So faced with high expectations and time to kill, we set off across country to Al Ain, the fourth largest city in the UAE and a settlement for over 4000 years due to the literal meaning of it's Arabic name: The Spring. It is in the Eastern region of Abu Dhabi emirate and very close to the border with Oman. Al Ain is the birthplace of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first UAE President and the "Father of the Nation".
However what drew us to Al Ain is their well known Wildlife Park, and in particular their new exhibit: Dinosaur Trail (a visiting exhibit in collaboration with the San Diego Zoo). To use the word that Alexander used over and over again, it was AWESOME ! Real size animatronic Dinosaurs that roared and moved and looked in the direction of our noise (very clever, and a little freaky).
There were 24 of these beasties and if this exhibit comes to your part of the world then trust us it is better than sitting through the incredulous parts of Jurassic Park 6.5: The Lost Plot.Of course there is also a great Zoo at this Wildlife Park, full of all manner of critters from the Middle East, Africa and across the World (they even had "exotic" animals from Australia). Ack the 
Photographer was in his element and captured some wonderful snaps, including this up close and personal with two Rhinos with a seeming lack of fence -- RUN AWAY!!!!
Photographer was in his element and captured some wonderful snaps, including this up close and personal with two Rhinos with a seeming lack of fence -- RUN AWAY!!!!We also took a quick spin down town and a look around the outside of a renovated Emirati Fort that was closed for holy day. All-in-all there was plenty to see in this part of the UAE that many folks don't get to.
Meanwhile, we're not letting those fish off that easily and have re-scheduled the "expedition" -- stay tuned for a future blog.
