Halfway

On Friday as I bumbled along in the back seat with Bedford's head lolling over the seat we headed for Tel Aviv. It's funny that Israel is the size of New Jersey but yet they have such a variety of climates and landscapes. Tel Aviv is on the Mediterranean Sea so it's humid, green (when I was there anyway) and rather lush with more flat and rolling hills. Jerusalem is more hilly, rocky and an average humidity. So, we dropped off their horse at the doggy day care and he was thrilled. The boy and I cozied up for a long weekend in the back seat together.

Ashkelon was our lunch destination. It was pouring rain. Bart was worried about going to the desert during a deluge but Doug said we should go for it so we did and I'm glad even if everyone did suffer each in their own way. As the Bartletts like to say, during a lot of it "we had fun without having fun", the rest was fun or just crazy and unreal. In Ashkelon the recommended restaurant was closed so we went to "Meat Me". It was... good food and nobody spoke any english. They conveyed to us that they were searching for their english menu and we saw them search high and low to no avail. We finally ordered some beef and some chicken (the usual options in Israel) and he told us it would be $500. Doug dealt with it quickly asking how many zero's and he said one so my heart resumed beating. We sat down to eat. Doug felt compelled to take my picture in this clash of cultures with a rather alarming/disturbing phrase in the background though I daresay the Israeli's probably think it's clever and have no innuendo in mind... There were napkin dispensers from the 80's in America and a real live cigarette vending machine. I loved my lunch at "Meat Me" so much that I took several pictures.

We made a brief stop at the Mediterranean Sea but it was cold and windy so we picked up sea shells for my munchkins at home and skedaddled. 

After that we were back in the car pell mell and off to the border of Gaza just to say we went. We parked by the border and Doug and his mini me (Warren) rhapsodized over how close we were to Gaza and how we would all die if we crossed the border until Bart very calmly asked if we could leave. 

I think if she had known how the rest of our day would pan out she might not have bothered to feel any angst. It was to be the theme of her day. I was just a small child in the back seat without a care in the world kicking the seat in front of me and begging people to listen to my headphones with me so I really didn't add any gray hairs to my head. I guess it's not nice to brag. I guess I did join reality now and then to laugh like an imbecile and shrug my shoulders and wish for wifi so i could make nonsensical Facebook posts about my adventures on the border of Egypt and Gaza. Anyway, we got lost. We were headed for the desert to camp with the Bedouins and ride camels the next day but the Israeli version of Siri took us on a rather extensive off track tour of southern Israel. What eventually happened was we crossed over into a military zone, got stopped by a very scary looking humvee full of Israeli soldiers who wanted to know what we were doing. Since we were lost, we didn't really have to play the part we just acted dazed and confused which we were. They sent us packing and Bart forbade me from taking a picture of them which was torture. Ithink if she had known how the rest of our day would pan out she might not have bothered to feel any angst. It was to be the theme of her day. I was just a small child in the back seat without a care in the world kicking the seat in front of me and begging people to listen to my headphones with me so I really didn't add any gray hairs to my head. I guess it's not nice to brag. I guess I did join reality now and then to laugh like an imbecile and shrug my shoulders and wish for wifi so i could make nonsensical Facebook posts about my adventures on the border of Egypt and Gaza. Anyway, we got lost. We were headed for the desert to camp with the Bedouins and ride camels the next day but the Israeli version of Siri took us on a rather extensive off track tour of southern Israel. What eventually happened was we crossed over into a military zone, got stopped by a very scary looking humvee full of Israeli soldiers who wanted to know what we were doing. Since we were lost, we didn't really have to play the part we just acted dazed and confused which we were. They sent us packing and Bart forbade me from taking a picture of them which was torture. 

There's a little map of our tour though I really can't say where we went off track seeing as how I was oblivious most of the time. 

At one point we wound up in some kind of settlement behind a gate, unable to find our way back to any recognizable road. It was funny... well give me a break. I was a little kid kicking the seat. 

