Kenya being Kenya, things got off track. Our taxi driver did not know the exact location and proceeded to go to a section of the rail yard across from the museum. To go back to the correct place meant that we would have had to sit in at least 30 min of traffic - so I, in my infinite wisdom, made the executive decision to walk down the major thoroughfare and then through a couple of back alleys to get us where we needed to be.
Of course I thought it was a pretty interesting experience, Oma and Opa might have a different opinion!
The Railway Museum, was a big winner though. I think we all had a good time. The history part was very interesting and the kids loved climbing all aboard the locomotives and rail cars. Even Oma joined in the fun!
The hotel had a great pool that the kids loved (the 'toushy steak' tree was a big hit!) and buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were so stuffed! The one negative was that since it was a very wet rainy season in Kenya, many of the animals (other than elephants) were scare since there was so much food in abundance. On safari it is better when the area is dry because then the game congregates around the waterholes and it is easier to see them.
We hiked for about an hour and enjoyed an impromptu picnic overlooking the Rift Valley on one side and metro Nairobi on the other.
Afterwards we went to the Kazuri Bead Factory. Rhonda and Oma did some serious shopping while Opa chatted with the drivers.
Tuesday was back to work day for Rhonda. The rest of us (minus Matthew who is back in school) had a busy day. We returned to downtown so Oma could try her hand at bargaining in the market for souvenirs - I was impressed - she actually got a necklace for less than her original price! We also finally made it into the synagogue building and had a nice talk with the lady who manages the congregation and heard the history of the Jewish community in Nairobi.
On the way back home we stopped at a local fruit & vegetable market and bought carrots, cucumbers, pineapples, oranges, broccoli, and mangoes.
By the end of the day Ruby was wiped out and took a nap on Opa:
Since Amboseli only whetted our appetite for seeing safari animals, we decided to take a shot at Nairobi National Park on Wednesday. The park is right outside of town and we arrived in less than 40 minutes from our apartment.
Next stop was Kitengela Glass Company. Rhonda had visited last year when she was in Nairobi for work and came back raving about it. As a consequence, it was top on Matthew's list of places to visit. While Oma and Opa bounced along some truly awful roads to get there, the kids and I took a short cut through goat and sheep fields.
Upon arrival it did not disappoint. The kids had a ball right from the driveway with the all the interesting sights and props.
Then they got to watch glass being made and shaped.
Tomorrow we take a early morning flight to the coast for some beach time! I'll need it as I got an offer from my previous employer to start work later this month. I need to make a decision on whether to accept or not next week.
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