Day 3: Mt. Nebo and The Dead Sea

Today was a GREAT day, probably my favorite so far! 

This morning we got to sleep in a little bit till about 8, which was nice since we've been getting up in the middle of the night recently. 

So once everyone awoke and became coherent, we got ready for the day and then we loaded up the car and were off! 

We had a little trouble figuring out how to get where we wanted to go, but eventually we found our way! Our first stop of the day was Mount Nebo. This is believed to be the mountain where God allowed Moses to look out onto The Promised Land before the Israelites actually entered it. It gave some spectacular views of The Dead Sea,  Israel, Jericho, and Jordan. It was a little hard to imagine Moses being there though, what with the construction crane and about 30 Indian tourists. 

The big green area is a town in Jordan, and the smaller green patch behind and to the left of it is Jericho.

You can't see it very well, but The Dead Sea is on the left side behind the trees. And the Jordan river flows between Jordan and Israel, but it was a little hazy so we couldn't really see it.

Next, we began the 3,000ft descent from Mt. Nebo to The Dead Sea. The drive was a little nerve-racking, it was a rather treacherous road, especially when animals are involved. 

 

Wait, is that a camel crossing the road?

Then we arrived at The Dead Sea! We opted to be divas and go to the private beach instead of the public beach area. And let me tell you, it was such a good decision!

There it is, The Dead Sea. The lowest point on earth, over 1,000 ft below sea level at its surface. 

Mom, Halley and I had ourselves a good float! It was so WEIRD and so COOL! I mean you hear about how you float in there, but I've always been a little skeptical. But ITS TRUE! You float! All you have to do is pick your feet up and you'll just bob there like a booey. It's incredible!

And when you're there you've got to rub yourself with some Dead Sea mud to make your skin shine like diamonds. 

I don't know if it actually made my skin shine like a diamond, but it was still pretty fun! 

After the mud, and a thorough rinsing, we were able to just relax by the pool, swim a little, eat lunch, lay in the sun or take a nap. It was such a nice relaxing afternoon, and was very much needed after yesterday! 

So once our time at the beach ran up we headed back to Amman, cleaned up and went out to dinner. We went and ate with Hilary's roommate and one of her friends. It was a really neat restaurant, very authentic Jordanian food and eating style! But don't ask me what we ate, because I have no idea. 

Now its back to the house for some laundry, rest and maybe a card game or two on our last night in Amman. 

Petra: Day 2

It has been a rather tiring day! 

Last night we were all exhausted, but we pushed ourselves to stay up until at least 9 p.m. which was nice, until we woke up at 3 a.m. ready to go, gotta love jet lag. But it wasn't all that bad because we were planning on getting up around 5 a.m. anyway. 

So we got up early and headed out to Petra. Petra is about a 3 hour drive south from Amman, so we got there around 8 a.m. The early morning wasn't our favorite, but we ended up appreciating it because it was MUCH cooler in the morning! 

So basically Petra is an ancient city carved into the side of a mountain. It's absolutely stunning and incredibly enormous! It stretches on for miles! 

So to get there we had to walk about a mile or two on this rocky, sandy path. 

And then we came to this ENORMOUS trench, al-Siq, that we walked through for about a mile. 

This is the beginning of the trench. 

I mean just look how tiny those people are! 

The trench was actually pretty neat. The walls were HUGE, about 260 feet high! And it was really cool and breezy in there which is always nice when in the desert!

Once we were done with the trench, we came out into an area known as The Treasury. 

This part was in an Indiana Jones movie! 

After a look at The Treasury, we continued our walk for about another mile or so, and came to this open area where there were a few small restaurants and some souvenir type things. But there were also these immaculate tombs that you could climb up and look around in. From there we got GREAT views, and it only cost us about 200 stairs climbed.

This was the ceiling inside of the tomb, we think the black is soot from when they used to have fires inside there, but the red and white are just the natural stone. 

Next, we began our trek up to The Monastery. We started with about a half mile walk on a nice sandy and rocky path. And then the real fun started...the hike up the mountain to The Monastery. It included over 800 stairs and many flat slippery sections. 

That blue dot is an average sized woman!

But I will say that the hike was well worth it! It was beautiful and we all felt so accomplished! 

So once we got up there and rested, had a Gatorade, we started our trip back down. The trip down was much nicer than the trip up, if you can believe that!

