Final Preparations

I felt a little bit silly trying on skirts and t-shirts today while watching the snow come down outside my bedroom window as I made a list of what I'm going to pack for the trip. However, during a week when windchills will dip well below zero, I am definitely looking forward to getting to trade my coat and boots for lightweight clothing and sandals! 90 degrees and humid, here I come : )

Before I go, I thought I'd post a map so you all have an idea of where I'm headed...


The line across Africa that I drew in is the approximate location of the equator, so it'll be summer and yes, very warm. The yellow dot on the right is Mombasa, Kenya (where I'm headed first), which is a popular tourist destination and is a port city on the coast of the Indian Ocean. The dot that's inland is Geita, Tanzania, my second stop on this journey, and it is best know for its gold mine. It's also very close to Lake Victoria, which is the source of the Nile River. The line connecting the two points will take me through Nairobi as I travel from one city to the other.

Hard to believe that in only two days of travel I'll be covering eight time zones and over eight thousand miles (from Columbus to Mombasa directly; more if you figure in the crazy indirect route I have to fly). Thirty-some hours spent in planes and airports seems like a long time, but thank goodness for the technology that makes this all so much easier and quicker than it used to be!