Our Travels Abroad

Upon arrival to the island of hot springs and termal pools, we rented a car and set out to visit our friends and former tenants from our first world journey 7 years ago. They returned to NZ and now live in Auckland.

We had a wonderful visit with Louie and Rachel, who were great hosts and filled us in about Kiwi culture and interesting places to visit on the island. One note worthy cultural fact we learned about New Zealanders is their fascination with thrifting or as they call it “pre-loved purchases”. Thrifting is a way to apply conscious environmentalism. The young generations see it as a way to fight against fast fashion. 👍

Our first venture was to the nearby island of Waiheke, which is known for its beautiful beaches and wineries. Missed most of the beaches but enjoyed visiting the vineyards. 

Sometimes we get really lucky when picking places to stay and our choice this time turned out to be a gem. The hotel was a bit dated but our rather eccentric host was delightful. A great sense of humor and an even better baker and breakfast chefin. Everyday we were delivered afternoon tea with delicious pastries and cookies and very satisfying breakfasts.

Back to Auckland we drove southeast to Rotorua where the indiginous Māori tribe has established a cultural center to preserve and promote tribal traditions. The tour, dinner and performances were awesome.

The next morning we visited a research forest established in the late 1800s to learn which spieces from around the world grow the best in NZ. We wondered through  a groove of redwoods, a mixed forest of doug fir, hemlock, spruce, red cedar, and then pine and cypress trees.  

In the previous post I mentioned a character, who is a life long Kiwi. He had his own opinion about these farmed forests. The research indicated that the California pine grew the fastest and best on the islands. According to this Kiwi when these pine trees drop their needles, they pollute the rivers and streams and kill the native flora and fauna. This occurs because the acidic content is higher than the native pine needles, which are much slower growing. As is usually the case when adding non native species, there are consequences that often go unaddressed.

Next on the agenda was visiting a lovely lake town called Taupo. On our way we saw many steam plumes so we stopped at Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. It was like a mini Yellowstone and we were glad we stopped. On to Taupo which is also known for thermal activity in the form of hot springs. Tradition says there are many medicinal benefits in the suspended minerals. Not sure about that, but enjoyed the soak.

The next and last day in NZ was to visit Hobbiton, the scene set for parts of the movies, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

The tour of the site was fascinating. The farm,which the producer discovered, had a farm owner that was more interested in watching the rest of a rugby match then conversing with him, who arrived at the farmhouse unannounced. The farmer had his son take the filmmaker on a tour of the farm and listened to his pitch. Apparently, the pitch was successful so long as all the temporary sets were removed and the landscape restored to its original condition.

A ten years later when the film director returned to pitch rebuilding the sets for The Hobbit, needless to say, the farm owner was much more engaged. Of course they could rebuild the sets on the “condition” that they remain and  one of the Hobbit houses be fully built, as well as the farmhouse, which was turned into a pub and restaurant.  A joint venture was created and now we all have the chance to visit this remarkable spot.

There are a bunch more terrific stories, but for those you’ll just have to get there. Definitely the highlight of our visit to the north island.

Our visit to the North Island was definitely too short. Hopefully we will be able to visit again!

Next stop, the Philippines.

Missing all of you!

Jim and Michelle

After my dental appointment we started north to visit the iconic Mt Cook National Park. Our escape from Queenstown lead us through New Zealand southern wine district known for their Pinot Noir. We hoped to stay the night in the quaint town of Arrowtown but no luck finding a Freedom campervan spot there, so we wound our way up to the Crown Range Summit, where freedom camp spots were plentiful with a beautiful view of the Wakatipu Basin.

So you might ask, what is NZ freedom camping. In most provinces free campervan camping is allowed in designated areas which there are many, so long as you have a self contained toilet on board. This allowed us significant opportunities along the way. More on that soon.

The next day goal was to see Mt. Cook which we were told is a must see. Along the way we visited the oldest continually operated hotel.

Fortunately the weather was turning  our way. 

When we arrived at the park,  high clouds were passing through the mountains.

