Home at Last

Home sweet home......... We arrived home late Saturday night after a really fun vacation on Hilton Head with JJ and family. I really want to do something similar next year with ALL the kids. It was so nice having all my boys together and enjoying the grandchildren. I really don't get to see them enough. Our flight home was OK, it was a smaller plane and the seats were uncomfortable but it was a short flight compared to what we are used to.
Even though I am very happy to be home, it still feels a bit odd to know that I won't be going back to Dubai. I am sad at times knowing that I won't see my villa or Medcare hospital again, but then I remember that I am so happy to be here and it is so nice living in this beautiful place and having such nice weather - today it was gorgeous.
WE also helped Amy move today, she has an apartment with her friend Julee and they are both soooo excited. It is small but they don't need very much. Tonigh Ed and I went to see Ali and Alex's new house and we had dinner with them. Their house is wonderful, the perfect fit for them and we had a nice evening. The boys were playing paintball and had a good time with that. All in all, we are settling in.

Boat Ride and Dinner

So John set up a boat ride for us last night but could only get a reservation for six. To handle the "overflow" he set up a ride on a fishing boat owned by Jenn's cousin. The ride for us was very enjoyable and we saw many dolphins, the fishing boat crowd had a lot of fun as well and had an upclose encounter with dolphins - I hope to get Amy's pictures. It almost looks like the dolphins are posing and smiling for the camera. After the boat ride, we had dinner at the Black Marlin restaurant. Of course we had seafood. It was a short night as we were all tired. After watching all about Michael Jackson's death, we all went to bed. Another nice day.

Atlanta and Hilton Head

We arrived in Atlanta as scheduled without any problems. The hotel that we booked was very nice for a one night stay and a good way to ease back into life in the states. Alex and Ed fell asleep very early Thursday night and Greg and I went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. We brought food back but Alex never woke up, or he woke up for a short time very very disoriented. The poor kid could not put two words together that made sense. All we could do was laugh at him and tell him to go back to sleep. It was quite interesting to see what jet lag did to him, but in the morning he was fine.
When we woke up, we called Amy and Dave to make sure all was on time for them and it was! We all got ready for the day and took the hotel shuttle over to the airport to meet them and pick up the rental car we would be using for the week. While we were waiting at the airport we could watch the local branch of the USO greeting our service men arriving and they had a group of people to greet them and clap for them. It was a nice touch.
We arrived in Hilton Head as scheduled and John met us at Wal Mart (Yeah!! Wal Mart!!) and after picking up a few things (Like a new curling iron) we drove to John's house and visited with the family before driving to our villa. The area around our villa is really pretty. The back patio doors are right on a golf course and you can sit at the dining room table and watch people play their rounds of golf.
That evening we had dinner at a local brew pub John frequents and his friends supplied us with a whole range of appetizers on the house. It was a nice gesture. WE ate like we hadn't eaten in weeks. But we also took a lot home.
The first day here we were invited to a picnic at Jenn's Aunt's house. We had pulled pork sandwiches, BBQ chicken and all the fixins. We spent a lot of time in the pool as well as it was really hot (95 plus). On Monday, Ed and I rented bicycles and rode a bit (yes I rode a bike!!) and I enjoyed it a lot. The bike trails are all over the place and we got three bikes so the kids would have something to get around on. We had dinner at the villa that night and I made a big pot of spaghetti and salad and bread. We also had wine of course. Tuesday we went to our pool which is literally at our front door and then got ready for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then walked around The Walk until the fireworks started. Wednesday we had a late breakfast and caught up on rest and laundry and in the afternoon we visited some art galleries and took Ashley to a place where we could color pottery and have it fired and the finished pieces will be picked up on Friday. Amy also did two pieces. Thursday (today) we went to the beach and now are resting before going on a boat ride. After the boat ride, we will have dinner somewhere. It has been a fun and relaxing week and we are so happy we stopped here before going home.

In Germany

Well, we made the first six hours of our trip. The plane ride was incredibly smooth. Now a six hour stop in Germany. We went through passport control just to get a Germany stamp on our passports. The airport is OK, but the lounge is nice. ED is taking a shower, boys are on the internet and of course, I am on the computer. All good ways to kill time. I couldn't sleep on the plane an I had a terrible time leaving, even had some tears, but they are over now and I look forward to seeing the kids and my house and the dog and all my friends. (Not necessarily in that order).
I am amazed at how smooth everything went with the move. I think my only stress was worrying about Alex and how he was handling this, but since we have been on the plane, he is OK. I am sooooo proud of my boys. Their older brother is anxious for them to see all the bikini clad girls on the beach on Hilton Head. I am not so sure I am as excited about that. But we will have fun and just sitting and visiting with the kids and having a good meal will be fun for Ed and I.

Last Day in Dubai

Boy, reading Alex's previous post makes me feel so bad, but I cannot apologize for the wonderful experiences he had while here. I do feel bad that he is having such a hard time leaving. I just hope he will take everything with him that he learned here and expand on it when he gets back to NY. Ed and I were sitting on the beach today talking about where we want to go next that has a lot of sun and is warm. I think we decided we really liked this type of climate and will seek it out as often as we can.
Our plane is very late tonight and we are going for a late dinner, finish packing and then settle up with the hotel (I think we broke the bank!), and then we are outa here!!! Right now, I am gathering things and sorting as I can't take everything with us that we brought to the hotel. We brought a lot of snacks etc that are going to just be tossed. But we did finish the wine.........

Our time is up.

Dubai was fun, and now I guess we start another "adventure". I don't mind NY, It's just that...I have a lot of friends here in Dubai, and it sucks that I wont see them ever again. No. there is not a possibility that I will ever go back. Why? because it just wont ever happen. WHY? because it can never be followed thru. Its a "dream", not a "possibility". I do not want to leave. I want to come back. But coming back is easier said than done. My website has a lot of new stuff, if you haven't check. I have a new page that helps you stay connected to The family while we are traveling. New photos for the site shall be up soon. I d not know what else to say. Other than.

We had a good run, too bad we have to leave.

Seafire Restaurant

Ed and I had a glass of wine in the early evening and were trying to figure out what to do for dinner when Greg suggested we just stay here at the hotel. We decided on Seafire Restaurant. At first glance, it looked expensive, but I have to say, the steak was probably the best I have had in two years here in Dubai. Steak is the one thing that Dubai doesn't do well in most restaurants so we have stayed away from it. Last night was a real pleasure. The place was very nice, service was excellent and it was quiet enough to talk with no blaring music, but music in the background. We all enjoyed our meal.
After dinner, we walked around Lost Caverns here at the hotel, which is an aquarium almost in the dark with lots of alcoves and fish tanks to view and enjoy. I loved the jellyfish that glowed in the dark and the tank with so many multi colored fish - it was a real treat to just stand there and look at all the bright colors. We also saw the infamous whaleshark that is being kept here and causing so much furor It was a nice way to end the evening and we got back to our room in less then five minutes. That was the best part -no driving.