rebecca and Lisa).

Well I am off, I saw a gift shop outside of the lounge and I just realized that I need to pick up a few more items...toaster, Twilight novel, stuffed moose, banjo...