It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

Richard turned 30 on Friday and thankfully, I was along for the celebration.  We took a long weekend for our holiday and went gallivanting.  Such fun! 

We went into town, had a leisurely breakfast of quiche and mini pastries, saw a movie, bought some books and went to Spur for an authentic steak dinner. 

By authentic, I mean, an African restaurant set up to resemble the American southwest with cowboys and Indians. 

The restaurant is part of the Mayfair Hotel, a beautiful inn in the heart of Nairobi. 

 Richard had a steak (He better have!  That's why we went!).

I had a guacamole bacon cheeseburger that was so big, I couldn't fit top and bottom buns in my mouth at the same time.  The onion straws were worth going back for another time.

We had reservations at Kiambethu Tea Farm and were to arrive at 6:00 pm, thirty minutes to spare before dark. During dinner however, it started raining.  You know what happens to drivers in the deep South when it starts snowing?  How traffic laws don't apply and common sense leaves everyone as they scurry to find bread, milk and gasoline?  That's what Nairobi is like when it rains.  We went 1 kilometer in 45 minutes.  It was now dark and still raining, but we broke free of the jam and were on our way.

We had directions, pretty solid directions too for driving in a country with few street signs and no street lights.  We missed the first turn three times but were straightened out by a phone call.  Our next clue to finding the Tea Farm was a sign for the Kenchu Chicken Plant.  Unbeknown to us, the road we were looking for is being renovated so all the signs have been torn down.  Not that you could see them in the dark and rain anyway.  All of this led us past the Tea Farm, dodging donkeys, broken-down cars with no lights, moving cars with no lights and sneaky, un-lit, unmarked speed bumps, through upcountry to the Limuru Post Office.  Our friend with the directions called to check on us.  A quick U-ie and 20 minutes later we turned onto the final road.  A dirt road that had turned into a mud road.  It was a blast!

We finally turned into the drive for the Tea Farm an hour and half late and were met by Fiona and Marcus, the British-Kenyan proprietors.  And several dogs. And a fire in the fireplace.  And hot tea. And a warm bed.  Aaaaahhhh....  Happy birthday, Richard!