Here are our best shots of Israel. Enjoy!

PS – Don’t forget to click on the photo, they will come up in a much better resolution.

Special Israel Edition

Well, it’s almost all over. Just a short night, and a trip to the airport in the morning are all that is left of an amazing trip to visit family and country. This morning we went to Yad Vashem, the Israeli museum for the remembrance of the Holocaust. It’s situated on a mountain top in Jerusalem, and is one of the most uniquely designed museums that you will ever see (and you will have to see it in person, as they don’t allow photos inside). It brings with it all sorts of emotion, especially since there are all kinds of direct family ties to Germany, the immigration to Israel (as well as the US, the UK, and Brazil), and the Holocaust itself. It’s such an amazing time in history – and obviously not for the right reasons. The visit to the museum qualifies as a ‘must-do,’ but be prepared to be educated and reminded – not to have fun.

After returning from Jerusalem, we all gathered and visited with Savta for a few hours. We had a great discussion, and a wonderful time. She and Ezra get along so well that it’s sad to have to say good-bye. We finished the evening with dinner at the local falafel stand, sandwiched between packing up.

So it’s time to go home and return to our lives in Colorado. We are looking forward to meeting a new addition to the family of friends, and to seeing our cat who has braved the early summer on her own. But we are sad to be leaving Israel. The visit has been remarkable, and the visiting with family has been unforgettable. It has been a real treat to be able to introduce and share Ezra with everyone here, and we can’t wait to come back and do it again. I suppose that there is only really one person left to thank before we depart, and that’s Rena. She has been unbelievable: letting us stay in her home, stocking us with food, supplying us with things to do, giving us information, and being part of the whole experience. We can only say ‘thanks’ and hope to someday be able to return the favor.

Special Israel Edition

I suppose that upon re-reading that title, it doesn’t really make sense…but I will be surprised if most of this post actually does, since it’s pretty late and I’m pretty tired.

There was no posting last night because the computer and I parted ways for two days. Dave, Mary Jo, Ahna, Ezra, and I headed back to the north to spend a night on the shores of the Galilee. We found the same bed and breakfast that Ahna and I experienced the last time that we were here. It is a beautiful spot that sits several hundred feet above the Galilee in a town called Ramot. After we arrived and checked in, we traveled down to the shore…and found a kiteboarding gathering on the beach. Well, we had to join the fun – and by that I mean, go and watch. We later enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a restaurant that is adjacent to the bed and breakfast; and that’s where Ezra met his Israeli girlfriend.

We awoke this morning with plans to head to the Gamla Nature Reserve after breakfast, which was a feast that we shared on the porch of our cabin. We headed to Gamla, and did a short hike to the vulture overlook – where the birds come each summer. As you can see from the pictures, the flowers are in plenty here. After the nature reserve we headed to the Golan Heights Winery, which is in the middle of the Israeli wine country and is the nation’s largest producer. We enjoyed a nice sampling of several wines before settling on a bottle for purchase. And that’s when things got interesting.

It’s not a good feeling when you return to the car on a day where the temperatures were around 100, and find that it won’t start. Compound that with the fact that you are in a foreign nation, where you don’t speak the language, and 2+ hours from anyplace that family is. Long story short, we were able to call the Hertz help line, get a mechanic to come and meet us, and we got back on the road…3 hours later. It did ruin our afternoon plans, but thankfully everything is okay and we made it home just fine. Turns out the battery was dead – and no, we didn’t leave the lights on…it just died. So, a new battery and we are off and running again.

We had to skip out on a planned stop, and pretty much head straight for dinner at Yuval and Sivan’s house. They made us a spread of sushi rolls, fish, pasta, fruit, and desert. Savta came with Rena, Ezra and the kids played the night away, and we had a glorious time.

It’s hard to think that our time here is starting to wind down and that we only have a few days left. Lots to pack in…

Quick Ezra update: he is getting two more teeth in up top, and I think that he has grown in the past week. Hmm.

Ah, I almost forgot to mention this…the picture is of the park map for the Gamla Nature Reserve. It’s something that you don’t see very often on maps…

Special Israel Edition

Today’s plans were scrapped in favor of a more relaxed schedule and some time to have some time. It was a simple day actually, Dave and Mary Jo went with Rena to visit areas of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, and Ahna, Ezra, and I went to have lunch with my Grandmother….but it wasn’t that ‘normal.’

