The air was brisk that morning but Vicki cracked the window anyway. Her curls, ever ready to riot, seized upon the opportunity. They danced in the wind like the tendrils that dangle from a weaver-bird nest.
A Marimba Welcome at Safari Junction: Staying at the Farm of Dream
The Farm of Dream is a lodge nestled in purple hills above the Great Rift Valley. The nearby town, Karatu, is conveniently positioned between Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. Knobby-tyred rigs like TIK regularly rattle down its mudded street like a military convoy. Karatu’s nickname, unsurprisingly, is “Safari Junction.”
See ya later, Dad
A Christmas card
Lake Manyara: A Good Park for Beginners
The sign at the entrance read “Home of Tree Climbing Lions.”
I thought it best to keep one eye skyward at all times. Having 400 pounds of tooth and claw fall on your head would be terrible surprise. It also would make an end to a lovely safari that Vicki and I and Mr Nixon had planned in the East African country of Tanzania.
Hemingway’s "Something Wonderful": Leaving Arusha for the Wild
“Something, or something awful or something wonderful was certain to happen on every day in this part of Africa. Every morning when you woke it was as exciting as though you were going to compete in a downhill ski race or drive a bobsled on a fast run. Something, you knew, would happen, and probably before eleven o’clock.”
Coordination and Grace: The Logistics of a Large-Scale Holy Land Tour
The challenge of moving 48 people through the land of the Bible is felt most acutely in Jerusalem’s Old City. Here, the rhythm of life lived within these walls collides with the press of new arrivals. Together, residents and pilgrims rush, gawk, worship, shop and gossip. The result can be chaotic, or at least have that appearance for first-timers. There is no tutorial for this school; one must simply dive in.
The Sea of Galilee from the summit of Mt Arbel
Group shot: Real Life Christian Church in Israel-Palestine.
Mud, Miracles, and Mr. Nixon: Our Safari Begins
The Bible Verse You Won’t Find in a Promise Book: The Fate of King Yehoram
And there I was when I woke up (part 1)
Taken for a Ride: A High-Stakes Arrival at Ilboru Safari Lodge
Into the African Night: A Leap of Faith at Kilimanjaro Airport
I hoped it was Arusha when we slipped in. It was hard to know in the dark. The tinting film stuck to the “taxi” windows, bubbled and peeling, made it even more disorienting. There were few working streetlights; those that did work revealed a shantytown in eerie hue. The driver, grimfaced under a stocking cap, looked straight ahead and never spoke a word. Vicki was unnerved.
Dreams of Cinnabar: A Midnight Arrival in Zanzibar
Our flight into Zanzibar settled on the runway after midnight. I looked out the window. It was dark and soft like the inside of a smudge pot and there was little to see except the flashes of the ground crew. A tug swung around. Its lamps illuminated palm fronds just beyond the pavement. Dense vegetation completed the backdrop.
