Well... once again I have encountered a list of things, "I never thought I would do in the Middle East."  But we did 'em!
     Trevor and I were coming to the end of our 30 day tourist visa (We came over on a tourist visa since we could not get our residence visa until Erin's visa was completed which has just happened)  and so the latest adventure of us making a "border run" to Oman begins.
     When thought of this adventure began my intentions of a border run were supposed to be figurative, not literal...    Was I wrong!  Not only did we catch a 2 hour bus ride to Al Ain (city on the border of U.A.E. and Oman) take a taxi to the border, hitch a ride with a local, and walk/run back across the border, we did it in record time!  Everything minus the bus ride to Al Ain took less than an hour.  Taking a car over the border for such a short trip can be quite costly so after researching which border outposts were the closest I thought I had found the closest one.  (Not completely sure but it was pretty close)  Even with how close it was most locals from this area must think we are pretty foolish for how much we walk, but honestly the walks have been quite enjoyable this time of year.  So after we arrived at the border and our taxi driver asked us how many taxi's we had passed in the last 15 minutes (my answer was an unnerving 0!!) he gave us his mobile number so that if we became stranded at the border outpost we could give him a ring and he would come pick us up.  Turned out he was a very nice gentleman from Bangladesh who had been in Al Ain for the past year and spent 10 years prior in Saudi Arabia.  Definitely our most fluent English speaking cab driver so far, even though he shared that he had failed English multiple times in his home country.( I told him he was doing fine and his English was much better than my Bengali!)  At this point Erin and our friend Sandra walked a short distance back to the petrol station for a cup of coffee and Trevor and I set out on our Trek through the numerous checkpoints to an unfamiliar land and a process we knew nothing about!  Step 1 was finding the Immigration office on the U.A.E. side to stamp us out and collect our 35 Dirham fee each for exiting the country.  Not too much trouble here other than I passed every building along the way and felt like we were already in Oman. ( It was the very last door on the right before entering Oman--who would have thought!  Now that we had found the empty room full of chairs and official looking desks we would be doing great if I could find the stamp to get us out of here!  Trevor had a better idea and found the man that was supposed to do it for us...  The kind gentleman scooped Trevor up in his arms, asked him his name and proceeded to take Trevor behind the desks to process our paper work.  While stamping our passports he was yelling at his friend in the back who was getting a snack from the vending machine and insisted in Arabic that he get his new found friend a snack also--TREVOR SCORES AGAIN!!!  A snack was good since I was setting out across the desert with a 2 year old for who knows how long.  As I approached the door and warmly said Shukran (Thank you) to our kind host he stopped me as if there was a cavity search to ensue... No worries, he was most concerned with the wind that had picked up and all of the blowing sand.  You no walk.  Hurt eyes.  As he touches Trevor on the head and looks at me with disgust for subjecting my young child to such harsh conditions!  I could see in his eyes that he was asking "what kind of a father are you Americans!"  He proceeded to leave his post once again to run to the border gate and proceeded to encourage a local to carry the "dumb Americans" over to the other side.  I asked how far it was again and he said a whopping 500 meters!  That's less than a quarter mile for you "dumb Americans" who must use your Abacus to figure this out... Okay, so the "dumb American" part was more how I felt rather than how he made me feel.  And after a couple of minutes he proceeded to convince Salaihem to drive us ALL the way to Oman.  When we arrived at the window in Oman a whole 30 seconds later I handed over our passports and the gentleman asked where we were going?  I hesitated as I said "Oman sir...."  DUHHH.  He again asked where, and I smiled and said--"HERE," as my new found friend looked at me very puzzled.  The Oman agent obviously understood and said Entry/Exit.  I answered yes and he directed us to get out and come inside.  I thanked our driver and he again questioned whether he had fulfilled his obligation to the large Emiratie who had commissioned our ride.  I assured him he had and we proceeded inside.  As we entered the very empty visitors center/emigration department we approached the desk for those entering Oman and were handed Visa applications for both of us and asked once again where we were going.  I smiled and answered that "we have arrived"  This older gentleman was not near as amused and huffed as I asked to borrow his pen.  I guess they expect you to carry a pen in your fifty pound sack of water as you run across the border at NOON!  Fortunately he obliged and I spent a few minutes filling out our paperwork and returned to the desk to pay our entrance fee to Oman.  At this point I was quite relieved to find out that my debit card from home was working because we were told that they no longer accepted cash (for some reason it wasn't all making it home if you know what I mean) and this was my first time using it over here??!!  For all I know he charged me a thousand bucks as my receipt was completely in Arabic, but I was told that it should be about 5 Rials apiece and that is about 90 Dirham for the both of us.  After our initial transaction was complete the... kind man... directed us across the room to the departure desk, we received our stamps for the shortest visit to Oman and were on our way back out into the beginnings of a wonderful, albeit mild sand storm!  I received my first real SANDwich as Trevor and I walked head on into the blowing sand.  I truly have a new found respect for all of the service men and women who have spent numerous days that turn into years WORKING in these conditions--THANKS!  As we approach the U.A.E. border once again I wave at the first car check point and am waved through to the next set of gates.  I notice to the far right once again a building with writing that says Arrival Hall and Trevor and I proceed to get our entry stamps as the young lady behind the desk is distracted trying to gain affection from the ladies man (YES Trevor) sitting across from her.  She promptly stamps our passports with another 30 day visitor visa and we proceed to the next gate where our passports are entered into a computer and we exchange our slip of paper that states 2 entrants for 2 larger pieces of paper and another stamp.  We then walked to the final gate as we narrowly avoid being hit by the large truck that, go figure, decided to DRIVE across the border and handed our paperwork to the final gate attendant who happily welcomed us back to Abu Dhabi... for the next 30 days!
     Hopefully our paperwork will be processed quickly and our resident visa's will be processed before the end of the month... If not, at least we know where Oman is.  Sorry that there are no pictures to accompany our little escapade but there is a strict no photography expectation at all Points of entry ( airports, border crossings, shipping ports, or military institutions)  Hopefully your imagination only enhances the little pleasure we call, things I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD DO IN THE MIDDLE EAST!