 We had hoped to overnight at the Mt. Cook camp ground at the end of the valley, where it appeared to have many open sites, but we were having trouble connecting to the government website. So Michelle spotted a park ranger to get some help. He informed her that the campground was fully booked, BUT, since we were “self contained” he allowed us to stay in the overflow lot for the night. Literally at the very end of the road.  Needless to say we were more than delighted and were treated to a completely clear night filled with the universe of stars and galaxies and a picture perfect sunrise. 

After a terrific morning hike, we headed back to Wanaka. On our way we took a quick detour to walk through the clay cliffs, which are towering eroded silt and gravel formations. We had fun exploring the huge spires and slot canyons.

Wanaka was the perfect pit stop. We figured out that after a number of days it’s a good idea to check into a paid campground to shower and do laundry (and get Michelle a good cup of coffee) Even freedom camping has its limitations. We followed Lake Wanaka with a stop at the Blue Pools as we journeyed to the west coast with the hope of seeing Mt. Cook and the mountains from the other side. Mother nature had different ideas. 

Heading up to view the toe of the Fox glacier, we were greeted with our first, but not last bout of heavy rain! I guess that is why they call it a “rainforest”.  The forest was amazing, it felt like a hobbit would pop out around any corner of the trail. We thought with the rain and wind it would be prudent to stay at another paid site as they provide full kitchen areas and relaxing spaces to strech out and meet other campers and an occasional character. Near our camp was a cave with glow worms which can be seen at night. At this stage of development they emit short blinks of light. It was nature’s light show (sorry no pictures)

The west coast beaches are known for finding random jade stones. The saying goes, “the stones find you and not the other way around”.  After scouring multiple beaches, they didnt find us. Protip: Go north of Westport…we learned later.

Since the weather looked more favorable, we turned east again and went to Golden Bay, which is a horseshoe bay and  very close to the furtherest point north on the south island. 

We ventured as far north as we could drive and hiked to a rather remote beach. The wind was howling which made the drifting  dunes very beautiful.

Bidding the beach farewell, we began moving back toward Christchurch and a very interesting wine district along the way. A couple we met mentioned a freedom camp in a dog park parking lot strategically located within walking distances of 4 wineries.   We took full advantage of walking to several of them. We learned a lot about the region and the various soils that are best for very specific varietels. New Zealand being such a recent addition (~1986) to the world wine market, has motivated the producers to do a lot of experimentation with fermentation processes. It reminded me a lot of what is going on with coffee fermintation – anerobic, various timing of skin removal, think of the recent addition of honey processing with coffee. (various amounts of muesli removal prior to fermintation). 

We gained a new appreciation for Pinot Noir, as they remove grape skins early in the fermintation (1 to 5 days) which produces less acidity and a beautiful ruby color.

Next stop was Kaikoura known for its sea lion nurseries, no exaggeration there. There were literally 100’s of  toddlers and adolescents frolicking in protected tidal pools.   

The town was the epicenter of a huge earthquake around 11 years ago that isolated them from the rest of NZ due to land slides. Interestingly, the quake caused a massive uplift that created a new nursery sanctuary for the sea lions. 

From a viewpoint in Kaikoura, we met a young couple who were living/working/traveling in NZ. They showed us videos from a whale excursion the day before – absolutely breathtaking. We wanted to go whale watching, but according to the website, they were all sold out. With their encouragement, on a whim, we called the tour company to see if there were any last minute cancelations. Low and behold, the next thing found us on board a high speed catamaran. We were treated to quite a show, a local sperm whale that appeared so often the crew gave her a name, two blue whales and a migrating humpback. Michelle loves whales so we were very blessed to experience them.

We caught dinner at a really fun pub, where we got talking with an older couple who are beef farmers now, he had been a logger in his earlier life. It is so interesting when you get the chance to talk with locals and learn about their homeland. Turns out the largest exports from NZ are, dairy, beef, sheep and forest products. We had noticed many large tree farm forests, which appeared to be Douglas Fir. More on that when we get to the North Island. Turns out over 10% (~4.9 million acres) of NZ is farm  forested with the primary tree being central California Pine.

