Home Sweet Home

We're back! After 13 days of intense sightseeing in dirty, crowded countries...it's good to be home. We were nervous about getting "mummy tummy" (the middle east equivalent of "Montezuma's revenge,") so we made the choice to book the Jordan trip first, followed immediately by Egypt. Our intuition proved correct, but thankfully we got sick just as we were leaving Cairo and returning to Saudi (and not in the middle of the trip). Moreover, I'm especially thankfully that it was only the adults that got sick.

We all loved Jordan and hope to take another trip back to catch a couple cities/sites we didn't have time to see. Of what we did get to see, Petra and the Dead Sea were Steve and my favorites; the boys loved climbing the fascinating rock formations in the desert.

Egypt was a once in a lifetime trip. The sand and dry climate had excellently preserved the temples, pyramids, statues, mummys, etc. Some of the things we saw were over 5,000 years old - it was truly amazing. We took a very relaxing 3-day cruise on the Nile River and among other things saw the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, where over 62 tombs have been unearthed in the mountains. However, we hated Cairo and hope to never have to return there. It was crowded, filthy, and jammed packed with traffic. Moreover, it was really disheartening to see enormous amounts of trash around the Great Pyramid and Great Sphinx areas, as well as priceless treasures from King Tut's tomb not being well preserved in decent museums.

This was our first international trip with the kids since Michael was one. They did amazing and we are so proud of them. They're both anxious to travel again, but "after a while." I would have to agree.

I'm hoping after the holidays to take my time and show you some of the sights (don't worry - I'll limit my postings to only a couple of the best temples!) For the time being, I am in high gear trying to get ready for Christmas.

In case I don't get another opportunity before then, I just want to thank you all for your support and friendship, and wish you a wonderful Holiday season.