Saturday June 1st - The Tea Farm, Amboseli group returns and Arron and Sarah arrive at last

 Amanda, Rudy and I went out to the Tea Farm for a tour that was supposed to start at 11.  We arrived at 10am and got to talk to members of the family that founded it in 1910 who still live there and who conduct the tours.  With an hour to kill, I put my wildlife camera and lens together and proceeded to walk the grounds that have beautifully manicured lawns, wonderful gardens and trails through the woods, all within a working tea farm.  By 11, about 20 other people had arrived and we were treated to a talk by Fiona, the granddaughter of the farm's founder. She taught all about the history of the farm and everything you would ever want to know about tea, from growing it until you are brewing a pot.  She imparted a wealth of knowledge on the teas of the world and what makes each one unique.  Following the talk, she walked us down a hill and lectured once again right next to a tea plant, pointing out many things you would never even think of. Fascinating! We also got to take a tour of the farm with a vegetable garden, dairy farm and the original wooded area with two large, 60 to 100-year-old cypress trees that her grandfather had planted.  Finally, we were served tea and biscuits (Britspeak for cookies) and had a wonderful outdoor luncheon.  We were there about four and a half hours, and it was the recharge that we all needed.  No rushing, no worries, informative, relaxing and we had some great conversation.  I'm actually glad we didn't try to cram in a safari at the end of the day.

We got back to town and Amanda shopped for her needs, since her bags hadn't arrived.  Rudy and I went back to Little Daughters and mingled with the Trinity Klein team that getting ready to go to the airport to end their mission.  The safari group got back from Amboseli National Game Park with pictures and stories of the great time they had.  Some of the group went to the airport to try to track down their missing luggage and we got word that Arron and Sarah were about to land at the Nairobi airport after their record setting, amazing journey.  I hope I never even have a chance to try to beat their new benchmark. Tuesday morning to Saturday night, wow!

Sorry for the lack of pictures, every minute has been pretty full.  I'll probably have to do a lot of catching up on that front after our return to Austin.  Blessings everybody!