I survived my family vacation

We went to NH last week to celebrate my mom-in-law's 70th birthday. It was fun, except for the tree.

Saudis plan to confiscate tourists' Bibles

And other religious items. Why would any Jew or Christian think to go to Saudi Arabia and be treated in this way? How stupid to spend millions on tourism ads and then confiscate their property:

Despite a series of initiatives aimed at generating foreign tourism, the Saudi Arabian government continues to bar Jews and Christians from bringing items such as Bibles, crucifixes and Stars of David into the country and is threatening to confiscate them on sight, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

"A number of items are not allowed to be brought into the kingdom due to religious reasons and local regulations," declares the Web site of Saudi Arabian Airlines, the country's national carrier.

After informing would-be visitors that items such as narcotics, firearms and pornography may not be transported into the country, the Web site adds: "Items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam are also prohibited. These may include Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols such as the Star of David, and others."

[...]

Over the summer, the Saudi government-run Supreme Commission for Tourism announced a number of steps, such as issuing group visas to foreigners through tour operators and granting longer entry visas, in the hopes of boosting the number of foreign tourists to 1.5 million annually by 2020.

(via)

No booze, no babes and no Bibles, what kind of vacation destination is that?

The Shoe House, the Amish Farm and my Grandma

I blog about my recent trip to PA here.