Paradise Lost

I have been struggling with fighting boredom this summer. Although I have a million projects in my mind that need to be dealt with, I can't seem to find a starting point for any of them...or maybe it's that I can't see the ending point of any of them. Anyway, yesterday was a nice break from my inner turmoil. Our friends, Scott and Lara, invited us to join them for a picnic and fun day at Paradise Lost. The group consisted of our family, Scott and Lara, Wendy, the Greenwich family, and two friends of friends visiting Kenya for the first time, Keith and Laura. We piled into our cars with our picnic gear, sunscreen, diaper bags, etc., and got on the road at about 10:30. This place is only about 15 minutes away!!! I love finding places so close to home. I guess I wouldn't say it's Paradise, but it is a really nice place to have a day out with the family. There is a small lake, little boats to go out on, tons of picnic tables (and you can camp there and build fires). I think the girls' favorite part (probably the Greenwich boys' too) was the cave! There was a waterfall (that didn't have much water flow) and the kids could climb on the rocks and scamper everywhere. Then we went behind the waterfall in to the cave. Scott let the kids explore all the cave holes with his phone flashlight. They LOVED it. Our picnic lunch was great. we all sat under a nice shade tree close to the water...and then became the main attraction. There were about 5 or 6 Kenyan schools there with kids on a field trip. All the kids started circling us and saying hi and watching us eat. Madeline was definitely their favorite "thing" to look at. So, we were entertained watching them watch us for a while. Kaylee wanted to ride a horse, so we did that after lunch and then fed the ostrich (which was hilarious because none of us trusted that thing enough to hold the food in our hand very firmly)! There was a camel to ride, but the line for the camel ride was a mile long. We'll have to do that next time. It was a great outing and nice to find something different and so close to home that doesn't break the bank and we can enjoy as a family.