July 4th Weekend Away

Our 4th of July weekend was memorable.  We spent the 4th in Muscat and attended a BBQ at the embassy's rec center.  It was a full-on American buffet, with burgers, 'dogs, corn on the cob, potato salad and water melon.  Dessert was extra special, as part of the event was a "dessert contest" among families, so unfortunately for us, we just had to sample several desserts. The red/white and blue cake won the prize! There was a US history quiz competition and American themed crafts for the kids to complete, so we had lots of reminders of the stars and stripes.  On a whim we left town the next day to go to a beach resort with another family that invited us to take advantage of the summer deals the hotels offer to lure people to the beach in the blistering summer heat.  We were so happy we did!  We drove about 35 minutes outside of Muscat to Barr Al Jissah, where the Shangri La hotel has a beautiful hotel complex on a cove surrounded by tall cliffs which jut out into the water.  The hotel where we stayed is classified as a "family hotel," which means they totally cater to kids!  In addition to the lovely beach, there was a gigantic swimming pool, a playground of water fountains (sprayground), and a huge indoor playground with enormous slides, and all manner of obstacles for climbing and tumbling.  Even the restaurant had a kid-sized buffet table with plastic plates -- so Eddy could help himself to all the waffles he wanted!  It was nice to see all of the Omani families enjoying themselves too.  Some of the Omani and Arab women wore head to toe swim outfits - others wore leggings and t-shirts.  There were British ladies in bikinis, and me in my swim shorts and rashguard shirt.  The nice thing about Oman is that no one seemed to really mind what you were wearing (well maybe the bikinis got an extra eyeball).  Everyone was just there to have a good time and laugh with their kids.  We hope you enjoy the photos of the beach, the sprayground/playground and my gorgeous boys (the big one and the small ones).

Nice beach!

 

Click on the "play" button to see us in action at the sprayground!