Almost every major street in Abu Dhabi are lined with date palm trees.  About two months ago date clusters started to grow and a short time after the workers went and covered each bunch of growing dates with some sort of net.  Not just some of the trees have the nets - ALL OF THEM!  On the highway, small streets, major streets, parking lots - Everywhere!  I was told the dates will be ripe and start to fall off the tree about September.

 This is the lot next to our building.  We are truly living in a construction zone.  Out our window we are watching the neighboring buildings go up.  The other night I looked out the window and there was a line of 20 concrete trucks with more joining the line.  It was a constant line of trucks for most of the tight. I feel very fortunate that we are on the 17th floor and up above most of the noise.

Found a great shop in the mall full of wonderful rugs, plates, pictures, lamps and a nice "runway" to keep Trevor busy while we shopped.  I love little kids in overalls but this will probably be the last picture of them.  Potty Training is in full force and overalls are not training friendly.

Ahhh Father's Day.  Nothing says traditional "American?" Father's Day like a trip to Ferrari World.  While the hour long wait to get in was not the highlight of the day, once we were inside it was not all that crowded.  This is the largest amusement park in the region, all based on the legacy of Ferrari.  Erin was fortunate enough to have been granted a rare Sunday off that happened to fall on Father's Day so it was really a no brainer where we were headed for the day.  Even though the fastest roller coaster in the world was the main attraction here we opted against standing in line for over 3 hours to get our chance--next time we go this will be our first stop!  While Trevor could not ride the big rides there was enough to look at that it justified his free ticket for the day.  His favorite parts were the wind tunnel and the palyground in the middle of the theme park.  Every aspect of this park, with the exception of a couple roller coaster tracks is indoors so the summer heat was of no concern.  Nothing better than a relaxed day in a massive air-conditioned building with Ferrari's all around!

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.