Friday, January 11, 2013

Great week with our daughter and her husband...

Leslie and I were very much looking forward to and working toward the visit with our daughter Patricia and her husband Josh. They arrived here in Jeddah late Friday evening, navigated their way through the Jeddah Airport and safely back to our compound.

Leslie and I had numerous things to do mapped out for the week. Nothing too strenuous because, well, lets face it, jet lag really sucks. They both felt the lag pretty hard and Josh unfortunately managed to get sick. He was pretty good the first part of the week, but by Friday afternoon (today) he was pretty much down for the count. He's a tough kid and will bounce right back I am sure.

Where to start with what we did... wow... A thanksgiving welcome feast, a marathon UNO game, an awesome tour of Al Balad (Old Jeddah), the Red Sea Mall complete with Saudi Starbucks, the Mall of Arabia, some career counseling for Josh with Raytheon, a driving tour of Taif, a trip to KAUST, some snorkeling in the Red Sea, the Philipino Souk, the Al Shatea Souk, an introduction to schwarma and Turkish coffee, free coffee night, a couple dinners with friends on the compound, Yemeni food, a couple of strolls along Hira Street and much more...  What a week.

I really hope this was the trip of of a lifetime for them thus far...  Makes me want to go home now, but I know in my heart that the time is not right for either them or us to return to Minnesota early. They are thriving without us, as are we... that does NOT lessen how much we miss them.  

Some pics from the week for your entertainment.

The Welcome Feast
Patty at the Mall of Arabia (love this shot)
 
A Stroll Along the Red Sea
At Red Sea Mall Starbucks
After Snorkeling in the Red Sea
Clowning Around at KAUST
Roaming Old Jeddah (Al Balad)
Some Wildlife at Taif
My Girls in Taif
Heading Back from Taif, North of Jeddah
Note the Cycle Rider Wheelie Left of the Yellow Car