One thing we’ve learned on this trip is that we need to be flexible and adjust to everyone’s needs. As Grandpa Steve loves to quote, “The only thing constant is change.” Consistent with that, we spent the last week doing something different than originally planned.
We did spend a couple nights in Dubai. While there, we looked up at the tallest building in the world (Burj Khalifa) and visited the largest mall in the world. We also went inside the Dubai Frame which is a huge building shaped like a frame where you can walk across the top which has glass floors. Looking through each side of the frame you can see the “old” part of the city (1960s) and the “new” part (last 20-25 years).
After that, however, our family took two different paths. Mira and Johanna made a last-minute trip to NYC so Mira could attend a dear friend’s bat mitzvah and so she could practice some long flights. It was supposed to take two days to fly there but it ended up taking three because the second leg of the flight turned around when it was oh-so-close to the east coast (it even made the news!). You will notice many photos of Mira on planes because that is where she and Johanna spent a lot of their time (five of the eight days). In addition to the party, Mira was able to have a quick visit from her New Jersey grandparents.
Dennis and Dev stayed in the UAE. Dev had a “choose your own adventure” week where they did all kinds of fun things that Dev got to pick out. Between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, they went indoor skydiving twice including at the world’s largest skydiving wind tunnel; went to the top of Burj Khalifa; went on many roller coasters including the world’s fastest one at Ferrari Land (149 mph in about 4 seconds); visited the Museum of the Future (that building is amazing); and went to the largest water park in the world. They also went to multiple virtual reality experiences, watched movies, climbed walls, jumped on trampolines, and had lots of screen time.
After a fun week for all, we met back in Abu Dhabi and are now back on track for Sri Lanka.
This Is Not Brooklyn. 