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We made it home Saturday night - 23 hours in the air. We got home to 21 degrees and 5 feet of snow but the roads are clear and our house is beautiful - Lacey Bartlett - our SAR Buddy and house-sitter kept Abby happy and the house spotless. Thank you Lacey!!!

Israel !

We have one more day in Eilat before going back. A lovely Kibbutznik named Hanit (say "Honey" and clear your throat when you say the "H") gave us some "local" ideas - she said "go down by the Jordan Border, drive along the barbed wire, turn right at a farmer road that says "No Trespassing" in Hebrew and you will find water. We did - and found a salt evaporation pond owned by the Israel Salt Company full of flamingos on their way north! Sea birds galore - and then we drove north a mile on the old sand road and ran smack into a well used by Moses and the Israelites escaping from Egypt! It's still there, and it still is producing water.
Walked in the desert for a bit - we saw fox tracks, mice, birds, and many others we couldn't identify. Gazelles bounced by us and headed into the desert. A few more miles up the road and Judy said "Ostrich"! By now she was beginning to doubt her eyes, so we stopped at a dairy farm for Banana Milk and lunch; turned around and drove down to the Egyptian border and saw some gorgeous red canyons along the wire. You follow the "Old Patrol Road" - now that Egypt and Israel are friends it isn't used any more. Watched the sun go down over the desert from a lookout along the border about 1000 meters elevation.
You've gotta go here.
Flying back to Tel Aviv on a small plane, to avoid Gaza. The view of Israel from the air is amazing.
Tomorrow begins 2 days of flying - we're spending the night in Tel Aviv, then Miami, but it's up at 4 AM in order to arrive there by 7 PM. Early flight again Saturday - getting back home at 9:30 PM.
Tel Aviv: We started walking down the main "Market" street of Tel Aviv - which just happens to be right outside the door. Staying in the "Cinema" Hotel - a 1930's movie theater converted to a 4-Star Hotel. The've saved the old theater seats for the lobby, and the original projectors and movie equipment is used throughout the hotel. At 5, movies start in the lobby and popcorn is free.
Cool place!
Go out at sunset and just watch the "city" people going about their evening. Tel Aviv is the center of fashion, commerce, top-shelf restaurants and night spots. Walk slowing down the main drag from the fountain and look in at the little shops all lit up and full of clothing, fresh fruits (get them to squeeze a fresh pomagranite for you; a glass full is awesome!), shoes, baked goods, snacks, outdoor cafes ... stop at the "Cup of Joe" on Gordon Street, grab a table outside and ask for tea. They bring you a French Coffee press with tea leaves and fresh fruit chopped up and a tall glass. It's almost too nice to drink! Coffee is Arabic - brewed in the cup. Food is everywhere you look. A guy drove up on the sidewalk in front of us, waited for the light, and drove off down the street. Girls walk by showing off the latest fashions; people walk their dogs on leash, and clean up after them. Judy pointed to a guy and his girl waking slowly hand in hand - he had a .45 in full view on his belt and nobody even blinked. Female Israeli soldiers sat next to us, finished with their day, putting their M-16's on the ground and relaxing; probably doing the same thing we were -- people watching and enjoying the warm evening.
Tonight we are being treated to a visit with our friends from Galilee, Ofra and Shimshon. They invited us for Sabbath dinner when we first arrived in Israel. They are driving down to meet us here for a late dinner. and we hope we can return the favor in some small way. Shinshon's brother Naim spent 5 days with us showing us the north - their Israel. He taught us how to eat, how to get around, and how to enjoy this amazing country. We can never tell them how much we really appreciated him and his wife.
I'm on the 4th floor of the Cinema looking out over Tel Aviv from the roof-top lounge. It's cooler here, and the city is just waking up for the evening.
Back to our world tomorrow - we will never be the same.
Shalom!
Bruce
Bruce

Crossing Jordan

We made it back! We are back in Israel and really appreciate the Israeli people. The Beduoins are our next favorite people.
Judy here (by the way, if you don't think something is spelled right, don't worry. Just think "phonetic" as I have because spell check doesn't know alot of these words!):
Check list:
Go somewhere warm, leaving 6 feet of snow in our yard (our weather has been in the high 60s and 70s!) - CHECK
Be at Wailing Wall at beginning of Shabbott (Sabbath) - check
Swim with dolphins (my swimming partner was the dolphins favorite so we had dolphins all around us! Wait till you see our video!) - check
Follow the entire Via Dolorosa, the walk of pain/agony Jesus took through Jerusalem to the cross - check
Walk on rocks 4-6,000 years old! - check
Walk the old market place where Jesus walked with his desciples - check
Touch the rock of Calvary (at least what tradition says is the rock) - check
Visit the traditional recognized tomb of Jesus - check
See Jerusalem with a "local" guides, personal tour on foot - check
Walk through the Jewish, Christian and Muslim quarters of the old City of Jerusalem - check
See the Market Places (I would say we "survived" this experience. The streets are crammed with many high-pressure Palestinian vendors who harassed anyone who paused or even slowed down to take a look at their goods.) - check
Stay within the old city gates (We stayed in a Christian, Austrian Guest House in the Muslim Quarter for 5 nights - a wonderful oasis right on the Via Dolorosa!) - check
Visit Garden of Gethsemany, Mt of Olives, cave where Jesus taught his desciples how to pray (the Lord's Prayer), Mt Zion, the Upper Room where the Last Supper was held, the Temple Mount, walk underground along the real "original" western wall, pray for Jerusalem at the Wailing wall (Bruce went into the Synagog with the men at Shabbot), see archeological preservations and aquaducts that brought water to the city (water IS life, especially in the desert) - check
See Petra where Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed - also one of the 7 wonders of the modern world - check
ride donkey in the desert - check
Eat "local" Middle Eastern food in each locale (and liked it! Our friend Naim taught us how, what a gift to us!) - check
sunrise/sunset over Israel - check
stay in Kibbutz - check
eat with Buduions in a cave at sunset - check
Med Sea, Dead Sea, Red Sea - check

