Opinion: Michelle Obama’s magical family tour of Africa

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

We haven’t seen First Lady Michelle Obama gardening or giving speeches at fundraisers this week.

That’s because she’s on a weeklong summer tour of Africa with her mother, daughters, friends and other family members.

In the photo above, the entourage has just arrived Friday in Botswana on a U.S. government plane and was greeted by some traditional dancers.

One of the male dancers then got up close (right), to the delight of Mrs. Obama, although apparently not so much to her mother, Marian Robinson (on the left).

In Cape Town, Obama (above left) kicked a soccer ball around with some youngsters.

During their three-day South Africa trip, Obama and her daughters, Sasha and Malia, read to some children in Johannesburg (below).

The family entourage will now disappear for a day on a private safari experience.

The first lady is due back in Washington on Sunday.

RELATED:

Here’s one Obama who’s shovel ready

South Africa’s president snubs Mrs. Obama

-- Andrew Malcolm

Don’t forget to follow The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We’re also available on Kindle.Use the ReTweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends.