Family Weekend Redux

Heather and Cory came for the weekend, and we went looking for some fresh water for Blue to play in.  We had heard there was a lake, so on Friday we went searching.....Of course, you know we ALWAYS take the wrong direction when given a choice....

We found black camels and interesting looking caves on a road detour that was only open to locals.....
hey, we're locals now, right??!

Cory is so excited about off-roading that he decided to give it a quick try on the dunes that had started to cover this road.   He SWEARS he was not stuck.....but it looked (and sounded) like the car was stuck to those of us watching!

And still we're searching for the lake.....

Here the dunes are starting to take over the road.  I'm not sure how you fight Mother Nature here!

And, still searching......

Finally, we found the spot we had been hearing about:  fresh water, beautiful dunes, solitude......

Almost looks live a river-way....You can see Jebel Hefeet in the distance.

Awwww....My favorite couple!  :)

The lake had fish, birds, dragonflies, grass, and all the lushness we don't find elsewhere in the desert!

Blue swims and swims and swims.....

Blue had such a fun time in the water....

Looks like he's pointing!

Deep water!

One giant leap for Blue...

Come on, Blue....You can climb out!

Oh, no!  I didn't mean right on me!!!

Can you see the trail where Blue slid down the dune?  Ha-ha!!
You should have seen the shock on his face when he slid right into the water!  :)

What do you mean, you didn't bring my tennis balls??!!!!!

  All of us had such a fun time on the dunes....

Cowabunga, Dude!

Wheeee.....

King of the Mountain!

Run, Heather, Run!

I love my Deedy!

Heather encourages Blue to run up the dunes....but he MUCH preferred the water!!

Come on, Blue!

We left the dunes just in time ~ a huge sandstorm moved in!  We went home to clean up and then headed to Trader Vic's for a late lunch/early dinner.  After a delicious meal, we lounged around the pool for a while.  The sandstorm continued, but the way the Rotana is set up, the buildings blocked most of the sand.

The next morning when we got up, there was NO WATER in our flat!  The motor for the water pump went out, so the water couldn't get up to the roof.  Insh'allah it will be repaired before school starts back on Sunday.  If not, it's a "doctor's visit" for me and no school!  :)

While the kids were here, we went ahead and booked our next few weekend trips.  We're going out to Liwa, on the edge of the Rub al Khali desert, home to some of the tallest dunes in the world. We watched some videos online of people racing their cars straight up the dunes. Not many cars could make it!  We also scheduled a stay at Hatta Fort Hotel in the Hajar Mountain range.  After looking at pictures, I can't wait to see these places.

Thanks to Heather, we picked up a 2-for-1 deal for tickets to Ferrari World (largest indoor theme park), so that's on the schedule in the next few weeks.   I love having so many options here!!  So many places to see.....not enough weekends!