Spring Break

After a very trying second trimester at school, we were desperate for a break.  Fortunately, we were all rewarded with an extra week off this spring - bringing our vacation time to two full weeks.  Our little family made full use of the entire time.

We began our holiday with a little trip to the northern Emirates.  We live in the largest emirate - Abu Dhabi - and have traveled to Dubai on many occasions.  We were pleasantly surprised when we extended our usual drive past Dubai and were able to hit all but one of the emirates on the way.  The drive was very desert-esque, as one would imagine - and we spent the time watching for grazing wild camels and quiet Bedouin villages.  

After a very short 2-3 hour drive, we arrived in Ras Al Khaimah - the northernmost emirate.  It is MUCH smaller than even our little city of Al Ain - but has beautiful buildings and even a number of high-rises with hundreds of flats.  We stayed in one of these through a company called Airbnb.  By choosing this lodging option, we were able to book an entire flat to ourselves for half the cost of a hotel.  It was comfortable, roomy, and featured separate rooms to make sleeping arrangements with the toddler much more convenient.  I HIGHLY recommend using Airbnb rather than booking hotel rooms.  We plan to use them again when we head to London this summer! 

Enough with the business plug - back to Ras Al Khaimah. The beach there was beautifully natural, very rugged, and lined with fantastic sea shells.  We were even able to experience some real waves - Dalila's least favorite part of the trip.  She squealed at us to move her toys further and further each time a wave rolled in.  Collecting sea shells with Daddy finally distracted our little princess well enough to allow her to enjoy herself.  Our favorite part was the unexpected appearances of random sea creatures.  The first day, we were certain we had seen some kind of water animal  in the shallow waves of the beach - something very octopus-like, but not so much like a jelly fish. The excitement of the second day came when Jeremy spotted a stingray flitting away before he nearly stepped on it.  He was lucky enough to spot it again and point it out to me before it swam for safer waters.  VERY cool experience.

The grumpy beach babe, feeling irritated by the waves.
The beautiful buildings in the background are where we stayed!

Mommy and Lila - when she was a teeny, tiny bit happy.

Daddy and Lila finding sea shells - her favorite part!

Grass angels with friends!

Some of Dalila's favorite friends were able to meet us the last day of our trip to enjoy some time at the pool and make grass angels on the lawn in front of their accommodations (it's the little things in life, like nice cool grass when it's usually so rare, that matter the most).  We found an amazing pizzeria and a liquor store that is about half the cost of the one we frequent now!  A perfect end to a fantastic trip!!

Almost the entire remainder of spring break was spent attempting to acquire our new vehicle - which was finally successful!  We chose to stay in Dubai for an overnight, allowing us time to see and drive a number of cars.  Jeremy had broadened his search earlier that morning to include a Mitsubishi Outlander as a long shot.  Of course, this is the one we ended up purchasing for SO many reasons, many of which having to do with the former owner of the car.  We went for our test drive late that evening, hoping to catch some dinner after a short meeting.  The man whose father had owned the car was the most endearing, welcoming, and generous person we have had the pleasure to meet here so far.  He comes from Jordan and possesses the most positive outlook on Americans I have heard in a long time.  He insisted that Jeremy and I join him and his wife for Turkish coffee (AMAZING!!) and attempted to send half of his children's toy room home with Dalila - who also adored him.  We were so lucky to experience Arabic hospitality at its finest in a place where we never would have expected it.  We are fortunate to count our salesman as a friend now - plus, he lives in an incredible part of Dubai along the marina and insists that we visit as often as possible.  The car, at this point, was icing on the cake of our successful Dubai trip!

Dalila enjoying our comfy hotel bed...instead of her own.

School has since resumed, leaving me with the arduous countdown that all teachers employ around this time of year.  This time, however, my countdown will lead to another amazing adventure with our first trip to London booked the day after school releases!  As excited as we are for our London trip - spring break has also brought us closer to our summer trip home - the part I look forward to every day that stars in each one of my daydreams.  Not long now, everybody!