Lazy day today. Nick and I woke up tired after three nights in a row at the noisiest Airbnb on earth. We aren’t particularly light sleepers but this place was next level loud. I am hoping we can catch up on sleep tonight.

We took our time packing up the Airbnb in Moshi and then stopped for a big breakfast at Courage Cafe. Millie couldn’t believe her luck when her kids’ menu banana pancakes arrived with a scoop of ice cream on them. Nick and I had breakfast burritos on good tortillas and after the first bite realized how much we missed handheld tortilla-wrapped meals.

Once we were nice and full we hit the road to Arusha. The two hour drive went quickly despite the stress of African driving: remembering to stay in the left lane, avoiding potholes, avoiding pedestrians, passing slow trucks, trying not to kill motorcyclists carrying wide loads, and getting pulled over multiple times by police only to be let go.

We stopped at a supermarket to get basics and then checked into our new Airbnb at 2. The host brought us a basket of books and toys for Millie and we played for 5 hours straight. Nick got really into the tiny bead set and watched a YouTube video for how to make a fancy necklace.

Millie and I colored and built things with little blocks. She set up a scavenger hunt for Nick. I researched safari drivers for coming days.

When we got hungry for dinner I made my trip specialty of boring pasta. I miss having a full pantry.

Millie set the table and made us “very fancy place tags”.

For dessert I cut up some of the papaya that our host left for us. Papaya has to be the fruit with the widest delta between absolutely horrible to very good depending on geography and ripeness. This one was on the very good side of the spectrum.

Nick finished her necklace as she was showering and put it on her. She was beaming ear to ear with her special dad-made jewelry.

It wasn’t the most exciting day but, as is always the case with chill days, was just what we needed.