Trip to Japan!

So, I didn't actually take the kids to Japan, but we did go to EPCOT so we could get a look at a bit of Japan.  I wasn't planning to go, but a friend needed to be picked up at the airport, so I thought we would combine the trips and do something fun.  We had a GREAT day - especially for something unplanned.  EPCOT was pretty empty (although a bit hot!).  We also spent some time over in the Magic Kingdom and caught the afternoon parade.  Fun day!

Grass Sandals - Japan

So we are back in the swing of things.  It was SOOOO good to get home and hug my kids.  We are rowing Grass Sandals this week for school.  Today we wrote Hikau and made Japanese Hats.  Here are the kid's poems:

Logan

Volcano

Lava Steamy Hot

Boulders Crush and Bang Loudly

Rushing and Screaming

Spencer

Sharks

Big Chomping Sharp Teeth

Do not chew; Only tear to eat

They can eat us - YUM!

Ella

Seahorses

Spikey on Seaweed

Nice Cute Float Underwater

Happy Smiling Good

HOME!

I will post more later with some picture from the past 39 hours (the amount of time it took from when we left the hotel in Eilat until we pulled into our driveway in Vero.  WHEW!)  We are exhausted, but VERY happy to be home safe and sound.  There is nothing better than hugging your kids and getting kisses from them!  

Thank you for your prayers during our journey. . .more soon. . . 

SCUBA Diving in the Red Sea!

I am SO tired and it is late - so this will be relatively short, but I HAD to post. Today Dan, Amy & I went diving in the Red Sea. Dan arranged our dive yesterday with a woman who spoke limited English. She said something about bringing our passports because of going to Egypt, but we just thought we would be in Egyptian waters and needed the passports "just in case". Um, not so much. We actually started at a dive shop in Eilat, where we checked in. From there we got into a "bus" (and I use that term loosely) for a 5 minute drive to the border. Then we walked through the border - all 7 checkpoints! We had a guide to lead us, but it was still CRAZY. THEN we got our equipment from a dive shop in Egypt and got on our boat.

Diving in the Red Sea was SUPER cool. I was so amazed by all the fish and colors. We rented a digital camera and got some decent pics. I will post a few now, and maybe some more tomorrow.

The picture of me sitting on the sea wall gives you a glimpse of why the Red Sea is called the "Red" Sea. At sunset, the mountains reflect into the water giving it a reddish hue.

Finishing up in Jerusalem and driving to Eilat

Today we packed up our stuff at the hotel and then headed back to the Garden Tomb. We had a very productive time, wrapping up nearly all of our taping.

After that we went back to the hotel for checkout. We headed south and stopped back in Ein Geti at our favorite "restaurant behind a gas station" for lunch.

It was a LONG drive (about 4 hours) through the desert, but we survived. It was very interesting terrain, but (even with the a/c) it was also HOT. At one point - after putting on sunblock, Amy & I were using tissues to cover our shoulders that were still in the direct sunlight.

We arrived in Eilat - on the Red Sea - about 5 PM. Check in took about forever, but it was well worth the wait. Our rooms are SUPER nice! Dan & Amy are on a top floor in a suite that is bigger than Mike & I's first apartment. I am not sure what one is supposed to do with a hotel room that huge, but we think it is fun. Our room is REALLY nice too - not nearly as large, but recently renovated with a balcony overlooking the Red Sea. (It also has a huge bubbly tub - YIPPIE for me!)

Dan went out to get our dive for tomorrow arranged. He is SO excited! We will be gone on the boat all day. Poor Mike will have to find a way to entertain himself - don't worry - he will be just fine. Our boat will take us over to Egypt and we will get in 2-3 dives. Should be fun!

We ate dinner down on the promenade that runs along the Sea. Did you know that even in the VERY southern point of Israel, you still can't get pizza with meat on it? I was excited to see a Pizza Hut from our hotel room window, but sadly disappointed that I couldn't get bacon or ham on my pizza. We skipped it and went to a place that had some yummy chicken and steak.

BTW, It is HOT out there - even late at night. Oh, I did see a temperature gage when we first arrived an it said 34 degrees (that is in C. We decided that translates to about 1,000 degrees F - lol!). Speaking of hot - I almost forgot to explain our last picture. It is what happens to Mike's gummy worms when they get left in the hot car!