Our last stop before returning Brutus, our trustworthy van, we zipped by Christchurch to the small town of Akaroa. 

Akaroa is a small town (imagine Coupville) settled by the French, as rest stop for their whaling crews. The captain attempted to cut a deal with the two local chiefains to aquire the whole peninsula.

When he returned a year later, he learned his contract was invalid as their were 57 other chiefains between this Bay and Christchurch. The British had made a deal with the other 57 while the captain was gone. The British had a convenient solution,  you can stay, IF you become British citizens.  They agreed and the town continued to flourish even after the whaling trade declined, as logging and lumber mills took over.

One last interesting fact about the town. When an earthquake destroyed the cruise ship piers in Lyttelton, 11 cruise ships a week were diverted to Akaroa for 10+ years. Can you imagine that many cruise ships porting at Coupville or even Port Townsend???!!

Next stop, the North Island. Underrated by so many blogs!

Blessings and we miss you

Michelle and Jim

We arrived in Christchurch in the afternoon and enjoyed both the redeveloped downtown and full on Autumn (on April 1) in their beautiful botanical gardens. After the earthquake in the early 2000s, the city planners jumped on the misfortunes of the town to make it into one of the most livable and affordable cities in New Zealand. It went from plain Jane to pretty hip. The restaurant market rivals anything in Seattle and actually surpasses it in someways.

The next morning we headed out to pick up our accomodations for the next 20 days.(campervan) With a bit of fear and trepidation we slowly exited the parking lot and made our way to the grocery store for provisions. 

Next step… hit the roads. The rental agent suggested we loop our way through the foothills to the first beach town to rest our heads and see the smallest of penguins in the world. They are so cute!

We expected to see a bunch of sheep that afternoon, but instead were greeted by a ton of cows, go figure. New Zealand is also known for hedges, boy they weren’t exaggerating.

Day 2 

We were starting to get comfortable driving and visited a beach with one of a kind boulders and then on to van camping at a beach. We were beginning to think this van life might the ticket for all future adventures!

The next day we passed through the town of Oamaru which for all appearances seemed very colonial until we turned the corner and discovered the  coolest collection of steampunk contraptions. Yes, the kiwis have an interesting sense of humor. Shortly after Oamaru we came to Dunedin, another colonial looking town and a good place to do laundry.

Next stop, an albatross sanctuary. They are amazing birds. Wing spans up to 3 meters and weighing 30 kgs. The chics weigh 5 kgs a couple of weeks after breaking out and look like a big puff ball of feathers. Once they are mature they live full time at sea and only return to mate. Last remarkable fact – they can fly up to 1000 kilometers a day, 600+ miles.

The next days were filled with hikes to lighthouses, beaches, waterfalls and the furtherest sourhern, super windy, point of NZ.  And oh yeah, we found the sheep and it appears there are more of them than kiwis, well at least on the south island.

We missed out on Milford Sound as I cracked a molar and needed to see a dentist in Queenstown, the most expensive city in NZ and likely the most visited by foreigners, ugh, not our favorite stopover, although the drive along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy is quite remarkable. And the lighting was beautiful.

Since this is my first stab at writing the blog I might be returning to editor and chief. Otherwise the next post will be heading north to Mt. Cook and then to the West coast and the South Island.

Stay tuned…

Jim and Michelle

Cairnes…Melbourne…Brisbane

I will be honest, we are really excited to see New Zealand and Australia is on the way there. But we were surprised by how much we enjoyed Australia. At first it felt shocking compared to Bali. Cairnes is full of western conveniences like malls, fast food, big box grocery stores but it also has a lot of charm.

And so many interesting flowers and birds…

And we loved the bats, specifically the speckled flying fox and black flying fox species! Every day at dusk there would be hundreds that would fly over the town roosting in the fig trees or flying to the Daintree forest for food. It was a highlight for us. (I have a lot of videos)

Another highlight was the Great Barrier Reef. We went for a day trip to snorkel and then out to Green Island to see the turtles.

