Africa... Where we left off...

Ok here are some more pictures of our AFRICA trip... it's about time I add more. I think I got to a point where I was sad to be home and just wanted to be back on VACATION... So I couldn't bear to look at the memories :)... BUT I am back and ready to devour the 2700 pictures!

So when we were out on our drives this is how I spent most of my time.


You didn't want to miss anything... and the BEST view was poking your head out the sunroof and bobbing around. I had SO many bruises on my arms and waist from the constant pounding into the sides of the sunroof. BUT every bruise was worth it because I saw animals and nature in a way I will never forget!


A Family of Elephants... Aren't the babies SO CUTE!!!


This animal is called a Thompson Gazelle... We decided they are the "rice" of the animal kingdom. There are SO many of them and I think every carnivore out there could easily catch one of these to eat. Poor little guys they are at the bottom of the food chain.




Introducing JACK NICHOLSON... After meeting this guy I started a habit of naming all the animals in the Mara. This is a water buffalo... and HE LOOKS MEAN! Benson (our driver / guide) told us that you NEVER want to come across a lone water buffalo. If they are alone that means they are old and have been kicked out of the family... so they are BITTER!




The Hippos! I never got to see a hippo out of the water... So I am a little bummed about that... but I did get to see them in the water spraying from their nose... pretty cool. This water hole was not to far from our camp site and I was told that on the first night at about 4 in the morning a hippo did roam into our camp just to check out what was going on. But unfortunately I was sound asleep, so didn't get to see the big beauty! (plus we were NOT allowed to leave the tent unless we were escorted by a Masai Warrior... more on that later).

This water hole probably held 20 Hippos. The hippo is a very dangerous animal as well... they can even take down a lion! I bet it is because you just never know how many there are under that water. Sometime you will see 2 pair of eyes and then there will be 20... So you NEVER want to go swimming in a water hole in Africa!

I will leave you with this last story. On our first drive (from the runway to the camp) I would call out the animals I would like to see... and seriously within minutes the animal would come strolling by. So we were getting close to the camp and I said, "We are going to see a lion." and here comes Mr. Lion strolling along the road.


I named him Simba. He was a teenager out on his own. Check out the size of his paws. He was also quite a model.

Ride Across America...

As you all know I have MS and with that comes some challenges. But the latest had nothing to do with my nervous system. I was asked to speak at a cycling event a few weeks ago about my experience with MS. I was proud to get up on stage and tell my story... but at the same time I was really nervous.

The event was a HUGE kickoff for Phil Keoghan, the hose of The Amazing Race. He had decided to ride his bike from LA to NY in 40 days to raise awareness for MS... um that is a FAR! I've met Phil a few times before through the National MS Society and the Bike MS events and was happy when the National MS Society asked if I would be willing to speak about my riding and my MS at his kickoff. After Phil took the stage to thank all his sponsors it was my turn to get up there and tell my story. Then when I was done we all got on our bikes and rode the first 30 miles with Phil from Santa Monica to Pasadena (well sort of he took a different route than was planned so we lost him!).

You can click on this web site and see the CBS News coverage:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/video/video.php?cid=1008393127&pid=GHCF1_LsZnIsixToc4qztdx7SB7ZpuKB&play=true&cc=47

Here are a few pictures from the event.







Let's all give Phil a HUGE SHOUT OUT for riding for MS!

If you want to track his progress across America you can go to his web site:

www.philridesacrossamerica.com