School In Our Jammies

Today’s post begins with our “dry run” last night to see if we could fit six people and all of our luggage into the “mini van” we rented from Budget.

The guys work on it —

And yay! We don’t have to drive all the way to Tel Aviv airport and try to trade our “mini van” which is really not one for something bigger.

Resting easy on our last night at the Jerusalem YMCA Three Arches hotel (which was so great it deserves a post all its own …), we ate breakfast and hit the road by 8 a.m.  Our ultimate destination was Ein Gev holiday resort on the shores of Galilee, but on the way we made several stops at Israeli national parks.  The first was Ashkelon, (and will somebody please tell Patty we waved in the direction of her former apartment?)

Sea shells and ruins, a wild Mediterranean beach, and plenty of sunshine were in Ashkelon.  Also pieces of pottery just littering the beach!  We did take some, but not the big piece Jim is holding below —

Leaving Ashkelon, we headed north to Caesarea.  The ruins are spectacular here, as is the beach.  Unfortunately, we are driving a rental car with “Budget” plastered on the side,  and today it was packed to the gills with all of our belongings so Tim gallantly decided to stay in the parking lot and guard our stuff while the rest of us ate lunch and explored.  (Thanks, Tim!)

Roman ruins everywhere…stately columns…and we could walk right up to them!

After Caesarea, we drove to Mount Carmel and talked about Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  But, when we got to the top of the mountain, we could not find the park.  So we continued on to Meggido, passing Haifa on the way.  This is the view of Haifa as we came down the mountain.

Megiddo/Armageddon Park was just closed as we arrived, so we weren’t able to explore that one either.  By this time we were getting pretty tired of sitting in the car for hours and hours, and Dave was getting pretty tired of driving us, so we made a quick stop at Yardenit (the baptismal area on the Jordan river), took pictures and got our feet wet before heading out for our destination — Ein Gev.

Our rooms are lake front, each with a patio area and BBQ.  Tonight we chose the “meat” restaurant down the road over the “fish” restaurant, and oh my.  Our waiter recommended that we order the “meat platter for six” because it was a sampling of all the meats this restaurant cooks, so we said “sure!” and then wondered if we were going to be shocked at the price.  Heh.  The platter came heaped with about 12 pounds of tasty meat, from steaks to sausage to chicken to lamb chops.   Needless to say, we did not make much of a dent in the mound of meat but consoled ourselves with the thought of eating it for dinner again tomorrow!  The waiter did call us “weak”…but we laughed it off.

Okie dokie, time for sleeping.  Tomorrow we have a cruise on Galilee with “Daniel the Worship Boat” …and a whole lot of leftover meat for dinner.

Hello everybody —

We’re leaving Jerusalem in the morning for  Ein Gev on the Sea of Galilee, where we’ll stay for   three nights.  Today we visited Yad Vashem, and I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.  Here’s the pic you’ve all been anticipating:

And another —

We rented our car today at Budget down the street from our hotel.

and although it’s not a “mini-van”, it will do.  Dave will drive us to Galilee, and on the way we’ll see Ashkelon,  Caesarea, Mount Carmel, Meggido, Jordan River.

This was us yesterday at the Israel museum, where we saw the temple model and Shrine of the Book.

Presuming we have wifi in Ein Gev, we’ll update from there!

Up we woke at 5 a.m.to walk
down town to Abraham hostel where the power was suddenly out.  Hmmmm, we thought, something might be
up, but it was fine. Until, however, Dave walked
down the hall to use the WC and had to light
up the room with his cell phone so he wouldn’t fall
down in the dark.  We also met
up with Amy,  a Christian girl from Medford,
down south from where we live.  She had been
up in Serbia for a month with missionary friends.
Down from Jerusalem we rode in a bus — A BUS! — and
Up to Masada which is way, way out in the desert.
Down came the price of the entrance with a coupon from Abraham tours, which was only 130 NIS.  Next we rode

Up to the tippy-top of the mountain in a cable car, waving
down to Amy and the young hostel kids walking
up the snakey trail.  At the top we strolled
Down steep steps to see Herod’s northern palace and gaze at the dead sea and Jordan beyond.

