A Trip of a Lifetime!

 

The last time I posted,

I was anxious about our trip to Africa.

Well, we made it. 

Travel during a pandemic is not easy,

but the hoops we had to jump through were well worth it.

It seemed like we were the only people there at times.

And they say because of the lower number of tourists,

the animal sightings were more frequent.

Where to begin!

I guess at the beginning.

We started in Cape Town.

Saw penguins and hiked Table Mountain,

one of the new Natural Wonders of the World.

Next stop was Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

The falls were cool,

but I loved the interaction we had with the elephants 

at a sanctuary for orphans.

Then Kenya

 where we saw giraffe, elephant, hippo, lions, hyena, 

cheetahs, Cape Buffalo and baboons on our very first game drive.

And believe me,

we got up close to all of them.

We hopped from camp to camp on small bush planes,

which was an experience in itself.

We visited Tanzania for the great migration of wildebeests.

And they were everywhere!

Estimated we saw 10,000 of them in just a small area,

if not more.

And our accommodations and the food were fabulous!

Our last stop was my favorite...

Rwanda.

There we trekked with the mountain gorillas two days in a row.

On the second day,

one of the females gave me a good shove in the back 

knocking me into the arms of a tracker.

It was an experience I will never forget!

 

I loved the people of Africa the best!!

On our way to the airport,

our driver stopped so I could learn to weave a basket.

It was a trip of a lifetime that I would highly recommend!

Since returning home and recovering from jetlag,

I have been busy in my sewing room.

First up was quilting Peppermint Twist.

Then I pieced and quilted Bjorn Bear by Elizabeth Hartmann

for my sister's new grandson due on New Year's Eve.

My nephew and his wife love camping, so this was the perfect backing fabric.

I am usually not picky about backing,

but fell in love with this one.

Had fun quilting this sampler for my friend, Deb.

It was a mystery BOM program that I designed for TOWQS 

several years ago.

Last week I had steroids injected into my neck

 in hopes of regaining the strength in my right hand.

Keeping my fingers crossed it works

and planning my smaller version of Sue Spargo's Folk Tails.

I do have a start.

Will finish piecing the backgrounds together 

and then start adding more trees and animals.