Wadi Bin Khaled, Oman

These wadis are simply brilliant and I really don't think a photograph would ever do places like these any justice. I could barely speak while I was in this place, I was in awe of everything. This is high season for rain, so once the rain stops these pools dry up and become riverbeds. We took full advantage of our route and took a slight detour to catch sight of the wadis. We arrived and hopped outta the car. Kaia was anxious-for it had been about 6hours we had been just sitting in the car, thank goodness for dvd players. We were trying to go a bit off the beaten path, it was very busy, and it was about peak visitor time..post prayer time. We just parked it and walked towards the wadis...until we caught sight of 2 little travel guides. They were about 7 years old and had every intent on making our stay at the Wadi bin khaled pleasurable and memorable. One I swear had pneumonia...but he kept on truckin. kaia was steered clear of him the duration of our visit with the help of us.
THey took us on this alternative route up the side of the mountain insead of where all the tourists went-which was along side of the riverbed,where we should have gone. So, we were hiking up these dirt paths...pretty flowers, little shack homes and wetness. Hmmm, where did that wetness come from, "Oh that's goat piss...kaia be careful don't.....YEp,right,slipped in the goat piss." Brush it off, not only did she brush it off, but I had to contain my motherly concern, use our drinking water, and wash the piss off her arms and hands and just move on. Meanwhile, quite agitated by my every obsessive compulsive urge to keep my baby free of not only germs, but goat piss. We finally arrived after a treacherous, heat riddened hike down to the forest filled with wadis. Why did we let these boys lead us up this stupid trail in the first place?
Well, needless to say, we made it there. Cus worded..goat pee filled minutes later. It reminded me of something out of Greek Mythology,Bible something very old- people taking naps under Palm trees...mother's feeding their babies,Men dancing and playing music, people swimming in green-blue pools of water. It was incredibly surreal, I could barely make sense of what I was witnessing. People brought their homes into this space...and it was like out of a dream...hard thing to explain, but perhaps the photos could do a bit of expressing

Red Carpet....

There were probably 50 people that curiously gawked while this picture was being taken. I guess they wondered why we were posing as though Mickey Mouse was standing behind us, "It's just water." Well, we thought that it would make a nice christmas picture.Ot at least, that was what I may have been subconsciously thinking.
I find that interesing now that we have a child. OOh, look "THis would make a nice Christmas card picture." Also, very funny is that we have never sent any out, so why that'd be in the back of my brain...I have no idea.

THe little boy here on the edge looking out...was one of our tour guides. He later cried becuase we would not give him our tennis ball...I have never seen quite a pitiful face before that was so fake. His theatrical "schtick" obviously worked..since he ran away with our little yellow ball.

Coming down the riverbeds, I regretfully did not get a pic of the tour guides.

Qantab Fishing Village~ Oman

"All that is gold does not glitter
not all those who wander are lost"
-J.R.R Tolkien

This was only the beginning of the adventure...we had no idea what we were about to get ourselves into.

Inlet of Indian Ocean bay

The tide was still high and fishies were still being shaded by the cliffs from above. Perfect time to make a cast...we were awakened by little footsteps...as I lifted my head, I was drawn into the cliffs from above. I never realized how jagged the Hajar Mountain Range really was. Well, I guess I just had no idea what they looked like, but they offered a roaming beauty with their sleek and ever-vanilla pocketed ranges..they were certainly different than what I was used to.
Always have and always will enjoy getting to a site in the night so that in the morning it is completely different than what I had imagined. We bashed it with our
4WD, and glorified ourselves by knowing that we were fully equipped with gear and able to stay many nights in the desert....FREE of lodging expenses if we desired.
Thanks to Amy's building remains from next door...we were supplied with a full nights Fire-Powered pit that boasted heat and light. Since we only brought one propane refill...it certainly came in handy..oops:)
We enjoyed the evening...with stories, shisha that took an hour to get lit, Bombay sapphire's and Wieners...we were set. OOps, here comes the tide....OH crap, we thought, "We put our fire-pit too close to the water, now it's going to get washed away." We knew it was too good to be true, but Sally the Sea decided to spare our Pit of Fire soon to be disaster and push back in for a long nights rest.

Catch me some fish boy..

we were going to throw this little guy back in the water, but a village boy wanted to eat him, so he took off his flip-flop and put little gulpy out of his misery. I couldn't watch.

A view from where we camped for the night...sleepy village.

