June 15th

Our plan, such as it was, was to rent a car from Dublin and immediately escape the city toward Navan figuring we’d find a place to stay there for the night. Nancy’s cousins live in Navan, a little over an hours drive from Dublin, and we wanted to stop by for a visit if it was convenient with them. We picked up our Hertz rental, a little (and I mean little) Nissan Micra, in an absolute downpour. Welcome to Ireland.



After making sure the squirrels that powered it were alive and well fed, Nancy got behind the wheel and off we went. Having not really driven much in the past year, driving on the wrong side of the car, not to mention, the wrong side of the road, seemed surprisingly natural.

We reached Navan in what seemed like no time at all and found it had changed quite dramatically in the 10 intervening years since my last visit. I remembered the town, or thought I did, quite well from our previous visit since we walked pretty much all of it looking for Bridgid and Michael’s place. For one thing the town seemed almost like a small city now instead of the rural place from my memories. After driving around for a bit we finally found the information area inside the new library. It wasn’t much help as the person behind the desk informed us she wasn’t even from Navan. A sure sign of how much things had indeed changed. We made some calls, Nancy had bought a sim card for her phone at the airport, securing our beds for the night and also arranging to meet Bridgid.

We found our B&B, Nancy was sure it was the same place she stayed 5 years ago with her Dad and Tim when we pulled into the drive. We cleaned ourselves up a bit and went back into town for dinner which was superb and then to the cousins for the evening. We had a great visit and met the newest member of their family. After an all to short a visit we headed back to the B&B for the night.

We headed north the next day for we both were wanting to see some of Northern Ireland. This was new territory for both of us and I navigated while Nancy was once again behind the wheel. Our destination we decided was the Giant’s Causeway on the very northern coast. Had we more time we may have spent a few days near Belfast but having only a few days before we were due to meet Tom, Julie and crew we had to make some hard decisions. I was surprised to find we had crossed into Northern Ireland without even noticing at first. No border crossing, no police checkpoint, nothing. In fact, we only discovered we must be there when we started seeing road signs in miles. How much the world has changed, and not all for the worse. We took the coastal route which we thought might be pretty and weren’t disappointed. We stopped at this castle overlooking the ocean to see what was here, admission was free that day and there was a fencing competition being held.





We stopped in a small town for lunch and found ourselves parked next to a little café, restaurant, cafeteria place where we each had a great bowl of Irish beef stew. Just what we needed on this overcast and cool drizzly day. Drizzle or no drizzle, Ireland has to have some of the prettiest scenery anywhere. It was getting toward late afternoon when we finally were getting close to the Giant’s Causeway so we decided to stop in a small town a few miles down the road for the night. Better to see it the next day when we wouldn’t be pressed for time by the coming darkness. After once again securing our beds for the night we headed to a place nearby that we had read about.

Carrick-a-rede rope bridge is a 20 meter long, 1 meter wide wire-rope bridge which spans the chasm between the sea cliffs and a small island of the same name. The fun here was just going across the bridge itself which even this late in the day had plenty of visitors. Originally the bridge was put up by fisherman who had been fishing for salmon from the island for hundreds of years and only recently have they stopped. There is an old house on the island and just looking at it in this setting tells the story of what a hard life such must have been.

Do I look super-imposed or what?

Beyond our B&B we followed a narrow winding road to see where it might go and ended up at a small harbor. There was a small café here and we were going to have a drink and enjoy the solitude but they were shutting up for the evening so we had to settle for just the solitude.

I think this might have been the place that started something I continued, with the help of my understanding partner, throughout the rest of the trip. Collecting pictures of signs that I found interesting or humorous. Here’s the one that started it all…

The next day brought us better weather for which we were thankful and we made the most of it as we visited the Giant’s Causeway. What is this place you say? Good question says I. Certainly one of the most geologically interesting places I’ve seen. Right up there with the White desert here in Egypt. And like most places where what you see seems too incredible to be understood in scientific terms, there are myths surrounding it. The myth in this case is an amusing story (sounds Irish already doesn’t it?) about two giants. The Irish giant, Finn MacCool, built a causeway across the sea so he could go fight the Scottish giant, Benandonner. Well with the causeway finished he went across and when he got there he found Benandonner was asleep but he also found that his rival was much bigger than he himself was and so fled back across the causeway. Not much later Finn’s wife heard Benandonner running toward them across the causeway and so she dressed Finn in a baby’s shawl and bonnet and put him in a crib. When the Scottish giant arrived hammering on Finn’s door, Mrs MacCool warned him that he best not wake up Finn’s baby. Taking a glance at the crib, the giant thought to himself, if this huge child is Finn’s baby, then MacCool himself must be immense! And with that thought he fled back to Scotland tearing up the causeway behind him as he went.