Once we were down, we stopped at a little buffet restaurant they had there and ate some lunch. The food was good, but it just wasn't exactly what you wanted after a long hot hike. But the water was cold so that was all I really needed! 

We decided to take a camel back to The Treasury instead of walking the 2+ miles back. And although the camel man wouldn't come down on price as much as we wanted, it was well worth it! 

It was one of the strangest and funnest things I've ever done. 

First of all, Halley and I were terrified of our camels because as soon as we came near them they started grunting and growling, or whatever it is that camels do. But the camel man helped us get on, and I mean, AS SOON AS I was on that thing he was up! And that was one of the scariest parts, camels get up REALLY weird. 

So Halley, Hilary and I were kind of in a pack and mom ended up being a little behind us with another lady. I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but my camel is tethered to Halley's camel. So whatever her camel did, my camel did. So when the camel man would come up and slap Halley's camel to make it run, mine would run too! And let me tell you, those camel men got WAY TOO MUCH enjoyment about watching the white girls wig out on the galloping camels. 

After the camel ride we walked back through the trench and back up the path. I think we probably walked close to 7-10 miles total today! Needless to say, we are all pretty pooped! We had a somewhat eventful drive back into Amman, there was some unexpected traffic and a few moments where we thought we might run out of gas in the middle of the road. Tthat would have been interesting. But thankfully we made it to the gas station and didn't have to have angry commuters screaming at us in Arabic. Praise The Lord! 

So tonight we just ate dinner at the house, went to the 7-Eleven for some ice cream and hung out. But I have a feeling we're all pretty close to passing out. So I'll talk to y'all tomorrow!

Amman: Day 1

We have finally arrived in Amman, Jordan! Yay! We got here around 10 this morning. We went through customs fairly easily; the customs officer saw us with all our bags, and when he found out we were from the States he let us just go through without scanning our bags! Hallelujah! 

Hillary met us at the airport and we got us and all of our luggage back to her house! 

Once we got to the house we chilled out for a while. 

Oh my gosh laying down was just OH SO SWEET. 

And taking a shower was pretty good too. 

Then we ventured out into the town! 

We got some lunch...Shawarma

Just for you Dad. 

Then we went to the downtown area. 

We saw some old school fruit markets and souvenir type shops. 

We got a pretty good view of the city though. 

Then we went down and saw one of the old Roman Coliseums. That was pretty cool. It's still used for special events and can seat up to 6,000 people! 

It was a nice afternoon, but it was pretty HOT, and we were all starting to drag so we decided to head back to the house. 

So now i'm just sitting on the couch, blogging and enjoying an ice cold Coke. 

And man is it GOOOOOOOD. 

Stop 1: Dubai

So we've made it safely to Dubai the first "stop" on our trip. 

We flew out of Houston last night and came straight here. 

Our 14 hour flight really was quite enjoyable....I mean if you have to fly for 14 hours I would HIGHLY recommend flying with Emirates. We felt like royalty....and we were just in Economy Class!

It was awesome! 

Everyone got their own TV with probably over 600 movies, 500 TV shows, radio and games. 

We also got our own blanket, pillow, eye mask, socks and toothbrush. 

And we got food NONSTOP! 

Dinner was delicious! 

Breakfast was delicious!

And the snacks were just as good! 

At one point the flight attendant asked if mom wanted some chocolate. She responded, "yeah I'll take a piece." This is what he gave her. 

So now we're just trying to get a little sleep in the airport before our flight to Amman tomorrow morning. Right now its about 9 p.m. here and our flight is at about 7 a.m. 

So far the Dubai airport is pretty dang impressive....they've got a park in here! 

We found a nice quiet place to rest, but apparently everyone else had the same idea we did....and its not so quite anymore. Oh well, that's what Benadryl is for.  

The Day is Here.

Well the day has finally arrived! 

Today,

Mom, Halley and I, 

leave for our adventurous voyage to unknown lands!

A.K.A. we leave for our ridiculous vacation today! 

This afternoon we drive from Lake Charles to Houston. 

Our flight leaves May 23, around 7 p.m. 

We fly from Houston to Dubai,

around 14 hours,

 and then from Dubai to Amman,

around 3 hours.

We will arrive in Amman May 25, around 10 a.m. 

Our total flying time is around 18 hours, 

but we do have a nice layover in Dubai.

