I just finished up a Mark King triathlon, (stationary bike, treadmill and dip in the pool) and thought I better get to writing this update, as I've been promising Gail I would do it for a couple weeks now!
Every summer, many of the ladies that have husbands working in AD go home to escape the blazing heat and visit family. The ladies network here plans a big "welcome back" function every September. This year they planned it at the Fairmont, a five star hotel, located on the creek across from the Grande Mosque.
Not to be ones to miss an opportunity for a night out, we booked a room at the Fairmont for the night. It surprised me how few of the people we talked to did this! Our friends, Dan and Karen were on the same page as us and got a room also.
To expand on the adventure, we decided to get up early and go kayaking on the creek in front of the Fairmont and Shangri La, and across from the Grande Mosque. Dan and Karen have their own kayaks and were able to borrow a two seater from a friend. It was a beautiful paddle up the creek and back. It is still incredibly hot here, but we put up with it for an hour or so.
You should have seen us pull up to the fairmont with the kayaks strapped to the roof. We got out of the car in the smelly, wet clothes that we kayaked in and trudged into the five star hotel trailing sand behind us as we walked. Too funny! The reception guy was incredibly nice and told us not to worry about it. He even walked us down to the pool, as our rooms were not yet ready. It's the little things, right!?
The pool was awesome, and we took full advantage for the next few hours. At two we showered, dressed and made the short drive to the Shangri La for brunch. By far, the most impressive spread of food I have ever seen! I made a complete pig of myself! Shrimp, oysters, sushi, salmon...nothing was safe. Strange that I started getting a little stomach ache on the drive back! By the time we got back to our hotel I was nearly doubled over. It was by far the most expensive stomach ache I've ever had!
A couple hours of down time, and I was right as rain. An hour prefunc in Karen and Dan's room, then off to the party! It was great to mingle and to meet some of the gals that Gail hangs with. My life is mostly, up early, home late, repeat...so it was fun to make some new friends.
The next morning we were moving a bit slow and spent about six hours at the pool..nice!
Story two:
The next Friday we were booked for a dinner cruise along the Abu Dhabi corniche. We headed to our friends Mary and Jim's apartment for sundowners with another 4 or 5 couples. They have the perfect place for watching the sunset.
I had some great conversation with some of the guys I hadn't met yet, then it was off to the marina. In all, there was about 20 of us. It was great being out on the water and getting that perspective of downtown AD. We had a great time with new friends and still made it back for survivor!
The whole time I kept thinking that I would love my b-town friends and family to be on the boat with us! As porky pig says...that's all folks!
Turkey in three weeks!
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