Keeping Up with Kenzie

And that’s a wrap! As I write I am en route back to the U.S of A flying over Iceland, reminiscing on all the fun and adventures I was able to experience this summer.  Our last stop in Tanzania was Zanzibar aka heaven. After not having running water for nearly 3 weeks a Motel 6 would have been nice but Zanzibar was just heaven. The water was a beautiful turquoise and the sand a fine white, the hotel had everything in excess including some delicious seafood and the 3 nights was just bliss. However, Africa’s pace started getting on my hyperactive nerves a bit but as they say hakuna matata! The travel day(s) back from Zanzibar have been quite brutal including a 11 hour layover in the Dar Es Salam airport, any airport is not somewhere where you want to be stuck for 11 hours but with no food Dar Es Salam ranks pretty high on worst places to be stranded. However, travel is travel and I think I would do my travel days a million times to be able to have all the experiences and opportunitie

Safariing was quite the adventure through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. It included lots of driving, we covered a thousand miles over the course of 4 days, but also saw lots of animals and beautiful scenery. After being on a mountain with the same people for nearly 2 weeks it was quite the change to go back to civilization in the Toyota Migration of tourists and safariier's. At Ngorongoro we were able to experience the Masai Tribes culture and community including a tour of their huts and being able to sample some of their freshly killed goat (that really helped with my stomach troubles!) In the Serengeti we were able to get up close and personal with the animals including lions, giraffes, wildebeests, a rhinoceros, and loads of elephants. One morning we got up and chased the Great Migration seeing over half a million animals in the course of our safari. All in all it was a great safari and adventure I do have to say I am ready for some running water and maybe not be waken up by la

The human spirit is incredibly resilient. After spending 9 days on the mountain I am left with feelings of accomplishment, stomach cramps, happiness, nausea, fulfillment, and exhaustion. The past 9 days led me to 19,300 this morning-the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The first couple days on this mountain were not too fun when I woke up after our first night with a fever and not being able to hold any food down. This first hurtle was not a fun one as I'm not a fan of the stomach flu at sea level so at 10,000 feet it wasn't a joy. I managed to get my hands on some medicine and some toast in my mouth only to be faced by our second hardest and longest day of hiking. Thankfully the universe always manages to come full circle as this brought me to meet my personal day pack porter or sup'porter', Stanley. Stanley is everything you wish to find in the human spirit he has your back, is full of joy, catches you when you fall, and has this smile that just manages to put a smile on

Annnnd that's a wrap on the European Adventure! Amsterdam was the perfect ending to Europe and might take the cake ( or pancake) when it comes to my favorite destination. Yesterday we started the day in classic Dutch fashion with pancakes, strolled to a bike shop rented some bikes and got to see the city on wheels. Those who have rode bikes with me know I am not the most talented cyclist however Amsterdam and bikes is like Texas and queso so it is a must. The entire city opens up when you are bike riding from the gorgeous canals to charming alleyways the city is vibrant and historical all at the same time. The afternoon took us to the Anne Frank museum which was incredible and shocking but simply a must for anyone visiting Amsterdam. From there we hopped on a boat and saw the city from the water which is cleaned every 3 months so was pristine minus the 10,000 bikes that fall in the water.  The day before arriving to Amsterdam we spent the day roadtripping from Germany to the Net