After a few days in Cairns we flew to Melbourne to get the true Aussie experience. We had fun exploring the bustling city, from Victoria Market to the hidden laneways filled with cafes and street art, there was so much interesting culture and history.

We ventured on a vineyard tour outside the city to sample some of Australians famous wines (they only export the cheap stuff!).We also experienced Australian Football at (MCG) Melbourne Cricket Grounds-birth place of test cricket and AFL. It’s a real crazy sport with non stop action and tons of scoring. Who could have guessed that the home team up 42 to 3 would end up losing 96 to 84 or was it 94 to 86, what an incredible comeback! Another interesting fact is the NFL recruits punters from the AFL. One is our very own Seahawk!

We filled three days in Melbourne and would love to return.

We also visited Brisbane for a quick 24 hours in between flights. The highlight was seeing my niece and having dinner together. She is living in Brisbane and playing rugby there. Brisbane is a multicultural city with a warmer climate than Melbourne but also shares a vibrant riverfront culture. It is a very walkable city with many outdoor parks, paths, and people and bike only bridges over the river.

Overall we we really liked Australia. We hope to return one day because we didn’t see one Kangaroo or Koala and Tasmania is supposed to be an amazing island to visit.

We are heading south to Christchurch, New Zealand next and moving into autumn in April.

Thinking about you all and sending our love!

Michelle and Jim

Feeling rested and refreshed we flew to Bali to go on our second Intrepid tour! We loved our first one in India.

Bali is an island in Indonesia, but it is very distinctive from the rest of the country. It has a unique Balinese Hindu culture and is known for its artistic traditions as well as deep spiritual practices. And everyone seems to wear flip-flops.

We met our group and local guide Guna in Ubud (central Bali) and started exploring the island. Bali is about 1/2 the size of the big island of Hawaii and has about 4.3 million residents. Tourism is their biggest industry and they are known as the Island of the Gods.

We took walks through small villages, we learned to make an offering and we experienced the warm hospitality that Bali is famous for. Bali is also known for adventure and Jim didn’t waste time by going on a whitewater rafting trip.

We saw the Balinese Kekac Fire Dance perform. There were 50+ men performing a cappella and it was mesmerizing. From Ubud we traveled north to higher elevation, to the rice terraces. The weather changes quickly in Bali and we got caught in torrential rain, we even biked through it.

From the rice terraces we went to a Sibetan village called Dukuh, where we overnighted in Homestays. While visiting we learned more about the traditional culture. We took a cooking class, learned to weave baskets, and play traditional instruments and learned about Salak. Salak, known as “snake fruit”, grows in Indonesia particularly in the area of Bali. We had a wonderful visit!

From the village we traveled to East Bali to climb Mt Batur volcano. We drove to a hotel near the base, slept for a few hours and got up at 3:00am to climb so we could be at the top for sunrise. It was challenging but well worth it.

From Mt Batur we headed to the northern coast to the city of Lovina. Intrepid (our tour group) always supports local businesses and guides and organizations that are doing good work in the community. We got to visit Global Village Foundation Kafe which provides training and employment for people with hearing impairment and other disabilities and gives 100% of their profit to local humanitarian work. I won’t lie I walked in and cried, it is such a beautiful space.

Northern Bali was warm and had chill vibes. We got up early headed to the market for fruit and went snorkeling off Menjagong Island.

We left the north coast and headed to a beautiful waterfall and then to one of the major Hindu temples in Bali called Ulun Danu Beratan Temple. Many people were at the temple preparing for Nyepi, which is an important Balinese Hindu holiday.

We returned to southern Bali to the city of Sanur and said goodbye to our group.

And ventured on our own for a few days. We went snorkeling again to the beautiful islands around Penida. Jim snorkeled with Manta Rays. We visited Plaza Garuda and the huge cliffs at Uluwatu temple. There are over 20,000 temples in Bali.

The second to last day we experienced Ogoh Ogoh and Nyepi. They go together. Ogoh Ogoh is the eve of Nyepi and there are parades in the streets with these huge hand made statues. These monsters represent the evil spirits. The festival is meant to drive out the evil before the Balinese Hindu New Year called Nyepi. Nyepi is a day of silence. The whole island shuts down for 24 hours-no travel, lights, fire or work-even the airport. It’s a day to rest and self-reflect. Tourists are required to follow this by staying in their hotels. It was an amazing day of quiet. We loved it.

