Sept 22 - Mugumo Park

     Today, we truly did take the day off. We didn’t have to worry about where we were going or how we were going to get there. Instead, our hostess Marta was in charge of us, as well as her two little boys, as we walked to Mugumo Park for the day.

 When I was in Kenya with my daughter Val in 2017, she and I had walked there for the day when we had a “day off”. It’s a simple little kid’s park with a little essence of Africa. On my previous visit, there weren’t a lot of people around, it was very quiet and had just a few games and rides for children.

 On this Sunday last month, we packed up the kids around eleven and made the hike there from the house. It’s only a little over a mile and a half away, but carrying one baby and dragging along a 3-year-old, we took longer than usual, but that’s okay.  

 There weren’t too many people or kids around when we first arrived. We ordered drinks and turned the boys loose.

 Slowly more and more families with their kids showed up. Some in quite spectacular attire, like the two sisters in tutus or the mom and maybe 6-year-old daughter in matching dresses. I wish I could have taken pictures of all of them, but I kept snapping them of Caleb and King instead (plus I feel like a stalker taking pictures of total strangers' kids).  

 Eventually, for lunch, Marta ordered chips (which are really basically French fries), sausages and chicken for them, and I ordered 2 samosas, and Denise ordered her own chips.

 I can’t remember what time we finally left (according to the time stamp on the pictures I took, we had to have been there over four hours). It was a long, but happy day. 

  Supposedly, the park is named after this tree - the Mugumo tree.

 On one of the rides.

 Our table, where we camped out for the day.

 Into the bouncy house the boys go.

  It took a while for Caleb to get his sea legs.

  But soon he was flirting with some girls.

  On the Merry-Go-Round.

 The view looking back up the hill, into the area where adults without kids hang out and eat in peace and quiet.

 Think there are kids terrified by this statue?

And yet, they are willing to go into the pond he is guarding.

 What do you think? Topiary?

 Trying to get a nice family picture.

 Or not.

 So this is the statue at the entrance of the park. See the blood dripping off the cat's fangs? Is that kid-friendly or not?

  Here’s the best story. As we were at the entrance getting ready to leave, a couple kids stopped to check out this hyena. Their dad came up behind them and went, “Roarrr”. The kids screamed in terror. Totally something that my dad would do. I guess it doesn’t matter where you live. Dads will be Dads.