Now, I say, isn’t that much better than the geological explanation? If you want that you’ll have to look it up online, I’m afraid I wouldn’t make a very good geologist.

We walked the trail looking down on this marvel from above and then finally descended the path that would eventually lead us to it. There, with other marveling spectators from around the globe, we sat among the stones, basking in the sunlight that we had not seen for days and thinking there was no better place to be in the world right then, together.

So as Mary can attest I get a little uptight when trying to catch trains, flights, general things that follow set schedules. As we left the hotel we missed the first train and had to wait about a half hour to the next one. As I stressed out Mary and Mike egged on by each other as much as my reaction tormented me completely. This is where Mary became uninvited to join us in Turkey. We then got our train tickets from the metro station and had to take a quick bus ride with one change to the train station, missing that bus we took the next one. I read the stops wrong and we got off too early so we had to get on the next bus to get to the correct bus stop to take us to the correct train stop. We finally get to the train and have a few minutes to relax before the train begins its hour journey. I head off to get the diet coke and a snack. I find Mike and Mary already loaded comfortably onto the train. I pass out the cookies and diet coke. Mary is happy!

We discuss my neurosis and have a few laughs. As we are talking about the highlights Mary comments on the pictures and says, "Mike and Mary in London!" (sound familiar?) Well I know that I have been stressed out but they could at least include me in the trip! Mary sees my face which is very wilted and bursts out laughing spraying Mike and I with diet coke. I had not heard that comment earlier! We were a little sticky the rest of the trip. She was too!


So we left London and safely arrived in Glasgow, the flight is nothing to mention, Mary and I slept and Mike read a book. I think that was this flight. Travel plans seem to blur together pretty quickly. It is good encouragement to journal more often.

We have good friends who will be visiting us in November, Amy and Emma. I digress...

So we grab the rental car and head for Fort William, it is about 2 hours north to the Highlands. Mike rented us rooms at a hostel called Achintee Farms. It was beautiful place at the base of Ben Nevis, a mountain! We settled in and Mike and I took a walk to the visitor center to find them closed. We hiked for an hour or so and then grabbed Mary for dinner. Fortunately there is the Ben Nevis Inn at the top of the drive and we walked up the hill passing Rose of Rogassa, sheep and flies. We had a nice meal and retired semi early.

We went castle trekking the next day as it was a little dreary out. Of course I cannot remember any of the names of things we saw but it was nice. (will add details later) We saw a complete wreck of a castle, a lived in castle (Cowford Castle) where the owner was being filmed for BBC2, and a ruined castle that you could still get the gist of it. We were headed to a haunted tour of the city but we bailed for the thought of food. I am sure Mary lost weight as I know I have has Mike only feeds you twice a day when you are out adventuring.

There a re a few amusing stories to tell on this one day journey but unfortunately my Euro has run out and I am being kicked off the Internet. More in the future......

Just a quick update on our travels so far while we have access to an Internet connection in one of the most unlikely places you might imagine. No, ok so it's not a cave, I suppose that would be harder to imagine but you get the point...

We've made our way thus far through the wonderfully exciting and uniquely dressed London. The two days spent here we're not nearly enough, although we knew from the start that it would not be. Prices drove us onward although we'll someday return to explore it in much more detail. We arrived at 4 in the afternoon and made our way from Heathrow to our lodging via several stops and changes on the metro line, switching to the overland line at the last stop. Finally arriving some 3 hours later we were met at the train station by none other than Mary!! She arrived earlier in the day and after checking in ourselves, we headed back into downtown London to meet Wendy, at the Eye of London.

As we got off the Metro and emerged after following the Way Out signs, we step onto Westminster Street and saw Big Ben looking right at us. Of course I kept saying it couldn't be Big Ben but it was. Mary and Mike were right. We took several photos and then headed across the bridge over the river Thames. Wendy was a few minutes in arriving so we walked around and checked out the street performers. We saw a Victorian dressed dancer, she was a little weird, some singers but the favorite was the headless or invisible headed man. That was really neat. He was sitting in a large chair with a bowler hat on top of his invisible head. He shook hands with a kid without moving any other part of his body.

