I am back with more pics of the mcgough trip! (can you tell I have more energy in 2nd trimester?! I am trying to catch up on the blog while this wonderful energy lasts!)

…more exploring, more memories, and more fun!

Jebel Akhdar “green mountain” visit. We drove up the tallest mountain in Oman and stayed at a hotel up there… enjoyed the sights, food, cooler weather and an early night to bed. On our way up we stopped and were invited for coffee and dates with the guards. They also honored us by giving us “rose water” to rub on our hands and hair, this water is made on the mountain and is used for cooking, medicinally, for celebrations and used to be used as perfume. I have to admit, I am not a fan of the strong smell- it smelled like smoked meat because of the way they make it- which is by distilling and boiling the flowers, read this article if you are curious about the history and making of this Oman tradition. This was a fun cultural experience.

Next stop: Nizwah Souk (“market”)- we have heard that on Friday mornings this place is happening… I hope to visit it one day on a Friday, but it was still nice to shop around even if we were one of the only groups of shoppers.

Next-door to the souk is the Nizwah Fort… we Chase & Cecil (Glenda & I were done in about an hour) spent 2 hours exploring and checking out this historical place. It was really neat and a fun stop.

After exploring the interior cities of our country we came back to our town and rested for a few days before our final trip to Al Ain and Dubai. In Al Ain we got to show them the hospital where our peanut will be born! I think it helped them feel better about us staying here for the birth. I didn’t take many pictures of our “resting” days.

Dubai- the city of man-made beauty, malls and a taste of America with an Arab flair! Oh how I love getting to go on weekend get-a-ways here every once and a while. The first night we took them to the Burj Khalifa for some yummy Italian food (don’t think I mentioned before but all I really wanted to eat while they were here was Italian food- I think I calculated that we ate it 8 times during their 19 days with us! sorry guys… didn’t know you were gonna come to the Middle East for Italian food did you?!) and the water show. It is a must see if you ever travel to Dubai. On a side note, the restaurant we ate at serves gummy bears instead of mints at the cashier counter and has fresh basil plants at every table- love it!

Musandam is about a two 1/2 hour drive from Dubai so we decided to take a day trip there for a Dhow boat cruise, snorkeling, and dolphin watching. It was well worth the drive! Gorgeous views and beautiful weather. And a bonus was that neither Glenda or I got sick on the boat- Praise Jesus cuz we both lean toward getting sick on moving objects.

Our last night in Dubai we did a desert Safari. What a crazy, fun, somewhat scary experience! We trusted our lives (including our child’s life!) with a shabab (“young guy”) driving an SUV across the sand dunes. I thought for sure a few times we were going to flip, but thankfully we never did! We all had a great time…however, Glenda said she thinks it was a one-time thing for her, as she had her eyes closed the whole time worrying about her 8th grandchild while getting sick- poor thing.

After the sand dune ride they brought us to a desert camp where we got to enjoy a short camel ride, a traditional Arab BBQ, and entertainment by a belly dancer and Tanoura (this dance form originated in Turkey) dancer. It was a fun touristy-cultural experience that I hope we get to take anyone who comes to visit us on.

Like I said before we had a wonderful time getting to show Glenda and Cecil around. It was a blessing to get to share this part of our lives with loved ones. Thanks for the great memories!

We can’t wait for our next visitors! Let us know when you are coming 🙂