The family: Heidi, Lewis, Jacob, Lucy Marie Chevelle
I would love to share with you pictures of my new grand-niece. In these pictures she is a little less than one month. Isn’t she just a cutie? I can’t believe how much she looks like her big brother.
A happy big brother with his baby sister.
This weekend we ventured to Dubai. Our first stop was at the Mall of Emirates. Jacque wanted the chance to see the indoor ski resort. I think every time we go they add something new to the winter.
New castle in the snow.
This time it was the ice castle. We also noticed that there was not as much snow as before. The poor kids couldn’t even throw snowballs. We ate lunch at St Moritz again and had a great seat to watch the snow playing.
After lunch we drove out on the Palm Island trying to see the Atlantis Hotel. We could not figure out how to get in so we just drove on.
Our dhow cruise.
Our next goal was to find “Captain Jacks” which offers dhow cruises in the gulf. A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. They primarily use it to carry heavy items, like fruit, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula as well as other places. That was an experience similar to our trip to Pakistan. We found the Marina Walk but couldn’t find a parking spot. They had two garages but they were both full and they wouldn’t let anyone in until someone came out.
City from the water. We got the sunset cruise.
We did find another garage that was empty but they would not let us in because we were not going to one of their list of places. We finally found a spot on the street. Once back at the Marina Walk we had to find Captain Jacks. I called them and they said they were in front of Starbucks. Now we’re talking. Debi can spot a Starbucks a mile away. We found it, got our tickets and boarded the boat for a one hour sailing.
Jacque, Debi, and Dale sailing on the dhow.
The trip was wonderful, a little chilly but wonderful. They took us around the harbor for a little while and then went into a creek that wounded us through all the skyscrapers. At least in the small creek the wind wasn’t blowing so it wasn’t as cold. This brought us right back to where we started.
Dinner at Johnny Rockets.
After the cruise we had the best hamburger in a long time at Johnny Rockets. Has anyone ever heard of them? They advertise the original burger. I have to say, it was fabulous. Even the fries and onion rings reminded us of home. The décor was that of a diner back in the 50’s. They even had small juke boxes on every table and a bar with red stools. What a nice way to end a good day.
50's Diner bar.
Burj Al Arab at night.
Before we called it a night we decided to drive to a beach to see if we could get a good picture of the Burj Al Arab. The Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel. It stands 321 m (1,053 ft.) tall and is the fourth tallest hotel in the world. This hotel was built on an artificial island 280 m (920 ft.) out from Jumeirah Beach. It is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. The shape of this hotel mimics the sail of a ship. We got to Jumeirah Beach and the view was excellent. The colors on the building changed but not real fast. You had to wait a good while before it changed. We had only seen it blue so when it changed to multi-color we had to take more pictures.
Now it is off to the hotel. Good news, we only missed it once. We got to the hotel, checked in and within half an hour Debi and I were in Never Neverland. I was exhausted. All I wanted was a good night sleep and that is what I got!
From the top.
The next morning we got up early and went to the top of the Burg Kalifa, tallest building in the world. This time we made reservations for 10:00 am which was perfect. It was the first run up so there were not a lot of people. They actually space the trips out so it prevents too many at the top.
Look at our shadow.
The trip up and down the 124 floors goes really fast. You can’t even tell you are moving. Once up there you can choose to stay inside and go around three-fourths of it or venture outside to cover the last one-fourth. It is set up nice that it is not that scary. There is only one problem and that is the view. There really isn’t one. I expected it to be surrounded by skyscrapers but it wasn’t. There was a lot of open space. It was hazy that day so you could hardly see the water. At least I can say I went up the tallest building in the world.
What is wrong with him. He is above me.
In the same mall is the Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. That was our next stop. First we walked through a tunnel in the Aquarium. You were able to see fish swim above you but there were no signs to tell you what they were. The Underwater Zoo had a great deal of fish tanks. One of them was the Finding Nemo tank.
40 days gestation.
They even had a sign with the names of the fish in the movie.
It was really interesting because they had shark eggs. You could see the sharks moving in the eggs after 40 days. I think my favorite part was the penguins. I was fascinated with their behavior.
Who wants to play Follow the Leader?
At one point they were playing “follow the leader.” They must also have good vision because whenever someone put the finger, hand or jacket to the window they would come over immediately.
After the zoo we had lunch and then the ride home. It was a nice weekend. We want to try and do something every weekend so we don’t miss anything. Hope you had a good weekend too.
We have Johnny Rockets in Cincinnati. You’ll have to come visit. I’m enjoying reading about your trip. It sounds fabulous.