Obviously this isn't the headless man, but this guy was pretending to be a statue. I'd say he was almost lifelike but that would mean he wouldn't be very good now wouldn't it?

Wendy showed us a round and we discovered that she does not know London that well! She lead us right into the Red Light District. So we turned around and headed to Trafalgar Square. We grabbed some supper at this place that had a weird rule about you can only consume alcohol if you order a full entree. Appetizers did not cut it even if you ordered 5! The patio provided much entertainment as we watched the latest fashions go by. There were street walkers or maybe just ladies out for the night, mini skirts with combat boots, spiked purple hair...basically the scantily clad to the bundled up p-coat.

We had to catch the last train back to the Antigillian Hotel so off we left and arrived safely back to the room. We were all exhausted so sleep came quickly. We were in a triple room in the back of the establishment. I bolted awake at 3AM chasing the thief out of our room! He had broken in and stole all of our belongings. I ran to the door in my t-shirt and underwear. I opened the door and heard him on the stairs directly above. I was afraid of getting locked out of the room so I turned back and shouted to Mike, who was sounded asleep as well as Mary. I cannot believe they did not wake up and hear any of this. "Mike, All of our stuff is gone!"

Mary and Mike bolted upright and looked quickly around. As they did I did as well as realized that I was asleep the whole time. Mary said; "It is all right here" Mike said; !What do you need?" I said "Nothing, sorry, oops!" as I sheepishly closed the door and crawled back into bed. Mary exclaimed you scared me half to death.....how do you think I felt as I was the one chasing the thief out into the streets of London!

Strangely enough we all were able to get back to sleep after that but I keep wondering what the neighbors must have been thinking! I'm sure they must have thought a thief was on the prowl for the rest of the night!

The next morning after breakfast and feeling refreshed we made our way back into downtown London by way of the Cuddy Sark which tragically burned to a husk only a few weeks before our arrival.

The highlight of our trip came when we visited the London Dungeon!! I won't show you any of the gruesome pictures we took but I will show you one that Nancy is scanning at work. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I assume they mean a normal picture, this one has to be worth at least twice that many. Good time for a reader poll, who thinks this picture is priceless??
A truly terrifying place and set up year round as a sort of Halloween haunted house! Actors in character escorted us through some bits adding historical bits that were quite fascinating and educational. After telling us tales of lost souls and strange sounds she called on me and asked if I believed her. Saying I would have to see it for myself she led us through a door wishing us best of luck getting back out again as she quickly shut it behind us. We found ourselves in the best hall of mirrors I've ever seen and we floundered about bouncing off of our reflections for some time before we managed to find our way out to the other side. We were led through the horrid Black Plague where we were sneezed on by some not so pretty wenches. Another room found us in a torture room full of the most fiendishly devised implements for exacting terrific pain upon its unlucky victims. Of course for some reason, maybe because of my height, I was again singled out to serve as an example of how these implements were used by the torturers of days gone by.

The look on Mike's face as his manhood was lopped off was priceless. His face drained of color as he sidled back to the group. His voice was off for hours and he sounded like a wounded cat. This photo does not quite do the wacking justice.

We were lead to the courtroom to hear the trials of the day and then on to hear about the brutal attacks of Jack the Ripper. Mary Landow was our guide as she showed us the first 3 victims of Jack. He enjoyed slicing the ladies throat and then ripping out her intestines, stomach and spleen. After the first attack he left messages for the police. As we were learning about the possible suspects we learned of Mary Landow's death by none other than Jack the Ripper himself. Jack killed 5 woman before he fled London never to confirm his true identity.

We then entered the Great London Fire as we roasted in a room breathing in smoke the fire quickly closed in on us. We learned that some poor bloke had forgotten to extinguish the embers of the baking ovens. The town burned rapidly and although surprisingly few people perished a large part of London was consumed. The room was stifling and I do not think I could have stood there for one more minute when we heard FIRE and all ran out of the room. Mary being the first to escape ran into the next room to be scared to death as the lady jumped out at her causing her to turn directly into the water sprinkling system that drenched her! Mike being taller was sprayed in the neck as I got it in the eye.

We then were told we were the scum of the Earth and it was time to be punished by death. We were to be hanged! They strapped us in the contraption and raised us up to meet the judge. He declared us guilty and the lever was thrown. We plummeted downwards, the ground falling from our feet to our deaths.