"There is nothing like looking if you want to find something, you certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after."
J.R.R.Tolkien

I was thrilled

by the idea that these omani children were so infatuated by my fishing man.
Not much talk came out of them, they were fixated on his every movement, and could have cared a less about the rest of us. There were a few moments that Jeff had with these kids...where he seemed to be connected, a sort of universal language that deemed a power that went beyond language. A thinking pool of curiosity they all claimed to have..and with that..a special bond was made that will last forever.

Omani Chronicles Part I

I started to become interested in entrances..ie:DOORS,gates, fenceposts when I first went to Mexico.They seem to express not only the obvious meaning of what they actually are; but they seem to tell a story that I find very meaningful and poetic. The variety of color, style and size changes across the world.SO, I suppose you could say that by looking at doors, one is granted a sense of where they are geographically. I think that this is great...!!
Some have mixed materials and others a simple wooden structure with a knob on it will do.
They offer one a sense of history; where we come from and how we live. I mean, when we were growing up...I painted our front door purple...as grape as you could get it, and people Assumed that our family was African American. Whats up with that??
Regardless of stereotypes, Doors are interesting, and say something about who we are as a people. They offer a channel for creative expression and give one a sense of pride and an opportunity to celebrate being alive.

Home is like a binky..

get me out of this black spandex shirt and into some linens please before donkeys start slappin burgers on my back
It's the weekend..and my teaching JOb starts in 2 weeks if I want it, still looking for other jobs though that are more lucrative. Not yet decided. We still have time to ourselves which has been wonderful. Our mornings usually start at 8am. Walk the dog in this huge field..Desert Field...where other doggies meet up. It's nice..across is the ocean..so we usually get a nice breeze. Also, where we Run.
Jeff usually comes with, and we drop him right before park,,,where the beach starts and he can get a nice spot to do his tricks of the trade..skimboarding.
Kaia's nap are still right at noon...so it breaks up the day. sometimes nice others not. Feels like the day becomes wasted,just waiting for her to wake. It does give me some down time which is just what I need, more down time!!
We have been enjoying the variety of MUlti=National cuisine, whilst enjoying the fine dining. We are often times the only family in the restaurant. I'm sorry I just don't like to eat dinner at bedtime. THe crowds usually start rolling in at about 9:30-10.little chitlins too in their sundays' best. We find that when we wonder what to do...we just load up and go outside and are entertained literally just by being alive and conscious of our surroundings. It's so much different than home is. ALthough, even though I may not recognize where I am..or what is mine...my Jefe and my kaia makes my Home "Home."

Chilly Wonders...

.it's Friday and there are literally no cars to be seen, no horns to be honked and people to pass by. Today is the holy day....resting, praying eating.As well as the weekend, day to catch up...tonight is when people come out for play.
While the rest of the place chills...we come out and play in fountains. Or shall I say "swim." These chillly little blessings, are the cleanest, most sparkly as a shiny new penny clean pockets of goodness.CHlorinated more than a pool and the upkeep is better than that of my own. It's a hot one today...around 85, the heat is pumping up...and my first instinct is to shed the clothes....haven't had the strength to do that yet...not at least until the white skin gets about 5 shades darker, man what happened....the will for lookin good went clear out the window...TIme to get back with the program. All for now....hope all is well.

Red Boat Blue boat..

Me & my dad

Pop me some Art

Kaia for Grand Mamas

I literally am putting these on here..for all the Grandma's out there..and of course one granny. We are now taking our skirts and wearing them as tops. Defintely not synomous with the attire here for goodness saki-o's. Sushi, is really tasty here, but they are pretty proud and now charge an arm and a leg.It's kinda silly. But, then you can get Hall's for 30 cents and a huge bag of tomatoes for under a dollar.
UNfortunately I'd rather skip the halls and tomatoes and eat the sushi.

I finally got the sickies...

it was bound to happen in new germ territory,but it wasn't too bad. We brought her into the hospital, Dr. Malik, he was ok, I could barely understand him, but sickness is pretty universal. You pull a q-tip out of a jar, we know what he's going to do. The gag, she had a throat culture.
She tested negative, but was still in a good amount of pain, swollen glands...the whole bit. She is on the mend, but now we know that we need to find a Pediatrician that we trust and most importantly can Understand.

Room with a Toot

Here is the view from out of our balcony.

Tap away

Yes, there I am typing away trying to get this next posting in at AMy's newly refurbushed Apartment.

Flight of the Soda Pop Tops...

