A Taste of Africa...



... in Florida at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

On March 7th we had dinner reservations at Boma, which is located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. My parents got there before us and my father had my camera with him. He snapped a few pictures before we got there. I gave him credit by putting his name on those pictures.

The moment we arrived at the Lodge I fell in love with it. It is such a calm and peaceful place. Compared to the crowded parks this was like stepping into another world. A world where the animals roamed freely all over the property, a world where bongo lessons were given to children and parents by people from Africa. Most of the people that work there are from Africa so hearing their accents just added to the magic of this place.

 

 

 

 

 

On the property there are lots of different place to see the animals.  No big cages, no plastic walls, just wonderful outlook areas.

 

 

 

In the picture below you can see balconies.  If you are a guest staying at the Lodge you get to sit outside your hotel room and watch the animals grazing.

sunset outlook

 



 

Tiny ugg...

 

 

 

 

The railings are just high enough so kids like Tiny don't jump into the animals' grazing land, but low enough that adults can view the animals unobstructed.

 

 

 

there are even cartoons at the Lodge

 

 



 

We had an amazing meal. Boma is a wonderful buffet. It was all African food and I didn't know what anything was, but we all loved our dinner and probably all ate too much.  But it was so good.

 

 

 

 

After dinner we found a cozy spot outside by the campfire.

 

 

Sitting around the camper fire is one of our favorite things too do.  Especially since it was so cold in Florida when we went it was nice to warm up by the fire and it was so relaxing.

 

 

"Igbo" wouldn't that be a fun name for an alpaca?

 

If you are planning a trip to Disney World I would highly recommend eating at Boma and visiting Animal Kingdom Lodge.  The restaurant is great for kids. I wouldn't stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge with young kids though. It is so nice and peaceful there and trying to keep my boys quiet would have been too exhausting.  But is a great place to unwind and relax.

To Africa with Love from New Jersey

I'm very happy to say my Pockets for Africa have passed Tiny's inspection and are in the mail and on their way to California.  I knitted these little pockets after reading Lori's post.  She is traveling to Africa next month and will be visiting a Himba village in Namibia.  On her post she asked if anyone would be interested in knitting some pockets to hand out to people she meets along her travels through Africa.  I jumped at the chance and knitted a few up.  

I made a post on my site several days ago and asked if anyone else was interesting in helping and Debbie, too jumped at the chance. She offered up 20 pieces of sea glass, 20 small shells and 20 lovely little cards to go in each pocket.  I promise all of her treasures made it to the post office despite Tiny insisting they were his collection.

Two of the pockets I made were extra special.  The yarn was made by my son Brady and his classmates. All their ages range from 3-5 years old. I brought my spinning wheel to their school and each child had a chance to hold a piece of alpaca roving and while I treadled my spinning wheel they each spun the roving into yarn.  We used the yarn to make friendship bracelets and each child got to wear one.  I had yarn left from the class and I wasn't sure what to do with it.  It was sitting by my wheel screaming, "send me to Africa".  So I used it to make two pockets and I hope they find a nice new home in Africa.

Also in my package were pockets my sister Leanne knitted.  She too is a big fan of Lori's and was excited to contribute.  You can see the pockets she knitted here.

I was so excited to be able to contribute to this community knitting project. Lori has made many visits to my blog and made countless wonderful comments.  I am inspired by her photography and her writing and I can't wait to read all about her upcoming adventures.

This post is being shared with on Small Things weekly yarn along.

Pockets for Africa

Last night I knitted these pockets for Africa.  Lori from Lori Times Five is heading to Africa and she will be giving these pockets to members of a village!  I am so excited to be having something I made travel to Africa.  I will be making more of these and my boys are collecting and making small treasures to put inside of them.

If you would like to contribute to this wonderful Community Knitting Project please visit Lori's site for all the details.

My boys will be making small pictures to go with the pockets if you would like to send anything along with them please let me know. I can collect them at the farm and mail them to Lori in California (I will be mailing them on Monday 4/23/12).

My Ravelry notes- Pockets for Africa