A Holiday Down Memory Lane

When I first set up my blog three years ago it was a means to keep in touch with family and friends while hubby and I went on two amazing adventures down under, not the usually holidays, we hired a 4x4 and went exploring on our own.  Last year we took an easy route and packed up our own car and headed over the border from Saudi where we are living at present, to the UAE and bits of Oman.  Again, no real planning, just took a day at a time and exploring as we went.

This year we are going on a very special vacation, one I have dreamed of for many years and doubted would happen, we are going back to our homeland.  My folks lived in Africa for many years and I was born in Nigeria half a century ago lol.  We moved to Zambia in the 70's and in 1979 moved onto Kenya where my dad finally retired and my folks returned to the UK.  I remained in Kenya as while there I met my best friend in life, my husband.  We had our two wonderful daughters in Kenya and enjoyed many happy times.  In 1985 we returned to the UK, mainly for the sake of giving our kids the best possible chance in life which they deserved, it was a hard decision to pack up our lives into four boxes and start afresh but we made it.  It has to be said though, Africa has never left our hearts or our blood, it is where our feet belong, always has been and always will be.  So . . . .  this year we are going home to Kenya with very mixed emotions, the excitement of going, the relishing of breathing in the air, the nose twitching anticipating the smell of the land, hearts beating extra fast with the realization of what we are undertaking and also the knowing of how hard it is going to be to say goodbye one final time to home.

Over the next four weeks I will be doing, as I did before - keeping a diary or our adventure, our trip down memory lane, thoughts on the changes we see and of course some stunning photography too.

I am busy writing this two weeks before we go as I have a busy time coming up and don't want to get caught out with having to rush something at the last minute lol.  I can hardly believe we set off in 338 hours for the fist leg of our journey, from Dammam, Saudi Arabia to Dubai to catch our flight to Nairobi where we will meet up with Pete who was the best man our wedding (we have had no contact for 29 years!!!!!  - talk about a blast from the past <g>).  Pete and his wife have their own safari company and there is no other hands we would rather be in to share this experience with us.  I am not going to tell you where we are going, that will be a surprise for you if you are following this, that way you can join in our adventure with us but I will say it is including many trips down memory lane, including going back to the church where we got married, finding our old home, and maybe (if I can talk folks into it - a trip to where it all began in Mombasa <g>) along with game safaris.  Last job - to schedule this post so it goes live just as we get into the taxi to head to Dammam airport lol.  OK - I am a bit dotty and a great sentimentalist lol.

Map of Kenya which I will continue to add to the blog posts as we travel around <g>.  First stage of our adventure - Dammam, Saudi Arabia to Dubai UAE, change planes and off to Kenya :)

Map from 

November 2nd

And now the day has come, cameras are packed, cases have a few things flung into them - only take a few more minutes to chuck the rest in and if we have forgotten anything tough luck.  I sorted the clothes to take and have a pile about 15 inches high with one item piled on top of another - 5 t-shirts, 3 pairs cut of trousers, 1 pair long trousers, socks, 1 pair shorts, 1 swimsuit, undies, wash bag, flip flops (or thongs for my Oz buds lol - I still have problems with that, normal people don't wear thongs on their feet !!!)   and a hair brush.  Biggest thing is the pair of walking boots lol.  Talk about traveling light for 4 weeks, think the only bit is getting bored of wearing the same clothes in rotation, I will almost know what day of the week it is by what clean washing comes back from laundry lol.  Our taxi arrives at 1:00 a.m. Saudi time (10 p.m. UK time) and about all I can think about now is the taste of real fresh bananas, not the nasty woolly ones I have become accustomed to over the years and really are revolting, Pete has promised to have bananas in the house ready for me and tells me too mangos are in season - my mouth is watering already.  What else am I thinking about :) well it can only be that tomorrow my feet touch the land I love, it is still all a bit surreal sitting here at home with nothing really changing, weekend so just pottering round the house as usual then I remember that tomorrow will be so different - back to a world I understand, a place where my life really began when I met Alan and we became a family unit with the arrival of our two beautiful daughters, a place full of memories (good and bad) which we never really said goodbye to all those years ago when we made the decision to leave. I wonder if I will feel 25 again lol - and just take up from where we left off.  Now that is a rather nice thought, just have to hope Alan feels 32 again too lol !!!!!!!!!!

All for now, next time I blog will be from Kenya :)