Family Visit Part 2 Boat Tour!

Hello all!

I'm still playing catch up from the family visit. So the first day we went to see the penquins. The second day we went on a boat tour of the marina and the Gold Souq. There is so much to post of the boat tour that I'll post the gold souq pics next time.

The boat tour was pretty good. We had intended to take the longer tour through the marina and around The Palm to Atlantis and back but it was too windy so we had to settle for just the marina tour.The marina is across the street and over a bridge directly behind my building. It is walking distance but we elected to drive so we could pace ourselves for the long day ahead. The tour was supposed to start at 9 am but there weren't enough people so they delayed it until 10 am. We walked a short distance along the marina and enjoyed all the beautiful boats and views and had a mid morning muffin and coffee. A lot of the pics we took at the marina are of the buildings and I have those in a seperate file to share in another post but I'll post the best ones. You could walk the length of the marina but it is quite a distance (not for the girls but us older folks would be worn out the rest of the day!). The views of the buildings are spectacular, especially at night, and there are numerous restaurants at the far end where Bud and Carol live.

Hanging out at the marina waiting to see of enough people would show up for the 9am tour.

Me and my sweetie!

Ashley, Jimmy, Tara, Mom, Me, Dara. Happy family!

Us enjoying a mid morning treat to pass the time. Lovely morning!

All aboard! There were so few people we all got window seats!

Enjoying the tour.

The seating was inside but you could go outside on the deck area as well. What a sweet face!

Another sweet face! Jimmy really enjoyed the tour.

View of the boats and the buildings.

Another scenic shot.

And another. It is just so beautiful!

And another!

That is a twisted building! It is still under construction but is nearly complete. The architecture here is astounding!

Closer shot of the twisted building.

I have so many more pictures to share it is just going to take some time. It takes me at least a couple of hours for each post but I will stay with it!

Here is one more odd pic I just had to share-

There are many fountains and water features on The Walk. Ashley took this pic of Tara goofing around- how funny is that!

If you've been following for awhile you will remember this time last yeat I posted the Red Bull X Fighters freestyle motorcross event held here on The Walk. It's being done again this year and is bigger than last year! They have building the arena for 2 weeks now and are almost done- the event is this Friday the 13th. We are so excited to be able to see the whole thing from our balcony and are having some friends over to see it. It is a very big deal and a lot of work goes into this event.

About a weekinto the set up. No seating on the right side and the towers aren't covered with the black cloth. Still lots to do!

Closer shot.

Taken today. A lot of progress but still lots to get done. The seating hasn't been completed and they are still covering the scaffolding with the balck cloth. They have been testing the sound so we have music blasting at odd intervals and they test the lighting at night. Quite the to do!

We are excited and happy to have friends over to party with us! Too bad Bud and Carol can't come, it won't be the same without them. Especially disappointed my girls will miss it.

Time to make dinner for my darling. I'll keep posting! Thanks for reading and staying in touch.

Much love to all,

M&J







Family Visit Part 1 Miscellanious Pics and Penquins!

Hello all!

Sorry to be away so long but my family came to Dubai for a visit and all of my attention has been devoted to them. The good news is I have lots to post- so much that I will have to break it down into several posts! We went places and saw things that Jimmy and I had not done yet- I had over 1100 pics to sort through and organize of all the events and places we shared. The girls kept us going morning to night every day and mom hung in there like a champ.

First I have some miscellanious pics to share-

Tara and Dara in the our apartment.

Me reading a book amongst the girls debri. The girls had to camp out in the den and they did a good job of containing their gear but there is just so much they could do while living out of suitcases for a week. I've never enjoyed a mess so much in my life!

We got Ashley a deluxe inflatable matress since she had to camp out in the den for 3 weeks. The other girls could only stay one week so they had to sofa surf.

Ashley and Dara!

Ashley and Dara loving Dubai!

My momma and my sweet Jimmy. God bless that man living with 5 females (3 generations!) in a 2 bedroom apartment for 3 weeks!

That smile says it all!

We all went to dinner one evening at our favorite mexican restaurant El Chico. Bud and Carol,our best buds here in Dubai, are on the far left and our most favorite waiter and all around great guy, Ramel, is standing at the very end. I think Tara has Carol interested in Geocaching! We had a great time.

So much food!

Jimmy and Tara making double denim fashion statements.

The front door to our apartment- newspaper on the welcome mat.

The girls thought is was funny that Hardees will deliver to your door in Dubai.

Tara and Dara in the Arabian Gulf! The water is still pretty cold but they had to be able to say they were in the gulf. Ashley got in as well and bested her sisters by going all the way under water. I stayed on the beach in the warm sunshine!

