Richmond, VA

Travel to Africa is not easy.  Leaving Mombasa at 2 pm yesterday (9 am EST), we fought traffic for 90 minutes to reach the airport. During the one hour flight to Nairobi, we passed over Mount Kilimanjaro, its peak standing well above the clouds that blanketed the plains below. The Nairobi airport is a very crowded place to spend a Saturday night.  The single corridor follows the semicircular building and is lined with duty free shops selling the same touristy crafts that we avoided buying on the beach. Food service is very slow and finding a table is quite difficult.  About ten pm we are herded into a secure staging area, before boarding our midnight flight.

I was grateful to catch a little sleep on the plane, as the video at my seat was broken.  At least the return ride was smoother than going out. We browsed the stores and ate for six hours in Heathrow, before the long flight to Chicago, where we arrived late, without all our bags, and had to run for our connection.  By the time we arrived in Richmond, the rest of our bags had been lost, sparing us the effort at baggage claim.  We arrived home at 7 pm, after a 4o hour day and a 34 hour journey.

Mike Armstrong.