The Adventures of Kenny & Erica: 2008

Visa Run to Musandam, Oman

Armed with passports, water and some sandwiches we got in the Hemi powered SUV for an Oman adventure and to get Erica and Oliver's passports stamped. We aren't residents in the UAE and have to leave the country every 2 months. Even if it's only for a few minutes in another country.

So, we were heading north out of the United Arab Emirates to Musandam, a Sultanate of Oman.

At the Oman border, about an hour and a half out of Dubai, we came across some unusual immigration officers...

Maybe they're part of the Oman Welcome Wagon.

Kenny taking in the sites of the peninsula.

A wee little Accalia on the wall of the highway trying to get a better glance at the Arabic sea.

Not wanting his partner to feel left out and small he jumped up on the wall for support (and to sneak a peek at the Straight of Hormuz)

Windswept... the word of the day

The water was a beautiful color but the cloudy day hides that in the pictures... sorry!

I'll order better weather next time!

The road bent in and out of all these little coves.

There were small villages hidden in each of the coves.

We stopped to have a stroll around this very tiny little village. There were just a handful of stone houses and a few of these dhows for fishing. Culture shock from the big city of Dubai.

The coast was really beautiful but as the clouds came over and the wind picked up we saw a huge change.

This is the beach about 25 minutes later. The sea was angry that day!

We braved the elements armed with every piece of clothing available in the car and took a stroll on the beach. There were families enjoying picnics, kids playing on the playground equipment and us... freezing our hoo haas off!
Oliver and Accalia sharing body heat to stay warm.

She sells sea shells by the sea shore

Obi Wan "KEN"-obi

" These are not the droids you've been looking for"

We haven't been this cold since our visit to Canada!

In Search Of the Wild Wadis of Hatta

On a lovely Friday morning the Jones and Clark families headed out in search of

The Wild Wadis of Hatta

Hatta is about an hour and half outside of Dubai. It is on the Oman border and is famous for the Hatta fort, the wadis (water pools) and the milder climate because of the higher elevation.

We stopped off to have some breakfast at the Hatta Fort Hotel. Delicious! They even had real bacon... not something that you get everywhere in this Muslim country!

The hotel offers tons of activities...

pool, camel rides, horseback trails, shooting gallery, mini golf, walking trails and other fun family activities.

Here is one of the permanent residents of the hotel. He had a bit of a fly on his face issue.

Poor bugger.

In search for the waterfall that is supposed to be part of the wadis we came across this ramshackle old camping site.

We were guessing this was either the check in counter or the bar. Being a muslim country we figured it must be the bar.

Hours of off roading through dirt paths, mountains and hills we had no luck finding any wadis or even any water at all. There were lots of caution signs saying Wadi with a huge ! but for what we weren't sure. There wasn't a drop of precipitation anywhere.

Wait... is that water I see down there? WOW that's impressive.

How long have we been in the car to see that?

The tall grasses did make for a good self portrait back ground.

WAIT!! Pull over! I see blue....

Here is the water we came to see... all the few gallons of it.

We think that the minerals in the rocks give it that brilliant blue color.

We have been known to be wrong on occasion so don't base next year's science fair project on it.

Kenny happy to be out of the car for a few minutes giving his legs a stretch.

Our photography team...

Kenny and Oliver productions

The sun's starting to set...

does anyone know how to get home?

A Furkid Fight

Every group of siblings has their moments when they love to hate one another.

Our furkids are no different

They share the cat bed...

even the same rug...

BUT there is not always peace in the Jones household

"Do your fur just rub up against my fur?"

"Did you tell Mom that I took the last treat out of the cupboard?"

"It's on!!!"

She throws a huge right

followed by the signature pounce for the neck...

After the hissing and the clawing (well she's the only one with claws which isn't exactly fair but he does out weigh her by more than 10 pounds) there is a brief "I'm not talking to you" phase.

She pouts a bit

Then, tuckered out from the 3 minute brawl, they take a nap on our bed.

Thanks for the hairy cover kids.

Shots that Just Didn't Fit Anywhere Else on the Blog

Since I've been so bad with updating this blog lately (sorry everyone) I had some photos that made me laugh but didn't fit anywhere else in the blog. So here they are!

Soon to hit the book stores... Stories of Alice the Junkyard Camel.

Actually, this guy was just looking for some chow on the side of the road.

"There is some lovely filth down here!"

A heavy fur blanket for naps on the couch.

Mall of the Emirates played host to some fantastic Christmas events...

even the locals love the carols.

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas..."

(and we are wishing for different costumes next year... these are really hot!)

Ravi sporting her Christmas bow. She "loved" wearing it too!

And now for a completely different subject...

We are lucky enough to have a friend that works for the company building the new cricket stadium that will be part of Dubai's Sports City. We got a tour of the site.

I know that you're all jealous... of our hard hats of course.

The Macho Macho Men

Kenny and Christoph

Put me in coach

Like I said earlier.... random!

Here's your friendly neighborhood Ikea Spiderman

This was the only picture we were really allowed to take at the Ladies Masters in Dubai. Cameras were banned. We had a great day watching the best of the best ladies in the game.

Go Annika!