Spring Break

          Today, Friday, March 29 is our first day of spring break.  Yesterday was a half day of school.  We are heading out of town on a road trip with our principal and his wife and the first grade teacher and her friend.  The school required we have a guard and a government driver for our protection.  We will also be riding in a government marked vehicle.  I am so very thankful our school was founded by our States First Lady.  She really takes good care of us.  We are signed up to receive email alerts about the violence towards foreigners in and around Nigeria.  This is a service of our health insurance company but anyone can receive them from the US Embassy also.  We hear about stuff all the time but so far nothing has happened right here in Cross River State.
          We are going up to the resort area in the mountains in the northern part of the State.  Last year the principal also went up there with a group of teachers.  The van got stuck in the mud and a group of men appeared out of the jungle with machetes.  I guess the group nearly wet their pants before they realized they were just a group of farmers working on harvesting cocoa beans.  I can see myself having a mini heart attack over something like that happening.  It will be a six to eight hour drive on bad roads.  I am not looking forward to not having access to rest stops along the way.  I think I will avoid all liquids during the drive.  I can just visualize myself trying to duck behind a banana tree and seeing a giant spider or a monkey.  No thanks!!!!
          We will be leaving Monday morning which is your Sunday evening and will not return until Friday night.  We have heard there is some WiFi available so we may be able to email and post pictures during the week.  The first night we will stay in a guest cabin at the Drill Ranch and the rest of the time we will be on Afi Mountain at the Obudu Mountain Resort, formally known as the Obudu Cattle Ranch.  Our regular driver is from there and he said we will have a great time.  I am just looking forward to getting out of town and seeing more of Africa than Calabar.  We are planning to do some hiking and swimming.  Clint wants to check-out the 9-hole golf course.  I of course hope to snag a souvenir.  Please check out the pictures and videos on the links above to see the sights.  I cannot wait to head out.