day 2 at ZN

This is our ranger William. We're very fortunate to have him as he is a local guy and most of the other rangers here are European. He is amazing. In a day and a half he's exposed all the major animals the ZN reserve (7 square miles) has to offer: elephants, cheetahs, leopards, white rhino, cape buffalo, and "general game" as he calls the rest. His depth and breadth of knowledge about the animals and plants is impressive. He was especially amazing last night during our leopard drive, managing the wheel while holding a spotlight and spotting all kinds of nocturnal animals.

here we are

we made it to Zulu Nyala Safari Camp. yay! it's awesome. first game drive was yesterday, fantastic. internet time is expensive here, but just thought you'd enjoy this mom-to-be giraffe holding her head high. the weather is here, ... etc

AWOL

there's always an x-factor lurking out there - in this case it's a daughter (I won't say which) who disappeared about 12 hours ago - she's still not here but she called in this morning to say she's on her way - won't say where she's been - thank goodness we're all adults now - I think can actually feel the hairs going grey

ETD 2:30pm today

update: she's home! turns out she had to go to Worcester where there's a guy in charge of reforesting the city after the Asian horned beetle fiasco. all systems go!

preparing to leave

with seven airports in our itinerary I've decreed that there will be only carry-on luggage. this is causing some stress... I mean, the hair products alone...

thanks in advance to Gordon H. for the chauffeur service to Logan - a happy start

revs 3 red bulls 2, burpo's broken leg

the beautiful game. sometimes not. strangely the match between the revs and red bulls last night in Foxboro was both.

the ugly: revs' keeper Preston Burpo's horrific collision with Dane Richards, his tibia snapped, the sickening sound, the foot flapping in the air, Burpo waving to the sidelines before he even landed - I never wanted to see or hear that again after experiencing my own daughter's similar injury in a club match at Noble & Greenough back in '04.

the beautiful: Shalrie Joseph returns to the revs, leads them to victory, two beautiful assists. four great goals and one own goal by the red bulls.

regrouping now, getting ready for South Africa, our flight is Thursday. wondering if Sonya's titanium tibia will set off the metal detectors at all the various the airports we'll pass through - Logan, Atlanta, Jo-burg, Richards Bay, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town.