Sneaking into July

I found grass at the pool area! 4Wheelin in the desert!

The trip to the Persian Gulf! Salty but different!...................Desert Horse! not Max!!


Sand storm........ and Not........................................................; 4th of July in Qatar & below.
2 pics in the same location, one in sand, other at dusk;

The Colbert Report ....................at Victory Base.....................Qatar Game Room July 4th

My Outlook calendar reminds me that I have a lot to share from June through July 9th! I've played in softball games (a little..mostly keep the book); fired a personal-best 35 of 40 bullets into the intended paper target at the range; visited with family and friends on Video Teleconferencing with Skype; watched a taping of the Steve Colbert Report tv show from the palace; passed the first of 2 tests to become A+ computer Certified (not taken the other yet); and completed my 4-day vacation to Qatar (pronounced "cutter").

Pictures are above unless I can get them to cooperate! Among them will be a pair of pictures to compare of the same location with and without a sand storm! Notice the background in the one taken at dusk but on a clear afternoon.

The Colbert Report (both silent "T"s) is a comedy show on current events, to include guests. The pics will show the backdrop and Colbert with his buzz cut hair and ACU army suit! Notice on the backdrop there are Port O Potties shooting out of the left roof of the palace! Well, WE thought it was hilarious!

Highlights on VTConferences were seeing Hawke's Miami colored braces along with his great report card/FCAT results; and seeing John Mark's birthday treasures along with Bennett playing with some of them as Mom herds them around!

Qatar was a very nice break from the daily routine! I enjoyed the company of 2 unit members and the new friends we made during the trip.

We made a trip to Doha City with a guide who entertained and educated us. Of note, the only people in Qatar who can have a mosque on their personal property are the emir's family; and all businesses are owned at least 51% by Qatari citizens. Dinner was a traditional meal of tikki and kebabs (like shish kebabs, mostly lamb) with good chicken soup and salad.

Another trip was over the desert in SUVs. They wouldn't let us drive, but we saw an inland waterway that extended from the Persian Gulf into the desert at high tide, and we stood on a very high sand dune above it (it was like a cliff but sand). Off we went again in the SUVs (nothing to see but sand) to a "park". It had an air conditioned tent with couches and pillows on which to relax; a bathroom/shower trailer :-) and a tent for the buffet of bar-b-qued food (delicious chicken and lamb). Otherwise the area looked a lot like a Florida beach with "palm frond" umbrellas over plastic tables to sit at while looking out over the Persian Gulf...and the camel! Yes, I rode the camel for about 5 minutes. If you've never sat on a camel while it gets up and down, you've missed a treat! This one is a girl camel and was very polite! She did not spit nor be gross in any other way! She is very tall, or at least looks that way from above!

My group made it to the markets twice, although I didn't buy much. I did get a children's story book that is English in the front half and Arabic in the back half. (The illustrations match from front to back and Arabic is written from right to left, so it made sense to put the book together like that.)

The rest of the time was spent being harrassed by my roommate and a new friend who is based there, to participate in sports. I thoroughly enjoyed TRYING to play Glow-stick Putt Putt Golf; volleyball; and indoor soccer. I even earned a small but vocal fan club when I lucked out and made a couple of good plays as goalie! All of this, wrapped around the 4th of July celebration!

I splurged on a massage, manicure/pedicure, and hair color/cut. The pedicure was a life-saver! The ladies were all from the Phillipines and spoke Tagalog (middle syllable accented) which is a distant cousin of Spanish, but not much alike. Thank goodness they spoke English too.

OK, now I'll quit rambling, and post pictures! Enjoy them!!

Oh well, the pictures will post where they want to! Just try to match them to the story! For the most part they are in reverse order. :-)