Our guide Guna told us the only thing Bali exports is smiles! And we experienced that to be true. If we came rested and refreshed we were leaving energized by the spirit of Bali.

We love you and miss you.

Jim and Michelle

When we started planning our one year of travel, we scheduled some intentional rest times. Malaysia was one of those times of rest. Jim had heard about Penang Island as a great place to visit and rest. So when we arrived in Kuala Lumpur early in the morning, we caught the first train to Penang Island, to the UNESCO world heritage town of Georgetown.

We loved the quaint city, known for its delicious multicultural food scene and brightly colored street art. We got a bonus because we were in time to celebrate the end of Chinese New Year festivals.

We spent a few days on the beach relaxing and enjoying being still. Then we toured more of the island visiting gardens and a fishing village. We stayed at a farm homestay where they grow durian. This is where we tried our first durian.

We realized how close we were to Thailand so we took a quick 3 day trip to visit friends from Seattle who moved back to Thailand. We had stayed with their parents on our last trip and we got to see them again as well. It was such a wonderful brief reunion.

After our sweet visit in Khao Lak we returned to KL (Kuala Lumpur) for two days in the big city where we enjoyed more food, night markets and a visit to Batu Caves.

We accomplished our goal and left Malaysia feeling rested and replenished. Our time with friends in Thailand was a huge bonus! Of course there is so much more to see but that will have to wait. Oh wait I forgot to mention the durian! Wow, it was love at first taste for me (Jim took a little while to warm up to it). It’s like eating tiramisu with your hands. So good!

We are off to Indonesia, specifically Bali!

We love you and miss you all!

Jim and Michelle

In the last post, we ended our time in the northern half of India. We then flew from Jaisalmer to Thiruvananthapuram (try and say that 3 times fast😕) It’s in the state of Kerala and is the southern most airport in India. As soon as we got out of the flight we felt the difference. It is hot, humid and tropical in Kerala. We had gotten used to dry, desert heat. Another difference we noticed was where Rajasthan has been 88% Hindu, Kerala was a mixture of Hindu 55%, Muslim 27% and Christian 18%. This was in part due to the ancient spice trading that took place in the south. We drove to Varkala to stay a few nights on the beach. We enjoyed swimming in the Arabian Sea. Then we hopped on a train to head up the coast to Kochi to see some friends from our tour and to celebrate Jim’s birthday.

We would be flying out of Kochi in 10 days so we left to explore some of the lush tea and spice plantations of India. First we drove to Munnar which is known for growing tea, with over 50 tea estates, as well as spices. It’s higher in elevation at around 5,200 ft. so that makes it cooler but still humid and shady which is perfect conditions for cardamon, as well as pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. One of the biggest joys was visiting Srishti, an organization which trains and employees young people in the Munnar area who are differently abled. They dye and make beautiful clothing, hand made paper and baked goods all locally sourced with natural ingredients.

We dropped down out of the highlands and continued on to Periyar National Park in hopes of seeing a tiger. No luck, but instead we saw monkeys, elephants, water buffalo, deer and many beautiful birds. We also attended a traditional martial arts performance in Thekkady and Jim volunteered to be part of the show.

We started our time in the South with some ideas but no firm plans. That’s pretty much how we travel. Our friends from Italy had recommended a homestay in Munnar which lead us to our next homestay in Thekkady. There we mentioned our idea to our host and he gave us the name of his friend in Alleppey, who had a homestay. He also recommended we take the local boat taxi to get there, which we loved!

Alleppey is a series of small communities and rice paddys all connected by canals, lagoons and backwaters. It has been called “the Venice of the East”. Other than the water taxis there are many houseboats, canoes and kayaks using the waterways. We took a walk along the canal through some of the villages to get a sense of the community.

It was hard to leave Alleppey. We loved just sitting and watching all the activity on the canals from our homestay. I also ate one of my favorite Indian dishes there. Amazing fish and sauce wrapped in banana leaves. So good!