Below us were the remnants of a Roman seige ramp leading
up to the mountain. Farther

down below lay ruins of where those Romans camped. Soon it was time to walk
Up again to board the cable car and ride
down to the parking lot to catch our bus.

Up the road for a half hour we arrived
Down in En Gedi, meaning “spring of the goat.”  This is where David and his army hid
Up in really cool caves because he was

down in the dumps. He probably wrote Psalm 121 here, which mentions how he lifted his eyes
up to the hills, where his help comes from. Not feeling at all
down or dumpy today, we’re glad we hiked
up to the waterfall to put our hot feet

down in the cool spring. Looking out for coonies in the crannies, we grannies didn’t see any, nor Ibex neither
up on the mountain. Then we sauntered
down the trail to buy iced coffees because we needed some
uplifting after that hot hike.

Down then to the dead sea, a place not
up above sea level, for sure.  We changed into our swim suits and walked
down to the water where our feet floated
up!  In fact, it was really hard to get them back
down, probably because we were wearing sandals.  Jim and Dave decided to go
up to where Tim was guarding our stuff, but we ladies scooped
down under the salty, salty water for mud to rub all over ourselves.  You’d probably like to see those pics, but Tim has them
up in his camera and I’ll get them tomorrow.  Maybe.  Lastly, we rode the bus back

UP TO JERUSALEM and sat
down for dinner before going
up to bed.

1.  Due to exhaustion, tonight’s episode comes as a list.
2.  Hezekiah’s tunnel is five football fields long.  It takes about 40 minutes to walk through it.  The tunnel is full of water because King H was trying to save his people from the nasty Assyrians, by  the grace of God.  Walking through the tunnel requires a flashlight, water shoes, and a willingness to endure “stoop-itis”.
3.  Singing helps.
4.  We sang with the group in front of us, whom we presumed to be Indonesians.  They sure sang hymns beautifully in English.
5.  The first step into the tunnel is a doozy.
6.  Dave felt like singing, “I’ve Got a River of Life,” so we did.  Also “Amazing Grace”, “Jehovah Jireh”, and “Come Thou Fount.”
7.  The distant sound of mighty rushing water from behind was not an imminent flood that was about to drown us.   It was Jacob from Switzerland, who was rushing to  meet his wife at the end.
8.  There are no markers inside the tunnel, save the chisel marks from King H’s men.  Therefore it is impossible to tell how far you’ve been walking.  This was actually a good thing.  One step at a time.  Sing a song.
9.  We have a new appreciation for the phrase “light at the end of the tunnel.”
10.  The group ahead of us was from North Carolina.  the Indonesians must have veered off at the dry route.
11.  Dave quoted Hesitation 3:14 at the pool of Siloam, which reads “Let’s not do that again.”
12.  King H’s tunnel ends at the bottom of the Valley of Hinnom.  Our hotel is a mile-and-a-half from there.
13.  The Blue Dot estimates everything to be “a mile-and-a-half” from wherever we are.  It is best not to realize that 2.8 K is actually more than a mile-and-a-half after you’ve walked 2.8 K, not during.  Especially when you are walking out of the Valley of Hinnom.
14.  We seize up every time we sit down.
15.  After you’ve walked 2.8 K to King H’s tunnel, through King H’s tunnel, home from the tunnel, out again another 2.8 K in the opposite direction to the Israel Museum and back 2.8 miles to your hotel, you kind of wish you had been wearing a Fitbit.  However, eating anything you want after all that exercise is good enough compensation.
16.  We met the only Israeli tour guide with a degree from Western Washington University.
17.  He knows how to sing “The Bluest Skies You’ve Ever Seen are in Seattle.”
18.  We follow the Blue Dot everywhere.  Sometimes it snakes us around a little bit.  When it moves, we move.  When it stops, we
stop.
19.  Tomorrow we go to Masada.  ON A BUS.
20.  We meet the bus about a mile-and-a-half from our hotel.

