Tourist bulldog

We had an amazing weekend.  In 3 days we managed to hit all the major tourist spots in Jordan.  On top of that all our accommodations were high class.  On Saturday we went to Karak Castle, and then on to Petra.  It was amazing to see Petra again.  Before I came I was sitting on the couch watching Indian Jones and the Last Crusade.  One of the very last scenes is him going into what is known as the treasury in Petra.  There he goes to find the Holy Grail.  WHen I saw that on the couch I was overcome with emotion.  I knew that soon, I would be seeing that again for real.  Seeing this marvelous structure again last weekend was my holy grail.  We were there in the late afternoon so the colors really came out with the setting sun. 

Then we made our way to Wadi Rum, which is an amazing desert, as shown in the movie Lawrence o Arabia.  This is one of my favorite spots on earth.  The sunset there is easily one of the best in the world.  The rock formations are absolutely massive.  Scrambling all over them made for some interesting pictures.

After camping in the desert, and hearing groups find the large spiders in the early hours before dawn, we headed to Aqaba.  This time I got less sunburn and still managed to see amazing snorkeling.  I have been to Hawaii, and the Caribbean, and the Red Sea, particularly in Aqaba, has the worlds best snorkeling.  

All in all it was an amazing weekend, which hopfully some of the pics will show.  I just found out one of the best diplomats the US has ever had will be speaking at Drake while I am there.  One of things I would suggest in looking for colleges, is to make sure they can bring in speakers.  Also, I hope to get a chance to have a personal sit down with him.  tomorrow morning I will finally get to meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Jordan.  This is their version of Condi Rice, and I am STOAKED!!!!!!

5 days until I am home, then heading off to college 9 days later.