Finally after a harrowing drive through the desert in a deluge... Bart said we almost washed off of a bridge at one point... I was blissfully unaware... Doug got us to the place just in time for dinner. That was the best dinner of my freaking life after trekking back and forth from the car to the room through shin deep water with all of our luggage, pillows, blankets and sleeping bags. Sorry, no pictures. It would have been completely impossible, though it would have made a hilarious movie. 

Ahhhh dinner! Blessed amazing dinner!

We had tea by the fire and warmed up and tried to dry out a little. It was pretty magical. I'm still amazed at the lengths the Bartlett's all went to entertain me... little old me. 

The next day we had a lovely breakfast with what Harrison declared were the best eggs ever and many more sumptuous foods and teas. They had green tea and Bedouin tea. I liked the green tea personally. After breakfast and dinner both people staying there played music and sat around drinking tea and laughing. It's a very magical place. 

Here's what you saw right after you came out the door of our lodge.

 This is the restrooms but they're so pretty I had to take a pic. I was basically standing in the sunshine brushing my teeth.

This is the lodge we stayed in.

Yes, those tracks were right by the place we stayed the morning after the deluge!!! In the parking lot by our lodge. 

I'm outa juice. I keep stopping in the middle of a day. It bugs me. 

Part 3 The rainiest day of my trip!

God has a way of just twisting my heart when I am failing. I've been failing to blog my awesome trip. I don't know why I'm struggling to be a blogger nowadays. I think I'm so busy reading books, staring at my lovely Hazel's chubby cheeks and soft toes and giving people dirty looks when they tell me she isn't a baby anymore that I just think I have nothing more inside of me. But then God shows me something beautiful and twists my heart and I panic and run start typing.

This morning Bart sent me a link to an apartment for rent. It had pictures of the view of Jerusalem and tears started running down my face as I looked at something that shouldn't feel familiar and special enough for me to cry over but there I was... wondering if I'd ever see it again. Wondering if I savored it enough. Wondering if my husband or kids would ever see it. But mostly wondering why the hell I was crying over an apartment for rent in Israel.

http://www.jerusalemproperties.co.il/property/rental14.shtml

 On the rainiest day of my trip we went to the museum and the Shouk. The Shouk is a local market, not geared towards tourists. People buy their meat, produce, treats, spices, pottery etc... there. I bought some Halva which is a pretty yummy mediterranean treat. It's a combination of ground sesame seeds, honey and other ingredients. I also bought a juicer but pomegranates are out of season in America right now so it's just kind of collecting dust. It seemed like a good idea at the time... I should have bought saffron but I didn't.

Eden was particularly fascinated by an open market and requested many videos. I should have had Bart being Vanna White with stuff more. That's the best part of these cheesy videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIq-Ww-BRhQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve2gsZPkuok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2XghQ3DzMs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_c_MX4X8k0

The museum was... full of incredible artifacts and overwhelming. Our legs ran out of energy and our brains went into system overload before we were half done. Coffee was a great solution. The worst part was that I was sick of taking pictures and failed to take pictures of the amazing roman and greek sculptures there. The best part was that I did see the Dead Sea Scrolls which was wonderful but there was this mean little old man in there who would shriek every time I tried to take a picture which really just baked my cookies. If you don't want people to take pictures, post a sign, don't have a crazy little man shrieking at people like a cuckoo in Hebrew. Here's the best pic I sneaked.

The worst part through all of this was the rain. Jenny cut bangs for me right before I left and they were pasted to my forehead the entire time I was there. Sigh. We felt it was worth documenting with a "we are soaked to the bone permanently and our bangs are awful" expression. I texted it to Jenny who always looks perfect and she told us we looked great. Uh, yeah. Ok...

The next day we left for the desert. The entire Bartlett family and me. It was a rather hilarious and wonderful trip. I sat in the back of Barts car with her boys feeling like a small child. I watched them play a terrible pirate game on their ipads and listened to my ipod with my headphones all the while wondering where we were and how far we had to go. It was a bit like being a kid again... I had forgotten how that felt! It's good to get in touch with your inner child sometimes.

There is no way I will document all of that day right now... Soon.