Three years ago our family safaried in Tanzania on what was probably the last vacation the six of us will ever take as a unit. My twins were two years out of college, busy with jobs and grad school, and Kev’s girls were in college. Trying to negotiate 2 weeks that each of them could squeeze into their individual schedules was painful. Also, I should be clear that Africa was my dream, but it wasn’t anyone else’s. The girls, burnt out from their studies, would’ve been happier visiting a lavish resort, and my son would’ve preferred an adventure more rigorous. But I got them there, and got my wish. Each morning we’d head out on a game drive, just the six of us inside a land cruiser. I’d take the bumpy seat in the rear no one else wanted, but from that vantage I could watch both the beautiful wild animals, and watch each of them, their faces turned out toward the wide grassy plain, thinking their private thoughts, knowing in my heart I would probably never again be able to corral them all together this way.

So this, my return to the Serengeti, is tinged with the melancholy of nostalgia everywhere I turn. Although, this view of the top of Kilimanjaro out my airplane window  (yes, that’s the wing) was cool.

From the airport in Kilimanjaro we take a small bush plane that lands on a grassy runway. From there we board land cruisers for the bumpy ride to the Four Seasons Serengeti. It is a lovely hotel, bordered on one side by a watering hole, so it is possible to just sit around and wait for animals to show up. (Which after 5 hours tracking game down rutted, teeth rattling roads, is nice.) In one afternoon we saw herds of zebra, elephants, and Cape buffalo in succession.

Africa is a beautiful and savage place, and on our game drive, we see a ton of amazing things, like this guy,    

and this guy

and this guy

well, hello      

And this baby leopard is hard to see, but he is in the crook of the tree

Just above him were the hind legs of a baby gazelle, but I had never met the gazelle, and that leopard was damn cute…so whatever…circle of life, right?

Our stay is brief, but as we are enjoying our pre departure breakfast, commiserating about our previous stay in the Serengatti, thinking about the kids…the older 2 are planning weddings, the younger 2 beginning their careers on the east coast. Then these guys show up at the watering hole…

Reminding us that families will grow and shrink and change and evolve, but if you want them to show up, it doesn’t hurt to offer them a drink.