josephkimes | Life and Times of Kimes

Time 2021-06-08 12:11:39

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This was supposed to be the victory lap that everyone who has served any amount of time in the Gulf talks about – a time where you do everything one last time or do some of the things that you were saving for the last time.  Our grand exit was supposed to include a SCUBA trip to Seychelles, visiting Qasr Al Sarab in Abu Dhabi again, and then a long planned cruise of Greece and Turkey.  After 7 years in the desert, we also planned to at least see some friends one last time and say some goodbyes, but this idea too has been killed by the pandemic.Writing this from our now 3rd quarantine and looking back we had a lot of great times and saw a lot over these last 7 years – time really does fly.  Moving on to our new home away from home in Croatia, it is also time to retire this blog in its present state (if not altogether).  I think it silly to just retire this thing without a word so, dear readers, one last time we will walk together through the last 7 years of memories as I present to you my best of the UAE. Whilst our last few weeks in the UAE were not what we planned, we did have some enjoyable times. Muniba decided several years ago that before leaving here she wanted a collection of the Sands of the 7 Emirates, and it wasn t like we just put it off for no reason, many of the sands we wanted to get from particular places we had on our list to visit one last time. So I spent a few afternoons driving around collecting sand from some of the places.  Others, we gambled on and tried to get to, despite the country moving into various stages of lockdown. Going to Snoopy Island over in Fujairah one last time was a great decision. Their splash pad was finally finished, there was hardly anyone there, and we all had a great time riding waves (for the first time, Mariam), catching crabs, and doing various other ocean/sea activities, along with the water slides.Looking back through some of the photos and events of the last couple of years, one of the top moments was Papa Francesco visiting and offering Mass. He did so to a packed house (official counts were over 150,000) at Zayed Sports City back in Feb. 2019 only a year or so ago, but seems much longer for some reason. Prime tickets and several hours in the cool sun and we were some of those who witnessed the first pontiff to ever set foot in the Arabian peninsula. What a memorable day that was. Thinking back and looking out the windows of our lockdown spots really have given a lot of perspective, especially reading about some other places in the world like Italy and Spain. We can all think what we want about the virus and restrictions, but we had such easy access to 5-star facilities and our situation in the UAE can hardly be called rough top two pictures are where we stayed holed up during our last several weeks waiting to board a special flight from UAE to either the States or Canada. Abu Dhabi s restrictions were tougher than RAK s, where the pools and beaches were still open. We visited Qasr Al Sarab back in 2018 for a short weekend and always planned on finishing our time in the UAE there. We even fought and fought to keep our reservation and make them honor it until the very last day, but they like many others, had closed indefinitely. Located in the Rub al Khali ( Empty Quarter ) on the UAE/Saudi border in the absolute middle of nowhere, Qasr is one of my favorite places in the UAE and as fine a hotel as you will ever find. One of the primary reasons we wanted to do Qasr again at the end was to take a final family picture in the pure desert. With Mariam now on board we needed an update from two years ago. With Qasr being closed, and nothing but time on our hands, we decided to improvise and drove out to the Moreeb Dune in Liwa, to try for a good photo.  Conditions weren t great, so we weren t quite able to replicate our one from before, but we did get this one of the girls.Looking back through all of these desert photos reminds me of old Bilal the falcon as well as the falconry club. Learning falconry was certainly a highlight and part of the best of for sure. Reflecting back, the falconry (and fishing) club weekends of 2013-2016 were also some of the best ofs. Not only did I learn some patience and fortitude at falconry, but I also learned how to rip the feathers and wings off a pigeon as if it were a single piece of paper lessons that will last a lifetime.  