Palm Island and The Atlantis Hotel

It seems like most people from California can barely find Dubai on the map, but one thing everyone knows about Dubai is that there is an entirely man-made island in the shape of a palm tree. We had the chance to go and explore it today, and believe me, it doesn't disappoint the excited traveler. We drove along its trunk to the very tip of its crescent where the Atlantis hotel becons in tourists from around the world. With 1,529 rooms, a 1.5 million dollar glass center piece, a private beach, and a full water park, this hotel is one of the most outstanding in the world.

We got to see several of the rooms, including the royal suite, which was unreal. We also got to check out the largest shark in the Middle East (a whale shark) swimming about in the enormous aquarium there. However, by far, the biggest highlight of the day was our time at the Atlantis water park. It was such a fun day for the whole family. We rode the rapids, said hi t every lifeguard along the way, went through the riptides, road the inner-tube slides, and Taya and Mary even went on the giant "Leap of Faith" ride. The boys left saying that this was the best water park they have ever been to, which is definitely saying something!