We will put the photo they took up as soon as we get back. It is well worth the wait. Mike looking none to miffed and Mary and I screaming with every vein in our necks bulging!

So I'm sure you're asking yourselves by now, how scary was it really? Was it a little scary? or terrifying? How about wake you up in the middle of the night screaming for mamma scary? Well again I'll let the picture speak for itself, but in case you're wondering she had only had one Diet Coke when the picture was taken...


We took the sightseeing tour bus toward to Buckingham Palace only to be disappointed that the dudes with the red funny hats were not there. Mary and I had been dreaming up ways to make them smile or blush!

On the way we passed Picadilly Circus which was a big letdown, it's not even a real circus!! It looked more like Times Square, but we did see some lions anyway.

Makes you want to run for the hills doesn't it?

The queen was not in residence at the big house so nothing going on. The whole place was a bit smaller than we had imagined. There were still oodles of tourists poking about though.

We did run into a parade of the Loyalists.

Off to meet Helen we headed back to the London Eye. Mike and Mary went around the eye and Helen and I caught up on the ground.



These are the pod thingies we rode around in, great views but due to the rounded glass that had handprints and other unidentifiable smudges on it the pictures didn't come out too clear. Next we have Big Ben and then the Millenium Bridge. Quite a view from 135 meters eh? Only opened after the turn of the century the Eye is London's biggest tourist attraction. I think it cost around 15 GBP each and the whole revolution takes maybe 30 minutes or so.

We headed to St. Peter's Cathedral and then to supper. We headed back to the Hotel as we were leaving early to catch a train to the airport.

Mary learned that her little sister is a little neurotic when it comes to time lines. Unfortunately we missed every train we attempted to catch but made the flight with plenty of time to spare as it was delayed.

I'm not quite sure where Nancy learned her map reading skills but apparently even Mary was intigued enough to capture us in the middle of a "which way do we go?" moment. More on the whole "map thing" as we venture deeper into our story.

Check back in a while to discover Scotland with us! Hopefully Mary, our guest blogger, will have her story to tell.

We are in Ireland now and soon to meet Tom et all.

Happy Dad's day to all!

As Nancy has already alluded to the torturous journey from London’s Heathrow airport to our room in saying it took almost 3 hours, and some things are better left forgotten, I will pick up the story at the train platform where we disembarked and found Mary awaiting us. Mary had arrived earlier in the day and had already checked in, had a nap to combat the jet lag, a pint with the pub’s oldest and best customer, who supposedly spoke English but none of us were convinced and then decided to get some fresh air and wait for us at the train since we were due in shortly, actually probably overdue by that point.



This is Mary and I arguing about which direction our hotel is in, I should have known better than to argue though since, as I said, she had already checked in. Did I mention it was a long day of travel? That’s the hotel behind us.

We checked in, stopped to have a refreshing liquid at the pub and met the pub’s oldest and best customer who assaulted us in some previously unheard variant of English. Nancy, Mary and I all looked at each other but judging by the confused faces all around nobody had quite understood what it was he was saying. So, being friendly like I am (and knowing we were only staying for the rest of our drink), I invited the chap to pull up a chair. This earned me an incredulous look from Mary and a kick under the table from my dearest wife. Well after he was sitting he became much more intelligible and we were able to pick out one or two words in ten, so we were able to gather that he was quizzing us on US History of all things, why I’ll never know since he apparently already knew the answers. In any event he seemed a bit sore about the losing the revolutionary war, I pondered this briefly considering for a moment if he had actually fought in it but then quickly ruling it out we simply told him to “get over it” and move on, lots of cool things have happened since then and we’re friends now. While he struggled with this concept we all finished our drinks, excused ourselves and made our way out of the pub.

We traveled by train into the heart of London (perhaps the Eye of London is a better expression). Here’s a shot of Mary and I where we emerged from the subway right next to Big Ben!

And here’s Mary and I with, what else, the London Eye behind us!


Nancy of course was taking the pictures and so I turned to Mary and seeing the Blog entry in my head, I said apparently too softly for Nancy to hear “Mary and Mike go to London”. Remember this as it comes up later in our stories….

But rest assured Nancy was there and here’s proof!

