It's Me, Again

Ch. 37 (Kate)

I woke up earlier than I needed to. My time zones and internal clock are all discombobulated. I thought about going back to sleep for another hour, but I decided to take advantage of the hour for some early morning photos. I quietly got out of bed and went through my camera bag, hoping not to wake my sister or Dylan in the other room.

I tiptoed around the room with my camera in my hands and quietly pushed open the glass deck doors to the sides and felt the warm air on my skin. I stepped around to the side of the small infinity pool in my black and white polka dot shorts and white tank top. I could see some animals in the distance. Early risers too. The sky was beautiful with traces of wispy clouds giving way to swirls of blues, purple, and orange as the sun rose. The photos I took were beautiful, but they didn't do the views justice.

I basked in the quiet for a while. The only sounds were from some bugs and birds chirping and the shutter of my camera.

"Morning," I heard Dylan's raspy morning voice behind me.

I turned and saw him mussing his bed head. "Good morning, how'd you sleep?"

"Great, you?"

"Same. My body is still trying to figure out what time it is and where I am though," I laughed.

"Have you been up long?" He walked over to stand beside me.

"Maybe 20 minutes? I decided to come out here instead of going back to sleep. It's so peaceful out here." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, breathing in the air around me like that breath could help me memorize the smells, sounds, and sights of this morning.

"It is breathtaking."

We stood together in silence, leaning against the railing, occasionally snapping photos with my camera and our phones. The sky got brighter slowly. I tried not to let my eyes wander to Dylan's bare, muscular arms leaning on the railing inches away from me.

"We should probably get ready for breakfast so we're not late for day 1 of the safari drive." I turned off my camera and put the lens cap back on.

"Yeah, we should. I can be ready in 10 minutes."

"I'm going to need a little more time than that," I let out a small laugh.

We went back in and Lizzie was up and about getting ready for work.

"Do you have time for breakfast with us before you leave for work?" I asked.

"No, sorry. I need to get going so I'm just going to grab something really quick from the lobby on my way out. I'll see you guys later today when I'm off work!"

"Okay, see you later!" I waved and she was out the door, putting her khaki vest on.

Over breakfast, Dylan and I went over the schedule for today. We would be leaving shortly with some other guests for a game drive. It would last for a few hours and then we'd be back at the lodge where we could go back to relaxing. There is a large infinity pool that we could go to if we don't want to be confined to our own little pool at the room. Something to keep in mind for later if we want more room and a different view.

We were advised to bring layers. The late morning and early afternoon would get hot, but the jeep has the canopy roof. Once in a while the weather changes and gets cool though. I wore olive green pants, a coral short sleeve top, sunglasses, and brought a sweater with me. Dylan wore dark tan pants, and a white thermal henley with a short sleeve tee underneath. We looked the part at least. As we walked out the front doors we saw the jeep that would be taking us around for the next few hours. It was beige with dust and dirt caked on like my sister's car. This jeep was made specifically for game drives though. Instead of sitting inside the car, it was like a second level was built on it. We climbed up a few steps in the back of the car and sat high up, feeling like we were on top of the car. No windows, it was all open air, but had a canopy-like roof.