Mike said he would check at work this morning and let me know if we would try to get my passport stamped today. We called Angela and she said if we went she would like to go too. Mike called and we decided we would go to Hatta and get passport. Angela had talked with a neighbor who does this every month, and she gave us directions and info on how to get there. So at 10:30 am off we went to Hatta. It was a nice long drive. We arrived in Hatta around 3:30 pm, go our passport stamped to exit UAE. Surprise, I didn’t have to pay a fine, they give you a 10 day grace period, I could of waited 4 more days. We then drove about 2 km into Oman and got our passports stamped for in and out. They call this a visa run. The immigration officer joked with Mike about having 2 women with him. Especially since Mike made a comment about yesterday Angela was his girlfriend and now she was his daughter today. (When he called Angela yesterday evening he said hi girlfriend and she told him he had the wrong number. He said wait and quickly put me on the phone.) At the window she said since I came in the same car I guess I can be a member of the family, maybe your daughter. You had to be there, but the officer laughed and joked about it. After getting that straightened out we got back in the car and drove back to UAE. Went on the wrong side of the building, someone told us this side is nationals other side foreigners. So we went and got our passports stamped so we could go back in. Since it was now 4:30 we were hungry. Mike decided he wanted to eat a Tony Roma’s in Dubai. But he got turned around and it took us an extra 30 minutes to get to the mall. We arrived close to 6:30 for dinner. After we ate, we went shopping. I got tennis shoes for golf – little tread, so I wouldn’t mark up the browns. And I had been looking for a purple shirt I could wear here and I found one with Angela’s help. She was glad on the way home that I sort of told Mike to slow down and put 2 hands on the wheel when we were going through a construction area. She said she was glad she wasn’t the only one to do it and wished Luigi (her husband) was there to hear it. We finally got home at 11:30pm. A long day since I woke up at 5am. Tomorrow Mike has golf in the morning. I will try and sleep in. It is Borouge competition. Should be fun, dinner will be provided at 7 pm, so will be a fun social time for me too.

Friday – Mike played golf, said he didn’t do well and that it was extremely hot. He ended up in 5th place, which I don’t consider bad. He won the draw prize. It was 100 dirhams, which is close to $25 in USA. Annika pulled a golf card out of a hat and he said no not that one and it was his. Rather funny. The dinner was nice, we ate outside and there is a nice breeze that comes from the ocean.

Sat. we went to Abu Dhabi. Mike likes to get away from Ruwais on the weekends. Maybe one day we will stay in town. I get scared on the road and make noises that upset Mike. The drivers go so fast and drive dangerously. There are many road fatalities here. I got some paper for making some more floating star cards. We will see if I get them done.

Sun. was origami in the morning. We made three dimensional cards. It was fun and I didn’t mess up this time. Mike asked if there are ever any failures. I told him I am the worst origami person in the group. He thinks the cards I do are good.

Mon. was golf in the morning. I played, but did poorly. I picked up the ball almost every hole. You pick up after 10 shots so you don’t slow down the groups. Maybe one day I will get the swing of the golf club down.

Tues and Wed. was the same as usual – golf in the morning, darts, then Rummikub wed.
We got ready for Oman on Wed night, left early Thursday morning. We arrived in Abu Dhabi before 9:30am to pick up the rental car. They were out of gps systems, so just had are small maps to go by. The border check to leave UAE confused us. We got to the check point without going through immigration, so had to park car and find the correct building, after a few wrong doors, a worker took us to the right place. Thought I would use the bathroom in the Omani border check point. Changed my mind after going in – it was disgusting. We had a nice leisurely drive through Oman. We went to Sohar and drove along the coast line to Muscat. Stopped and saw the sights in several of the towns. Of course the fort we stopped out was closed for renovations, maybe another time.

Had fun in Oman – loved the souk in Muscat. I purchased a few Xmas gifts for family. The mosque was really beautiful. We were going to the museums in old muscat first but they were closed so went to the mosque. Mike had been to the mosque in Abu Dhabi and they provided covering for you, and thought they would in Muscat. I purchased a scarf and the clerks wrapped in around my head properly. We purchased a book that described all the things in the mosque, they didn’t have tours. It seems you get them before you go to the mosque.
We arrived back in UAE late Sat. night. We stopped for dinner in Abu Dhabi. The drive back home seemed to take forever. I think it just seemed longer, because we drove straight back and didn’t stop to take in the sights along the way.

Sun was origami – we had it in the morning, since several people were gone. We had a choice of star, holly, or hearts. Mike was told he needed to move out of the camp – since we have an apartment in town also. So we gathered his things and moved.

I spent Mon. morning organizing Mike’s things. He might be able to find them when he needs them. It was golf in the afternoon. I just couldn’t get my club to hit the ball. Mike played tennis in the afternoon and got home just before I did. We went to the camp to eat dinner, they were having their quarterly bbq. They had lamb and shrimp, it was really good. Better than their usual fare.

Tues. was golf in the morning. Riitta played and was expecting her first grandchild. Tarja hit the tree and there was much talk and excitement. We weren’t sure what was going on. Found out while they were discussing what the rules were, Riitta got a phone call saying she was a grandmother to a baby girl. After we finished we had a glass of wine to celebrate. She leaves this evening for home and a visit with the granddaughter. I didn’t get home until almost 1 pm. I was tired so after showering I took a nap. It was dart night, so we went early and ate at the club house. Mike’s team was in the finals at darts, we lost to his team the first game. We only had to get the bulls eye, they got the 4 numbers they needed before we hit the bull’s eye. Oh well it was fun. There were a few new people playing. We had to remind them that they had to pull their darts out of the board after they were through. They don’t remove themselves one of the ladies said.

Wed. is Rummikub. There were only 4 of us to play. One person had to leave, so we started again. I won this time. I will do laundry this afternoon and then think about what to do for dinner.