And here is some interesting background information that I found, well, interesting…I’m sure everyone is familiar with the infamous nursery rhyme “London Bridge is Falling Down.” I seem to remember our tour guide saying it had something to do with the plague that happened in London, but upon researching it a bit more I can find no such reference. The song itself appears to relate the many times the bridge was built, and subsequently fell down. Several bridges have actually existed at or near the sight of the present bridge for 2000 years. The most recent bridge that you see today was opened in 1973. The previous bridge finished in 1831 was apparently sold to an American in 1968 and transported stone by stone and can now be seen in Lake Havasu, Arizona! Anyway the London Bridge isn’t the prettiest bridge and I found the Tower Bridge to be far more interesting and picturesque. I must admit that for some reason I’ve always thought of the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge as one and the same but have now learned otherwise. See how educational travel is??? Anywho, here’s a shot of Nancy and Mary holding up the Tower Bridge so it should be there for future travelers to enjoy.

Here’s a closer shot of the Tower Bridge, ain’t she a Beaut? (The bridge is nice too!)

A working draw-bridge it’s one of the prettiest and most distinctive bridges I’ve seen and it’s been here since 1894.

While we’re on bridges, there was one other that warrants mention. The Millennium Bridge is London’s newest bridge and is completely pedestrian. One of the world’s first horizontal suspension bridges, when it was first opened apparently it wobbled something fierce, inducing nausea in not a few people, thus earning its nickname “wobbly bridge.” Apparently the wobble was so bad that the bridge closed after being open only a few days to have the engineers work out the problem which they did. I noticed only a slight movement as we walked over it ourselves. It’s also quite pretty when lit at night although I don’t have a picture to show you of that.

Oh wait, wrong picture …different suspension bridge, we’ll get to this one later…



As it was already almost 8pm we walked down to the London Eye where we had arranged to meet Wendy for dinner and a drink. Here’s what it looks like from underneath. Mary and I came back the next day to go up in it but more on that next blog!

Wendy was a little late in arriving, probably because SHE ATE WITHOUT US at home, but she led us into the heart of London, Trafalgar Square, where we finally settled at a restaurant on a corner of it that had outside seating. There we enjoyed dinner while watching (and commenting on) the very eclectic styles of London fashion walk past. By the time we finished it was already getting late and we needed to catch the last train back to our room so Wendy helped us find the station and we said our goodbyes and wished her well for the summer. After a short stay in England, she was heading to Australia for a month. Ah teaching does have its perks.

Nancy has pretty well covered the highlights from the following day, not to mention her escapade during the night (for which she’s thankful we have no photos) so I’ll probably just edit her post some and insert some pictures. Hope you’ve enjoyed this first installment of many, be sure to send encouragement by way of comments, it helps keep me motivated!

Can you believe that a school year has come and gone? I have finished my first year at CAC and Mike and I head for London in a few hours. We will have our own navigator with us as we arrive in London with Wendy. We will go to our prospective lodgings and we pick up Mary to head out for a true English pub crawl. The next morning we are suppose to meet up with my cousin Helen and do a quick jaunt around London, not sure how much we will be able to get through in such a short trip. Hoping the weather is bearable as well.

Sunday we are off to Scotland. We will attempt to keep you up to date as we travel through 7 countries in 8 weeks. The prep has been crazy with Mike arriving a week before we leave, packing the house for summer renovations, cramming stuff in a backpack for eight weeks, not to mention closing a school year. We survived and are stronger for it.

Our deepest sympathies to the Farmington Sullivans’ and the Cooney clan for their recent losses, you are all in our prayers.

Ain Sukhna, which is only one of the spellings, (Ein Soukhna, Ein Sukhna, Ain Sokhna, el-Soukhna) is on the Gulf of Suez. Egyptians cannot stanardize anything, even names of cities. Ain Sukhna can be translated as "hot spring" and the name originates from sulfur springs in Gebal Ataqa, a nearby Eastern Desert mountain. It is only 2 hours by luxury bus to the beach resort so it has become a favorite place to get away for the weekend. It use to be only the upper and middle class Egyptians but the Ex-Pat community longing for clean air and green spaces has taken it over. We stayed at the Stella Di Mare for 2 nights for about $100. That inlcuded breakfast and supper. We brought enough snacks to keep our bellies full for lunch.

This is the pool area. It looks a little mirky but it is actually very prisitne. The bottom is all stone so it makes the water look a little grimy.

The flowers throughout the resort are fabulous. Here are a few shots of some of the local flowers. Still learning the names but the bright red is hibiscus.

