Tanzania

I've just returned from an amazing adventure to Tanzania. This trip was actually a year in the planning with a cancellation and postponement, but we finaly got there and it was worth the wait. We got lucky and were treated to a private safari, just my husband and I and our driver Frank. In a week we travelled to Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge and Tarangire. We saw an amazing number of animals and birds. I was able to add a little more that 100 birds to my life list.

This was our drive vehicle.  The roof hatch rose up so I could stand and look around in all directions.

Views from the roof hatch put me right in the scene.

Many of the animals we saw were right in the road ahead of us...

or lying in the road so that we had to drive around them.

Lions are what I wanted to see the most, and we saw a lot of them. We saw them from a distance...

and we saw them from very close, just alongside or in the road:

we even watched these two mate.

There were giraffes and

elephants and

Cape Buffalo and

Hippos and

Zebras.

I expected to see all these and was not disappointed. The sheer numbers of animals was unexpected. The wildebeest were gathering and waiting for the right weather signals to begin the Great Migration from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, so we saw hundreds of thousands of them.

There is no way that I can sum up this whole trip in one post. I am going to come back later and tell you about each place and my experiences there one at a time. So, please accept this little token for now and come back later for the Ngorongoro Crater.

Lucy the Elephant

What can I say about about Lucy? She deserves a post of her own. She is 131 years old and six stories high overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Margate, New Jersey. She has survived hurricanes, ocean floods and fire. She was built as a novelty amusement to attract visitors to Atlantic City but endures today as a beloved reminder of days gone by and an object of affection to lovers of fantasy. In 1976 Lucy was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Government as the oldest surviving example of a unique form of "zoomorphic" architecture.

More Sights on Route 40 to Atlantic City

On the road to Atlantic City on Route 40 you drive past many interesting sites. One of the firsts you will come to is the Cowtown Rodeo. In the Spring through the Fall on Saturdays you can enjoy roping and wrangling and the talents of many a rodeo rider. There are also a few stores that specialize in all things cowboy.

The Shrine to St. Padre Pio is also along the route. Many locals and travelers leave petitions to the saint to intercede on their behalf.

 An old Studebaker showroom had become an antique store and is finally abandoned and left to decay.

Story Book Land

I don't know much about this place, but it appears that the owner has created a vintage Texaco station from pieces he has collected.

This old farm outbuilding along the road houses old farm machinery but has an almost religious appearance.

Route 40 to Atlantic City

We took a drive to Atlantic City and took Route 40, the old road to Atlantic City. We passed the Clayton Self Storage building. It is a long flat brick building that is decorated with a tromp l'oeil painting by Samuel Donovan and Victor Grasso. It is amazing that these two artists were able to create this imaginary world with a little paint and a lot of creativity. None of the doorways or arches are real. This is really just a brick wall, everything is painted.

Tuesday Travels

On this wonderful, unexpectedly warm last day in January, I took a ride to Bombay Hook National Refuge to look for a few winter ducks. The numbers weren't impressive, but I saw a good number of species. In just under one hour here is what I saw:  Snow Geese, Canada Geese, Pintail, Gadwall, American Avocet,  Black-Necked Stilt, Greater Yellow Legs, Tundra Swan, Bufflehead, Blue-Winged Teal, Mallard, American Coot, Northern Shoveler, Northern Harrier, Pied-Billed Grebe, Black Duck, Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Cedar Waxwings, American Robin, Mourning Dove, Bald Eagle.

Snow Geese

Bufflehead

Early morning on the marsh

Pied-Billed Grebe

Shearness Pool

Shearness Pool

Bear Swamp Pool

American Coot

Northern Shoveler

Mallards and Coots

Pintail

Wetland View

Snow Geese

Trimper's Carousel

Daniel B. Trimper and his wife Margaret arrived in Ocean City Maryland in 1890. By 1893 they owned the property between South Division and South First Streets on the boardwalk including two hotels: the Sea Bright and the Eastern Shore. After a severe storm in 1900 they rebuilt the Sea Bright

to look like Great Britian's Windsor Castle. The two hotels along with a theatre and an amusement park thus became the Windsor Resort.  In 1912 Daniel Trimper purchased a Carousel from the Herschell-Spillman Company in North Tonawanda, New York. It was a massive 50 feet in diameter. Only one other carousel was made by that company. That one was sent to Coney Island and was later destroyed by fire. The carousel's 45 animals, three chariots and one rocking chair were driven by a steam engine. It is one of the oldest still operating carousels in the nation. It is now electified and has been enjoyed by generations of visitors to Ocean City. On our trip this past weekend, we were able to share this wonderful ride with the youngest members of our family. They enjoyed it as much as I did the first time maybe 50 years ago. Here is a sampling of some of the wonderful animals on the carousel.