Family Visit Part 5 Atlantis- Last Day :(

Hello all,

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I went back to Bama a couple of weeks ago to see my youngest daughter, Tara, graduate from college. It was so exciting and I was so very proud to see her walk across the stage and get her college degree! She has been accepted in an internship program at another university to get her masters degree and is already working at the university and going to her classes. She is such a great student and very goal oriented. Amy hosted a wonderful graduation party at her home and invited our special friends and family to celebrate. Thanks Amy for such a kind gesture and great food! You are by far the best cook in the family- Greg and Jeremy are so lucky!

The week before I left to Bama I suffered a pinch nerve in my neck. It caused severe pain below my left elbow. I went to my doctor who gave me two treatments (shots in my butt, neck and arm-ouch!) and medications before I left and another treatment when I returned. I still have some discomfort in my arm and constant tingling and numbness in my left fore finger tip. I drop things sometimes because I can't feel that fingertip. I also make more mistakes typing than before because I can't feel if I have have hit the key with that finger so I have to be sure to check my words before I send and email or post a blog update. As if my typing wasn't bad enough! I've just accepted that this is something I will have to live with and am grateful it is not so painful. The worst part is that I have not been able to go treasure hunting on the beach because the constant bending down and digging is too painful. I finally went for the first time in a month yesterday and could only hunt for 30 minutes before my whole arm started tingling and became painful. I found two coins but had to go back to the apartment but within 30 minutes it was back to the normal tingling and numbness but not so much pain. Growing old isn't easy!

So my last post of the family visit is the best- Atlantis! We had a blast! Jimmy reserved a private cabana so we had our own place that was shaded with a table and chairs and had a hammock, several lounge chairs and "fat boy" lounge seats. It was also right on the water so we could walk right into the pool. Awesome! We had an attendant who took our lunch order and brought the food to our table and provided fesh towels throughout the day. I arranged for the earliest appointment for our Dolphin encounter at 10:45 am. I wanted to get it done early so the girls could enjoy the water park the rest of the day and not have to worry about checking the time constantly and miss our scheduled time. The Dolphin encounter was fantastic! We received instructions and were provided with either a vest or wet suit (our choice) and went to the Dolphin Bay. Here are some pics-

Tara and Dara lounging on the fat boy seats before the dolphin encounter.

Or cabana! Yes, it is roped off so no one will get to our things and the attendant keeps a close eye on it and makes people leave who wander in. We accidently left Ashleys iPhone on the table when went to the water slides but it was right where we left it when we returned. It was great to have a place of our own to strech out relax and sit in comfort in the shade. Jimmy really pulled out all the stops to ensure everyone had a great time and got rock star treatment!

Me with the dolphin.

Jimmy with the dolphin.

Mom kissing the dolphin. Mom enjoyed this the most. She really loved the dolphin!

Group pic with the dolphin. Mom's face says it all!

Ashley with the dolphin- happy girl!

Dara dancing with the dolphin!

Tara dancing with the dolphin!

You can see a great time was had by all! There are several waterslides- one called The Leap of Faith was particularly scary! It was a very long, almost straight down slide. The girls couldn't believe I did it but I wanted to enjoy as much with them as possible-even if it meant going down the scariest water slide of my life!

Each daughter had a digital camera and so did I. We took pictures the entire week of every event and many random pics. Before they left I downloaded every pic they took plus mine onto my laptop. In all I had over 1,100 pictures! I sorted each camera by event- Atlantis, dune buggy etc. into seperate folders. Then Jimmy and I purchased 5 digital frames and I selected the best pictures of each event. Jimmy loaded those onto a memory card for each digi frame and set it up so each event would play in sequence. In all there were 285 pictures on each digi frame. I took them back to Bama with me and gave them as gifts to the girls and my mom. I also had one complete set printed and put them into a photo album for my mom so she would have the digi frame running and the album she could browse through. I totally won Mothers Day this year!!

It's been getting pretty warm here in Dubai already. Way hotter than last year. We have already been up to 115 fahrenheit and was still May! It's going to be a brutally hot summer!

I want to say hey to Denny- I was so glad you came to Taras graduation party! Shout out to Jacob and Jeremy- my two handsome, young nephews. I hope you had a fantastic birthday Jacob! Shout out to Wayne- our dear friend in Pennsylvania. How does it feel to be a grandpa?! Hope you and your family are doing well; come visit us! Shout out to Carol in Florida- come home soon! Shout out to Amy & Greg- congrats on the lake house. You will have so many great times there; it is beautiful! Shout out to Pam & Jay- I miss you both so very much.

So this is where I say farewell for now. I'll be back soon and post more on the days of our lives in Dubai! Be happy and take care of each other.

Peace, love and happiness,

M&J

Family Visit Part 4 Dune Buggy in the Dessert!

Good morning everyone!