This is the beach area. Nice, clean, soft sand. There were umbrellas and chairs with cushions and towels provided. Definately 5 star. I am sure we will spend several more weekends there. The only problem this weekend held was Mike was in the freezing cold rain of Maine in May and not with me.

Rugby Club Desert Dinner Ball

This is the highlight ball of the Ex-Pat Community in Ma'adi. You have to know some one who can get you tickets or be a member of the Rugby Club to get one of the 600 tickets. We knew that they sold out very quickly so Laura and I became Rugby Club members and booked up two tables.

The view as we drove through the pyramids was incredible. They had closed off all the entrance for the ball so the place was deserted. It had a profound effect on me as I saw this amazing wonder without 1,000s of people scrambling all around it. No camel jockeys, no trinket sellers, no inappropriately dressed tourists. Everyone should get the chance to see the pyramids in this state of isolation. I wish I had the words to explain.

We arrived at about 7 and sunset was 7:30. We took several photos in front of the pyramids with a very strong wind. It was amusing to see hairdos demolished, dresses waving, and shawls go flying across the desert with the dutiful husband chasing it. Mike was glad he missed that part.

We went into the tent with our first glass of complimentary boxed red or white wine. There were 60 tables around a dance floor built out of 2 x 4s and warehouse pallets. They finally covered them with rugs while we ate our dinner. The band played beautiful dining music and then handed it over to a DJ. The music was nice but not my choice for dancing.

They had also brought in port-a-potties for the occasion and it was interesting to climb up these rickety steps trying not to hold on to the hand railing that was not securely attached.

The ball was not the same with out my honey so I left about 11:45 and went home to chat with him. This is the longest we have been apart in 14 years! Wow how do people do this! We have several staff here who are carrying on long distance relationships I do not envy them. On the plus side he comes back to Egypt for a week then off to travel Europe!

Enjoy the photos.

Woman of CAC














Nancy and Laura










Sarah and Danny














Mary and Paul














Pyramids at almost sunset










































Laura, Nancy and Mary


















The tent where we had supper and danced.














Laura, Danny and Cathy- Do you notice all the empty wine glasses around Laura. It was bring your own wine so of course our table did. I think I counted 20 bottles at one point.














Danny and Cathy














Alex and JuLain














Ellen and Alex

Theresa and some dude

Susan and Sarah

Jennie and Mark

So what have we been up to lately…let’s see.

Well the weather has been getting nicer and nicer, or some might say, hotter and hotter. The forecast for the next two days is for a high of 98F!! Of course the weather here is pretty nice all the year round, but spring (yes, I think you can call it spring) brings all the flowers out in Ma’adi and there is a fantastic display of nature everywhere you look. Flowers of every color and trees blossoming as they reawaken after a brief sleep. I think my favorite has to be the delicate periwinkle colored blossoms that adorn many of the trees here, apparently it’s not just my favorite. Then there are some massive red blossoms that really stand out on an otherwise dead looking tree devoid of any leaves. Apparently the leaves come later. These are also quite popular with the fruit bats that we can see swarming this type of tree in the early evenings. Campus comes alive in spring and there are some spectacular trees richly draped in majestic royal purple flowers, so much so you can’t see the branches beneath.
Nancy can probably add a few more that I’ve left out along with the names.

So the weather has been getting better but we have had a few haamseens which block out the sun and has the effect of casting an eerie golden dusk-like hue to everything. These are big sand storms for anyone who hasn’t heard the term before. Warm air blowing across the desert picks up the sand and carries it along. It’s not uncommon for the temperature to rise by 20 or more degrees during a haamseen. I suppose every place has its own quirky weather and for Cairo this seems to be it. Oh and the occasional high pollution day when the smog settles so thickly over the city that nobody wants to be outside. We’ve had a few of these as well.

