Texas - Getting There is Half the Fun?

 

 Getting there is half the fun.

 I’m not sure how true that was for this trip.  We were more interested in getting there than the journey to get there.

First of all, we’d thought we’d be on our way by the end of January but life got in the way and it wasn’t until March the tires hit the pavement.  By then, the mild winter had ended, it was bitterly cold again, it had snowed a bunch and the trailer was at our friend’s shop, stuck in a snowbank as it were.  Thankfully, someone with a bobcat was plowing out the neighbouring shop.  Dave quickly went over and asked if the he could plow out a path for us.  He did!  At no charge.

We got hooked up, slowly eased the trailer out of the snow, fastened the bicycles on the bumper and were on our way.  Moving all the clothing and other gear out of the backseat of the truck would have to wait.  We were on our way to Dallas.  The first night was at our friends in Coaldale.  The next night at a hotel in Billings, Montana.  We were slowly making our way out of the snow zone.  When we entered Wyoming, the forecast promised some 100 kmh crosswinds so we turned east on the I90 and crossed into South Dakota.  

Years ago, we’d driven through Sturgis during Bike Week.  Now it was a sleepy little town in the Black Hills.  All the road signs pointing the way to Wall Drug kept us entertained, and it seemed like a suitable place to stop for the night.  At the beginning of March, Wall is a sleepy little prairie village and all but two hotels and one restaurant are closed for the season.  Wall Drug Store was open for business and proved to be an entertaining diversion before hitting the road again.  

By now it was starting to look like spring as we passed fields upon fields of snow geese on their way north.  The snow was definitely gone except for some drifts in the hedges.  Just before we’d crossed the entire state, we turned south.  It was interesting to watch the transformation as the further south we went, the greener it was getting.  We stayed at a hotel in Nebraska and then next night just outside Oklahoma City.  It was a beautiful day, and we were very much tempted to camp, but since everything was in disarray, we stayed in a hotel once more.

The next morning, we crossed the Red River and were in Texas.  As on other trips, it’s fun to find the unique little town coffee shops, and this trip was no exception.  We needed some fortification because we knew that from that point on, it would be crazy Dallas traffic as our destination was clear across the city. Whew, we made it.  It was good to be back again.

 

Doha, Qatar - Part Two

The journey home had begun.  We left Kilimanjaro Airport in the early evening, arriving in Doha, Qatar around midnight.  Our connecting flight wasn't until the following night so we went back to the same hotel.

Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani 

hotel lobby

Roof top swimming pool

After a good night's sleep we were ready to explore Doha.  This time, with no time change, we felt refreshed and not in a jet-lagged stupor!  But again it was the heat (+38 degrees) and humidity that hit us as we stepped outside the hotel.  We took the cab even though we could have walked.

MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART

This is a fascinating building with its geometric design inside and out.  The collection of art represents Islamic art from throughout the Islamic world - from the Middle East, Persia, Asia and Europe - where ever the presence of Islam went.  It presented a history of the spread of Islam through art: ceramics, jewelry, wood work, textiles, and calligraphy.  The artifacts dated from the 7th to 20th century.  It was so beautiful and very interesting to read about the history of the world from this point of view.  

one of many tapestries

beautiful calligraphy of the Quran

The dhow boat docks next to the museum

View from the museum.  It's built on a man-made island.

DHOW BOAT RIDE

Towards sunset we took a cab to the boat docks in hopes of getting a ride on the traditional dhow boats.  At first our cabbie wanted to drop us off at the modern catamaran dock, but I said I wanted to ride "the brown ones".  Ok. After an attempt at negotiating a price, we went (and probably paid way to much!)  It was beautiful to sail across the bay towards the downtown as the sun set and on the return watch the daylight fade with a full moon in the sky. 

SOUQ WAQIF

This looked like a scene out of some Middle Eastern spy movie with narrow alleyways of cobblestone with shops, restaurants and people everywhere.  One could get lost in no time.  We wandered past the horse market, the falcon market, in and out of some retailers selling fabric, rugs, clothing and even fishing gear. Finally we found an alley with several restaurants and settled on one for dinner.  We were sitting outside, the temperature still in the high 30s and an A/C unit acting like a fan. We had a sampler of Middle Eastern appetizers.  Delicious.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

We walked back to the hotel this time, and returned hot and sweaty.  It was time to freshen up, change into travelling clothes and make our way back to the airport. 

"Good morning", said the flight attendant as we boarded. Wait.  It was still evening, wasn't it?  Well, no.  We boarded at about 1:30 am and began the 16 hour flight back to Los Angeles.  It was going to be a long night.  

Los Angeles

Alberta

We got to LA at about 7:30 in the morning, local time, found our next gate and were on our way quite soon after that.  By 4:30 in the afternoon we were home again.  The body clock says its 1:30 a.m. again! 

What an adventure this has been.  We have been told that we'll be back again next year.  We'll see.