We used the opportunity to meet up with one of my Mom’s long-time friends, and fellow tennis player, Paulina. You may remember Paulina’s husband, Eli, from previous postings about this trip. Paulina and my Mom went from Israel together to the US to play tennis, and the person who helped arrange the first trip to a camp in Pennsylvaia was someone named Marcy. Marcy happened to be in Israel for a family event, and we happened to have the opportunity to have her join us for lunch today. It was a special thing to meet the person responsible for brining my Mom to the US, and therefore everything else that has happened since then. Marcy and Paulina are both wonderful people, and it was a pleasure to share a meal with them today.

Special Israel Edition

Tuesday morning was a moment of sleeping-in…we didn’t get back from Jerusalem until after midnight, so we postponed our scheduled departure time a few hours. We left the house at 1030am, and headed towards the south…2.5 hours worth of heading towards the south, and smack into the middle of the Negev Desert. We were headed for my cousin’s – Gil – house at a military base. He and his family have lived there for 5 years, so it was Ahna and my second visit to the area. There is a certain beauty and mysticism that the desert holds, and more importantly a certain weather pattern that keeps the temperature much nicer than in the big cities.

Along the way, we stopped at a place called Mitspe Ramon, a city located at the northern edge of a gigantic crater. We walked along the edge of the crater, then went to the visitor center for some lunch. As we were enjoying our meal, another family sat at the table next to us and something caught my eye – a tshirt that one of them was wearing. As it turns out, the family was from Colorado, and the guy wearing the shirt (which was for the Littleton Dive/Rescue Team) is a firefighter in Littleton. Wow. We chatted for a while, shared some stories of our current trips around the country, and wished each other safe travels.

We got to Gil and Dafna’s house at about 3pm, and enjoyed a nice afternoon, a tour of the base, and a wonderful cookout dinner in their backyard. Some of us also enjoyed a little ping-pong and tried to keep the competitive spirits at bay. It was great to spend the evening with them, we just wish that it was for a lot longer than it was. We made the drive back to Ramat Hasharon safetly, and again arrived late. Tomorrow should be a little more reasonably scheduled….

Special Israel Edition

Today was a little more laid back and allowed for the ability to catch up on some sleep. We started the day with a nice breakfast on the beach, followed by Ahna and I escaping everything for about 15 minutes and strolling down the seaside for a ways. After a couple of Ezra-sized naps, we hit the road for a very unique experience: to see Jerusalem lit up at night. This was the first time ever, and it has lasted for a week, with tomorrow night being the last night. We stopped at an Arab village just outside of Jerusalem for dinner – which was great – and enjoyed some dishes from Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel.

When we approached Jerusalem, there was a very quick realization that there were going to be a few more people than expected joining us in the Old City….it took us 40 minutes to go through a stretch of space that should take about 5. The flocks of people were unbelievable, and my amateur estimation put the number of people in the 75,000+ range. Of course that makes for difficult passage in streets and alleyways that were never designed to hold that number of people. There was even one point where so many people were trying to get through such a small space that it took nearly 15 minutes of pushing, being pushed, and loads of patients to walk through something that soccer crowds in England would boast about. Overall it was neat to be able to see the Old City at nighttime, and to be part of something that has never happened before in a place where everything has happened before.

Special Israel Edition

The second day that we had with Eli took us to the northern part of the country. We met him this morning at the ancient ruins of Ceasaria, which was built by Herrod The Great a few years ago. At one point the city was a huge port that funneled spices and silk from the Far East to Europe, and it became even larger than Alexandria in Egypt. It was a beautiful site on the seashore that gave us hope of a day of cooler temperatures and nice breezes.

The next stops were in the area of Israel known as the Lower Galilee, and our first of these took us to Nazareth and the Church of the Annunciation. Following that, we went to the supposed site of Jesus’ baptism, then to Capernaum (the ‘Town of Jesus’), and finally to the Church of the Beatitudes – where Jesus delivered the Sermon On The Mount. Ah, back to the hope that we experienced in Ceasaria….it lasted until our first stop, then faded quickly. You see, the Sea of the Galilee is 700+ feet below sea level…which results in really hot temperatures, especially compared to the gentle morning air of the seashore. Just like yesterday, pants were the required attire…if it’s 90 tomorrow, shorts will make it feel flat out chilly. Or not.

Today was the last day that we will see Eli on this trip as he returns to work with some new clients this week. As mentioned yesterday, there is no way that we could ever thank him enough for the sacrifice that he made to spend some time with us…it really was a remarkable, educational, and energizing experience. Thanks Eli!