Saturday, December 27, 2014

Salzburg, Austria: Salt Mine Tour

We feel so lucky to have the opportunities that have been given to us.  I want to make sure our blog is kept up to date so these memories remain with us forever.

Today we are in Salzburg, Austria.  Many people have told us this is their favorite place in all of Europe.  We are still not people who seek cities when we travel, so it is difficult for us to decide if this is our favorite city.  However, it is quite lovely and has amazing architecture.

We prefer to travel for adventures, wildlife, and remote areas.  Today we found an adventure in Austria.

The word Salz means Salt and this beautiful city was built by the money from a nearby salt mine.  We were told this tour is something we should not miss so we ventured into the hills in search of the salt.  Construction on the mine began in 500 BC!  It is amazing that these tunnels were built by hand!
Dressed and ready to go!

Everyone had to wear these special outfits for the tour.

Look! Some of our school friends were with us too!

Who looks the most insane?  

The tour began by boarding a train that took us deep into the mine. 

Twice during our tour you crossed into Germany or Austria.  Cameron had fun stopping and putting half of his body in Germany and the other half in Austria. 

Tasting Station: Carter did not like the salty water. 

At this point we are all on a boat that crossed a salt lake deep under ground. 

We ended the tour by boarding the train and heading back to daylight. 

We had to take 2 slides to get deeper under ground.  This was the highlight of the tour.

This is a great tour that should not be missed if you are in Salzburg.  The boys really enjoyed this adventure.   

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Transported To Scotland




There have been so many experiences here that I feel like I have been transported to a different country, time period, and/or dimension.  Last night I was transported to Scotland with a great group of friends.

Leona was our token Scot and she has transformed her husband!  He wore that kilt well!  They are our neighbors and have become part of our family. 
This picture is completely out of order.  However, I can't seem to move it!  Some great friends that new how to rock!

Great Neighbors!

Our Transportation! 

The Chicks! 

The Dudes!

Our beautiful Scot directing the way. 

The rest of us rocking out and hoping our Scot gets us to the correct place. 

Our good Pacific Northwestern Friends.

I think Grandpa in heaven was with me in spirit tonight. 


The McQuaid Ladies!  Looking Good!

The men folk! 

Grade 3 Rocks!  

Leona was on fire tonight! 

The Pacific Northwest Boys!

I felt a little old tonight.  Bryan and I have been together since most of these people were quite young.  24 1/2 years as a couple!  Crazy Kids!

Scottish Dancing was fun!  My favorite was Strip the Willow and I was so sad when it
finished.  I am glad to say we had no dancing injuries last night. 


I gave it my best shot!  I probably should have stayed seated!

Amber and Roger were also trying their best to keep up with the Scottish Beat.



 






Saturday, November 22, 2014

Girls Night Out


Last night I went on a 9 hour journey with a couple great girlfriends.  Anytime you head to Jeddah you need to plan at least 6 hours.  It takes about 1 hour to get there and then coming home was a little slower because we actually had rain!  The lightening storm was amazing!  Since women cannot drive in Jeddah, or outside of our place, we hired a driver to drive our car.  It was packed on the way home. 

Here is a picture of the beautiful scenery on the way down.  I wish I would have had a shot of the camels. 

I love our store that is comparable to a Home Depot.  It is called Saco and they have expanded.  The store now has a large camping section.  I had to buy a sleeping bag for Cameron and Bryan since next week they have a boy scout camp out at the beach.  I could not figure out why all the bags were made for really cold weather.  The boys will be sweaty!  

The most difficult part of going to Jeddah in the evening is prayer times.  We had to deal with a 5:40 prayer and a 7:10 prayer.  This time of the year the evening prayers are close together.  It centers around the setting of the sun.  All stores close so it is best to be in a car during these times.  It takes a lot of planning.  Jeddah gets busy once the final prayer is over.  The culture of the Middle East is to stay up really late.  I believe this is because of the heat during the day.  It can be really hard on the children when they attend school at 7:45 and didn't go to bed until 3 a.m.  I am told weddings start around midnight and food is served at 4 a.m.  I hope I get a chance to attend one of these events. 

This picture makes me laugh each time.  Someone is hired to blackout all women that are showing skin.  This is even done to an elf on the Keebler Graham Cracker's box.  I need to check out this elf when I get back to the US. 


The highlight of the night was our dinner.  It felt like we traveled to a different country.  The food was amazing!  It was a Thai, Japanese, Indonesian Infusion.  The staff was wonderful and we felt like Princesses.  It was called "The Bellevue".  I wanted to find out why it was named Bellevue.  It made me think of home. 

