All packed!

Cedric's all packed... he's got his passport all ready to go... life is good!! This will be a new thing for Cedric & I - we are doing a trip over New Year's and are very excited! We're off to Dubai today! Yes, you read that right, Dubai.. as in the United Arab Emirates. In case you don't know where that is... and don't feel bad, not many people do... it's east of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. If you watched Sex & the City 2, they were in Abu Dhabi - Dubai is just north.
I am going with a tour - not by myself, no worries. It's an EF convention for a week, with 4 hrs of designated 'convention time'... which is then followed by a trip to the camel farm along with dune buggying!!
I am a tad nervous since it's a new country and definitely a new culture that I have never experienced... and since the last time I was in Morocco, I was offered all the camels in the desert, it just adds to my nervousness. It's a progressive, yet conservative area, so women were cautioned on clothing - no shoulders/knees and no elbows in mosques... hope my toes will be okay because I've got my sandals packed. But never fear, it'll be great and you know I'll have some great stories and good pics to share.
Weather is predicted to be perfect!! Mid/Upper 70s with NO precipitation in sight...sigh...
Luckily I am NOT flying thru the eastern seaboard (snow!). I connect thru Chicago & Frankfurt, so am quite happy they cleared up their snowy mess. There's a 10 hour time difference between Iowa & Dubai... and will take me about 24 hours to get there. I arrive around 11:30 pm on Tuesday and we hit the ground running on Wednesday with a city tour, Gold Souks & welcome dinner. Thursday is convention, camels, dune buggies, and a BBQ dinner. Friday, New Year's Eve, takes us on a tour of the east coast, of Dhaid, Dibba, Gulf of Oman and Masafi, before we ring in the New Years downtown Dubai. Saturday takes us out to the emirates of Sharjah and Ajman and a good-bye dinner. Luckily, I got the 'late' flight out on Sunday - 8:30 am - others depart at 2:30 am.

Santa was thinking and got me an international cell - yippee!! We'll see how it works.. and how much it costs me. So, unless something is on fire, just email me. I'm taking my Netbook and am hoping to blog while I'm over there.

Please keep me in your thoughts & prayers for safe travels, new friends, amazing adventures, and wonderful stories to share!
Stay warm & talk soon!
Hugs ~ steph and cedric :)