So you know before I go into detail about how our group was harassed on temple mount this morning, we are fine.  In fact, because we just had the best dinner ever on the patio of our new hotel, we’re really fine and maybe a bit giggly.  But, I’ll start at the beginning.

For our first two nights in Jerusalem we stayed in a comfortable hotel in the new city, only because we couldn’t stay the full six nights where we are now.  This morning we checked out at 6 a.m. and walked, with our luggage, about a mile to the YMCA Three Arches where we left our
luggage and took off on another day of exploration. Thankfully the weather has cooled to the mid-80’s and a pleasant, steady breeze kept us so much happier than yesterday.

Our first appointment was for a Western Wall Underground Tour beneath the wall of temple mount.  Since we were early, we split up and visited the wall itself — men on the left and women on the right.  Aren’t Jane and Anna adorable?

Waiting for our tour to start then, Jim thought he saw someone he recognized in the group going before ours.  He went up to the guy and said, “Don’t I know you?” and indeed, it was Adam Brennan, who had worked with Jim at the shipyard in code 2340. I did not know this until we ladies came out of the WC to see Jim and Adam taking selfies together.  (I know.  It’s sideways and I can’t fix it at the moment.)

Our underground tour was led by Leah, who had a well-founded and profound hope for Israel.  She was incredible.  For the next hour she enthralled us with history — complete with Mt. Moriah models before Herod expanded it and after, and a video presentation of the temple and its destruction by the Romans.  She would explain what was there 2000 years ago, and what was there now, and she kept us listening by asking questions.  “What would have been above our
heads then?  Blue sky!”

While walking through the tunnels, we touched foundation stones that had been prepared and moved by Herod’s workers.  The biggest one of all was the length of two busses and weighed 300 tons (equivalent to two jumbo jets fully loaded).

Farther into the tunnels we walked on the stones from a public street that ran along the outside of the temple mount retaining wall that were the same ones as people were walking on 2000 years ago.  Leah also pointed out a paving stone that was smooth and untouched, as if prepared to go into the walkway.  It, and some workers tools had been found by archaeologists in that very spot, abandoned in the middle of a job as Romans invaded in 70 Ad.

Next came Temple Mount.  To get to temple mount, visitors who are not Muslims walk up a long ramp and go through security at the end, and that’s where our troubles started.  Tim was first, and put his bag on the table.  The guard searched it and finding a tract along with the yarmulke (kippah) he had been given at the underground tour, he sneered and threw it on the table.  Tim asked if he could have it back when we left and the guard responded derisively that “you aren’t  coming back this way.”
In the meantime, I was told I had to wrap my scarf around my shoulders (my shoulders were not bare).  Another Muslim man motioned to me to, “come here, lady. This way.  Follow me.”
Thinking that he wanted my scarf arranged more modestly, I walked behind him, trying to fix it so that it covered more of me.  Next thing I knew they told Jane she had to
come, too.  All this time I wasn’t really worried — I’ve been in Morocco a few times! — and expected him to take us to a place where ladies would show Jane and me how
to do it right.  But, no.

This guy leads us behind a porch where he has a supply of cotton skirts and shows us how to put them on.  In fact, he actually wrapped Jane’s around her — very weird for a Muslim man to do this — and then!  Then he tells us we owe him 25 shekels.  Jane finally hands him 100 and he gives her 50 back and tells me to pay Jane 25.  Our knees were covered.  Our shoulders were covered.  We were wearing hats.  The guy wanted our money.

So, all covered now, the six of us walk towards the dome, taking pictures and feeling like we don’t want to stay here very much longer.  On the back side of the dome are steps
leading down to a line of stones that look different from all the rest.  At this point we are alone, and Tim begins explaining how Dr. Rasmussen told their group in 2007 that these stones could actually be ones from Herod’s temple.  Right then, from above and behind us, someone hurls a full water bottle aimed between our group. It smacked the stones and splattered water on us.