Unexpected blessings!
Saw the Holy Rock Cafe
Saw the Holy Sand Cafe
Experienced "Holy" dust :)
Met the "Holder of the Key" to the Church of the Sepulcur. The different Christian churches couldn't agree to who should have control over the key to the church so the same Muslim family has held that responsibility for hundreds of years and we met the man of this family that currently has the key and opens the door every morning and locks it up each night.
See awesome mosaics thousands of years old.
Met totally by accident a man who went by "Mike" (Abn Nassar) the man who guided Condie Rice, Clintons and Carters through the old city, who now works at the US Consul. He walked us through Jerusalem, bought us tea with freshly picked leaves at the fountain and introduced us to more family. He also told us how to shop and took us the the best shop in Jerusalem where we found "treasures".
Bought a Bedhouin dagger and treasures for Judy in the market place.
Bruce made friends with Armenian Monk who reminded me of Friar Tuck from Robin Hood, on the hill of Golgotha.
Seeing armed Israeli military and police (both male and female) presence everywhere (we felt very safe). Citizens are allowed to carry firearms openly for their own protection, and nobody bats an eye. I recall someone saying "An armed society is a polite society."
Finding the perfect people to show us their Jerusalem.
Bruce found a Yalmulcha (Jewish, men's head covering) that fit and wouldn't slide off!
Unexpected Angels! (We were lost in Jerusalem after dinner. It was dark, the passages were narrow and filled with people. We were tired and longing for home. I asked one vendor how to get to Via Dolorosa and he gave me the opposite directions - communications misunderstanding are common. A voice inside me said "Ask a woman". There next to me were two women walking, one young and one older. I asked for Via Dolorosa and they said follow us. They took us right to our "home"!) Yes, God does provide angels. The next day trying to find our way out of Jerusalem in our newly, rented car through construction, unable to read the warning and directional signs (they are in Hebrew & Arabic - go figure!), we were confused and panicy. I said "Lord, show us the way" and a man stopped his car next to ours, right on the street, rolled down his window, and said, "Do you need help?" We said we were trying to find our way out of town and to the Dead Sea. He said "Follow me and go straight when I turn left". We trusted and were led through a maze we never would have successfully maneuvered by ourselves! God Provides!!!
At Ein Gede Bruce pampered me with a mineral mud bath, mineral bath, massage and dinner overlooking the Dead Sea. The next day I got a water massage and we padded around in the Dead Sea!
Timna Park just north of Eilot or King Solomon's Mines where copper has been mined for 3,000 years. The use of copper brought man out of the stone age. Moses and the Israelites probably camped there after fleeing Egypt. Today a reconstructed tent-style temple has been built there to show people where they worshipped and sacrificed to God. Inside is a Mennorah, a table for bread and the Holy of Holies. This is where Moses kept the Arc of the Covenant that contained the 10 Commandment stones, some manna and Aaron's staff to remind them where God had brought them from. Walking into the Holy of Holies, I got a serious case of goose-bumps! Wow! Our guide was a Christian Jew. She invited us to a multi-faith/nationality worship service that night. What a blessing!

I haven't blogged for so many days (no computers) so I've tried to give you a "brief" look at several weeks of experiences. It's impossible to capture every impression or feeling - I'd be writing a book! Yesterday we were driven to the border by a man who was King Hussein's driver, walked out of Jordan, crossed the border and were back in Israel. We both had a sense of "coming home". Smiling, happy people, pride in their country, and a feeling of welcome.
We leave here on Thursday, fly to Tel Aviv, meet friends for dinner in Tel Aviv and then start our long, 2-day journey home on Friday. We will need 2 days of "down" time at home to start to recover from the most amazing trip we've could have had. God has blessed us with angels, good weather, safe travels, many incredible new friends and unforgettable experiences. We are truly blessed.