Mango Fish Salad

Andrea (Taiwan), Leona (Scotland), Amber (U.S.), and Gin (Canada).  We were a group of International Princesses! 

Chicken Cashew!  Yum! 

Our main destination was the fabric souk.  Most of the ladies in the group are crafty and like to sew.  Not me but I had fun wandering around.  It is amazing the looks we get while walking in a Souk.  Western women without a male escort!  Western women without their hair covered!  Many times I will cover my hair when at a souk, but last night it did not feel necessary.  It was a relaxing, family atmosphere.  I think the lightening in the background kept the attention off of us ladies. I really wanted to get some pictures of the souk but didn't think it was appropriate.  It would be better if Bryan took the pictures, so next time I will drag him along. 
Walking into the Souk.  It is like a carnival.  Rides for the kids and vendors selling food.  

 Speaking of Princesses.  I cannot leave my blog without showing you the little Princess of our house.  Yala is growing and turning into such a fun addition to our family here.  She has a little bit of Arabian Street Cat, so we have some rough spots, but for most of the time she is a sweet kitty.  She has attached herself to Carter.  She sleeps with him every night and attacks him during the day. Yes, I am a crazy cat lady! 
She is getting a little too big for this toy.



Saturday, November 8, 2014

Reality T.V. Show

I keep making a plan to blog each weekend and then life just seems to get crazy.  It helps when I receive messages from my friends at home that they would like an update on what is happening.  I need encouragement!

I am sure many of you are watching the news and it probably isn't real positive about things in this part of the world.  I am choosing to not watch most of the news and just live in my own fantasy.  I think it is healthier that way and personally I wouldn't travel back to the U.S. if I watched what is reported about that area of the world.  Our Embassy keeps us updated and that is how I keep track of the situation in the Middle East.  Do not worry about us.  We are safe and life is great here.

Now, for the Reality T.V. Show.  I sometimes wonder if we are in a reality t.v. show.  We live a life in a 14 square mile city that has just about everything we need.  We rarely have to leave our place but we do because we get the urge to explore.  The majority of people that live here are very positive and friendly, in fact , that is something that is taken very seriously when one is hired.  It would be miserable here if everyone was cranky and negative!

Last week we had a situation that tested all of our personalities.  The desalination plant had a leak in a pipe under the Red Sea.  Since we live in the middle of the desert all of our water must come from the Red Sea.   Being able to work on the major pipe under water is quite a challenge.  We went without water for about 5 days.  We couldn't flush toilets, bath, or wash dishes.  It is amazing how much water our family uses in one day.  The spirit of this community was amazing!  Water was brought in from all over the country and volunteers delivered it to our doorstep each day/night.  We would wake up in the morning to huge boxes on our doorstep.  So many people pulled together to make this happen.  Around day 3 huge water trucks came in and pumped water to each home.  We were then given a few hours each day to flush toilets and wash.  School was cancelled for 3 days, which made the boys quite happy!

It is so nice to know that we live in a place that cares so much for us.  So, at times I do feel like my life is a Reality T.V. show.  Maybe that episode was titled "Water Crisis In The Desert."  I am sure it would have been a good viewing but pretty boring since everyone was so happy and helpful.

The only real, somewhat, cranky person was Bryan.  However, Bryan's crankiness is quite different from the norm. He threw his back out teeing off on hole 2.  He didn't drop out until hole 8!  Therefore, he was quite useless during the water crisis.  He could barely walk around the house so spent much of his time inside!  I guess he would have been the one eliminated.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Our Home

I was inspired by a friend,who is working in Sri Lanka,to blog pictures of our home.  Since this blog is record of our time here I thought I should add these photos so I can someday show the boys where we once lived.  I have posted pictures once before but those were before we fully moved into our home.  Here is our home.



Bryan's bike room.  This would be the room for a nanny but he has converted into a shop.






We are adding pins to all the places we have been.  It is funny to how much time each of use looks at this map.



The lizard live on this little tiny balcony.  Our idea is to turn the entire place into a lizard home.

The view from the lizard balcony.



Cameron and Carter's room.

I think the little thing by the toilet is for feet.  It is not for the end you are thinking about.  Notice the sprayer on the wall.  That would be used to clean the other end.


Our guest room!  Doesn't it look inviting?  Too bad we don't get many guests!  I guarantee all of you would love to vacation here.

Our bedroom view.

We still have the photo of Carter and Hunter.  We miss Hunter!
 Now I have realized I have forgotten to take a few pictures.  I guess I will have to post a part 2 of our home.  I know this was not the most interesting blog, but important for our family.