Faith: 1, Boise State: 0

If you're reading this, you probably know me at least a little bit.  And if you know me from a hole in the ground, you know that I love almost NOTHING more than I love football.  Georgia Bulldog football in particular, with the Falcons giving them a serious run for their money, especially the last couple of years.  Anyway, so you get the picture.  I have severe, well-documented, self-admitted issues when it comes to football.  So you can imagine how torn I was when I was asked if I'd like to go to Kenya for 2 months (yes, please!), and oh-by-the-way, these 2 months just so happen to coincide with a good chunk of football season (WAAAAA!!).  Torn, but I knew what my answer would be.  I was just hoping there would be some kind of utopian ex-pat pub where we all gathered to eat things that are bad for you and pine away for the game we all love that no one around here even cares about.  But alas, no such place exists.  The closest you'll ever get to an American football game in Kenya is working your way onto the Embassy compound and catching a peek at the Armed Forces Network...and even then, things are shown in real time, so kick-off for Saturday's game was at 3:00 am.  For that?  No thank you.

However, stupid Boise State Broncos and all, the reason that I so clearly won the weekend: 3 days out in the Masai Mara, now and forever to be known as 3 of the coolest days of my entire life!

And I suppose I shouldn't complain about the timing of my assignment here after all, since now is the time of year for The Great Migration, when the herds of literally a million or so wildebeests begin their trek from the Mara back to the Serengeti in Tanzania...much to the delight of the Mara's many predators.  I was feeling a little iffy about the prospect of seeing something hunted and killed right in front of me -- or worse, a baby something -- but I was worried for no reason.  No baby zebras being chased and attacked by lions, thank God, and no crocodiles chomping down on any straggling gazelles as they crossed the river.  But we did see all of these things, along with what seemed like a thousand others.  An amazing, amazing weekend that Boise State and their nonsensical Smurf Turf field canNOT take away from me.

Once again, I must warn you that the photo overkill will likely be in full force, and as such, I think I'll break them up into a few separate blog posts...but I hope you'll agree that my picture-picking indecision is justified by the fact there are simply too many absurdly cool things to share with you!  I'll also wait until I'm at the DSL-equipped office this week to try and upload pictures.  If I learned anything from the go-around with the elephant orphanage post (which took all night to upload!), it's that African internet connections, even when fairly reliable, do have their limitations.

So stay tuned for a smorgasbord of my favorite photos from our many safari game drives, around camp, and a visit to a real Maasai village!  I'm telling you...ridiculous, beautiful, I-may-never-be-able-to-go-to-a-zoo-again stuff.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Labor Day weekend.  And those of you with military husbands (lookin' at you, Julie!) or dads or grandpas or sons or brothers, please give them a big thank you squeeze today!  I may love traveling just about as much as I love football, but being in a country like this one really makes you appreciate what we have at home.  A LOT...  And at the end of the day, while I may come across as a Rolling Stone to some, passport stamp envy and all, I'm still a Georgia Peach at heart!