Jordan

We walked across the border into Jordan today - Judy is still flying high over swimming with the dolphins yesterday. We hired a cab at the border, and drove 2 hours to get to Petra. Google PETRA when you get a minute. We are at an abandoned Arab village in a Wadi that was turned into a Guest village - Taybet Zaman. The locals had no air conditioning 1000 years ago, so they built this into the rock hillside. Our buddy from Galilee stayed here with his family and said "you've got to go there". Good advice so far. Tonight we are heading into "little Petra" to get the lay of the land. The manager said "let me fix you up with a friend ..." which is always a little scary. Taking a cab down into the valley to walk around, and then meet a fellow who will set up a bar-b-que at a cave opening in the desert where we will eat and watch the sun go down laying on a rug. Hmmm ....

Dead Sea

Time out from the blog - the camel needed water and we finally found a place with a generator (grin). Actually we did visit a camel farm today and it didn't look a lot different from a cattle ranch. Camels grazing on hay and whatever else camels eat.
Bruce decided to stop at Ein Gedi Kibbutz for the night - an oasis on the hills about half way down the Dead Sea. Ein Gedi is mentioned in the Bible - Song of Songs chapter 1. We discovered that it a full fledged mineral spa. It has its own mineral baths, Dead Sea products, its own beach on the Dead Sea, a cafeteria and all included in the price of a stay. Judy was beat, so I treated her to a full body mineral mud bath, mineral springs bath and a message to help her deal with a weeks on the road. Tomorrow she gets a water message and we go for a dip in the Dead Sea.
Each Kibbutz that we've visited is totally different - each has its own way of surviving economically, and many have developed housing for travellers to supplement their income. Most have cattle, and are based oringinally on agriculture, but they have all developed according to demand. Naim took us to one I can't prounce, just outside of Kiryat Schmona in the north. They are producing wines and liqueurs that are WONDERFUL!~ After a bit of sampling, we bought a bottle of Pomegranite liqueur and another bottle of White Chocolate Liqueur. Did we mention that Israel is flowering? Yum.
Kibbutz Ein Gedi is capitalizing on visitors who want to visit the Dead Sea, so they've developed this very successful "Country Living" lodging, meals and spa all in one. What a pleasant surprise!
A Restful night and tomorrow we drive to Masada 1/2 hour away from Ein Gedi.
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Masada - we drove there and watched it rise out of the desert. It speaks to you. A very well placed visitors center sits on the next mesa - situated respectfully so that it doesn't detract from the impact of the place. You can hike up the "Snake Path" to the top, or take the cable car. We spent the afternoon there until it closed. Officers in the IDF are sworn in there, and take an individual oath: "Masada shall not fall again."
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Naim and his daughter Yarden said that we needed to climb deep into the Negev desert for a couple of days to experience it, and stop at Mitzpe Ramon. What great advice. Mitzpe Ramon in perched on the edge of a geological wonder called a Mahktesh. I asked what the English word for it is? "Mahktesh" was the answer. It is the result of a dome in the earth's crust rising and then hardening. The materials are so soft that wind and water carved out an Israeli Grand Canyon. It is awe-enspiring! Imagine a huge crater from horizon to horizon, with multi-colored layers like a rainbow of earth, a few small volcanic cones in its base, edges that fold inward, and a road that drops into it. Way Way Down! Shimshon and his wife Ofra are both graduate geologists, and we talked at length about this wonder of nature. It's worth the trip just to come see this!
We stopped at Davin Ben Gurion's home and site of the University of the Negev. Ben Gurion said that Israel's future lies in the south - in the Negev. It was his dream to see it flower and bloom. A water system from the Sea of Galilee feeds the desert, and had it not been for the prolonged drought, Ben Gurion's dream may become a reality.
The Negev is simply beautiful, in its own stark barren way. Many small towns along the way, and many things to hike around and see.
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Judy and I are in Eilat - actually in Eilot at the Kibbutz at the northern tip of the Red Sea. Wonderful place, and some of the most awesome, warm and wonderful people we've met. Great food, great company, terrific accomodations (they put us in a 1 BR apartment). We walked into Egypt to have lunch today at "Taba" - what an incredible difference ..... so glad to be back in Israel again!
We met a local woman at a reconstruction of a desert Temple yesterday (Timna Park - just north of here - where Moses camped on his way to the promised land, and King Solomon mined copper). She and Judy struck up a conversation, and she invited us to Friday evening service at her church: "Shelter" is the name I believe. The pastor has been feeding needy travellers for 36 years and preaching the gospel. Incredible experience - we began by singing a familiar hymm in Hebrew, then Spanish, then another in English, then Arabic for the Sudanese in the audience (who grabbed a conga drum and beat it throughout the hymm!), then 6 Russians got up, grabbed a guitar and sang a hymm in Russian ....What a blessing last night was.
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I took Judy to her life long dream today:
scuba diving in the Red Sea off of Eilat, swimming with wild dolphins and a local guide in the reefs.
WOW.

Will tell you more later. We cross into Jordan tomorrow and go to Petra for 2 days. Some say it is one of the wonders of the world ...

Leaving Jerusalem

The sun is up today, bells ringing in the city, calls to prayer at 5:45 and the feeling that you are somewhere special. Renting a car here is a challenge. Remember "Battle-Cars"? Yup - that's what driving is like here. Lots of road construction and short tempers.
On to the Dead Sea.