Sorry I took a few days off. I'm going back to the US to see my youngest graduate from college and have been busy preparing for the trip. I'm so proud of my sweet Tara Belle! Dara is also getting 3 Associates degrees! We are having a big family dinner to celebrate. Unfortunately I can only stay a few days so wonderful Aunt Amy has offered to host the dinner in her home. Amy is by far the best cook in the family so we are all looking forward to it!

We took the girls and my mom four wheeling in the dessert. Jimmy and I did it already with friends (previous post) and we had an even better time with the girls! Mom couldn't go on the four wheelers so I stayed at the camp with her while Jimmy tore up the dunes with the girls. He was so proud that they didn't hesitate to go up, over and down every dune. Those girls are fearless! Here are some pics-

Tara and Jimmy geared up and ready to go!

Dara too!

Jimmy and the girls on the four wheelers.

Getting down in the dessert!

Flying high!

Awesome pic!

Me and mom chillin' at the camp.

Me and Dara and Tara and mom riding the camels.

Tara and Dara shopping at one of the little souqs in the camp.

Tara got henna painting on her hand. The ladies squeeze the henna out of a tube through a small hole. The designs are very intricate and they do it free hand!

Not to be out done by her little sister Ashley had the henna paint design all the way to her elbow. Ashley never was one to do things halfway!

Dara and mom hanging out.

Dara and Tara trying out the shisha pipe!

The entertainment was great; same as the first time we went- whirling dervish type dancer, fire dancer and belly dancer. I post those pics on the earlier post so I'll skip it this time. We had a wonderful time!

The weather here is warming up a bit. We average upper 90's F during the day. The beach is full every weekend.

I want to give a special shout out to Jacob- I can't wait to go for a bike ride with you when I get back! I need to take more pics of both of my hansome nephews- I miss you both very much.

I'll try to get in one more post before I leave. I still have the Atlantis pics to share. That was mom's favorite event of all the things we did while they were here.

Live, love, laugh and take care of each other.

Much love,

M&J





Family Visit Part 3 The Grand Mosque!

Hello all!

The Red Bull X Fighters Motorcross was spectacular! We had some friends over and had a lovely dinner on The Walk at El Chico- shout out to Ramil my fave waiter and all around great guy- and enjoyed the event from our balcony. The stunts were amazing and the lighting and sound made the  event all the more exciting. Sorry I missed a catch up day posting yesterday but we had margaritas while we watched the event and stayed up really late partying! I had another friend who is relocating here and wanted to check out Dubai and The Walk before he signed a lease in Abu Dhabi. He came early Saturday morning and I showed him around and he saw our apartment and we had a great lunch at Fudruckers on The Walk. He was here for 10 minutes and he was sold on Dubai and The Walk. He called his relocation contact person and has stopped the lease process in Abu Dhabi and will looking at apartments here later this week. We are looking forward to our new friend moving close by! After all of that I was exhausted and spent the rest of the day recovering!

On day three of the family visit we went to the Grand Mosque. If you want details you can Google it- I'll just share our experience. The Grand Mosque is in Abu Dhabi so we had to drive for about an hour to get there. Fortunately, Jimmy rented an SUV for the week so we could all travel together rather me try to follow him everywhere. That was so thoughtful and considerate of my sweetie! The women are required to wear an abaya and headscarf at the Grand Mosque; visitors are given a plain black abaya and headscarf that are adaquate but I have several of my own. I wear an abaya for work but not the headscarf. I have some very, very nice abaya's (Jimmy spoils me!)! I went a little crazy but I have 8 silk abaya's I am very proud of. The girls and mom got to choose their own and  off we went-

Great pic!

Ashley, Tara, me, Mom and Dara all decked out!

The reflecting pool outside the main entrance.

What a great background for a picture!

Sweet Tara Belle!

Ashley blending in!

Dara being ever so stylish!

Mom making a new friend!

The walls and floors are granite and marble and all had very ornate designs made of local and imported semi precious stones.

 From the main entrance and waiting area you cross the open area into the main mosque. The center open area can hold up to 20,000 worshipers and is packed during Ramadan.You can wander around yourself in the mosque or take a tour. We opted for the tour and were broken onto small groups of 10-12 people. A local Emirati takes the group around and explains the meaning behind the designs and various inscriptions and is very open and friendly. They invite you stop anytime to ask questions about the culture of Muslim faith or about the mosque itself. Our guide was a sweet young lady who was most gracious and very informative.

Closer pic of the many columns that line the center open area. The same design is repeated here as well.

The main entrance to the mosque. You are given a plastic sack to carry your shoes as it is forbidden to wear shoes in any mosque.

 Inside the Grand Mosque! It was so beautiful!

One of three identical chandeliars. The center is largest with two smaller ones on each side.

Close up of the chandelier.

Prayer clock! Muslims pray 5 times each day- the other time represents something else but I don't remeber what it is. The center times are the local time and the time at Mecca I think.

