Part 3 of this entry starts at Camp 1.   Camp 1 is where Part 2 ended.  Still eleven of us.

As you hike up the mountain, each day has a routine.

6:00 am – Wake up and pack your stuff.

6:30 am – Try and utilize the facilities, prior to ‘this guy’ utilizing the facilities.

7:00 am – Breakfast

7:15 am – Porters start tearing everything down.

7:30 am – ‘This guy’ utilizes the facilities.

7:31 am – Vacate campsite as quickly as possible.

10:ish am – Rest and have a snack and pee behind a big rock.

10:ish + 20 minutes am – Resume hiking.

1:00 ish pm – Rest and have a snack and pee behind a big rock.

1:00 ish + 20 minutes pm – Resume hiking.

1:10 pm – Rain begins.

4:ish pm – Reach Camp 2.

4:30 pm – Attempt to dry things out because it is not raining.

5:00 pm – More rain.

5:30 pm – Sun comes out.  Restart drying process.

5:40 pm – More rain.

5:50 pm – Visit guys in cooking tent.

6:00 pm – Highly competitive game of euchre.

6:30 pm – Stockdale family photo.

7:00 pm – Dinner and then sleep.  This ends Part 3 at Camp 2.  Part 4 will start at Camp 2 and end at Camp 3.  Still going to eleven.

After you arrive at the gate for your route up Kilimanjaro, you eat your eggs and wait for a few hours while you Guide checks you in with the Rangers and your army of Porters have everything checked.

For every member of your climbing party, there are four Porters.  So, five Stockdales, plus ‘this guy’, ‘this guy’s’ wife, two of ‘this guy’s’ kids, ‘this guy’s’ brother and our Guide makes eleven climbers.  ( We considered making ten louder, but we went for eleven. )

So, fifty-five of us set about our merry way up the mountain for Christmas 2019.

This is how merry you look when you start.

These are the rules you are supposed to look at.

This is how you look at the first gate.

This is how you look in the jungle.

This is how you look at your first break.

This is how you look at Camp 1.

This is how you look a bit later when it starts raining.

This is how you look when you are trying to dry things out during the eleventeen minutes of sunshine you get each day.

This is how you look when you eat.

And, the next day you wake up and start again in Part 3, which starts at Camp 1, but still goes to eleven.

Sometimes when you go on vacation, you go to a beach and drink fruity drinks with tiny umbrellas in them.   And, sometimes you take your family and try to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.  Regardless, the process is more or less the same.

First – pack.

Second – go to airport.

Third – it may be 4:00 am, but have a frosty malt beverage in the lounge.

Fourth – fly to Tanzania.

Fifth – pass the time until you leave for the mountain with some random family that coincidentally is staying at same hotel in Tanzania.

Sixth – watch ‘this guy’ either work from his mobile office or play Words with Friends.

Seventh -get ready to leave for the mountain, but first pack some eggs.

Eighth – put all your stuff on top of a bus.

Ninth – get in bus with ‘this guy’ and his family and drive to Mount Kilimanjaro.

Tenth – wait for Part 2 which could be tomorrow or could be in a few years.

Prior to discussing the most recent adventure of the Stockdale family, it is of great importance to mention all the tote bags that have been acquired.

New pair of golf shoes – free tote bag!

Big little Stockdale needs a new laptop – free tote bag!

Someone buys something – free tote bag!

Get the internet installed in Prague – free tote bag!

Crazy little Stockdale gets a laptop – free tote bag!

Buy some University of Stockdale merchandise – free tote bag!

Buy some rental property – free tote bag!

Run the Singapore marathon – free tote bag!

Run a half marathon with Mrs. Stockdale – two free tote bags!

I really don’t know – free tote bag!

Run a 5k with the little Stockdales – tote bags for everyone!

Go to Africa, climb Mr. Kilimanjaro, and go on a safari – four free tote bags!

Good thing we’re getting rid of those pesky plastic straws.