But after a few days we headed back to Kochi to explore the big port city before saying goodbye to India.

As we feel often when we are leaving a country, there is so much more to see! We only scratched the surface and we are already hoping for a return someday. Some words from Jim:

What struck me throughout India is the kindness and helpfulness of all those we encountered. Perhaps the best example was when we realized that we were going to overstay our 30 day visa and requested some help from our innkeeper during my birthday visit to Kochi. He jumped right in and started the extension application. It turned out to be a much more arduous task than all of us expected. He contacted us at least 3 times, while we continued our trip, for more information. By the time we returned 7 days later everything was completed and we only needed to pay for it, but the government website rejected all payment options including those attempted using the innkeepers personal account! He assured us that it was no problem, but we would need to go to the immigration office at the airport, which was only an hour and a half away. He arranged for a driver who would support us every step of the way. Finally, with the problem solved, we were free to leave the country and the hotels were not fined for harboring illegal aliens, not kidding about that! Lesson learned, double check your itinerary before applying for your e-visa.😂

As always we love and miss you all. Blessings of peace

Jim and Michelle

We had never been to India and had no idea what to expect. When we told people we were going to India they had strong reactions both positive and cautious. What we learned is India is not a country people feel neutral about, but it turns out we loved India!

Before we left Seattle we had planned a 11 day tour with Intrepid, which I heard many positive things about, partly because we didn’t know where to start in India.

We flew in to Mumbai five days before our tour was going to start in Delhi. We had just left Kenya and our friend Mark (and another friend Tricia) told us about someone they knew who lived in Mumbai and gave us their contact. How can it be that in a city of about 23 million people we would end up a 10 minute tuk tuk ride away from them? Within 1 hour of arriving at our hotel we met Stella! It was just amazing.

Stella and her husband Girish took us under their wing and introduced us to Mumbai. The gracious hospitality that we experienced in Kenya just continued. We visited some beautiful landmarks and went to their church. They even invited us into their home to stay and cooked for us. It was such a blessing to be with them and learn from them on our arrival. And we ate our first local delicious food at one of their local favorites! On Monday I was invited to join a group of women from their church on a retreat. It was an adventure, we took the local train which was a fun experience. (Crowded like I haven’t experienced before on our way back) These women are filled with joy and they took me in like their sister. I had a fantastic day!

After 5 lovely days and so many great conversations we said goodbye to our new friends and flew to Delhi to meet our tour. Jim and I haven’t done a tour before and we were a bit nervous but it turned out to be a great time. There were 12 of us: 4 from UK, 4 Americans (including us) 3 Italians (well one is actually Swedish) and our guide Tem who is from Nagaland, India.

We got along great and had such a wonderful as time exploring what is referred to as the Golden Triangle in Rajasthan. We travelled from Delhi to Varanasi to Agra (Taj Mahal) to a small village Tordi Garh to Jaipur and back to Delhi in 10 days. Every place we went we had local guides to take us places and explain the history and culture we were seeing. India is such a complex country with such rich, diverse cultures all coexisting. One of our favorite stops in Delhi was to see Sheeshganj Gurudwara, a Sikh Temple, where volunteers feed six thousand people daily.

I think the most impactful portion of our tour was visiting Varanasi and seeing the Ganges River. Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It’s also a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, with the Ganges as the focal point. There so many people coming to participate in spiritual rituals and ceremonies right along side others doing their daily washing routines.

India is the most populated country in the world (1.4 billion people) with one of the fastest growing economies and it also holds an ancient heritage with rich diversity of landscapes, languages and flavors.

The architecture, design and colors throughout India were also incredibly beautiful.

Everywhere we go I enjoy watching people just doing everyday life. We loved this portion of our time in India and our group made it so much fun.

Once our tour was over Jim and I felt much more confident to explore on our own. We headed north to a town called Shimla. We took the famous “Toy train” which used to carry the mail up north and is a narrow gauge slow train into the mountains.

