Running on empty...

Our white goods were expected to be delivered sometime today (Sunday afternoon). Well, you know what that means.... I get to hang out at the empty apartment all day with 3 kids! Yea me!

Now, we only have the one rental car. It's a nice Honda CRV. It's got some quirks, but all-in-all a great car for the 5 of us. But since I would need the car, I got to drop Lindsey off at work. 

Driving in Abu Dhabi is not hard as long as you have a good GPS navigator on your phone (I prefer Waze & it works fabulously).... & you have a sense of preservation about yourself. The natives WILL drive faster than the posted speed, pass you on an exit/entrance ramp, & cross directly in front of you from the 3rd lane to take the exit. Driving here is not for the faint hearted.....

So, in preparation of today's solo expedition, I did a little practice driving yesterday. I'm feeling pretty confident except for maybe the roundabouts. 

The key to a roundabout is this: once you are in it, you must OWN it! Oh, & stay in the second lane unless you really do intend to take the first exit. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, I haven't wrecked yet & I'm feeling more confident. I guess time will tell. 

But, I digress. I dropped Lindsey off with only a slight error. I totally missed the exit for his office building (it's really a mall...) so we were forced to go all the way back around. The scenic route... through more sand & construction... But we made it. 

Now, here's the solo part: I needed to get back to the hotel by myself! <Gulp> I can do this! I've got Waze on my side. I loaded up the program, set off, then noticed.... the gas light switched on.  Crap. Where do I get petrol? 

Now, in the states, gas stations are highly visible, you pass one every 5 miles, & getting on & off the freeway is a breeze. None of those things are true here. 

There is only one brand of petrol here: ADNOC. I have no idea what it stands for. You don't see them very often & they are NOT located just off the major traffic routes. 

I was in big trouble. Waze could not find one close to me on the fly, so to speak. I went back to the hotel in the hopes that they had some petrol there. No luck. 

The concierge was able to direct me to the nearest station... 14 km away. The car said I only had 9 km of gas left..... It would be close. 

The kids & I loaded up, crossed our fingers, & headed out. If I could just manage to NOT make any wrong turns, we just might make it. Devin was in the front seat with me. He would announce the remaining range as we drove (because, you know, he's super helpful that way...). I swear we caught every red light.... 7 km of gas remaining... then 5... 3... & finally zero... 

There was no petrol station in sight. Only sand & houses under construction.... 

You know that sick feeling you get... the one in the pit of your stomach... Yeah, that "oh-no-I'm-about-to-be-in-serious-doodoo" feeling? I was there. 

The girls were wide eyed. Devin wanted to know if UAE cars had a "reserve" in the tank like US cars. (Gosh, I hope so!)

... And then, there it was! 

Like an oasis! 

I've never been so relieved in all my life! 

There was a line, but at this point, if we ran out of gas... Someone would be there to help us push the car to the pump. Whew!

And, I was in for a pleasant surprise... a guy pumps the gas for you! No extra charge! He did it for each car. 

Awesome!!! 

But the absolute BEST part? I completely filled up the tank for less than 100 dirham. That's about $30 folks! Totally full!!