If you look closely in the picture below, you can see the blur of the bottle as it hit the pavement.  (Tim and Anna noticed this tonight as we were reviewing pictures — pretty timely photography, yes?)

That was enough.  We were shaken and decided to get out of there, so we did.

Later, during a pleasant lunch in the Jewish quarter where the people are so friendly and talkative, we traded money with a coin collector.  An elderly Jewish gentleman
approached Dave and asked if he had an American dollar because he collected money from all over the world, and he would trade for the equivalent in shekels.  Dave gave him a dollar, Tim gave him five dollars for a Christmas present (for which Anna scolded him).  Coin collector had been at this since he was 14 years old, and has lots of money!

Near ou rlunch place was the Cardo, and the Cardo shopping area run by the Jews.  We ladies needed to do some shopping, so the menfolk collapsed on stairs while we spent some money.  Jane and I each bought beautiful Roman glass necklaces, which came with authenticity cards because the glass came from a Roman glass mining (?) place in Caesarea.  Our saleslady was delighted to explain the artistry, and made us try on many necklaces, and Jane said she’d go ask her husband if she could buy one. My husband happened to walk in and said, “you can buy two!” which was a very good thing to say and no problem because he knows I wouldn’t anyhow.  Later she informed us that women shouldn’t need to ask their husbands if they can spend money.  “You have your own money, yes?” she asked me.  “Even in Morocco my mother always said that women must have their own money” Our lady’s parents were Moroccans who had moved to France.  We talked with her extensively about Morocco and the Jews who used to live there.
If it weren’t already so late, I could write about the Temple Institute museum and how they have instruments and utensils all prepared for the next temple. And about how the Jews cleared the plaza in front of the Western Wall in 1967 in just THREE HOURS. And about this hotel, which is historic and gorgeous.  And about JUC and the awesome graveyard.

Good night for now.  We’re walking through Hezekiah’s tunnel first thing in the morning, then off to a museum.

Love you everybody!

We did walk the Via Dolorosa, but our suffering resulted from 104 degree temperatures and a whole lot of walking today.  Just so you know, we are alive and hydrated.  We are also ready for bed now that we made it back to our rooms and had our evening meeting and scripture reading.  Before we collapse, though, here are the highlights.

Our morning began with fresh-squeezed orange and grapefruit juice from the vendor on the sidewalk, and also freshly-baked pastries from the bakery.  Setting out for the Garden Tomb, we chatted about how incredible it is to be walking the streets of Jerusalem and what a lovely day it was.  Flowers blooming everywhere now; bouganvilla (huh, that doesn’t look right), geraniums, delphinium.
Garden Tomb is one possible site for Golgotha and the tomb, and after being there and later the Church of the Holy Sepulcre, we vote for it.  Maintained by very sweet people from the UK, this place was quiet, smelled lovely, and had clean bathrooms (which we made sure to visit twice).  Below the possible Golgotha site is a very busy bus station, but above are plenty of benches for peaceful reflection.  We noted that this was the place where our sins were atoned for.

Around the corner was the possible tomb, and since there weren’t crowds we stood in line to walk inside.  The sign on the back of the door reads, “He is not here.  He has risen.”  It felt strange to think of the tomb in such close proximity to Golgotha until we noted a sign quoting John 19: 42, “So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ preparation day, for the tomb was nearby.”

Part of the enjoyment of Jerusalem is the conversations we’ve had with both fellow visitors and locals.  At the tomb site we talked to visitors from Slovakia and India.  The Indian man asked the Slovakian man if his country was open to the gospel.  Jim chimed in and said we all were from Seattle, Washington, USA, and it is not open to the gospel.  The Indian man laughed, and said “I will pray for you!”
Next was the stroll down Via Dolorosa and the walk up Mount of Olives.  Don’t forget it was 104 degrees.  Mount of Olives is a big hill with the best view for seeing all of Jerusalem.  The walk to the top took a long time, as we stopped very frequently to drink water and catch our breaths.  At the top we posed for this picture, which I was able to get with my camera’s timer but unfortunately you won’t be able to see Temple Mount or the Dome behind us.

