Our Trip In Pictures

The sound and light show at the pyramids.

Ally with the Mediterranean Sea at her back

The view from our hotel room on the coast of the Mediterranean in Alexandria

Ally and Jason in the ENORMOUS hall at Karnak.

Whats up with all the stray dogs in Egypt? I felt like I was on the reservation.

A friendly little Egyptian man and Jason at the temple of Hatshepsut. He called me "Casanova" because of my studly facial hair. He too was sporting quite a fine mustache.

Ally and Jason at the entrance to King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings

Jeff and Jason with a view from the top deck of our Nile cruise ship

Ally and I in front of Abu Simbel
Allison walking like an Egyptian at Abu Simbel

Ally giving the ol' Sphinx a smooch

Ally, Jason, Jeff (Allison's Dad), Matt (Ally's Brother) and Linda (Allison's Mom) taking a ride on the camels on top of the Giza plateau

Ally and I at the base of the pyramid of Khafre

There Is No Place Like Home!

When it comes right down to it there really is no place like home. No bed like your own. No toilet you're so comfortable sit upon as the one in your own castle. After 24 hours of travel we arrived back at our palace tonight. We were welcomed by a fresh blanket of snow which was quite odd after waking up in Cairo just yesterday morning. It is good to see Christmas lights on the houses instead of the green lights on top of all the mosques like you see in Egypt. It will take some getting used to not being woken up at 5 in the morning by the call to prayer in Arabic. I know that we didn't post very much while we were on vacation--everyplace you go charges money. We did take a few pictures of the places we went and instead of giving a boring history report of every place we visited, we will just post some pics tomorrow.
It took a minute or two, but Janna finally remembered who we were and was happy to see us (although I don't think she had it too rough with her grandmas while we were gone). I would write more but I have been in 3 different countries today, flown over a dozens more, and now I think its time to take a shower and throw the underwear I have been wearing away.

Egyptian Update

So I guess it is my turn to write...This is Allison. We are on day 5 in Egypt. What a trip! Between countless temples and pyramids, we have been able to see the oldest historical momuments I have ever seen in my life. What is amazing to me is how everything is "preserved" here. In the U.S., artifacts like this would be sealed under air-tight glass cases and lit by top-of-the line lighting. Here in Egypt, everything is out in the air, not roped off-let alone cased-in, and unlit. It is interesting to see these amazing pieces in their "natural habitat", but also a little nausiating to see idiots climb on to the lap of a 4,000 year old statue of Ramses the Great.
One other thing...as we were walking in Luxor this evening, I noticed the uneven ground we we walking on in the dark. In America I can only imagine the amount of time that would last...until a little old lady, or heck, a stupid person would walk through and trip-then sue, never to have a tour in Luxor again.
Well, we are all healthy with only a few cases of the "NILE RIVER RUNS". If you see my child, give her lots of kisses for me-if she still remembers me...Jason keeps telling me she won't. Salam. Goodbye.

The Pyramids!

Today we went and saw the Great Pyramids of Giza. You know, you can see those things in pictures and books, but you never really realize the work and effort that it took to build them. However, while there I did a little digging of my own and yes dad, I found that levitation device that the aliens used to put those ginormous blocks into place. I even bagged it up and I am calling it your Christmas present. Along with a few rocks from the pyramid of Cheops. ( Hey I am American, they expect that dont they?) We also found out that camels are probably the smelliest animal on the face of the earth. And the stink doesn't come off either. By the time we were done with our ride around the pyramids we felt as though the camels had ridden us. And who ever said the Sphinx was huge was wrong. A little disappointed, but still amazed. Oh, and by the way, Linda was right: I do look Arabic or so the Egyptian vendors tell me as they try to sell me their treasures. I guess it's a compliment? We stopped by the Cairo Museum that is right across from our hotel. Half of the worlds history sits in that one building at take it from me, once you have seen one mummy they all look the same. Literally tons and tons of history and it all looks the same. I would still recommend it on your next stop in Egypt. Now I am not going to lie to you, those Egyptians must have been lookers back in the day. Everything from combs to rings and all other sorts of jewelry is on display at the museum. Pretty impressive. By the way we are taking orders for sand and rocks. Yes, that will count as your Christmas present.

How Bazzar!

So let me ask a question: Do I look like MacGyver? Well apparently to the Egyptians I do. Seems like everywhere we went at the local swap meet on Saturday night people thought they were in the midst of a celebrity: Hulk Hogan. Now that I can understand but MacGyver? Didn't he have a mullet? Anywho, yes we safely got into Egypt late Friday night. Everything went well except for the fact that I came to the realization that I am grossly obese. I am telling you they didn't make those airplane seats for Hulk Hogan, thats for sure. Its very strange to see so many people shout "Barack Obama" at you, one fella said he liked him because they were both the same color. However, when you say "George Bush" with a thumbs up their expression quickly becomes sour, Damn Democrats! Ally didn't mind the pushy salesmen though as they showered her with compliments. Well I guess they were compliments. I believe that several times she was offered to leave her fat American husband and join a harem. She declined, thankfully. Her "beautiful eyes" seemed to be the charmer for the dirty little pervert men who wanted to swoon her into the wilds of Cairo. We quickly learned that it pays to be the rude American by simply pushing your way past the salesman, at least you can keep your money in your wallet.

Off We Go!

So what do Frank the hound dog and Janna have in common? Turns out they both prefer Princess' dog food to eat. Hmmmm. I am not quite sure how much puppy chow Janna gets while at her Nana's house, but she seems to be rolling over on command now so I guess that's progress? Ok, bad joke. Anywho, so in case ya didn't know, Ally and myself are getting ready to head out. We are taking a little trip across the pond and over the hill to Egypt. Somehow we got wrangled into taking a 2 week vacation over there with Allison's parents and her brother. Its gunna be tough but I think we'll survive. We are leaving the freezing temperatures of Colorado for the 90 degree weather of Cairo, Alexandria, and whatever they keep the room temperature at on the cruise ship that we'll be sailing up and down the Nile on. 90 degrees may sound pretty good to some of you but I on the other hand tend to sweat ( I refer you to the "What the hell happened to me" post) If we get the chance, we will post pictures of ourselves amid the pyramids and other touristy places that you have your picture taken at with the full intention of making you jealous. We hope it works. And yes, all of our Christmas gifts to you this year will be from our trip. Take heart though, we do spend about a day in Amsterdam and I hear they have some pretty "cool" stuff there. So if I can find enough room in my body cavities, you will all get a special little treat.

P.S.- If we take a dive into the Atlantic, Jackie you get Janna, but you have to take Frank too. Dad you can have all of my expensive books that I never read along with all my debt. Mom, you just make sure Dog Dog lives out his retirement years in comfort. Kassie, well you pretty much have everything already. If the plane crashes but they never find any wreckage, contact a man named Charles Widmore.