California: A Wedding and Some Wine

This whirlwind of a trip began with our arrival at LAX in September 2011. Los Angeles was not at all what we expected, but I think part of that was probably because we headed south and didn’t get into the actually "Hollywood" area of town.

Italia - Cure for the Saudi Blues

Italy. The land that stole my heart in 10 short days. My August 2011 trip with bestie Amanda and her mom Cindy is something we will never forget. I feel so blessed that we we're able to take this trip together - not something kids like us are usually capable of doing at this time in our lives.

Al-Hofuf: the Largest Saudi Oasis

The dunes off the highway

This spring, the great people at ISG Jubail organized a day trip down to Al-Hofuf, the largest oasis in Saudi Arabia, and it's only about 3 hours away! We got up at 4 AM to make it to Hofuf for the camel market early in the morning. The drive to Al-Hofuf was very interesting. The landscape of our area of Saudi is relatively flat with shrubbery and gravel. As we drove further into the desert toward Al-Hofuf, the classic sand dunes slowly appeared, along with herds of grazing camels on the sides of the highway - just like cows in the states! The different colors of camels were amazing - they ranged from white (rare and expensive) to the golden brown we generally know, to dark ebony.