Saturday, January 26, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Tuesday Jan 1st - HAPPY NEW YEAR waiting in line for passport control. We did see a few fireworks in the distance from the window. Watching the firework show later on youtube showed us what we really missed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxueEPFA5B0


Yvonne retrieved us from the airport and thankfully the drive to their house isn't very long.  I think we were in bed before 2:00 am. After some sleep we woke up ready for the day. We decided to spend the day at the beach in Fajarah. It was a little bit of a drive but we got to see desert, mountains, and camels. We met up with 2 different families and enjoyed a day in the sun and the sand.(Seriously, such a good way to start the new year.)

 Rigdon having fun in the sand

 Abigail and Saylor were proud of the buried Uncle Brad.

 We collected (mostly Abi) lots of shells and coral.

 Don't go too far out there are jellyfish out there. :)

 Technically, we were swimming in the Gulf of Oman. Brad and I were going to go out snorkeling but Matt and Yvonne's friends had just been out and warned us of jellyfish. I was content with just venturing out to my waist. Matt talked Brad into swimming out to an island to explore. They did get to see some fun things on their adventure; a sting-ray, a turtle, and Matt saw a shark. I don't know if it was worth all the jellyfish stings Brad got. He said they didn't hurt too but over the next 3 days the spots raised up and became very itchy. We rubbed a lot of anti-itch cream on. Poor guy.
 

Wednesday Jan 2nd - The UAE sure loves their Malls. There are some pretty impressive malls there. The Dubai Mall is by the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world), in the mall there is a fantastic aquarium, waterfall with divers (statues). Poor Abi wasn't feeling great and really started going down hill. Brad and I opted to stay downtown and get familiar with the Metro system so Matt and Yvonne could get Abi home.

 This aquarium is seriously big and impressive.




 The divers

Saylor showing us how to dive

Burj Khalifa: The world's tallest building


 
 Dubai's Metro system is easy to use (only 2 lines), clean, and relatively young. I loved how the stations looked, like something out of a Sci-Fi movie.
Metro Station
 A lot of the metro is above ground and the front of the train had a big window and a great view of things.
We hit the Mall of the Emirates and got to see SkiDubai. 
 

2 comments:

Barb said...

That is so cool you got to go there!!

Natalie said...

One day I will spend New Year's Day on a beach! How fun... Looking forward to more from your trip!