We finally make it to Nairobi and I can’t tell you how happy I am to be standing up. That was way to long to sit still. I’m going to have to be sedated for the return trip. So now we make our way to the airport baggage claim (if you can call it that). The whole trip I have been worried about one thing. My camera equipment. We watch them throw baggage off the plane and sure enough there’s my camera case. However we wait and wait and no more luggage. Great, I’ve been in the same clothes for almost 2 days now and they’ve lost my luggage….

So as I drive to the airport it’s starting to sink in… I’m going to Africa! Lucky for me I’m going with some great friends. Tony is a trained Paramedic and Frank is an Attorney. What do you think I’m stupid or something? I’m not going to Africa without my medical and legal support team. So it’s a plane ride from Tampa to Philadelphia, 925 miles, then Philly to Heathrow in London 3,549 miles. There we have a 3 hour layover so we can have a nice dinner and then it’s London to Nairobi Kenya Airport. Or so we thought! You’ve just got to love British Airways customer service. Turns out the flight from Philly to London is cancelled, next flight 5 hours from now. So we catch the redeye flight to London and because we are late for the connecting flight we have to run through Heathrow airport. I actually saw London for 3 minutes and 25 seconds, they were holding the plane for us to board. So now it’s onto another plane for another 4,241 miles 12 HOURS! Total flight time 27 hours 32 minutes.

Why do I have that ZZ Top song playing in my head? Let see, well I’m leaving for Africa in a couple of weeks, so I had to go down and get my shots for traveling out of the country. Now going to Africa is not like going to France, so there were a lot of shots involved. I mean a lot of shots! Besides the normal stuff like a Tetanus booster I had to add shots for Hepatitis A & B, an Influenza shot, meningitis and a polio booster, Typhoid Fever, Dengue Fever and Yellow Fever. Now that I’ve had 7 shots, I have to start taking Malaria pills for the next 4 weeks and then the week after I come home. I just keep hearing the nurse telling me whatever you do DON’T drink any water. She says if you drink the local water it’s not whether you might catch Typhoid Fever, it’s YOU WILL catch Typhoid!!! What have I gotten myself into here?

Just give me what I want and no one gets hurt. I stopped smoking today, the good news is no one has died…. YET!