Queen Elizabeth 2 - A Quick Visit At Port Rashed in Dubai

This morning Lulu and I got up to see the FSU/Notre Dame basketball game on TV. FSU won - and about 6:30 AM I got an email from my friend Ben Turrano asking if I got to see the Queen Elizabeth 2. We were about to go to the airport at 9 AM to catch a plane.

Since the ship was only 2 miles away - I quickly shaved and showered - and headed to the dock. I caught a regular cab at the hotel door - and in 10 minutes I was at the dock.

There she sat - looking pretty good. Dubai bought her and renovated her into a hotel and convention center. I asked at the front desk if I could go aboard and take pictures. So for the next 30 minutes I was running up and down the beautifully renovated halls. I was snapping anything that hooked historic. I figured Ben would love seeing his beloved ship again.

It was only 7 AM - so few people were walking around. I felt like I was on a ghost ship. The original fixtures were kept - all new carpet and paint made the ship look really sharp.

The ship sailed from 1968 to 2008 - roughly 40 years - she sailed the Southampton England to New York City route. The ship was 900 feet long and 100 feet wide. It went a whopping 40 miles per hour - compared to the Titantic's 15 miles per hour. It was not a cheap ticket. In its heyday - it had 1800 guests and 1000 crew.

Today it is a hotel convention center. The ship and grounds are spotless.

I took 100 pictures - caught an uber car back to the hotel - and at 8 AM I was back for breakfast with Lulu.

Tallahassee to Dubai - First Day In The Desert - Dogs Seem Unwelcome Here

It looks so unreal at night
The Dubai Tower - 2500 feet tall

We are in the City of Dubai - in the United Arab Emirates. Lulu is here to give a presentation. Because of delays - our plane arrives on Sunday at 1 AM local time - and Lulu's presentation was just 11 hours later - Sunday at noon. So after 16 hours of flying spread out over 3 days - she very professionally pulled it all together. After being at the conference in our Flora Hotel for 6 hours - we went our on the town for 6 hours.

It is midnight now here - Lulu is sacked out - I get to type a little - and show you some pictures.

No one likes travel whiners so I will be brief. We left Tallahassee at 6 PM on Thursday. When we hit Atlanta - we were late for our regular plane - not our fault. The airline put us up in a hotel - and we spent 24 hours there for the next plane. Then we had an 8 hours plane to Frankfurt - Germany. Finally a 6 hour plane to Dubai.

After Lulu's conference day - we took a cab to the Dubai Tower Mall. What a fantastic place! The place is spotless. We have not seen any dogs over here - and smoking in public is forbidden. That really keep the place clean. Dogs are considered unclean in the religion. Lots of ex-pats that come here to work have to weigh the high pay against the dog unfriendly culture.

There is a big water show at the mall - similar to the one at the Bellaggio in LasVegas. Disney would be proud of the dancing lights - water - lasers - and music. The people that stopped to watch the show were relatively subdued compared to American crowds. Yelling - gunshots - banging garbage cans - etc - are frowned upon. No barking animals - psychology pets - etc.

We had lunch/supper in the mall - typical food courts - local ware - and the chains. Although dogs are not allowed in restaurants - parents staring at their iPhones while their kids act up is an American habit that caught on here.

After that we caught a train back to our hotel - about 6 miles from the Dubai Tower. The train system is spotless. Lots of colored tiles - sparkling clean windows - crisp new seats - and soaring stations. It was unusual to see heavy construction going on during the night. In the dark - there were men wiping down decorative tiles even on the street poles.

When we got to our hotel train station - we shopped a little at a Bollywood store - open all night. I was surprised to only find shaving cream in tubes - no aerosol cans.

Alcohol can only be served in hotel restaurants and private clubs. Drinking age is 21. You cannot drink in public. This does not bother me one bit - it seems to make people act more civilized - no shooting off guns at night. One last thing - we have not seen one bit of grafiti here.

Some final facts and figure. United Arab Emirates is a country smaller than Pennsylvania - 30,000 square miles. It has 9 million people to Pennsylvania's 13 million. An Emriate is a dynastic Arab shiekdom. I think 7 of them went together to from UAE. Dubai is one - Abu Dhabi is one. The shieks take turns being president. It runs in the family.

Some local stores - some chains

Lulu got a phone case at the Apple store. Worker checks her out on the spot. 

The decorative water system was filtered water

Look at the tile work in the mall 

Filtered water in the canal

Ice skating in the mall

Many skyscrapers

The water show was here

Nice Sunday afternoon crowd about 6 pm

Our hotel - red spot - Dubai Mall - blue spot 

Cleanest trains I ever saw

24 hour store by our hotel

Shave cream in tubes - no aerosols

Bollywood store right by our train station. Street are relatively crime free

Dubai Mall

Buy souvenir of you trip up the 2500 foot tower. It is $40 to the top - we did not go. I think I was scared - a little bit. More than twice as tall at the Empire State Building

It looks surreal at night

I think these were replicas of the old Citroen food trucks. They just looked too good. 

Not a museum - just the mall

It was hard to get them both in the picture 

Tuskegee Airmen Visits Tallahassee

The P-51 had an 1800 HP Rolls Royce
engine. It could reach speeds of 500 MPH

This P-51 was restored with $2 million
in donations

What is nice about living in our section of Tallahassee is being near the airport. It is great for catching a ride to anywhere - but it also gives us a chance to see many different aircraft.

