Getting out

Mornings are gorgeous here. We've arrived in Kingdom at the hottest part of the year. That means it's usually 80 before breakfast. The sky is big, though. And blue. The sun is typically white. Not yellow like I remember other places being. The palm trees are all shipped in from somewhere tropical.

Our compound has more than a few mosques. Each mosque-- like every church in the states-- has it's unique character and special blend of people and spices to set it apart from every other mosque. This one is surrounded by a park and near where we swim with the girls at the community pool.

Sand takes it's toll over time. Vehicles around the compound have to endure a lot of heat sitting in hot parking lots and out on the street in front of the house. Each house comes with one garage. Since we will eventually be a two car family (I work and Heather is staying at home with the girls) we will always have at least one car outside. Actually we are talking about converting our garage into another room in our house. Conversions of houses are quite common and the company accomodates most requests that are within reason. For now we park our Ford Expedition outside because the rack on top doesn't fit in our garage. This picture here is NOT our car but what it might look like if we took it out in the desert for a little 4WD action.

Khobar is the closest non-Aramco Saudi city to Dhahran. It's where IKEA is. It has a lot of the markets and malls we have seen on most of our travels around the world. There is a row of car dealerships, an Applebees, a Chilis, a Safeway grocery store and about a dozen different Krispy Cremes. Yes, Starbucks is here. And look, everyone! There are more then one set of arches in town. I guess we can stay for at least a while.

Traffic in Khobar is generally okay. It can be congested depending on the time of day. Generally, the drivers in Saudi have taught themselves to drive. Signs and speed limits are meaningless. I guess the thought is that when you leave home you go with God. And when you get home you pray, thankful to have made another trip to the big city and back again in one piece. One day, I will have a license and then I will drive there. For now, we get rides from friends and family that have their official stamps that let them get around.

Note the stickers on the windsheild. There are so many doo-hickeys to stick on your car to make it official. There is one for insurance, one for the auto club you are a part of, one for security check points, one for registration, one for being allowed to have stickers on your car, etc...if you don't have the right sticker you will get stopped.