The first day everyone was still pretty tired from the long trip so we made it a short day- if you can call going to the Mall of The Emirates a short day! Ski Dubai is in The MOTE and they are featuring live penquins you can interact with. So 3 girls from Alabama flew to the desert and got to see penquins!



Entrance to Ski Dubai

Hot babe ready for the arctic penquin climate!

Getting geared up is hard work!

Ready!!

You weren't allowed to bring a camera in with you so you would buy the pics they took of your penquin encounter. It worked- I bought pics of each girl with a penquin and a group shot. My babies, happy and smiling- melts my heart!

Next I will share day 2 of the Alabama invasion of Dubai!! Shout out to Aunt Amy and Aunt Pam. Thanks so much Pam for taking care of moms pets so she could stay longer with me. Mom really, REALLY loved Dubai. I had my doubts that she would actually go back to Bama! Shout out to Carol- thanks so much for being a follower of my blog- you're a cool chic.

Quick note- we thought we lost Gotcha'! We went to feed him the day before yesterday and his shell was EMPTY! We couldn't find him and thought maybe a bird got him (??!) but the crabatat was in tact and there was no signs of anything being disturbed like the sand being all moved around. I cried and Jimmy decided to wait a day or two before he cleaned out the crabatat and put it away. I came home the following afternoon and went to pray for Gotcha' and his shell moved! I screamed for Jimmy; he came running and picked up his shell and sure enough the little booger in there! It was an Easter Miracle!! We will never know what happened or where the little devil was (obviously he buried himself in the sand but we didn't find him); we are just glad he is home safe. I never thought I would get so attached to a crustacean!

Peace and love to all!!

M&J



Dune Buggy in the Dessert!

Greetings all!! Things have been getting very busy!

First of all the animals are still doing great! Beta fish and especially hermit crabs don't have a very long life expectancy- particularly hermit crabs in captivity.But Cosmo the beta and Gotcha' the crab are thriving! Cosmoiseasy to care for- change his water once a month and give him a tiny piece of dried shrimp in the evening. Gotcha' is more high maintenance. We go to the beach every weekend and get fresh wet sand and seawater and algae if we can find any. We clean out his aquarium and replace it with the fresh sand and water. We use wet sandbecause I believe there are plankton andstuff in it he may need. Let me tell you carrying wet sand and water from the beach is heavy! Thank goodness it is a short distance! Must be working because they seem pretty happy. I wish we could get a puppy but there are no pets allowed where we live and it really wouldn't be fair to leave them in the apartment all day while we work. I miss having a furry pet but will be happy knowing I am a good fish mommy and Jimmy is a great crab daddy!

Speaking of where we live- we almost had to move. We love our apartment and are very good temants. Our lease came up for renewal. There is a law in Dubai (not sure if it is for all UAE) that states rent cannot be raised on the first renewal. The owner wanted to raise the rent or not renew. Jimmy played hardball. He did the research and learned the rent is in line with the area and an increase would be far above the market level. We accepted the owners terms and gave our notice to vacate. I began an Internet search for another apartment and found in our current building with the same view for about the same we are paying now. Two days later the owner called back and said he would renew at the current rate!! We are thrilled not to have to move! My Jimmy is so great- not afraid to make the hard decisions and understands the meaning of "calculated risk"!

We had some pretty major sand storms this past week. A lot of sand was piled up along the roadway dividers and the wind was very strong. Visibility was limited and everything was covered in sand. The apartment even had a light coating of sand with all the doors and windows closed! I believe we are done with that for a while- at least I hope so!

I still go treasure hunting every weekend with my metal detector and am proud to report my record still stands. Every time I have gone out I have found coins! No other treasure yet but I am going to the same area of beach across the street for 5 months and am still finding coins! I consider that a success. In total I have AED 164 and many fil and half fil and other foreign coins. The real treasure is the little Russian girl I befriended and the many other people I speak to every weekend. I had a wonderful conversation with a young man from New York who is considering moving here. The people, foreign and Emirates, are what make Dubai so special.

