I left Dubai, or the Middle East, almost three years after having done a three year plus stint for work. I spent a year traveling or spending time with family and friends. Then I got a new job in upstate New York, but I think that most of you know that, for a multitude of reasons, I was very unhappy there. I was contacted by my former company (having kept in touch with various colleagues over the years), and now I am back. This time based totally in Dubai. I took about six weeks off between jobs to prepare, but it flew by and there actually is still quite a bit left to do, but I got all the major stuff done. I hope. It was hectic yet so fun to spend time with everyone and ... read more

Our last couple of days would be spent in jolly ole London. Dana and the kids would leave Sunday, while we would leave on Monday. We got up early and set off to return the van at Gatwick. Then I was able to book return tickets for all of us to the city and back while Dana stored her big back at the airport. I had booked the Hilton London Paddington due to its proximity to some of the major attractions and its accessibility to the underground. We should have been able to get off the Gatwick Express in Victoria Station and taken the tube to Paddington station directly. But, again in keeping with the theme of our trip, apparently some geniuses decided to do rail line work on our line during the busy bank holiday ... read more

Today was the only time during our trip that we had a scheduled tourist visit. That was Stonehenge, planned for the first group time of 9:30 am. It was less than a half hour from The Barn to site, so we stopped at the cafe in Semley village and met with the lovely couple that run it for coffee and pastries. On our way, we were so happy that it was yet another beautiful day and it was only getting warmer. Still needed a light jacket but the wind was minimal and the skies were blue. We had to wait in line to confirm our reservations and English Heritage tickets before we were on a bus heading to the site. Stonehenge Stonehenge is thousands of years old and no one really seems to know its use; ... read more

After York we continued onto our destination: Whitby. Actually, we were staying in the tiny town of Sleights. Cousin Mary had mentioned to us that she was pretty sure that this was the town at the bottom of a steep grade and she was very correct. Gorgeous scenery along the drive through the Yorkshire Moors with views out to the coast and Whitby itself as we approached. With a minor bit of trouble getting access to our cottage, we were happy with our new accommodations, though nothing could compare with the first (we were spoiled for the rest of the trip). Dad and I headed to the store again for a minor restock of our food and drinks. We cooked with our existing food supply that night and generally fell asleep early. The next day we ... read more

We'd been planning this trip for months and I was so looking forward to it. My first out of country adventure in two years! Time to visit the Grandmotherland and see family! I had done most of the planning myself, incorporating the requests of my traveling companions to put together a rough itinerary. If it is just me and things go wrong, it is easy to go with the flow and find a way out. When you have a sister with two small kids and your older parents coming too, the pressure was on for things to go smoothly. Or at least not to go wrong. It started out fine. We (my parents and I) arrived at the airport in Baltimore fine, but five hours early meaning we could not check in. We went in search ... read more