We decided to take some time out to relax at the beach and headed to the coastal town of Mombasa, which is the second largest city in Kenya. However, unfortunately, Radhika came down with food poisoning the very first day we got there...word of advice..dont eat from the cold buffet :-). I was in bed for 2 days and re-emerged the third. Luckily the boys got to for some deep sea fishing togeather while I recovered and got lucky too while at it.
The Maasai Mara (also spelled Masai Mara) is a large park reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania. Named for the Maasai tribespeople (the traditional inhabitants of the area) and the Mara River which divides it, it is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of the wildebeest every September and October.
The road to Masai was trecherous, since there was unusually large amounts of rains this time of year. Our van got stuck several times and we even had to get out and push the truck. Definately, added to the adventure.
Here is one, that we caught on video while on our way there.
We also have several videos from the Safari, in addition to the pictures. If you put the volume up, you can even hear the animals.
Herd of elephants
Baby elephants running around in Masai Mara
A cheetah and her cubs walked right past our van in Masai mara
A bunch of baboons in a tree near masai river
We went on a wine tasting trip in Virginia and who knew that only an hour outside of DC, you could get such beautiful views and some really good Norton wine. We learnt on our trip that Virginia is known for its Norton grapes and makes some of the world's best. Rahul planned a picnic, with yummy cucumber and salmon sandwiches. It was a beautiful day and everything was pefect!!!
Jo Ann, Ollie, Erica and I went white water rafting in Ohio Pyle, PA. We ranged from 3rd time pros, to newbies. The water level was slightly above average for the summer and the weather was great, blue skies and cool breeze. None of us fell out of the raft and we were the only all women team!! The only thing we lost temporarily was an oar, and got yelled at by a Nazi Guide. All in all it was great trip. This time level III rapids, next time level IV!!!
On December 11th, we celebrated Rahul's 30th Birthday party at the ESPN Zone in Baltimore. We had Rahul's friends from New York join us, with a few DC friends as well. It was a good time and we got our cake from "Cake Love" in DC - (For Food Network freaks - he hosts the show "Sugar Rush") and our very own private club box, which was cool.
We celebrated Ashwin's birthday too, which was fun since they have known each other since their days in Bombay. Racing games at the arcade ended the party and we all had a good time ringing Rahul into his 30s.
Over Thanksgiving we went to Maui and Kauai, two islands in Hawaii with Radhika's brother and his family. We didnt know what to expect in Hawaii beside the warm weather, but have to say we really had a great time. Hawaii is all about the activities and getting close to nature. We got to try some really cool stuff; here are pictures from our trip.