After a few days in Shimla we headed west to the Golden City called Jaisalmer near the desert. We stayed in the ancient walled fort which is a UNESCO site. It’s is considered a “living fort” because some percentage of the population still lives within its walls today. We also explored the desert by camel and spent a night under the stars.

Well this was our first 3 weeks in India. We traveled from Mumbai to Delhi to Varanasi and through parts of Rajasthan and north to Himachal Pradesh. We just scratched the surface. The organized chaos of the roads filled with honking tuk tuks and cows and rickshaws all making their way. The smells of spices and Chai stands lining the streets. The beautiful bright yellows, oranges and red colors seen everywhere to symbolize happiness, spirituality, and prosperity. There is so much more to see which is why we hope to return one day.

We met wonderfully kind locals who taught us, and were patient with all our questions and went out of their way to help us. It was so incredible and then we boarded a flight to the southern tip. Part 2 to be continued…

Missing you all and thinking of you often

Jim and Michelle

We celebrated the New Year on our flight in route to Kenya…and what an incredible place to start 2026!

We were in Kenya for 3 weeks and each week was very different. We were met at the airport by our good friend Rori. He had traveled to join a group of us that would be traveling together.

We had a few days to chill in Nairobi before meeting up with everyone so we took Rori (his first visit to Kenya) to a coffee farm, of course. It also gave us a chance to connect with a good friend of Jim’s from his coffee days who took us to his farm.

It was the best way to start our return to Kenya. The next day we met up with other good friends from Seattle to head out on a safari to Samburu, which is about 6 hours northeast of Nairobi.

Samburu was fantastic. Kenya safaris are known for the “Big 5” (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, buffalo) But Samburu is unique for the “Samburu special 5” and we saw all of them.

We also saw some amazing birds, a lion pride, and so much more. My favorite this visit were the elephants… with babies!

The scenery was also stunning especially at sunset.

From Samburu we headed back to Nairobi and then to Patrick and Heather’s family farm in Eldoret. Jim and I had visited in 2019 and stayed with Patrick’s aunt and uncle so we were looking forward to returning. The farm is so quiet and peaceful compared to the busyness of Nairobi. We loved walking through the farm, visiting Patrick’s relatives and we even got to plant some fruit trees.

We spent a couple hours visiting the school that I had volunteered at in 2019. It is lead by our friends, Patrick’s Aunt and Uncle. They have developed from pre k -3rd grade all the way to 8th grade. It was great to see the expansion and growth in the school and to visit with them.

This school is run on faith. Faith that there will be enough of everything needed for all the kids and for all the staff to provide a healthy, beautiful future for these kids. It was so great and inspiring to go back and visit.

From Eldoret we flew back to Nairobi to meet up with our good friend Mark (who also married us) and a group from the church he pastors in Redmond WA. We were all going to visit some schools where a program called ICCM helps sponsor students who need support for school fees. We had no idea the gift of hospitality we would receive.

We started the week slowly since most of the group was getting over jet lag. This gave Jim and I some time to do planning for going to India (which we really needed). It also gave us a chance to get to know the group. Mark rented us a matatu one day to take us out. These are privately owned, decorated minibuses with music, and screens, and they operate as the main form of public transport in the city. 

Thursday was our first full day! We supported a local team of dentists providing a dental clinic in Kibera (a community in Nairobi) at an elementary school. The pictures can’t express the joy and sweetness of the day. The kids greeted us and sang for us. There were so many smiles and lots of laughter. It was such an honor to go and experience the beauty of this school community for the day!

It was amazing to see this classroom space turned into a makeshift clinic. There were 5 trained dentists and 15-20 volunteers. We saw 300 kids, staff and a few brave parents in about 6 hours. What an unforgettable day!

