Thank you for your tax dollars

My Soul. I summon to the winding ancient stair; 
Set all your mind upon the steep ascent, 
Upon the broken, crumbling battlement, 
Upon the breathless starlit air,
-W.B.Yeats

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
-Robert “Arrrgh” Louis Stevenson
“Yo Hallinan…
As a tax paying citizen (and trust me I pay more than my fair share –sorry that’s the fiscal conservative coming out in me)…..I think it’s time you got off vacation and got to work already!!!!”

-A good friend of mine who is blessedly free of sugar-coating

Once I get the itch to travel, there’s not much that will keep me from heading to an airport. I may have been short-changed when they handed out detail retention skills, but they sure were heavy tippers when it came to itinerancy. 
Perhaps it was because I reached the end of my volunteer work in Dakar, or maybe it’s the impending commencement of grad school- but I decided pretty quickly that my passport needed further abuse. The only decision point to ponder was the direction in which I should point my compass.
So, in feeding my travel bug, I decided that the destination should meet two qualifiers :
  • The location needs to have a non-Muslim majority (call it Megan’s Ramadan vacation)
  • The location can’t too hot (I get that in Dakar as well)
Megan gets an “F” in mission accomplishment
Okay, so I failed masterfully in fulfilling these two goals, but I can say with certainty that these objectives were garbage to begin with. In fact, heading east has been amazing thus far; the only lousy part has been the near-constant Jack Johnson music played as a soundtrack during our time in Dahab. Could be a lot worse.
Neither you nor I have the attention span (or desire) to review all the stuff I have done on this trip. Just take my word for it, I am incredibly fortunate to be an Olmsted Scholar. People can stop thanking me for my service, because I’m the one who should be thanking you all for sending me here. Still, feel free to continue with the military-related discounts.

On with the ADHD slideshow:

 Sunrise on Mount Sinai

If you started hiking at 1am, you’d look this good at sunrise too. Lucky for me I had Team BT  on my side as I made my way up each Step of Repentance.

Me and the holier-than-me trekking back down again. No Mr. Enterprising Bedouin, I do not want a lift on your camel. If Moses could negotiate his way back down with those stone things, well I think I can walk too.

Installing ourselves for the evening on the Gulf of Aqaba in Dahab.

You know why this seaside restaurant was so excellent? Sure the view of Saudi Arabia at sunset was nice, but the Cat Gun handed out with dinner made games of Quick Draw so much fun. Final score: Megan 16, Dinner-crashing Cats: 0

I did not do this…

I am neither camel nor horse, so I got to dive the amazing reef.

I did other stuff too- but alas, like the super-salinated ocean water that is routed directly into my sink and shower, the internet connection here is imperfect. I’m gonna hit post and try to finish this entry up in Petra, Jordan. 
Yes, that’s the next waypoint where I plan on spending some more of your money.