Walking Tour of Jerusalem & Museums

We went for a walking tour this morning and we were reminded - once again - of how happy we are to NOT be on a guided tour.  Our guide this morning was not too fabulous and I am pretty sure the 3 hour walk was taxing the upper limits of his physical abilities.  Oh well - we did get to see some cool stuff.  

The best part of the walking tour was Hezekiah's Tunnel (and our guide didn't even go on that part with us).  It is about a 30 minute walk - through water (usually about calf deep, but sometimes up over our knees!).  The water was COLD, but it was a fun adventure.  King Hezekiah had the tunnel built in about 700 BC.  He built it to bring the water source right to the city while concealing it's source.  Neat stuff. 

After lunch and a little shopping in the Old City, we headed back to the hotel to get our car.  We drove to Yad Vashem - which is a memorial to those who were killed during the Nazi Holocaust.  It was a VERY powerful and sobering place, but I am glad that we went.  The museum was much bigger than I imagined.  It includes personal artifacts and stories from survivors - very overwhelming.  

After that we went to The Shrine of the Book.  This is the museum built to house the Dead Sea Scrolls.  It was especially neat because we had just been in Qumran (where the scrolls were found in 1947) a few days ago.  The whole display is an amazing confirmation of the authenticity of the Old Testament scriptures.  

We went back to the Jerusalem Courtyard (AKA downtown) for dinner.  We ate at a place called Terra.  Our wine was from the Ella Valley - we saved the cork and took a picture of the label.  More good food and great fellowship with friends.  

Not too many photographs today.  We did get some at Shrine of the Book and a picture of our favorite security guard at the hotel.  He is super nice and helpful - answering all of our crazy questions!

Mt of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, and the Garden Tomb

We had another full day, visiting sites inside and surrounding the Old City.  We started with a cab ride (in the cleanest taxi I have ever seen) up to the Mt. of Olives.  We were told to get there in the morning for the best view and pictures and we were not disappointed.  We then walked down with stops in a Jewish Cemetery and the Garden of Gethsemane.  

We aren't sure if the garden we were in was THE garden - and we actually went in two different gardens, but we enjoyed thinking about Christ praying on this very hill - most likely near some of these olive trees. 

We continued walking down the hill and back into the Old City.  We checked out a place called Treasures of the Temple which is a group of Jews who are working on being "ready" for them moment when the time is right to go back in and re-build the temple.  

Today we ate lunch at a place in the Christian Quarter where we all had schwarma in pita sandwiches.  They were quite yummy!  After lunch we went to the Bible Society and then wandered around the shopping bazzar for a while.  For those who have never been to Jerusalem, the shopping inside the old city walls is something to behold.  It is row after row after row, of what I swear is the same 12 shops, over and over ;).  It is interesting to see how different the shopping areas look in the different quarters.  

We also climbed a tower in a church (sorry don't remember which one) for 5 shekels.  It was an AMAZING view of the whole city.  We climbed about a million stairs to get up there, but it was totally worth it.  

We did go to the Church of the Holy Seplachure and that was. . .interesting. There were a TON of people in there and it was just odd.  I am glad we went - just to say we have been there.  

After we stopped in a restaurant for a cold beverage, we took a taxi to the Garden Tomb.  This is an area that is near Galgotha and MAY have been the location of the tomb where Jesus was buried.  It is run by a British group who function solely on donations.  The message they were sharing was such a breath of fresh air - from what we had experienced up until this point.  The guy who works there was giving a talk to a group and we listened in.  He said that we don't know for sure if this was Christ's tomb or not.  The location and type of tomb do lend to the possibility that it COULD be, but that is not what it is important.  He emphasized that what WAS important was the message of the cross.  Christ died for all and raised from the dead 3 days later.  So simple and yet so profound.  

Love and Misses to everyone at home! 

Inside the Old City Walls

Today's blog will be shorter as I am actually a day behind.  Yesterday we had (yet another) amazing day exploring Jerusalem.  We took a really cool tour of the Western Wall that actually runs UNDER the Muslim Quarter.  Our tour guide was very informative and we learned a lot about the Western Wall and why this area is so important to the Jews.  Mike & Dan both volunteered to help the tour guide demonstrate the HUGE blocks of rock that were used to create the Western Wall.  