Here also, was an old Arab dressed all in white robes who reminded Anna of her dad because he had a white moustache and was “loud and irreverent” (but entertaining).  Dave posed for a picture with the donkey, and then gave the Arab guy 20 shekels.  The Arab was so happy, he said, “Now my donkey can eat!” before he kissed Dave on the cheek.  His donkey was named Peter; Dave says he felt like Balaam’s “donkey”, especially after Jim called Dave “hamar hamuck” and made the Arab laugh.

On our way back down the Mount of Olives (walking down is definitely easier than walking up, except the stones are slippery even when dry) we met a tour group from South Korea.  Jim first noticed that one of the leaders was wearing a hat with “Preach the Gospel” embroidered on the back and said, “I like your hat!”

We needed Magnums and water and found them at the bottom of the hill.  We also discovered that orange Fanta tastes so good!  One of the Arab men hanging out there struck up a conversation with the Mealeys because he had lived in Fairboult, Minnesota, for 18 years.  He also thought we should cancel our Abraham Tour to the Dead Sea and let him take us on a private tour for the same price — no, less! — and also to Masada!  And Bethlehem!  Um, no.
On the way next to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (which is dark, gaudy and smells like incense) Tim said that Jim almost got us killed because he led us through a sketchy Arab section while following his little, blue Googlemaps dot.  But, no.  At this place there is a ladder propped against a second-floor window which has, as the story goes, been there for 200 years because none of the religious organizations who maintain the church building can agree on who should take it down.

By this time, we were pretty exhausted but still alive.  We found our way to the Cardo, found a great restaurant with air conditioning, ate falafel, and rested quite a while.  Then, we were done.

Done and done in.

Slogging our way back up Jaffa Street, we stopped for a breather in the shade.  Along came a young Jewish man, probably in his twenties, on his bicycle.  He stopped right by us to drink some water and struck up a conversation.  He was from Toronto, and is now “aliyah” — living permanently in Jerusalem.  He is also “Chabat” a member of one of the many Jewish sects.  After we chatted with him for a while, he paid us a complement:  “I feel you are righteous Gentiles.”  Thank you!  He needs Messiah Jesus, but he is still part of national Israel.

Lastly, before I post pics and sleep, we also walked through the “Tomb of the Prophets” and had a guided tour from the nice Arab man who maintains it.  He says that Zechariah, Malachi and Haggai are all buried there, along with their followers.  Dave research later and said that archeologists don’t agree, but it was fascinating…and dark…and so cool.  Also, the man told us that when he was 14 years old he and his family hid next to Zechariah for seven days during the six-day war.

That one is of the Golden Gate.  Notice the Muslim cemetery right in front and then go read Zechariah 14.

We are waking up in Jersalem this morning, having arrived yesterday afternoon about 5 p.m.  Our current hotel is City Center Suites, located in the “new city” not too far from the old one.  After checking in we walked to the Old City through Jaffa Gate and strolled through the Armenian Quarter for a bit, enjoying the souks and the people.
The temp is 40 C — 104 F — and although it was very warm last night we all loved it.

I’m looking at the forecast on our room TV this morning, which is again 40 C for today but cooling a bit for the next few days to 26 C, so we’ll be back to the low 80’s.  In about an hour we’ll start our itinerary which will begin with a walk to the Garden Tomb, then through the Mount of Olives and the garden of Gethsemane, Via Del la Rosa, Church of the Holy Sepulcher and possibly Temple Mount.  All of this in 104 degrees might be problematic, but we have water!

Jerusalem is striking in its uniqueness.  We are enthralled  with its history, of course, but also with the people. Walking around yesterday we saw Arabs, secular Jews, religious Jews — Orthodox with big black hats and curls on the sides of their faces, many Jewish men with kippahs and strings of prayer shawls hanging down from both hips, African people, Asian people, Russian people.  Anna and I noticed an elderly, English-speaking, caucasian woman asking for directions to Jaffa who appeared to be alone.  We wondered if she was on a “pilgrimage”.  Many have asked us, “Are you here for religious reasons?”  Well…

Let me run through our day yesterday and post pictures real quick before I need to take my shower and head out.

