Sometimes living here just feels like an extended stay at the beach. Which is a nice thing, not complaining… but the feeling is kind of odd. At the real beach I spend the first half feeling like I just got there and the second half feeling like the time flew. Many days we wake up here and just put suits on in the morning like we would at LBI or Jupiter… I guess not having a pool in the yard at home makes this place seem more vacation-y! I do feel like we just got here and I am sure in two years we will wonder how the heck it went so fast.
Last weekend was G-R-E-A-T! We started off with an adult only dinner at Chamas… affectionately renamed, “Death by Meat” by the guys over here. It’s a Brazilian Steakhouse where they bring around huge amounts of meat on skewers and cut off pieces. Customers all have little tongs to take the meat off the skewer and a coaster looking thing with red/green sides to let them know whether more meat should be offered.
The food was AHH-mazing!!!! I was happy to sit by Erika who I have been hoping to get to know better AND who tried just about everything that came along. I am so not a “try-er” of things but she inspired me… I just could not do the chicken hearts… sorry girl! We ate lots of red meat (John discouraged my trip to the salad bar as “needless filler”) and I drank LOTS of red wine. I am ashamed to admit I can now report on how those two items look mixed after the fact, hehehe. NOT pretty, that’s fo’ sho’. Regardless of my own after-party foul, we had a great time with everyone!! I can not step foot back in that place for at least six months but I will give it huge props for being an outstanding establishment!!
Earlier that morning we made a last minute decision to go to Dubai over night the following day. Allyson and Erika were up for the trip so we found some inexpensive rooms and packed our stuff. We were supposed to leave bright and early Friday morning but neglected to remember that we are now old and can not recover from red meat and red wine so quickly… Also neglected to factor in “Allyson time” which is a good hour or more behind the rest of us. I was soooo hungry waiting for her to arrive so we could get on the road and get some food! When she finally showed at noon WITH AN EMPTY McDONALD’S BAG I was none too pleased! But staying mad at Allyson is like staying mad at a piece of cake. It just doesn’t work. We headed off to Dubai…
Aquaventure is the waterpark located at Atlantis in Dubai. It’s relatively new and a very cool place. We started off in the lazy river which was by far, THE best lazy river ever. It has rapids, conveyor belts, lagoons to stop off in, etc. One could easily just float around the lazy river for a day or two! After the lazy river we checked out the water rides which are really the bread and butter of Aquaventure. The park does not have large quantity of actual rides but it def has quality rides. Allyson, Erika, John and Abby went on some wild water slides while Zach and I waited at the shark lagoon to see them come through the tunnel. Then the four girls decided to give the “Leap of Faith” a try. The LoF is literally a 3 second water slide. However, let me assure you that many, many thoughts can race through a brain in 3 seconds! Abby went before me and I actually started to have a slight panic attack that she was so light she would fall off the slide and go right into the sharks!!! I kept saying, “…is she safe, is she safe,” to the bare bones English speaking attendant. Another attendant with much better English came up and assured me she was OK! I was up next and off I went. I wanted to keep my eyes open but gravity and/or pure fear sealed them shut so I saw nothing! I was still shaking after the ride for a good five-ten minutes! Abby LOVED the Leap of Faith and wanted to go again!! Crazy kid. Later that night I read an article about a shark that jumped out of the lagoon and onto the slide, sliding down through the tunnel and into the wading pool at the bottom. If I had read that prior to my time at Aquaventure, I am not so sure we would have tried the ol’ Leap of Faith. But now it’s over… I can look at the picture of that thing on the internet and say I DID THAT!
After the park we wandered around Atlantis, which really is an amazing structure! One of the rooms in the hotel is three stories and in the master bedroom has a wall of glass which looks into the aquarium. I can not even imagine how much that might be a night! We checked out all the water walls… they have huge sharks, sting rays, the biggest fish I have ever seen and lots of other cool marine life in the tanks. An Arab falcon handler was walking around the lobby so we got to pet a falcon! This was amazing… the bird was spectacular and he was smooth as silk. At first he had his little leather helmet on but the man took it off for us and the kids got to stroke the top of his head. The handler was very kind and the kids were able to spend a half decent amount of time with the falcon.
The next morning was a little crazy. Zach was in the bathroom in the kid’s room so Abby ran over to our room to use the toilet. In her rush, she sat on the first thing that looked toilet-like… except it was a bidet and she was NOT peeing. Not sure why so many of my blogs include defecation but here we go again… First, let me say that if this had happened to Zach we would have heard screaming at the very first millisecond that he realized his mistake. But not Abby. She is self sufficient (or so she likes to think) and tries to clean up her own messes before she tells us about them. In this case: not a great idea. She tried to relocate the poop into the toilet, but missed. She then tried to clean up the floor but used so many pieces of toilet paper that she clogged the real toilet and flooded the floor. I was lying in bed thinking she’d been in there a while and so I yelled in to see how things were going. She opened the door with a filled up eyes and said, “I need help.” We felt so bad for the girl we couldn’t even be mad! Poor kid! John went in with his t-shirt up over his nose and cleaned it up, God bless the man. Needless to say, we used the other bathroom for the rest of our time at the Rotana!
Saturday was a full on shopping extravaganza!!!!!! John took Zach to the aquarium at the Mall of Dubai and the four girls hit the shops. Erika actually purchased thirteen shirts in one store if I am remembering correctly! I splurged on a new Coach bag which I have not done in a few years and found lots of cool accessories and clothes at the mall. Abby was ecstatic to see the great big “Justice” over here and she picked up a couple new bathing suits and a shirt reminiscent of a Debbie Gibson video~ when did the 80′s come back?? Allyson is typically in a league of her own (and so she should be! Great job, no kids, no debt… damn girl, let’s trade!), but I think Erika may have taken home the prize for most purchased. We all made out very, very well. When we got in the car to head home, John handed me a bag with a wrapped present in it. I opened it to find the watch that I was admiring the night before…way to go John! Those who know John well know that as amazing as a guy/husband/dad he is, he is not the most romantic dude you will ever find, so this was even more special! It was the perfect ending to an obscenely fun weekend. I am sure we have now reset the bar on our weekend fun!
At the aquarium they allow people to dive with the sharks… John, who also never, ever asks for anything, declared last night he would love to do this! Abby is dying to swim with the dolphins at Atlantis… they have a shallow water and a deep water interaction. So I am off to look into these things. Abby’s birthday is quickly approaching… how great would it be to get to play with dolphins on your eighth birthday?!
This Saturday is Zach’s birthday… I am sure it will make me even more homesick that I already am to not share this day with family and friends. Yvonne: Zach wants Nicholas here for his birthday party, awww! I feel bad for him. As many cool things that are here, what is not here is all of you! I hope everyone is doing well… miss you and can not wait until December!
More later!
E
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