We spent a lot of time exploring the Jewish Quarter - which was very cool.  We had a pizza on cardboard lunch and then went to the steps where Jesus most likely taught.  

For dinner we went to an area called "Downtown Jerusalem" (according to our friendly front door security guy at the hotel).  We ate at a restaurant called Adom.  We ate in an outdoor little courtyard and enjoyed the cool breeze!  

Dinner Cam at the Focaccia Bar

Ok - here was dinner cam tonight. We HAD to have Focaccia for our appetizer. I had a pesto pizza and Mike had a pesto lasagna made with sweet potato. He kept raving about this, so I HAD to try it. I did NOT enjoy it nearly as much as he did. Amy had a liver and pasta dish (which I didn't even want to try!) and Dan had a salad with "beef" on it. For dessert, Dan had much better coffee than he had last night (I think I forgot to mention him actually SPITTING the coffee out last night!), Amy had some merangue thing, Mike had a cheesecake and I had chocolate mouse. So, see - we aren't starving here!

Qumran and Jerusalem

Amy & I got up and ran 5 miles this morning. There was a nice brick walkway that was parallel to the Dead Sea. It was amazing to run along and watch the sunrise. However, it was VERY HOT!! We saw lots of other people out exercising along the same path, but we were the only ones stupid enough to be running. Oh well - we lived to tell about it! We didn't bring our camera this time, but saw some more interesting art that we WOULD have photographed - had we brought it.

After our run we packed up and left the "lowest place on earth". We headed north to Qumran which is the location where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. We shot 3 podcasts here in the HOT HOT sun. Well, Mike did set us up in the shade, but by the time we finished taping, I was in the sun.

We had lunch at Qumran and then headed to Jerusalem. Qumran is actually located in the PA, so we had to do border crossing (x2) today, but it turned out to be a non-event. Both times we just rolled through without being stopped. (Just in case we WERE stopped, we had already figured out that Mike's Grandfather's name was Seymore! LOL!).

We were having trouble figuring out where to go for dinner, so we ended up asking the security guard in front of the hotel. He and the other employee (bell hop?) were very entertaining - coming up with all sorts of options for us. We settled on a place called the Focaccia Bar. It was YUMMY!

There will be a separate post for dinner, b/c we had so much fun with dinner cam tonight, but AFTER dinner, I found my coveted M&M's at a tiny convenience store. YIPPIE! We also saw a building that we took a picture of for Grandma Cheryl - it said it was the original site for a maternity hospital.

Hiking up Masada and waterfalls at En Geti

This morning we got up early and drove to Masada where we hiked up the mountain. The travel guide books say that this activity is only for the "intrepid traveler". I am proud to announce that we are intrepid! It wasn't easy and it WAS HOT, but we made it to the top. Do you see the snaking path up the mountain in the first picture? That was what we hiked up! There is a cable car/gondola thing, but we were too intrepid for that! The path you hike up is actually called the snake path. When we were about 3/4 of the way up, some people were coming down and the girl announced to us (in a cool accent) "Soon up on the top". We repeated that to each other several times on the remainder of the climb.

Masada is the location for the Jews "last stand" against the Romans. There were 1,000 Jews living in the fortress at the time and the Romans were invading. The Romans had made base camps surrounding the mountain and a ramp up to the main gate. When the Jews realized they were going to be overtaken, they decided to take their own lives - rather than fall into slavery. The creed for the IDF is "Masada will not fall again".

From Masada we went to lunch. The guide book gave information about this restaurant that was behind a gas station. I was a little nervous, but since they had air conditioning, I really didn't care. Once again, we were surprised (in a good way) by our meal. You can check it out in the "lunch cam" photo.

After lunch we went to En Geti and had an easy hike up to the waterfalls. It was so amazing. You are just walking along in a dry barren dessert, and then poof -- a waterfall. I went in fully clothed - was too hot to care! This is where David went when he escaped from Saul's wrath. He wrote several Psalms in this location. We could see the inspiration for his words.

We then came back to the hotel to rest (the others went for another dip in the Sea - I opted out) and then had another yummy dinner.

Tomorrow we will head to Qumran on our way to Jerusalem.