Most of the fishing club trips (when falconry was out of season) involved swimming, roasting chestnuts, and eating large roasted mammals. Thanks to the Al Romaithi family who took me under their wing professionally and personally and were frequent hosts for falconry and fishing outings. Remembering those falconry and fishing trips also reminds me of the camping we started doing once Yousef joined the crew. He loves it. The mountains and beaches in the northern Emirates had plenty to offer us and these are cherished times for sure. Sito wanted to see the sun coming up and count stars and boats that we d see from both the mountains and beach and we brought Muniba along occasionally too. Mariam has yet to do one with us, but Sito is allowing her to come at this point for those interested.There was a time when we were new to camel racing and didn t exactly know how to watch. You d think that this would obvious watch the camels run around a track. You actually have to follow them around the track and unless you re there at the very beginning, speak Arabic, and can follow what is going on, you might not be in the greatest position. We actually started off driving the wrong way before seeing the cloud of dirt coming our way and quickly had to do an emergency U-turn before running into a wall of oncoming SUVs driven by the locals. When we found the starting gates, everyone wanted a picture with Sito, leading to more local encounters. Speaking of local encounters, there might not be anything quite like a wedding in the Arabian peninsula. The receptions are segregated and there is still a lot of dancing. I went to several while here in the UAE and each time it was certainly an adventure. The receiving line, for the uninitiated, is especially adventurous with the hashmek (an air-nose-kiss ). Everyone in the tent will be greeted and then join the receiving line until all are present, so you ll literally do this a thousand times. Think about this during a pandemic. The number of lambs and sheep slaughtered for one of this is staggering, but I surely won t forget my first one, where I had lunch with the groom s family and was given several pounds of camel gristle to eat myself (this is a delicacy). I survived. I couldn t do a best of without the always photogenic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The landmark of Abu Dhabi that sits on the entrance to the main island was always on top of the need to visit list. Sadly, we were not able to get the requisite picture of Mariam, who was born here, thanks to the virus, but everyone who visited Abu Dhabi (Mom, Dad, the 3 youngest, JD, the Rodenbeck s, and Muniba s family) all enjoyed their visit and had their pics taken here.  So did the Bears helmet.The manmade aspects of the UAE have amazed many with visit there, myself amongst them. I never much liked Dubai myself (people here will tell you, some will only like one Abu Dhabi or Dubai, but almost no one likes both), but that doesn t mean Dubai isn t an incredible place once you can get past the awful road system, traffic, and other nonsense about it (some of which may or may not include Sharjah). Musandam to the north of us in Oman was always a highlight. Despite the border crossing being erratic and inconsistent with rules and procedures, this was always a nice day out on the water. We tried to get everyone who came to visit a chance to see dolphins, snorkel, and just generally enjoy the natural beauty and peace that is still largely an unknown to many in travel and tourism. Last but not least, the best of times and pictures in the UAE are certainly family ones. There are a lot within our immediate family (births, milestones, accomplishments, etc.) but many of our best memories are from when we had visitors. Mom, Dad, Pic, Peyton, and Daph, broke through that wall when they visited at Easter in 2016 just before Sito was born. Then Nat came in the fall of 2017, followed by the Rodenbeck s and Muniba s brother Mo at Thanksgiving that year. Her sister Manal came in 2019 just before her parents visited and finally JD joining us in Jordan and then accompanying us back here in the spring. Manal came back to help us with Sito when Mariam was born and each of these times made living so far away from everyone a little easier. Here s to hoping that we get a few visitors in Croatia, even amidst a pandemic. You can actually continue to follow us, dear readers, at the new blog https://kimesfamilycroatia.wordpress.comThanks for reading. September 28, 2019 People ask me a lot of questions like: “What do you like to eat? What is your favorite color? How Continue reading Peyton s Pamplona July 25, 2019 The following is a guest blog by Peyton Kimes, the brother of the usual author of this blog, and uncle Continue reading Pepe returns toPamplona July 23, 2019 Finally after months and months of waiting and dreaming of the bulls, we made it to Pamplona. I haven’t been to Continue reading Gadding through Spain July 22, 2019 This has been a summer trip that we’ve all been looking forward to for a long time…all of us meaning, Continue reading JD s visit part 2 of 2 the UAE andOman April 29, 2019 So as Yousef told you at the end of his post (which again, can be found here), he took me Continue reading Follow Blog via Email Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Join 271 other followers Email Address: Follow May 2012Bear Down!Bears HelmetJameson: Unofficial SponsorBy unofficial, I mean I endorse it. Follow Blog via Email Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Join 271 other followers Email Address: Follow Follow Blog via Email Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Join 271 other followers Email Address: Follow Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Privacy Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

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