Weekend in Al Ain

Nathan got his work visa, but we don't have our residence visas yet. In order to get our residence viasa, we have to have marriage certificates and birth certificates certified by their respective states and then by the US to show that we really are related to Nathan. So until we get our visas, we have to have our passports stamped every 30 days to renew our visit visas. This past weekend we went to another city in the Abu Dhabi emirate (Abu Dhabi is both the name of a city and an emirate) called Al Ain. It was about a 2-hour drive. We stayed on top of the 2nd largest mountain in the UAE called Jebel Al Hafeet in a beautiful hotel called the Mercure. We had fun playing miniature golf, doing all the awesome waterslides at the pool (and a swim-up bar!!) and visiting the zoo. We drove across the border to Oman to get our passports stamped and then came right back. I'm glad we are living in the UAE b/c apparently they don't believe in toilet paper in Oman :) Well, I guess none of the Emiratis do either; there's always a sprayer beside the toilet, but in just about every place in the UAE there's also toilet paper for we fussy Westerners. Oman doesn't provide that same courtesy.

Sand dunes on the drive to Al Ain

We enjoyed the change of pace we found in Al Ain. It's a much smaller town, and there are many less ex-pats. It also seemed a lot greener and not near as humid as Abu Dhabi.

Ready for her meal at Al Areesh (I found out later that's what they call the palm frond huts the Arabs used to live in).

This is the mosque downtown. It was worship time and there were thousands of shoes on the steps as we drove by, but we didn't take a pic since there were people outside.

The typical side for a Lebanese meal.

I think she liked the hummus.

Fabric store

Camel caravan in the dessert of Oman

As we As we slowed down and rolled down our window to take a pic, they waved and said "Hello! Welcome!"

Drive up Jebel Al Hafeet

Scenic overlook

Our balcony view of the miniature golf course, which we played right after we got there.

The napkin princess

Sitting on a traditional majlis

Gracelyn waking up her favorite playmate, and Audrey so excited to see her. The hotels in the UAE only have rooms with 1 queen bed or 2 twin beds, so if you're a family, you either have to purchase 2 adjoining rooms or get a child cot (foam mattress for the floor) and we brought a "baby cot" (pack n play).

Out front of the Mercure Jebel Al Hafeet

Our friend Carolyn. She and her husband met up with us there and we had the best day at the pool together.

We loved the waterslides. Audrey must have gone 100 times. There were no rules about taking a baby on your lap, either, so Gracie got a few joyous rides down as well.

Digging in a patch of sand together in the shade. It was such a nice temp at the top of the mountain and no humidity!

Daddy kissing the chockie ice cream monster

Wow- a tree to climb!

The Al Ain Wildlife Park was a really nice zoo I thought. We had been told it wasn't like a US zoo, so our expectations were low. They had mostly African animals, but the girls had a great time. We found out the hard way it didn't open til 4pm and is open til midnight in the summer. It's much cooler in the evening and the animals are all very active.

A cute monkey at the zoo. 

Truly Audrey's highlight of the entire trip- getting to hold a ball python. She loves snakes!

Quite possibly the creepiest, most evil animal on the planet- a hyena. It got really close to the glass at one point and was staring at Gracie licking its chops.

Audrey making a new friend. We had many people ask to take their children's pics with our kids. It was funny to us, but flattering.

Nighttime train ride. This was the last thing we did. Then loaded up the kiddos and they slept on the drive home. What a nice weekend it was!