Yousef and Aisha at the Date Farm

That's a honey bee swarm in a date palm! They make their own honey too! Two year old Aisha is a cutie!

Al Nakheel is Arabic for "the palm grove" and this one has been in Yousef's family for two generations. It sits beneath Al Dhiyah Fort, one of the first sites I found in Ras Al Khaimah and an early blog entry. His third son, Ibrahim and fourth daughter, Aisha, helped to give me the tour. We were eating dates in 108 degrees with the young guy who helps to run the farm which requires constant irrigation. Yousef said that not too many years ago all of the people in the surrounding area came here for their drinking water. Cool!

With the boys at Al Rams

Today was my last visit with Yousef and Mohammed at Al Rams. A closing ceremony with all of the teachers and many local dignitaries. Afterwards, Yousef took me to see his recently remodeled house and then to his date farm.

Thank You Note

Besides the signature name at the bottom, how can you tell that this thank you note was written by little Japanese girls? Danica was helping a number of people with their English at the hotel before returning home.

Tower Links Ras Al Khaimah

Finally played the course in Ras Al Khaimah!

Jumeirah Mosque

Just thought we should include a picture of a mosque. This happens to be a pretty one and one of the only mosques that allows visitors.

Chris & Kira at the Sharjah Qanat al Qasba

Chris Polite Stuns Crowd at Dubai Creek

Danica Does Charleston S.C.

When Danica returned from Charleston, she received an email ... FROM THE SHEIKH(!!!) to thank her for her work on behalf of the foundation.
Round trip to S.C. - 30,000 AED, Shopping in NYC on the way there - $$ don't even ask, Starbucks in the Charleston Historic District - 2.89 US,
getting an email from the Sheikh ... priceless!

The Rainy Season in the UAE

February and March are the wettest months. This picture was taken on the Fujairah (Indian Ocean) side of the Hajar Mountains on March 26. People are warned to stay out of the mountains, especially the wadis (valleys) during possible rain storms. This picture shows why.

On the way into Ras Al Khaimah

We were on our way to visit schools in Ras Al Khaimah when we encountered this in the traffic which was speeding by at 100 mph.

A Quarter Mile of Sardines - This is a movie so hit the play button!

We were driving the beach road back to Dubai coming from Ras Al Khaimah when we spotted these three men working to dry their catch on a strip of abandoned highway. This is a lot of fresh sardines! One question... where are the seagulls!!??

At the 360 Lounge

They made it to Dubai

The Burj Dubai

Danica took this shot from the car but it doesn't look real.

Gold Souq Shop

$1,000.00 an ounce and this is just one of hundreds of shops in the souq. They say that the reason gold is so popular here is that you do not pay any tax on it. Just a shiny metal to me.

A Shop Window in the Gold Souk

The Sharjah Corniche on a Friday Morning

Sharjah is the emirate next door (N.E.) of Dubai. It has a gorgeous coast line but the cost of the development is the worst traffic in the world - no really - it's terrible. What were they thinking!? But this is pretty isn't it? ... and the ladies look "absolutely mahhveluss"!

Sharjah Mosque with Danica and Etie

To avoid the incredibly bad traffic in Sharjah, we drove in on a Friday morning. This mosque sits on the edge of the corniche.

Global Village - Dubai

at Jimmy's