a Saturday outing.

A couple of weekends ago, while we were working on coding and analyzing the data we had collected from the field, we were literally going stir crazy in our apartment and decided we needed to break out of Nairobi. So we called up George, a van driver that is now one of our dearest friends here, and came up with a plan for the day.

He and his wife drove us toward the Great Rift Valley. Unfortunately it was a very hazy day, but it was still beautiful:

We all thought that this sign was more than slightly humorous/inappropriate since the term 'Third World' isn't usually the most.... flattering of ways to describe a place. Not to mention non-PC.

Our goal was to go up to Lake Nakuru National Park, but we decided not to go into the National Park since they wouldn't give us the student discount ($30) and instead were charging $60. George's wife was outraged at how much they were charging and since we've all been to quite a few animal parks anyway, we decided to pass. But it was not a total failure: we did get to see a baboon daddy. I made the girls close the doors of the van since I've seen these guys in action before.... my South African buddies will remember a particular story....

On the drive back we happened upon Lake Elmenteita, where we stopped for lunch and to see the hundreds of flamingoes that frequent the area. Unfortunately, the lake is almost completely dried up due to the severe drought plaguing Kenya right now.
A view of a few flamingoes and a very dry lake:

Here is our crew! Just minus Katie who was taking the picture. George and his (very) expectant wife are between Kelly and Renee, and the other man was our Masai guide.

PS - we love George and his wife SO MUCH. His wife is one of the sweetest people I have ever met - actually they both are. Their warmth and friendship has been one of the absolute highlights of our time here.