The past two weekends we’ve enjoyed a few activities that I think I’ve mentioned before. Womping and Hashing are quickly becoming two of our favorite outings and we’ve done both recently. The Womp, which occurs every Thursday almost without fail, is led by the Grand Poohbah of the Womp, Kim (who incidentally lives upstairs from us). This is a chance for primarily teachers to end their work week at 3:15 and enjoy a nice walk or run in the local Wadi. Wadi is a term used over here for what are in essence dried up rivers in what is now desert areas. We can be in our local Wadi in about 15 minutes and it’s a great place to go get away from the city, the people, the smog, the noise, the taxi horns and, well, just about anything else you want to get away from. The Womp culminates with a gathering following the walk and run where people sit and talk about whatever anyone wants to talk about, have some snacks and enjoy a few amber nectars or your beverage of choice in good company, I’d have to say the deserts are one of the best features of Egypt. Incredibly tranquil, especially when compared to the city, they are an excellent retreat when everything else gets to be too much. Nancy and I are walkers for now, maybe some day we’ll run. Whether a walk or a run we are normally out for just over an hour before returning to the vehicles and the gathering, which can last much longer. The wadi is also a great place for mountain biking as well and I can see myself spending more time there exploring, but maybe I’ll get a GPS before I go too far. Sand doesn’t have many distinguishing characteristics.

Now the Hash, for which we also have Kim to thank for introducing us to it, is similar to the womp, but on a larger scale. You could even say a global scale since there are Hash Houses located all over the world. Funny that I hadn’t heard of them before but there it is. The best explanation that I’ve heard that describes the Hash is that they’re a group of drinkers with a running problem. This group “hash’s” every Friday, without fail, and is made up of members from all over Cairo making for a very diverse collection of individuals. We’ve been twice now and I would say there might be between 50 and 100 people who came out on these occasions. Like the womp, there are both walkers and runners but instead of just going off on an unguided, random walk or run like the womp, on the Hash there’s actually a trail you follow. In fact, it’s best thought of this way, a hare or rabbit, leaves his scent along his trail and the hounds follow him, trying to follow his trail. In this case there are two rabbits, one runs, the other walks and they leave different trails. Now the hare, knowing he has hounds after him tries his best to confuse them by leaving false trails, doubling back on his trail, or trying to disguise his trail to throw off the pursuers. The trail is set by hasher’s who are designated as the hares and they usually lay the trail earlier in the day, leaving small piles of lentils or flour to mark the trail. Sometimes the trails may cross, sometimes not. The trails we’ve followed have been well planned so that both the walking group and the running group finish around the same time. And even within the walk or run, the false trails and double backs have the effect of slowing down the faster walkers or runners so the slower members of the group can catch up allowing everyone to finish about the same time. In any event it’s great fun and excellent exercise and we both enjoy it. Like the womp, afterwards comes the circle where some pretty goofy things can happen. Think of a frat in college and you’ll have a general idea. Members who have set a trail (been a hare) for the first time are initiated in the circle by answering a few questions about themselves, we were lucky enough to witness this last week. Based on what the circle now knows about the person from his answers, Hash names are then proposed for the person, a vote by rowdy cheering and then the person is, well, I guess you might say “baptized” with this new name. Kim’s name is Rude Yard, Rebecca’s, his wife, is Castrati, another’s name is Useless, another’s Gorillas in the Mist, and they get crazier from there. Anyway, songs are sung and beverages are imbibed, not necessarily in that order. There are certain traditions that are adhered to, anyone with new shoes must drink from their shoes for example. A friend of ours, Tim, who we talked into coming last week had some very flashy trainers on and was unfortunate enough to have them noticed, I mean they were lime green so…

And not last, and certainly not least, Nancy has been seen on the golf course (of all places) a few days with me. One day we visited the club and she practiced on the driving and putting ranges mastering the finer aspects of the 9 iron. Two other days found us playing 9 holes with our friend Cathy. I won’t tell you her score, she can if she likes, but all I’ll say is that for playing the entire round with a 9 iron she did fantastic! She’s a natural. Perhaps we’re no Tiger Woods but we do enjoy walking the green course and having some fun in the process.

Apart from these terrific diversions, much of my time has been spent organizing our summer travel plans. Here’s the way it looks, briefly, we fly from Cairo to London where we’ll meet MARY!! (woo hoo!!) who’ll travel with us in London and Scotland. From there we fly to Ireland, where we’ll spend a week touring Northern Ireland before meeting up with Tom & Julie and family (woo hoo!!) who we’ll travel with for a few days before they head to London. After a few more days in Ireland we fly to Paris where we’ll meet my parents who are traveling with us for the remainder of the summer through France, Germany and Italy.

Nancy, busy as always found time to help organize, decorate and host a baby shower for our friend and downstairs neighbors Dustin and Verna this past Wednesday. Unfortunately I missed it, so I’ll let Nancy tell you about it.

