A vacation. It finally happened. The kids had a 3 day holiday scheduled for EID and we didn’t have any plans other than to sit around and wait for our household goods to arrive. A bit depressing right? Then we got word that the government had declared a 5 day holiday for the public sector, meaning mandatory school closure AND 5 days off for Josh too so I ran to the phone and called him at work. “We need to go somewhere. Can you figure something out?” I’m normally the trip planner, but my brain has been fuzzy with a head cold and 1/2 working lungs so I deferred to the Middle East expert to pick a location for a road trip.
He called back 30 minutes later with a destination, lodging taken care of, and a plan for 3 nights away at the beach in the northernmost Emirate, Ras al Khaima.
Sunday morning we hopped in the car and headed out for our first road trip in 4 years. We realized Camille hasn’t developed any road trip stamina when 20 minutes into the ride she was crying about being “starving” and wanting to stop at McDonald’s. Since it was only a 2 hour journey, we told her she had to wait until we were at least half way and then we would get her a Happy Meal to sustain her for the rest of the journey.
And of course a stop at McDonald’s means we have to get ice cream — 25 cents a cone!
Back on the highway blazed through the sandy dunes, headed north.
We instituted a NO ELECTRONICS rule for this trip so they had to rely on old fashioned entertainment.
In just over 2 hours, we arrived at our beautiful resort destination.
It’s hot and humid, but I don’t even care. We’re at the beach!
The water was a bathtub — 95 degrees. That might seem like bad combination, heat and hot salt water, but tropical ocean water always delights me. After a lifetime of being chilled by the Pacific it’s a welcome change.
sea swells and tiny waves!
After exploring the beach, we headed up to our villa on the hill and unpacked. Basically we only brought swimsuits, blankets for the kids to sleep on, and a crap-ton of snacks because plenty of food keeps the minions happy.
After a sunset swim in the pool (with an amazing view overlooking the ocean) we went to the hotel restaurant for the buffet dinner. Again, it’s all about the food.
We were at a resort, but the kids were glamping. Josh and I got the bedroom with the bed and the kids all camped on the living room floor. We marathoned Stranger Things among the pile of blankets, ate movie snacks, and laughed all evening. We should do this more often.