The Mirfa hotel sits across the bay

Kite surfing was definitely the most popular event.

Sail boat race

Kayak race

Body surfing??

Grand tent set up with carpet and plush chairs--(I think it was for
dignitaries but many "ordinary" people took advantage of the
lush accomodations)

Thunderstorm rolling in made for great photos

One of the actual boats used in the Volvo Ocean race.
One of the in port races was actual run in Abu Dhabi in
mid January.

Now you know who beached the boat!

Things started to liven up around dusk.

Trevor would like one of these for his birthday!

                      MIRFA WATERSPORTS FESTIVAL

                                                          (and our camel farm detour)

Slight detour took us to a much more remote region that was
unintentional but rewarded with a look at how most locals lived
40 years ago.

     Every year for 10 days a sleepy little fishing village turns into a vibrant beach full of festival attendees who are drawn in by the promise of live music, pro athletes from all over the world, and free beach camping of course.  Some of the sports are kayaking, kite surfing, skulls, and wind surfing.  During the week all who dare are encouraged to participate and try their hand at many of the events with supervision from top pros from all over the world.  When we arrived at 1:00 in the afternoon, had it not been for the tents and stage left behind we would have thought we were in the wrong place.  Since it was the end of March/first of April we still had not gotten accustomed to many things shutting down in the middle of the day.  Very few people venture out even if the temperatures permit.  Nevertheless, it was a perfect day to enjoy the beach and search for any number of sea shells that littered the waters' edge.  There was a slight breeze and temperatures were nothing more than 85 degrees.  We were even blessed with a brief thunderstorm late in the afternoon; it was quite funny to see the locals scatter like ants as if they were going to melt.  We just held out our hands and enjoyed the rare visit of showers to this very dry place.  There were exhibitors and entertainers, and food of course.  One of the empty hulls from the Volvo ocean race was beached and open for all to try their hand at navigating a large sail boat--Trevor took to this like a fish to water.  Trevor met another new friend, (she was quite smitten with an older man!)  and the head of the "coast guard" handed him a back pack full of floaties and water safety literature in exchange for a photo opp. Who knows, he may be on all the signs and promotional material for next years festival.  Even with the hour and a half drive (2 hours if you count the detour through the camel farms...) it was a very relaxing day and well worth the effort to get here.

I know everyone is wondering how Trevor is doing so I thought 

I would post a few pics of what he does to stay busy!

He lines up all of his animals/characters on his car rug.

He cheers on the local football team.

He runs through the flat giving an inflatable chicken a piggyback ride.

He is an excellent shopper!

He enjoys riding the bus with Dad.

He enjoys chocolate cupcakes - OK - really just the frosting.

He coaches Dad at his weekly rugby game.

Here is our flat!  It is a corner unit on the 17th floor.  If you look closely out the windows you can see our view.  Right now it is of quite a bit of construction but we can see the water and wonderful architecture around us.    

We have a very long hallway with the bedrooms and bathroom on one end and the living room on the other.  The kitchen is off of the hallway (a separate room not overlooking the living room like we are use to) as is a half bath.  All of the flooring is tile so it is fairly easy to clean and Trevor likes that there is plenty of flat space to run his cars. 

Our living room

Dining room on the other end of the living room

Our long hallway.  The first door is the half bath and the second is our kitchen

Trevor's room!  He picked out his own comforter.