For days now....we have been on Ocean bender's, sand fixes and water overloads. We cannot seem to get enough of it. The beach is filled with an eclectic variety of cultures..some that stay within your eye-ball comfort level others not so much. That is when one(myself for instance)practicing the cat cleansing, or an occasional Cow Moo will seem to alert any unwanted guests from my sand castle creation and swimsuit show. The beach brings an assortment of activities and a wide range of participants. You're average JOe..or shall I say, Mohamed..In their Sunday's best, tight pants, dress shirt, shoes and tea galavanting around with their buddies with the ball kicking it around in the sand is always a fun one. Or your homegrown buddies bringing everything but, literally the kitchen sink and their family pet for a late afternoon Dinner by the sunset always seemed like an exciting place for romanticizing.And wait, I almost forgot about a family with a long fishing pole with a kite tied to the end of it..Now that genius! I'm gonna try that, well that is, if we can find a fishing pole. Jeff met a friend who is allegedly going to take him out fishing, but we are not holding our breath. We will find him a boat, in due time.
So, for now we remain content..watching Palm Trees blowing in the distance while we just listen to the ambient sounds of life gather around us.

Hamdan Street

A fun activity...walking down the streets. It would sound a bit mundane in your typical neighborhood, but outside our apartment lies a wide range of entertainment, shopping and restaurants that need to be tapped. It is entertaining to look, listen and try not to get in the way of the cars that seem to Own the road more than your average owning of the road. I thought Indiana drivers were bad, these guys didn't even have to take a test, they watched Talladega Nights and said ok here are my keys now let's roll.

Just One wish

I am another step closer to the best fountain. These have become the latest activity craze with little Miss and Amira. Let's just swim in them, and lay down in them, take a bath in them, but no pennies in them.Still haven't seen a wishing fountain. All the fountains but no wishes. I thought that was universal, anyone have any insight??

Camel friend

First camel to encounter..probably the closest we will ever let her get to them.
Last time I was around them they spit at me and kicked at my facial, and dropped dead on sis, Yah, No we will not be nustling up to any cameltoes.

Kaia=Sea

I am a sand baby...I love the way it feels between my toes, much like the way grass does on a hot summer day. I am entranced by the smell of the Sea, much like I remembered it when I was in that dark pouch on that other planet I faintly remember.
My little hands dig deeper to find wetness so my castle stands stronger. I found a way to make water channel itself to the other side of my trench. I love to watch ma lay in the sun and look so relaxed, while I look over at Daddy and wince at his every move not wanting him to get any further away from me. My dad is my buddy at the beach, he protects me from the crashing waves and wipes the salt away from my mouth. This could last forever...for me and the Sea belong together.

Race away..

OK, so it wasn't 10,000 doll hairs.. I guess some wires crossed and we got cornfused. Needless to say..I finished the race..and being that I was ranked at 43rd I was still in the top 50-Meaning I Won 500 dollars. Amazing...the Race was painful and I just wanted it to be over with. We had every intention of doing the right thing before the Race. We had our Electrolyte riddened agua, doing our little moves thinking about stretching, jogging minds, But Hey we have plenty of time before the race. So, my eyes begin to meander while I catch glimpses of some Major Spandex and international sweat Indeed. The Zayed INternational Marathon means business...and business it was with the tight bods, and African blood, Oh crap I thought, what was I thinking. PUt me up against these svelte frames, there is no way I wiill come in 1st of 50. Oh well, it's just a race I thought, it will be fun. The nerves set in and time for potty-porta, we decide to make a pit-stop. Strutting away from starting point....pow pow...what the heck was that!! We whip our heads over and realize that they started the race 25 minutes early. "QUick RUn...we drop our waters,....got our tunes ready....hopped over the fence...and took a time to collect our thoughts...while standing, our environment filled up with an array of colors speeding past our frames...Amy turned to me with an exuberant smile and said "Are you ready?" I shook my head and we held hands and started her up and passed over the Start Line....We have now been activated.The race is on!!
It was super cool...surrounded by crazy energy that all for one moment was fixated on the same goal....Making it to the End. Later during the Race, I just wanted it to be over, I had a blister on my fin toe that burst.
It was hot and a total junk-show filled with many pre-pubescent boys that cheated maybe 2k into the race. The last kilometer was sheer hell, the finish line kept moving, so the sprint kept going and going until finally we ran up a hill into the Emirates Palace to only notice tons of people cheering and yelling. FINally, we're through and handed me a card. I did it!!

Emirates Palace

This is The EMirates Palace, where our finish line was.

the spirit

of the EMirates.

aggggh...

That will probably be the last time I ever do that.