After landing and going through passport control, we were handed a little blue card with our picture on it but no instructions.  Thankfully, we put the cards inside our passports before heading out the door to realize that we needed them to “scan” out of the security area.  Next we headed to the taxi place where we found a Sherut (shared taxi for 10 people) going into Jerusalem.  The ride was supposed to be about an hour, but soon after leaving the airport our driver pulled into a gas station/mechanic shop and got out.  We had a flat tire.  A young couple, a Jewish man and his Arab girlfriend, told us, “Welcome to Israel!”  Tire fixed, we drove to the city and were dropped off with very good instructions to locate our hotel.

The walk to Jaffa took us through bustling new city streets, and we were excited to glimpse the old wall finally.  Inside the gate, Tim and Anna took us first to Gloria Hotel where they stayed on their last trip, and where we wanted to stay this time but it was full.  Such a lovely, old, middle-eastern place.  Next, Anna took us to the Armenian shop where she bought Roman glass earrings last time, and we talked with the two men who own the place.  They told us they are “third generation” owners, and instructed us not to be fooled by other shops who claim to be them but don’t have as good of stuff.  We said okay and we’ll be back in a few days!

I did get sucked in to a purchase for Naomi a few shops later, and I even tried to barter a little bit.  Naomi will love my purchase, and so will her mommy.

Finally, it was dusk and we were starving.  Eating in a strange land is always an adventure, and last night was a good beginning.  Swarma in pita bread eaten at an outside table was perfect.

Pictures below!

Arrived in Rome after a smooth flight and easy connection in Paris.  At our hotel, the airport Hilton, we were delayed for a bit checking in as the lobby was packed with boisterous, stylish Italians all checking in for some group event.  Deciding to take a couple of hours to freshen up, we all went to our respective rooms and passed out.  It had been a very long day.
Today was supposed to be the quick trip downtown to eat gelato on the steps of the pantheon and walk to the Jewish ghetto, but the weather was iffy and the free hotel shuttle wasn’t going thataway for a few days.  Instead we took the shuttle into another part of town and walked around quiet, non-touristy neighborhoods until we found a sandwidh and, at last, gelato.

Before checking out of the Hilton we ate the best breakfast ever — green beans, sausage, bacon, potatoes, eggs, yogurt, fruit, grapefruit juice, cappuccino.  Yummy!

Then, we flew on El Al from Rome to Tel Aviv.  More on today later, so here are pictures of us and our gelato:

We

Hello family and friends,

We had a very smooth, beautiful drive via the Edmonds ferry to Vancouver, B C this morning and are now relaxing in the airport.  Such a lovely airport it is; clean and friendly, with pleasant security people.  No wait at the border, no waiting in security lines.

Since we got up so very early this morning to leave by 5 a.m., lunch at 10:30 was what we needed.  At the moment the six of us are relaxing by a fake stream next to a Northwest aquarium in the food court.  Soon we shall mosey back to our gate and depart by 2 p.m.

Jane, Anna and I walked a bit while the men watched our luggage.  I bought special luggage tags, as you can see below.

Rome, here we come.

Last night was our final meeting before departure.  We ate pizza, broccoli salad, and gelato; reviewed the itinerary via Jim’s Powerpoint; checked the documents for which we were individually responsible; and weighed our itty-bitty suitcases.  Twenty-six pounds is the limit –combined for carry-on plus one accessory bag.  (Okay, Air France, we think we’ll make it.)

Even with all of our planning and monthly get-togethers, Anna brought up a possible hitch with our scheduled exodus from home to Vancouver:  Seattle viaduct traffic.  Oh, goodness…getting stuck on I-5 for an extra hour or so would jeopardize our timely arrival in B.C., so we’re heading to Edmonds via ferry instead.  Whew.