Sandland - Day Two

We picked up the Benchich Boys and girl (Mike's wife Elisabeth) and brought them back to Dhahran with us. It was the first time back to Saudi in 14 years and they were chomping at the bit to get back.



After a few hours of sleep, Emily and I went to the Security Dept to get our temporary ID cards. These cards are needed to enter into any facility in any of the four Aramco compounds. Once we had these, we drove down to Ras Tanura (RT) to spend the day on the small compound where I grew up (1982-1995).

RT is home to one of the world's largest oil refineries and this alone made the compound a popular target for Sadaam Hussein's scud missiles during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Luckily the US had patriot missiles they used to defend the compounds which thwarted all but one of the incoming scuds.


RT is also located on the Arabian Sea in the Persian Gulf, and throughout the years my family had two different houses only a few hundred meters away from the beach. Emily and I swam at the North Pool and had two lifeguards standing at full attention as we were the only two swimming.


After a quick lunch of Emily's new favorite "Arab bread and cheese" we picked up Mike and Elisabeth and took a tour of the compound and revisited all of our old childhood houses. Each house on the compound is identical on the outside but different parts of the camp held the 2, 3, 4, and 5 bedroom houses. A housing list within the company signifies which kind of house an employee and his/her family is most likely to get. My Dad managed to move to the head of this list in 90/91 as he stuck out employment with the company during the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf War.

The four of us took a walk along the beach sidewalk, which was only one-mile long, and waded in the gulf for some pictures. Bryan, who has recently revisited his athletic roots with half-marathon running, was out for a run and we drove back over to the pool area to meet up with him.


The 50-k drive back to Dhahran was crazy as driving in this country always seems to be (note: i will post a separate blog on driving in this country..it's worth it). A quick nap and Mom cooked up a small feast with BBQ chicken and strawberry, alcohol-free daquaries. That's right, there is no alcohol in the country either. My old baseball coach, Rich Hunter, stopped over and it was great to visit. Tomorrow I will stop over to Mark Stenov's house to pick up a road bike he is letting me borrow for the next few days. The compound is not that big, but Mark told me about "the loop" which is 40-k long in which cyclists here ride loop after loop. I'll withhold judgement, but I can't imagine riding a century consisting of four identical loops.

Peace,
LF