Kongwa

The other day, I realized that it has been nearly 6 months since I slept somewhere other than Dodoma. To my on-the-go husband, who has happily traveled nearly every month since we moved here, staying put in one place for that long is highly undesirable.

So, he suggested that maybe it was time for us to get away as a family (and pull me away from my little cocoon. Yes, I'm a happy homebody.) On Friday, Josiah completed his final term of the school year, so we figured this might be a good time to plan a short getaway.

Some friends of ours told us about a historic guest house nestled in the mountains just outside the town of Kongwa (about an hour away from Dodoma), so we decided to give it a try.

The guest house, Westgate Hostel, sits on the St. Phillips Theological College compound. According to a plaque on the front of the building, it was built in 1914 by a Canadian missionary. Cool! We stayed on the top floor, and had to climb some rickety stairs to get there. The space inside wasn't anything fancy, but it was definitely full of character. (They just don't make windows like that anymore.)
It was also comfortable and clean, and was just the kind of change of pace that I didn't know I needed.

It was quiet. It had a nice view. It had no neighbors. (Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my neighbors, but I guess that sometimes - even for this homebody - it is nice to be off our housing compound.) We were only in Kongwa for one night, but we had a nice, relaxing time.

We ate good food.

The boys did some hiking.
(We tried taking Anna, but it didn't work out so well. "That was a hard trail, Mommy," she told me.)

They saw some great views.

We spent the rest of our time resting, watching a movie or two, and talking. It was nice.

As we headed home, Paul and I commented to each other that we need to make getting away as a family now and then more of a habit, even if it's only for a night. Change of pace is a good thing.