My family is coming in less than 2 weeks and I can hardly wait! One of the activities I have planned is dune buggy riding in the desert. There is no way Jimmy is going to let the girls do this until he checks it out to be certain it is safe so I organized a trip with some of our coworkers. There are several companies that offer this and I was fortunate to find a great one- One World. The representative, Kingston, was great. He answered his phone every time I called (several times!) and answered all of my questions. We had a group of 9 people - 3 couples in 2 seater dune buggys and 3 people on 4 wheelers. The driver picked us up where we live at the scheduled time (2:30 pm) and we drove for a little less than hour to the desert. As I said earlier we had some sand storms so the road going to the bedouin campsite was not passable. We stopped off the highway on a side road and were met by some drivers in dunebuggys. We piled in and drove across the desert to the bedioun camp. I under estimated how much sand would be flying around-I had grit in my mouth and on my face! We were suited up with helmets and goggles and given basic instructions on the operation of the vehicles. Jimmy drove us in a dune buggy. A guide lead our caravan of 3 dune buggys and 3  4 four wheelers through the desert. He went pretty fast sometimes so you really had to gun it to keep up. The exciting part was going up and DOWN the dunes. We would get to the crest of a dune and couldn't see the bottom. You just had to keep going! The trick is to keep your vehicle straight- don't turn the wheels or you will roll over. Don't hit the brakes or you may get seriously stuck or worse flip over if you are going too fast. It was also pretty bumpy. I loved it; Jimmy was a great driver and the whole group had a great time. One girl, Lori, and her brother, Ryan, were each on 4 wheelers and they were clearly the rock stars of the group. They zoomed all over, up and down dunes like professionals! Oh to be young again! There was one really steep dune that Lori wisely chose not go down. She went around the edge and met us at the bottom. It's OK to push yourself but it is wise to know your limits. I realized at that point there is no way I could have driven down that dune (and probably several others!). After an hour of tearing up the desert you end up back at the bedioun camp. Then there was about an hour wait while other groups arrived. In total I estimate there was 450 people. We caught our breath, drank alot of water and thankfully Rosa brought a package of wet wipes. We all availed ourselves of her generosity and wiped off the sweat and sand. Booths opened up offering all kinds of activities. They had henna painting ( I took a couple of pictures but unfortunatley they were blurry), arabic dress and accessories, sand art in a bottle, carpets for sale and other things. The camp is set up with a large round stage in the center with tables arranged from it like spokes on a wheel. In the bedioun tradition you sat on large pillows on the ground at the table. The food,  and other activities made up the outer perimeter creating a lovely atmosphere. It was very large but felt like a small community. The food was pretty good. You were allowed to serve yourself in line so you get what appealed to you and not foods you may not care for. I bought a silk carpet; it is machine made not hand made but it was quite nice and not too expensive. I was surprised they offered alcoholic beverages for sale! They had several beers and vodka and other liqours. Sure did help wash the sand down!

In the van with the group.The adventure begins!

The driver who picked us up to get to the camp.

Jimmy and Greg. I sat next to the driver but since they were two seater buggy's Jimmy and Greg had stand in small bed behind us and hold on to the roll bar. You can tell by there smiles they didn't mind a bit! I took this pick over my head and behind me while we were zooming through the desert- not too bad!

Ryan and Lori in the back of a buggy on the way to the camp. Their mom is in front with the driver.

Quick lesson and passing out helmets and goggles. You can were your own sunglasses but the goggles offered more protection from the sand flying around- I chose the goggles. It gets pretty hot in that gear so don't bother with cosmetics or fixing your hair much!

Ready! Jimmy is so cool with his sunglasses!

These are "melons" that literally grow out the sand with very little vegetation as you can see. Our guide said they are poisonous if you eat them raw. Very unexpected to see this kind of vegetation in the desert!

I couldn't take a lot of pics while we were moving because it was so bumpy but this gives you an idea of how spaced out we were. Close enough to follow and not get lost but not too close. The 4 wheelers go first behind the guide then the buggys.

You drive for an hour then arrive back at the camp. Camel rides are available right outside the perimeter of the camp. A couple of people in our group did this but I am waiting to share the experience with my girls.

Another pic of the camel riders.

It's hard to see but that is Ryan sand surfing. This is set up right outside the perimeter of the camp but you can watch people do it from inside the camp. He made to the bottom without falling but said it was not a steep or long dune and not worth the major effort to get back to the top to do it again. Still a pretty cool experience though!

The falcon is the national bird of UAE. For 10 dirham you can hold the falcon in four positions and take pics with your own camera.

You knowI had to do it! That falcon is a lot heavier than he looks!

Water fountain inside the camp. Anyone who knows me knows I love water features!

Tables and seating around the stage. Sitting on the ground for so long is a little rough but the cushions are very thick and help a lot! I used two cushions and it wasn't so bad. We have a couple low sitting beach chairs with backs we are bringing for my mom and Jimmy when we take them. Gotta' take care of momma!

Another view of the stage and seating area. You can see the camp is quite large.

Lori went to the traditional Arabic dress tent and for a small amount she purchased the headdress and they taught her how to tie it. Pretty, pretty girl and just as nice!

Ryan got in on the action, too!

Desert garden! The sun is starting to set and things are really start to get started!

The first dancer was a man who performed a spinning dance similar to a whirling dervish. He spun in place very fast while using items like very shallow round baskets to enhance his performance.

