Catching up: Back in the U-S-S-A!

Shortly after returning the the states, we were whisked away on multiple family trips. The first, and very memorable trip, was to the glories of Yosemite National Park. We had a great time participating in all the required McGuigan clan activities, like:

Taking in the scenery...

Family whiffle-ball games...

The long-standing traditional game of Marbles & Soldiers...

Hiking...

Making friends with the local inhabitants...

And spending good quality time with family -- in our gender-unique fashions.

Here we are braving the drenching welcome of the Mist Trail.

Finally, our trip concluded with the can't-miss sunset from Glacier Point, from where the fire used to fall.

And once again more truth was brought to the traditional McGuigan proverb: 

A great time was had by all!

Egypt - Last Days

This post is LONG overdue. Maybe we were too sad to complete it, after having left so many great people and things in Maadi. Who knows. Regardless, we both can't help but admit what amazing experiences and lifelong friends we made during our three years there. Here are just a few snapshots of our last couple months as we cherished the moments. 

We had a great couple of years with an amazing small group. We miss you guys!!

Ask Kerry how many time she's eaten at Lucille's over the course of her life. It would be interesting to know! And countless hours of fun with Amy over the years..,

 

Kerry and Dianna after their last day at AIS! Speechless, I'm sure.

The Meg-ster. Enough said.

Marcus' last few steps on the grounds of CAC. Sad!

Our days at the good ol' Victory Field had to come to an end sometime. Though we're not sure those good times will ever end for these other lovely ladies and gentleman. Do you think everyone else misses us both flying around the outfield and the base paths? 

Our friends!! We miss our friends so much! Someday, all eight of us -- Cabo! We must make it happen.

Adam, I know you didn't cut that hair cuz it's ho

t in the DRC. Why man? Those curls have their own legacy!

Falafel! Wiener Dog! Dapple Daschund! Britney Spears! Does anyone else remember that?   

This was a fun night! Except the part where we almost got caught up in a giant fight of young Egyptian guys.

Wow, this is weird. Neither of you guys were married when this was taken. Pretty soon BOTH of these guys will be married! You crazy guys!

 

That brings us to The End of our time in Cairo -- 

but not of our friendships.

A Journey into Ancient Times on the Nile: Aswan to Luxor

Our vessel: The Sonesta St. George

Enjoying the very luxurious lounge while sipping at our welcome drinks.

A couple of the amazing flowers in the gardens of one of the Nile's islands in Aswan.

Once we reloaded the camera with batteries (after no pictures at a couple of the first sights, sorry), we got some great shots at Edfu temple in Edna.

After arriving in Luxor overnight, we began the day with Karnak Temple, the largest temple grounds in the world.

At 29 meters high, this is only the 2nd largest Obelisk still standing in the world. The obelisks used by the Ancient Egyptians were carved from one solid piece of granite in the Aswan granite mines and, weighing thousands of tons, were transported by boat down the Nile to their destinations. The largest standing Obelisk in the world, 45 meters, was just to the left of this one and barely out of the picture. From the ground you can barely distinguish a difference in their heights. It's amazing!

The next few are from the Luxor Temple, only 3 km. away from Karnak. There is an ancient road (now underground) that connects the two temples, and there are plans to demolish the buildings on top in order to uncover the entire causeway, creating what will be the largest visible ancient ruins in the world. 

The last day of the tour we began by touring the Valley of the Kings:

Inside one of the lengthy corridors of one of the tombs, leading to the burial chamber. The color that was on display both in the tombs and visible on most of the temples we visited is the original paint used when they were created. That makes nearly all of the paint 3,000 - 3,500 years old. Even with our technology today, it is difficult to get specially made paints to last more than a few years when painted on granite. Think about that for a few moments...

Here are several shots from Queen Hatshepsut's Temple... 

The temple's symmetry and use of angles and lines creates in the observer an irresistible urge to take pictures! 

This was funny. Tree? I didn't understand the sign (which is fairly common in Egypt, with poorly translated messages everywhere!), until I learned that Punt was a region south of the Ancient Egyptian empire, in modern day Ethiopia and Somolia.

 

Now in the Valley of the Queens, inside one of the tombs.

On the way back to the boat, we made a casual stop at these giant ancient statues. And now I think, how could a stop to view something as old and spectacular as this be casual?!!

And with that, our cruise on the Nile ended, and our boat sailed on its merry way to undoubtedly carry thousands of tourists in its future.