The next few days we visited 2 other schools one in Nairobi and the other in Kericho. We were able to talk with teachers and visit classrooms. I love getting to see the passion of teachers around the world. They understand that education is a crucial opportunity that can change the future for a child, particularly those growing up in the poorest communities in Kenya and around the world. And ICCM is partnering to help make that happen for some of the most vulnerable kids around the world. (That was my personal plug…look them up if you want to learn more at https://www.childcareministries.org/)

If there is one phrase to describe Kenya it would be the HOME OF HOSPITALITY! I mention that a lot in the places we have traveled because it always stands out when you are the visitor. And it’s a big reason Kenya draws us back again and again. We experienced the most gracious hospitality on this trip in so many ways. One that stands out was our visit to Kericho, which is where Anne grew up. We were treated to lunch by a friend of Mark and Anne’s on our way there (We were a big group to feed). When we arrived we were divided up and taken in by families from Anne’s home church and fed and given a place to sleep for two nights while we visited. And then they held a banquet for us and gave us gifts and thanked us for visiting! We were told we were now part of the family and it was sincere. We arrived as strangers and left as family! What a beautiful example.

It was hard to leave but the elephants and giraffes were calling. On to the Maasai Mara, the most visited National Park in Kenya. We got into land rovers and headed south toward the border of Tanzania. It was a different safari experience. The landscape was a wide open grassy savannah as it is part of the rift valley. There were some different animals to see as well, including hippos and a cheetah.

What an incredible way to end our time in Kenya. It’s hard to sum it all up. For Jim and I it was such a gift to be with friends we love and meet new friends we will connect with back home again. To be able to witness and learn about some meaningful work happening in Kenya was inspiring as well. And the warmth and hospitality we received we will carry with us.

Thank you to all who worked hard to plan and make this an incredible journey possible. Blessings to you!

It was everything I had hoped and so much more!

I grew up in a home that celebrated Christmas German style (my mom is from Germany) but no one else in my neighborhood did. Our celebrations started with advent (4 weeks before Christmas by lighting the wreath with candles and ended on Christmas Eve. We had strong traditions including specific foods and decorations that seemed unique to my family. But when I got to Germany…I found the origins for our traditions all around.

My goal was to experience as much Christmas as I could. So we went to Christkindlmarkts in 5 cities in 7 days. We rented a car our first stop was Nuremberg.

A city that was nearly flattened in WWII. (you would never guessed it when visiting today.) It is also known for the Nuremberg trials where the big time Nazis were prosecuted.

The old walled city was beautiful by day as well…

Our time included a trip down memory lane for Jim as well. We went to the town where he went to school many decades ago to be trained in glass technology. He was excited to find the school was still there and operating…and we snuck inside to take a peak.

On we drove to Munich and found many different kinds of Christkindlmarkts in such a beautiful city.

After two days of eating sausage and drinking gluwine in Munich, we drove south near the border of Austria to see the famous Schloss Neuschwanstein (it’s the castle Sleeping Beauty is based on)and then back north to Heidelberg. We had beautiful weather to see the alps along the way.

What a fantastic way to spend the week leading up to Christmas…and the best was yet to come. We returned to Cologne and Wiesbaden to spend Christmas with my Aunt and cousins and their kids. We were warmly welcomed and we loved having extensive time to visit and get to know my cousins and their kids more deeply. It was such a wonderful three day reunion.

The German side of my family is quite international and spread across many countries. They say it all started with my mom moving to Chicago when she was 18.

Definitely a Christmas to remember! We left with hearts overflowing and so grateful for the warm hospitality we were given.

And the road trip continued…we headed south again to Bologna, Italy for a quick visit with a friend I taught with in Seattle.

Bologna is a beautiful city with so much incredible architecture and beautiful archways. It also has the oldest continuous university in the world. (My sister happened to get her Masters Degree there). And it claims to have the best gelato….but we are going to keep testing as we go to make sure.

We had a blast visiting with a good friend, walking the old city and trying the local flavors.

After 2 short nights we headed north again stopping in Freiburg, Germany where we were greeted by snow flurries. We put on extra layers and explored the city.

It’s an another quaint German city. One unique feature of the old city are these interesting mini-canals that get decorated periodically.

As we left Freiburg and headed to the airport, we were giving thanks for all the family and friends we have gotten to spend time with in 2025. We lit a candle and said a prayer that 2026 will bring new hope and light to sustain all of us.

Much love to you all,

Jim and Michelle