Good, bad, sad, interesting

Greetings all!

Some good, some bad, some sad, and some interesting.....

Some good: Many thanks to my Dad for checking up on my house! You are so appreciated! And thanks to my Mom for letting him go! My house is in good shape.

Some bad: I still have not had contact with an old friend who lives in a area that is VERY flood prone and was hit by a recent LARGE storm.

Some sad: I have spent a great deal of time on Galveston Island in Texas in the States. I just read it could be months before the island is reopened to residents after the recent hurricane.

Some interesting: I recently had the opportunity to drive all the way out onto the Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai. I also was able to drive a portion of the outer 'crescent'. Being on the crescent was an interesting experience. You look over the side of the road and you KNOW you are basically out in open ocean. Frankly, it felt very odd to see those large deep waves and such dark blue water so very close to the road. In order to get out to the crescent, you travel through a long deep tunnel - I don't know if it goes under the water? The new Atlantis hotel that is about to open out there is really something. It is a very fancy/froofroo looking kind of place. It initially appears that the hotel beach will actually be on the back side of the crescent - good thing - wouldn't want to try to see a beach, kids and open ocean mix.

The first link is for the water park at the Atlantis hotel:
http://www.atlantisthepalm.com/content/pdf/ATP_Aquaventure_DolphinBay_Map.pdf

This next link is for the Atlantis hotel itself:
http://www.atlantisthepalm.com/theresort.aspx
I should also add that the hotel is surrounded by a desert looking kinda island. The pretty turquoise blue water and all the greenery are not real - they don't exist. The photo of the hotel on the main page is not the real deal.

My little family is hoping to head for Oman this weekend to do some snorkeling. Hopefully, more pics etc on that later.

Peace.