What will we be doing on May 24?

GOOD QUESTION. 

The answer:

We won't be doing anything, 

because basically May 24th will not exist. 

Isn't that interesting! 

So we're looking at a nice long day....and night 

of tight spaces, 

strange noises and smells,

crushed snack foods, 

cold toes, 

and loud neighbors. 

It should be one interesting day...or two.  

But I will admit that I'm really looking forward to this flight. 

1. Because we're flying Emirates and I hear their planes are INCREDIBLE. 

Tons of movies to choose from,

big spacious seats, 

and lots and lots of FOOD. 

2. Because that plane ride is a whole 14+ hours that I just get to sit there. 

I just get to sit, 

and I don't have to do ANYTHING,

except watch movies, 

read, 

sleep,

and eat. 

It's going to be AWESOME. 

I'm so excited!! 

So your prayers for safe travel would be greatly appreciated. 

Also, if you could throw in a few for happy attitudes and smiling faces that would be good too.

Graduation Day!

So guys I graduated from college yesterday...

that was pretty weird. 

Just me and my sisters. 

Okay Halley isn't technically my sister...but she might as well be. 

Carey Roommates Y2K12.

My dear friend Leslie, 

a.k.a. "Noëlle,"

French wouldn't have been the same without you.

Mom and Dad.

Aren't they just so cute?

My precious Sutton, 

my very first friend in college. 

Sweet Hanna Sams,

we've had so many interesting adventures. 

My darling Amber, 

you always put up with my craziness. 

And Anna, 

my beloved cow. 

These are just a few pictures from the joyous day....it was basically just one long photo shoot. 

It was a pretty weird experience, 

mostly because well...

I've never graduated college before. 

I've so enjoyed my time here at Louisiana Tech. 

I can't even begin to describe how much this place has influenced me over the past four years. 

I've learned so many countless lessons, 

some easy and some hard, 

but all with very real and very necessary purposes. 

I've made so many wonderful relationships here, 

friends, 

mentors, 

teachers, 

etc, 

etc. 

I'll never be able to thank all of you for all that you have meant to me. 

There have been so many of you who have invested so much in me and I am so very grateful. 

The Lord has blessed me infinitely more than I could have ever dreamed. 

I am one lucky girl. 

Ruston has been good to me in so many ways. 

I don't even want to try to list them all...

so I won't, 

because I would inevitably leave something/someone really important out,

and then I would just feel silly.

So thank you to all the men and women who have 

cared for me, 

prayed for me, 

encouraged me, 

listened to me, 

taught me, 

had fun with me, 

and influenced me. 

You have been a blessing in my life. 

Thank You. 

"I thank my God every time I remember" Philippians 1:3

So I Finished College...What Now?

Well so I finished college yesterday.

That sure was weird. 

I can't believe it's already time for graduation;

I definitely do NOT feel old enough for this. 

But it's here and it's time so I guess I better get ready! 

Well I thought I would share with you all some of my plans for after graduation. 

Everyone is asking so I thought I would go ahead and fill you in.

But be prepared....

I don't have many plans. 

Let's run through a brief timeline, shall we....

Okay so I graduate from Louisiana Tech University,

with a BA in French and Spanish, 

and a minor in English, 

on Saturday, May 18, 2013. 

The next day I move back to Lake Charles. 

Thursday, May 23, 2013, 

my mom, Barbara, 

and my pseudo sister, Halley, 

and I leave for our graduation trip! 

We will be visiting Jordan and Thailand!

Don't worry I'll keep everyone updated! 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 

we return to Lake Charles from Bangkok, Thailand. 

Thursday, June 6, 2013, 

I leave at 6 a.m. for Los Angeles. 

(Yeah...I know....that's going to be a rough couple of days)

Thursday, July 25, 2013, 

I return to Lake Charles from LA. 

Tentatively:

Thursday, August 1, 2013, 

I will be going to Kamp to visit and volunteer for a few days. 

Saturday, August 10, 2013,

I leave Kamp and return to Lake Charles. 

Sunday, August 11, 2013,

THE GREAT UNKNOWN. 

So that's a basic run down of my summer. 

Pretty jam packed I know, 

but I always figure I need to take advantage of opportunities to go and do while I can. 

So what if I'm going to be a little tired,

I can handle that.

I plan on updating my blog all summer so fret not you can all stay well informed!