Our bedroom

After such a wonderful experience at El Sombrero we were talked into coming back for the Easter brunch the very next day.  It was a splurge that was well worth it.  Once again the Sheraton staff knew exactly how to take care of every parent at the brunch--watch the kids so the parents could enjoy a fabulous buffet!!  I have decided that there is no better way to eat lamb loin than to wrap it in bacon!!  The food was truly top quality and very diverse, and yes the bacon was real pork--not "beef" bacon as you so often find over here as a sub-par substitute for that fabulous meat candy!  The salmon eggs benedict, the satay chicken and beef, the PORK CHOPS, the sushi, and of course the DESSERT was all a wonderful respite from our traditional shwarma's.  We truly indulged and it felt a bit more like Thanksgiving rather than Easter.  It is a good thing that they put a three hour time limit on this lunch otherwise they may have had to ask us to remove our tent from the dining room later that evening.  We did take full advantage of the free child care services offered by the wait staff once again and ate until we could not eat any more.  I believe we fasted for the following 24 hours because neither one of us was very hungry!  Trevor got to paint Easter Eggs and play with other children his age, and he did run back to the table for a bite every once in a while--that is until dessert came, undivided attention at that point!  It may be next Easter (or Thanksgiving) before we get back to the Sheraton but it was definitely a world class brunch that we enjoyed to the fullest!

Mexican Restaurant in the Middle East---not the easiest cuisine to come by!!  It may not be the most authentic but El Sombrero at the Sheraton definitely gets an A for effort!  We finally were able to give this place a try after many hours of searching on the internet and the staff did not disappoint.  We still have not gotten accustomed to eating after 8 o'clock at night so when we knocked down the door at 6:30 when they opened we were the only customers in the joint.  Trevor was able to get his favorite, chips and beans, and the salsa wasn't too bad either.  When he started getting restless our wonderful waitress told Erin to go sit and eat and she led Trevor around the restaurant so that he could wander and we could eat in peace.  WONDERFUL!!  She took the sombrero off of the wall and Trevor thought he was one pretty cool cat.  He played the drums and maracas since the band could not be bothered with showing up at such an obscene hour.  He had so much of the wait staff's attention that when another group wandered in I felt bad that there was nobody to seat them until they interrupted Trevor's little parade through the restaurant.  The staff was so enamored by Trevor that they all insisted he have his picture with "President Obama."  They were all very proud that their manager was our President's look alike!!  Trevor took a moment out of his busy evening for a quick photo op.  It may not have been the most authentic Mexican food but we will definitely go back for the flavors of the Southwest!

Salam, from the sandbox beyond the sea...  It has been quite some time since our last post, due to many changes in our familiar routine.  We have been in our "permanent" housing for about two and a half weeks now and we have a little ways to go before it feels like home.  Moving--without a vehicle, (we have chosen to wait to get one until we absolutely have to--we are hoping to get one when we come back from summer break but are in no hurry to get one now) in a foreign country, and into a high rise apartment comes with many adjustments.
     We are now located in between Airport road and Muroor road just off of 31st street, for those of you who like to play with Google Maps.  We are in an area that most cabbies know as the "teacher towers" but they are officially called the Danat Towers (A and B)  We are in Danat B on the 17th floor.  Good thing labor is cheap because that's a lot of stairs to move furniture up!  Fortunately we have kept things small and everything has fit in the "lift" so far.  Trevor thinks it is pretty clever to live in a "Flat" and ride the "Lift."  Not the language we thought he may pick up over here but believe it or not much more common than the Arabic we thought we would encounter.  Doesn't hurt that most of our good friends here come from the U.K. or New Zealand.  The views from our windows are great... we see much of the eastern side of the city, all the way to the Gulf and we are high enough that the generators a just a dull moan below.  Oh yea, we are in some of the first buildings to be completed on this property and it is a major construction zone all around!  Can't wait to see it when it's done but that will probably be near the end of our 2 years here.  Perfect timing!!  Other than the construction it is nice for Erin to be another 10 minutes closer to work.  Her commute is now only about 20-25 minutes away and she rides with other teachers that live here in these towers.  Trevor enjoys many mornings at the pool which is conveniently located 3 floors above on the roof.  The fitness center is state of the art and getting much use.  Unfortunately the Shwarma's are not quite as conveniently close every other restaurant that you could want does deliver--there is no charge and the drivers have a grin on their face from one ear to the other when you bless them with a 10 Dirham tip.  A small price to pay for anyone brave enough(or crazy enough) to ride a motorcycle or a bike on these streets with a Shwarma strapped to his back!  Pictures will follow when the flat is a bit more settled, but we are still alive and kicking and the mercury is a rising...