So why’d I miss it? I was on a plane on my way back to the US. I was asked if I would perhaps be interested in returning to work temporarily to help out during the very busy closing that is happening. It was all very last minute, and although we dislike being apart for so long, we agreed that I should go. So as I write this last part, the first part having been written on my layover in Milan, I’m currently at my parents in Maine. I’ll be working until June 1st when I fly back to Cairo to help close up our apartment for the summer.

Mike has safely landed in Boston and has arrived at his folks' house.

What is he doing in the US? And why is Nancy not with him? Both good questions. Mike, as crazy as it might seem, decided he needed to be productive with his time and go back to work! I know crazy. He is back at Berlin City for the month of May. He is going to be there until Memorial day when he comes home, to me in Cairo, and then packs up the house for summer renovations only to leave for England on the 8th to meet Mary. Yippee I am excited about our summer plans.

We spend a week with Mary -a few days in London (meet up with Helen Haran for the day) then Scotland then Ireland. We say goodbye to Mary and then meet Tom and his family. Spend a few days with them (meet up with the O'Shea's) and then meet Mike's parents in Paris. We spend a week in Paris and then off to Southern France for a week. 2 weeks in Germany and 2 weeks in Italy. Are you exhausted yet? I am and we have not started yet. Mike and his folks definitely have to be winded as they are planning it all. I am just along for the ride, my chance to be Cabana girl.

I had a baby shower tonight for neighbor, Verna who is due early November but is headed home for the summer and to deliver in the US. It turned out quite well. Mike helped decorate before he took off at 2AM. What a trooper.

Headed on the whomp tomorrow, then to a Play. Friday we are celebrating Dustin's birthday, headed to the Hash and then to a celebration to ring in Cinco de Mayo. So I should have some photos of the events up soon.

Tobiah Cooper was born 3:35 PM, April 25, 2007.

He weighed in at 8lb 9oz out weighing Talitha at birth by just a smidgeon. He is 20 1⁄2 “ long.

Congrats to Aurele and Johneen on kid number 5!

4/25/2007

We had no school Wednesday because it was Sinai's Liberation Day. Most families used it as an opportunity to make a long weekend. We (elementary) were missing 10% of our student population.

Mike, Cathy and I went to Katameya to play golf. This is the first time I have played 9 holes without it being a scramble, also first time to Katameya and did not lounge by the pool and read a book. I even kept score. The back 9 holes was a par 35, I will not tell you my score but it was less than double par. Cathy was nice enough to max some holes at 10 swings for me too. I had a blast and will definitely play again. Who knows I might become a golfer when Mike goes back to work and I get to be “Cabana Girl”

So here is so basic info about why we had the day off.

This is the day to celebrate the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Sinai Peninsula.

Time Line of Events

June, 1967 – Israel defends itself against attacking Arab nations and acquires territory in the Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights during the Six Day War.

1968 – Israelis begin settling in the Sinai Peninsula and the city of Yamit is established.

March 26, 1979 – Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty signed by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. Israel agrees to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula for the sake of peace.

1979-1982 – Israel dismantles numerous military bases, oil fields, outposts, and settlements in the Sinai Peninsula.

April 19, 1982 – 3,000 Israeli settlers in Yamit resist the evacuation and barricade themselves inside their homes.

April 21, 1982 – Israeli settlers clash violently with IDF soldiers in Yamit.

April 25, 1982 – Israeli soldiers, under the command of Ariel Sharon forcibly remove settlers from their homes and out of the Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli Government razes the city of Yamit to ensure that the settlers would not return to the area.

April 26, 1982 – Present – Israel is completely withdrawn from the Sinai Peninsula. Israel and Egypt are at peace.

August, 2005 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip.

Sinai Peninsula Facts

1. 61,000 sq km (23,000 sq mi)
2. Represents 90% of territory acquired by Israel during the 1967 war.

3. Home to about 7,000 Israeli settlers from 1968-1982.
4. Native population consists primarily of Bedouins.
5. Contains the Alma oil field, which Israel discovered and developed, valued over $100 billion.

The Sinai was the place in which Moses had spoken to God from Mount El-Tour. This holy land, in addition, had witnessed the Youssef's cross to Egypt, and the passing of the sacred family while in the Coptic time.

Congratulations to Tyler and Nancy on their new baby boy. Congrats to Brendan, the new big brother! April 17, 2007 at 8:15 AM

Bryan John
7 lbs 9 ounces
20 inches