Mecca, Mecca!

Bismillah,
I missed you all so much but after my trip to Mecca, (the most holiest place for a Muslims where the Prophet saw, was born) I must say I'm a bit overwhelmed. As I sat on the bus I was telling my husband that I don't want to write the Blog anymore because I feel like I can't write everything down because there's just way to much. The one person that motivates me the most to continue writing is my mother. So Inshallah I'll try my best to at least write 2 times a week.
So where do I began. Last Thursday was my first venture with my husband outside the city of Mecca. I was extremely excited because this was my first time going to the blessed land, and preforming Umrah (pilgrimage to Mecca, where specific religion acts are preformed). I convinced my husband that we should leave Wednesday night so that we would have pretty much a full day Starting Thursday. knowing it would take 4 hours i was prepared for a long trip. Well I knew it was gonna be a long trip once we arrived at the bus station. We get in line, and then my husband asks me for my passport. "Passport" I say, "You told me not to bring it"....." no, I didn't". Well lets just say I misinterpreted what he had said in a previous conversation. When he said DONT bring it, he was referring to carrying it around with me once we arrived there....Silly me! So we jump in a taxi and go back to the house to retrieve my passport (and the tooth paste I forgot:)). Subhanallah the man who drove us was very nice, and waited while I went upstairs to get it. on the way back my husband asked him if he could stop and get change for a 200 riyal bill. With no success after store number 4, my husband told him once we arrived at the bus station he would get change there. Well Mashallah the man was so kind, and upon arrival, he said don't worry about it (we owed him 20 riyals)...My husband refused to give him nothing, and handed him the 10 riyals we had. Its funny because my husband intended to give him 30 riyals for his effort in trying to get us change, and his kindness, and the man, didn't want to take anything. He said to make dua'a ( to pray for him in Mecca) instead,(and that my husband and I did).
So finally after about 20 minutes of standing in line again we have our round trip tickets and were ready to go. We board the bus around 11pm and take off around 1130, thinking that we would arrive in Mecca around Fajr time(4am). Well surprisingly that didn't happen. I think we had a newbie who didn't know what he was doing. It really seemed like every other bus was going 70 and we were going 30mph. After about 2 hours, we stopped at a "rest stop" I guess you would call it. I had to go to the bathroom, but I had no idea where to go, so I asked a women on the bus if she could point me in the right direction, and she kindly offered to walk with me (I thanked Allah for that). We walk behind this building , jump over a short wall, and dun dun dun, we finally find the bathroom. Well lets just say I would have rather went behind the nearest mountain, and as they say "pop a squat". The sight of the bathroom is a huge reminder to me that I'm not in the US anymore. Imagine the worst bathroom at a rest stop in America, and then times that by 10, and that equals Saudi rest stop bathrooms. I opened the stall door and saw just a hole in the floor. Well not just a hole, I also saw feces and roaches crawling on top of it, and around it. There is no was I'm going to put my backside near this, you must be crazy. I'm thinking why does everyone seem comfortable with this, OMgosh thinking about it makes me sick. So I tell the lady "No, I'm good", and she insisted, I said Nooooooooo, and she again pressed the issue and pointed to the door, and said "it's okay go". She wouldn't let up, so I held my breath for 20 sec, went in the stall counted, then RAN out. The lady thought I went, and then I high tailed it out of there. Seriously if that happens again, I'll go find a place outside the bathroom that's much cleaner.
So where back on the bus which seemed like 10 years and we finally arrived in Mecca. A four hour trip took 6 and a half hours,,,,,"Patience", That's all I have to say about that. Well I really think the bus experience foreshadowed what our whole trip would be like, LOL Subhanallah. We get off the bus and immediately start looking for a hotel, well of course there full or have no single rooms, so the prices are off the wall for some. We walk back and forth probably walking 2 miles in total for 2 hours looking for a place to stay, and finally we find a room. Mind you, I haven't slept but Alhumdulillah I'm running on a natural high of just being there. We drop our bags and were off to the Kabba ( this is the directions that all muslims pray towards). Words can not describe how I felt when I first saw it subhanallah, it was amazing. I had tears in my eyes as I reflected about all that I've learned about this very place. Although I was standing right before it, it still seemed as if I was looking at a picture. That moment had to be the highlight of my trip.
After that my husband and I started Tawaf around the Kabba. It was actually easier then I imagined. Surprisingly I didn't get pushed much, and it was overall a smooth 7 laps:)I was not able to touch the black stone, but Alhumdulillah I was happy just to be there and to actually see the kabba with my own eyes. After that we preformed the rest of the rituals and then retreated back to the hotel for some much need shut eye. In that kind of heat all you want to do is drink drink drink! My husband and I probably purchased 10 smoothies in total while we were there for just a day and a half LOLOL it seems like a lot, but really that's nothing:)
Overall the trip was very nice. I do wish that we could of stayed there longer though because it went by so fast, and I really wish I had more time to sit in the Haram in Ibadah (worship). Inshallah there will be many more times for me to complete umrah while I'm here. I pray to Allah that I will also be able to make Hajj.
For some reason I had in my head that the trip back home was going to be much smoother since the trip there was what I like to call "EXTRA". Well I thought WRONG....My husband and I arrived at the "Bus station" AKA "Chaos city" at around 3pm. We go to the building thats like a trailor with windows and ask about our round trip bus ticket, and where to get on. LOLOLOL I keep forgetting that I'm not in America anymore. It doesn't work like that here. This is how it works... you go to the area where all the buses pull up, you run to the bus and ask if they are going to the city you are traveling to. If they are you jump on, if not you run to the next bus. Well it took us about and hour and a half in the hot sun to finally find a bus that wasn't packed that we could get on. I was so relieved when I plopped my butt down on the chair, and felt the cool air conditioning hit my face. Of course I calculate in my head our arrival time to be 9, giving them a little cushion. Well guess what,,,,, that didn't happen. Guess what time we got home.....1AM!!!! Subhanallah. I kept making dua'a (personal prayers) because there's nothing else you can do, (Although after the 5th hour I felt like crying, LOLOL. subhanallah when we got to our house, I was soooo happy to be there. I was so thankful to Allah (by way of my husband) for giving me a comfortable place to lay my head.
Alhumdulillah for everything!