After a great but tiring day in Amman, our only real task was bonding with a rental car and making the journey to Petra. My guide book said it was likely going to be a 6-7 hour drive with stops along the way...guide book did not account for getting lost in the desert...more on that in a bit...

A very nice man from the rental car company met us at our hotel and gave us a ride out of the city to the start of the highway (I almost hugged him as I was not looking forward to attempting to navigate city traffic). He handed over the keys and we were off...me driving, Chrissy navigating (she kept telling me to veer straight...umm okay Chrissy), and Steph...well let's call it "resting" in the backseat.

A few things first about the car situation. Over the past 24 hours in Jordan, we have seen a lot of foreign cars...Toyota, Mercedes, Kia, Hyundai, etc. The genius at the car company decided that because we were American, we should be driving an American car. Just so we, you know, stuck out more. So he gave us a Chevy. He may as well have put a big neon sign on us. Hello, I'm an American tourist. Great. We then discovered that our horn either didn't work or was disabled. We suspect the latter. And after a truly comical gas station experience (the guy was openly laughing at us, and eventually, just told me to stay in the car and he would do it), we were on our way.

We drove down the Kings Highway through the desert and small towns. We saw herds of goats, sheep, and camels who grazed on...well we are fairly sure it was just dirt, as grass appeared to be a sparse commodity. Steph was uber excited to spot some chicken shops, ie. shops selling only live chickens (we did not, however, stop the car....T don't stop at random Jordan chicken shops). We drove down into a beautiful valley full of sand and shadows...all winding road and hairpin turns. So cool. Oh I almost forgot...I discovered early on that our car did not have a lot of what you'd call "get up and go". She was a nice enough car (besides the none existent horn), just didn't have a lot of power. So as we attempted to drive back up out of the valley, her "get up and go" pretty much "got up and left".

We stopped about half way at Karak Castle, one of the best preserved Crusader castles in the Middle East dating from around 1142 AD. We arrived and, not really knowing where to go, was approached by a Bedouin man who said to follow him. I admit I was a bit apprehensive, but he seemed cool and turned out to be the most awesome tour guide. He took us all over, under, and through the castle and explained the different rooms and what they had been used for. We were a bit sad to leave so soon but still had several hours of driving left. I took on the backseat, Chrissy took the wheel, and Steph became navigator. And here's where the fun began...

So...I don't want to say we got lost, per se. But we got lost. In the desert. There were random tent people. Sheep crossing the road. Often no signs of civilization for miles. It was a wee bit concerning. But we stuck with it and finally drove into Wadi Musa - gateway to Petra. And folks, Petra is really what this trip is all about, so stay tuned....