Yesterday I got to see the last operational P-51 of the famous black Tuskegee Airmen. It flies into Tallahassee every year as part of a program to educate the public and school children.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first flying group of black airmen. They trained at Tuskegee University - just north of us near Auburn Alabama. What many people do not know is that after their basic flight training in Alabama - many of them came to Dale Mabry Field in Tallahassee to do their advanced training.

During World War II - these fighter pilots escorted bombers that were bombing Italy and Germany. Although the military was not yet integrated - most of the white bomber pilots requested the Tuskegee Airmen and their Red Tailed P-51's because they had the best record for protecting bombers. On the side of this plane it has the nickname "By Request" because of them being requested as the top protection.

The display which is at the airport until Saturday features a wonderful multi-media show in a traveling theatre. The show is free - as is a tour of the plane. For $2000 one can have a 30 minute personal flight in the plane.

Every now and then - unexploded bombs are found in the woods southwest of town. There were accidentally dropped during training here from 1942 to 1945.

The Red Tail was the trademark of
the black fighters.

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The multi-media show in the traveling
theatre was fantastic.

Little Pink Houses For You And Me

About 4 miles west of the Capitol in downtown sits this new little tiny house community. I am not sure if the house are for sale or rent. They remind of the labor communities the movie - Grapes of Wrath. I am guessing they are 300 or 400 square feet. They have a living room/kitchen - a bedroom - a bathroom. Some have a low bedroom loft upstairs.



I would like to put two like this in my backyard.







They make our 1000 square foot home in Tamaqua look like a mansion.

Rounding Out The Everhart 10

Happy Valentines Day from The Everhart 10. I guess Valentines Day should be an official holiday with all those hearts.

Our friend Wanda Brown embroidered this cute logo for the family. Nancy - Harry - Robin - Drew - Liz - Keith - Jack - Kate - Max - Helen.

They are garnet and gold FSU hearts.

It is a padded backpack for Lulu for all her travels. It includes a padded sleeve for her laptop - and a phone charging port.

A Sunday Stroll On Carabelle Beach - It Is Wider - Cleaner - WHITER - And Flatter Now

Sunday was a great day for a walk on the beach. It was 70 degrees with a mild breeze.

Lulu is recovering from a spinal operation. There is nothing like a day on the beach to brighten her spirits. So we drove to Carabelle Beach to see how it survived Hurricane Michael. The beach was definitely changed. It is now flatter - wider - cleaner - and whiter. The conditions were excellent for walking.

We walked 2 miles and had the beach mostly to ourselves. This is the closest nice beach to Tallahassee - less than 60 miles away on relatively empty highways. We usually drive an hour - spend 2 hours on the beach - then find a quaint seafood place to eat. We like to catch a sunset - then head home.



About 4 miles behind Lulu is Dog Island. The government used this beach and islands to simulate Normandy to practice for the D-Day Invasion.



This marker reminds us of the great works done here.

Lulu is doing very well after her spinal surgery. She walked the 2 miles painfree. She is not allowed to stand on her head - or lift heavy objects for a time. It is a miracle recovery. We are in debt to Dr Matt Lee of Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic.

"Cookie Puss" is 71 - Carvel's Ice Cream on Tamaqua's Hometown Hill

Feb 6 - Harry is 71. He has been retired 16 years
after teaching 33.
No one remembers when he had a job. 

Cookie Puss says - Nothing says Coal Regions like
a Carvel Ice Cream Cake.

One neat thing about being senile - every birthday is the best one ever!  71 does not feel any different than 70. Lulu is big on holidays - so she makes them special. It started with an early morning wakeup and a really nice breakfast. The breakfast newspaper had a great writeup of the Seminoles riding into the Syracuse Carrier Dome and pounding Jim Boeheim's team by 18.

Lulu found a great present - a Simplisafe doorbell camera so I can answer the door from anywhere in the world on my iPhone.

Our porch and yard on the doorbell camera

Now I can be sitting on some camel in Egypt and watch some guys carry out my flat screen television - and not be able to do a darn thing. Believe it or not - I had it installed and working in a half hour.

We took our daily walk at the mall - it was sad to see Sears having a going out of business sale. But I was able to buy a pile of elastic waist shorts for $4 each. Sears has been a staple of the Everhart budget for 71 years. Times marches on.

After several calls and messages from friends - Lulu made my favorite Coal Regions Meat Pie for supper (slices of smokey link sausages) . But the grand finale was a Carvel Ice Cream Cake.

Tom Carvel was from Hartsdale NY. He started selling soft ice cream when the power failed on his ice cream delivery truck. It blossomed into a franchise well before McDonalds. At the top of the Hometown Hill in Tamaqua PA was our Carvel Ice Cream Store.

Who can forget Fudgy the Whale and Cookie Puss - ice cream cakes shaped like characters? Tom Carvel did his own commercials and before he died he sold the whole franchise for $90 million.

What a wonderful end to a beautiful day. We complain about birthdays - but they are better than the alternative. Thanks to all who wished me well - having your friendship is the best part of it all.