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

Perspective from Scotland

It has been far too long since I have blogged. Waning interest on my part, routine, fatigue, lethargy, all that... but here I am.
Had the entire month of October off and never before have I had an entire month of vacation. It was busy, it went by fast, but it was great.
Spent three weeks home visiting friends and family, getting things done and not getting things done. Ran a couple of road races, played a little hockey, was able to attend church, and play some music.
We spent the final week of vacation at Pitfour Castle near Perth, Scotland. We drove well over 1800 miles in 6 days. We saw a lot. Scotland is an amazing place and one of my all time favorite places I have seen. That says a lot, because Leslie and I have seen some pretty amazing places in our lifetime.

Pitfour Castle (view from the apartment entrance)

We did a couple of tourist things such as Loch Ness, Uruquhart Castle, the Wallace Monument and even a couple of Scotch Distillery tours. Beautiful locations. We toured ancient churches, villages and towns while driving on the tiny Scottish backroads all the  while learning to drive on the left side... I was at times freaked out by the travel, but with Les' "encouragement" as in, "stop being such a nancy and drive"... we made it anyway...

On the shores of Loch Ness

Two thousand years of history here. Simply amazing. They have hotels 200 years older that America itself...

Uruqhart Castle (Les did some cool things with her camera.)

I enjoyed our breakfasts in tiny villages and roaming the streets in Perth. At times exhausted from travel, but none the less enjoying that amazing country.

Dewars Distillery (This lass has lived within 10 miles of here her whole life.)

Scotland is one of those places I could easily go back to see again. It's not for everyone, but it is for me.

From the top of the Wallace Monument

Les took hundreds of pictures. I had some issues with my DSLR which I did not get resolved until I got back to Jeddah, but it turned out OK. Les did a great job of documenting our trip in photos.

Where my DSLR failed, but look around, who cares?

I could get lost in Scotland. Who knows, maybe someday I will.

My favorite shooting mode (panorama)

More to come.
Again, sorry about not posting in so long. Funny how fast you get into a routine.

Vacation in the States nearly done...

Real mixed emotions here. Last full day in the States before heading to Scotland via London. Had a great time at home and running around visiting family, friends and neighbors. This visit has reinforced my resolve to finish out the contract and get the farm paid for. It will be worth it. The weather here at home has been amazingly warm. Not the usual Minnesota fall weather... No complaints. We even had some rain and clouds and that was even nice to see for a change.
Doing some last minute repairs and prep around the house and then heading out tomorrow evening.
More on Scotland as time allows.