Each prayer time has a name that represents the meaning of the prayer. Our guide told us if you miss the exact prayer time you are still ok as long as you make it up before the next prayer time. Men and women are not allowed to pray or worship together in the mosque. The reason is that everyone stands very close- shoulder to shoulder. Men and women are not allowed to be that close together, especially with strangers. Also, our guide said that if she were standing that close to Brad Pitt she would not be concentrating on her prayers! Her exact words! Arabs really do have a sense of humor!

Exiting the interior of the Grand Mosque.

It was very windy that day and we had a heck of a time keeping our headscarfs from blowing off. Our lovely guide demonstrated how to secure the headscarf properly on Tara.

Last phot op! You can see the intricate stitching on the back od Tara's abaya. It is symbolic of one of the Emirates. As we exited we passed the area where the ladies are given abaya's and return them when they done. I was standing near that area and a women approached me and asked if I was done with my abaya; she wanted to wear it. I told her it was my own and she walked away disapointed. So proud of my pretty abaya's! 

We had a wondeful day enjoying and learning about the culture and the beautiful Grand Mosque. So far in our trip the weather hadn't been cooperating much at all. It was much cooler than usual and the winds caused a pretty nasty sand storm. My girls were not the least bit detered and pressed on in the adventure and exploring Dubai! Tomorrow- dune buggy in the desert! So many cool pics!

Time to make dinner for my hard working man! Much love to all!

M&J



Family Visit Part 2 Again- The Gold Souq!

Good day a and happy Friday the 13th! Hope you all are as lucky and blessed as I am! I am sitting at the window looking at the final preparations for the Red Bull X Fighters Motorcross event being staged here on The Walk. The music is blasting awesome classic rock n roll and motorcycles are revving and racing doing amazing stunts all over the track. The show tonight is going to be awesome!

Quick recap on the family visit- day one was the Mall of The Emirates and the penquins. Day two was the boat tour and the gold souq. Today I will post the gold souq visit. Let me start by saying Jimmy and I have 2 cell phones with lots of prepaid minutes. Jimmy programmed our numbers on the speed dial and I got my label maker and put the phone number and our apartment address on the back of each phone. This was a major life saver for keeping up with 3 very adventerous young ladies. We gave a phone to Ashley and one to Dara & Tara to share since they mostly stay together anyway. We were in charge of keeping up with my mom. We arrived at the gold souq and after a quick bite to eat we hit the shops. None of us bought any gold but we ended up with lots of other really cool gifts and momentos. My sweet, non confrontational, never argues about anything daughter Tara turned into a barracuda when it came time to haggle at the souqs! That child was ruthless with the vendors- I actually felt sorry for them. At one shop her and Dara were negotiating a deal; at first the two young men enjoyed haggling with the fresh faced,  pretty, petite blonde American. They didn't know what to think when she went got serious about the bargaining. They got pretty close to her price where most people would have agreed and felt like they got a fair price. Tara wasn't going to settle for a fair price-she wanted a real bargain! The shop keepers turned to me to tell Tara she was getting a good price. I just laughed and told them they were on their own, I wasn't going to save them from her! They were beginning to draw attention from the other shoppers who taking note of Tara's bargaining skills. By this time Tara said "forget it, this is all I am going to pay so I will keep shopping. There are plenty of other souqs." She turned to walk out and they agreed at the last second. It was amazing! We laughed and joked with the two shop keepers as they wrapped Tara & Dara's items and they said Tara drove a hard bargain but she was great fun to deal with. Ashley turned out to be a really good bargainer as well. She got a fantastic purse for a dear friend at a great price-less than half the original cost and lots of other cool stuff too!

Main entrance to the gold souq.

Inside the main hall of the gold suoq. There are many narrow alleys and back streets lined with vendors all vying for your attention offering special prices. Some are pretty aggressive and will follow you a short distance. It was quite an experience!

First stop- food! There aren't alot of restaurants or food vendors at the gold souq. This was a tiny little hole in the wall place to eat but the food was really pretty good and the service was great. With only 3 tables we took up over half the seating!

Very pretty, colorful garments!

This is just one of hundreds of windows displaying amazing gold chains, bangles, braclets and anything you could possibly desire!

Tara's first stop was getting some blouses for herself and friends back home. She drove a hard bargain but she was just getting warmed up!

Tara & Dara negotiating with the two shop keepers (one is behind Tara). You can tell Tara is taking this seriously!

Tara getting down to business. You can see the young men are enjoying the banter and haggling. But Tara's hand on her hip is a clear sign she is digging in her heels and won't budge!

We had a great time and got lots of goodies. Next post- the Grand Mosque!!

I have to get ready for our guests this evening so I must end now. I hope you have enjoyed this journey so far. I still have so much more to post and share with you!

Much love to all!

M&J