I have a ticket!

I have my ticket for Botswana! I finally have the date. It has changed so many times but I am leaving the 2nd week of July. I can't wait, it should be so much fun. I will have 2- 2 day holidays while I am there. Hopefully I will be able to go on safari for those days. I have started packing and still have things I need to get. When I went to India I started packing the day before. I will be more prepared this time. I just found out the Sammy's in Carlsbad will reopen the end of June. Hopefully it won't burn down again so I can have my last lunch there before I go!

It's back to July and JoDee does it again x2!

So my departure is back to the end of July. It still might change. We will see what happens in the beginning of June. That works out better for me with showing JoDee. She won 2 of the 3 days I showed her at the Mission Circuit this weekend and picked up 2 more points. She now has 10 points and needs 2 singles and a 3 point major. It is a major both days in Flagstaff so that is good. Hopefully her winning streak will continue!

JoDee

I am on a quest to finish JoDee's championship before I go to Botswana. Getting her 2nd major will be the hard part. I showed her today at the Mt. Palomar dog show and she won. She got 1 point. She just needs a few singles and that major and she will be done. I am not showing her tomorrow so I only have a few shows that I can go to before I leave. I was planning to go to some shows in July but now if I leave early I can't. Hopefully there will be a major in Flagstaff and we can get it!

Change in plan?

I might be leaving earlier than I thought to Botswana. I was scheduled to go around the 23rd of July. Now I might be leaving around the 18th of June! That is only a month away! I have so much to do still. I have started my shopping and have a collection of books to take with me. Right now I am reading the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. They are set in Botswana and they are cute books and a quick read. I am just starting the 6th one, "In the Company of Cheerful Ladies." I don't think I will finish all of them before I go so the ones I haven't read yet will go along with me. I got a cute journal with elephants on it. That is one thing I wish I would have thought about when I went to India. Now I can keep track of all the places I go and what I did. I am filling out a international driving permit application so I can drive the company car while I am there. The people that I will be there with don't really know how to drive a stick shift car. I am so excited to go.

Preparations begin!

I will be going to Botswana for 3 months the end of July. I will be working in Gaborone, the capitol of Botswana. Gaborone is in the south eastern part of Botswana near the border of South Africa. I am very excited to go and have gotten many maps and books about Botswana and other countries in Southern Africa. I will be there for Botswana's Independence Day holiday so I will have a break in work to go on Safari. Hopefully that long weekend I will be able to go to Tanzania and see the Crater and the Serengeti. There are many places in Botswana I would like to travel to while I am there also. Northern Botswana is said to have some of the best game viewing in Africa!

Yesterday I won 2 books on ebay, one on the birds of Southern African and another one on the animals and plants of Southern Africa. These will help me identify all the animals, birds, plants and insects I see. I am sure I will have several scrapbooks to make when I get back. I took over 1500 pictures in India when I was there for almost 5 weeks, I can't imagine how many I will take in Africa. I have already cleared all my chips so I have plenty to take with me. I practiced taking bird photos when I was in Utah last weekend for dog shows. Macy finished, yeah!! My Aunt Susie identified the bird for me. It was a black-billed magpie.

Here is a link to the Botswana Tourism Board:
:: Botswana Tourism Board ::