This is a section of the skirt from his costume he removed and spun all around never missing a beat!

All of the sudde his costume lights up!

The skirt split into two more sections. He is still spinning while the upper part of his body is inside the top lit up portion. Freaking cool!!! Next a fire dancer performed and it was great. Sorry no pics but our guide advised us to get in the food line before it got too long. We saw the whole thing but I forgot my camera on the table. I'll post pics when we go back with the girls. 

Last but not least was the belly dancer! She was fantastic as well. All the performers go all around the edge of the stage so there isn't a bad seat in the house. You get to see each performance very up close and personal. A belly dancer is as close as you are going to get to a stripper in UAE and the table next to us was all young single guys so you can imagine the hooting and hollering in our area. I believe she lingered a little by us because of all the attention she was getting!

Belly dancing babe!

Last one!

As you can see we had a blast. When the event was over our guide rounded us up and drove us back home. When my mom and the girls come Jimmy will 4 wheel drive with the girls and mom & I will wait at the camp. Mom gets around great but she has a bad back and I fear that between the dune riding and sitting so low to the ground it will result in some discomfort for her. I want this to be a great experience for everyone and I already did the dunes so mom and can hang out at the camp and wait for the others. Besides- I'm pretty sure I won't have the nerve to go down some of those dunes so this is my excuse to chicken out with dignity!

I'll check back again soon. Love to all my friends and loved ones. Jacob and Jeremy- I love you and miss you boys so much! Pam, Jay & Amy, Greg- you are always in my heart and my prayers. Keep the funny emails coming- I love them! Denny, John & my ILS folks- I sure miss working with such a great group.

Can't wait to share my life in Dubai with my girls and my mom!!!!! 

Peace, love and happiness to all-

M&J



The Real Treasure

Hello all!

I've been doing my usual thing- working, house chores, shopping and of course treasure hunting! I use my metal detector on the beach across the street as a hobby. I find mostly trash- pop tops from soda cans and other such kinds of trash. Sometimes I find nails and screws and other more dangerous items. I have small pouch type belt, like a flat fanny pack. It has two zippered compartments. In the bigger compartment I put the trash I find; the smaller one is for the coins I find. I always collect the trash and throw it away properly. It is good karma- good things come from good things. If I collect the trash I will be rewarded with a coin. I must be right in some way because I have found coins every single time I have gone treasure hunting! Since I started in late October I have found over 100 dirham and lots of other various coins. Besides, the beach is literally my front yard! I want to do what I can to keep it clean. Also, there are so many children enjoying the beach; it would break my heart to see one of them cut their foot or be hurt on a pull tab because I was too lazy to bend down and put in my pouch.

So this morning I was doing my thing; slowly walking the beach listening for beeps collecting the trash and I had one coin for my efforts. Mom, dad and a girl about 8 years old set up nearby. I could hear them speaking Russian. The girl was watching me and I smiled at her. She moved closer and she could hear the beeps and see me digging. She came closer to watch what I was doing. Mom & dad gave me a concerned look but I smiled at them and motioned that she was ok to be with me. I stayed near their beach camp so they could keep an eye on their daughter and not worry. In a short time they saw she was safe and would only glance over at us occasionally. I don't speak Russian and she didn't speak english but she was a smart, smart child! She quickly caught on that a beep meant something was there and would dig furiously at every sound. I was able to show her to move the sand more slowly and wait for me to tell her where to dig. She not only gave me every pull tab she found- she gave me EVERY piece of trash she came across! My pouch quickly filled with all kinds of junk! She was also facinated with the tiniest shells- and I mean very, very tiny shells. She could find the most beautiful shells that would be unseen by anyone else. After awhile she dug up her first coin. The look on her face was priceless. I knew in that moment that I had found a real treasure. I gave her a thumbs up and clapped for her and laughed out loud. She was so excited! She held it out for me to take but I folded the coin in her hand and pointed at her. She understood it was hers to keep. Her smile was all the reward I could ask for. I told her to go show her mama & papa and motioned toward them. She ran to them and proudly showed them her treasure. They looked at me and I smiled at them to let them know it was ok. We hunted together for about an hour and she had found 6 more coins. Each time she ran to her parents and proudly presented her coin. When it was time for me to leave she waived and smiled and gave me a thumbs up and clapped. We created our own way of communicating that required no spoken words.

I really enjoy treasure hunting and finding coins and doing my part to keep the beach tidy but what  I learned today from that beautiful little girl is that true treasure is found in a smile, a kind gesture and sharing the adventure. Live in the moment, enjoy the sun on your face.  You don't even have to speak the same language; you just have to listen and speak with your heart.

Another great day in Dubai!

M&J