Thoughts On [insert religious topic(s) here]

With the help of my GPS, today was an exciting day exploring the Golan Heights. We had a buffet breakfast at Shlomi and started driving through the mountains towards Tel Hai in the north of the Golan. Once we got out of Shlomi, Jac’line let me drive through the mountains. The roads in northern Israel are pretty bumpy, so it’s hard to get over 80 kph, approximately 50 mph.

Looking on the GPS, we noticed that there were a few scenic stop-offs on the way that offered views down into the Golan and the Galilee. We stopped at one in Goren Park about an hour out of Shlomi. Standing on the stage of an amphitheatre, we looked out into the valley below. I’ll say it again, this land is stunning. Mountain after mountain stretch before you everywhere you look. (more…)

When I woke up a few hours later, I realized I hadn’t had any water since dinner and was very dehydrated. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anymore water in the room (it was all in the car) and I didn’t have the strength to walk to the store to get some. I didn’t want to wake Jac’line so I just forced myself to sleep until about 7 AM. When I woke up, she had been up for a while, so I asked her to get me some water and breakfast. She kindly nursed me back to health and hopefully, I’ll be good to go for a while.

We left the hostel at 8 AM, heading to the Mediterranean coast, and north to the Lebanon border to the small town of Shlomi. The GPS really got broken in today. The maps I got for Israel are AMAZING! I can zoom in to the level of alleyways and see every possible route to get around traffic or along the coastline. For example, we were able to completely avoid the morning traffic of Tel Aviv by driving on a highway that went around the city, a path that would have been much harder to do with a standard map. (more…)

After a busy day yesterday, you would think we’d take it easy today. Nope. We left Jaffa Gate at 8 AM to pick up our rental car. We rented a tiny Hyundai Getz, bright red, probably to let all the locals know to watch out for tourist drivers. Our plan was to meet Jacky and Nancy at the rental place and drive down to Beit Guvrin, a location famous for its large caves. Jac’line had been to the caves twice before and wanted all of us to experience them.

Our Hyundai Getz at Beit Guvrin

With my GPS in hand, we started driving out of the busy Old City and towards Beit Guvrin. Within the first couple of minutes I got us off-course but I quickly got the hang of the GPS program and we got ot the caves with no other major issues. The drive took about 45 minutes but along the way, we got to see the landscape of Israel from a perspective other than a tour bus. (more…)

Today was a day of biblical proportions. Seriously. We walked much of the land Jesus would have walked during his final week in Jerusalem. But that wasn’t exactly the plan for the day.

Before going to bed last night, we sat with Howard on the patio and invited him to walk around the outside of the city walls with us today. After seeing the city from above on the ramparts, our plan was to see the city from the outside, walking along the walls and seeing all the gates of the city. If you have a map of Jerusalem, now would be a good time to get it out. If not, Google is your friend. Believe me, a map will make this much more interesting-especially if it gives elevations. (more…)

We got up and out at 8 AM this morning and headed to the rental car place hoping to get our car today. Unfortunately, it was closed for Shabbat. We decided to grab a cup of coffee at the YMCA across the street. When I think YMCA, I think of gyms and hang-out spots. Aside from the King David Hotel, a five-star hotel, the YMCA is the second nicest hotel in Jerusalem. The building is built onto an old church and has amazing architecture. We also headed over to the King David just across the street. There is no wonder that it is a five-star hotel. The floor has the signatures of famous dignitaries that have come to the country. The back patio looks out over the entire Old City. (more…)

Well, after long goodbyes, 34 of the pilgrims left for Florida. It was bittersweet, but now it’s time for the JAM Journey (Jac’line and Mat). Once everyone had left, Jac’line and I decided to just relax in our rooms until we had to check-out at 11. So, I watched some Simpsons and finished packing my stuff.

We met Jacky and Nancy down in the lobby and then got a taxi to Jaffa Gate. Unfortunately, the taxi couldn’t drop us off right at the hostel, so we had to carry all our stuff another quarter mile to the hostel. Not a good way to start the day off. Jac’line and I got checked into our hostel and went up to see our room. Ironically, we somehow double booked so we had two rooms, an upper one and a lower one with a patio. We chose the lower one, and offered the upper one to Nancy and Jacky. It was another mini-Anona pilgrimage for four more days. (more…)

Today was our last full day of the trip. Tomorrow everyone leaves for Florida and Jac’line and I stay behind to continue our journey. It’s bittersweet, but by the end of the day, we realized that everyone on the trip had been changed for the better from this experience.

We started the day with a visit to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the paralyzed man in John. The pool is located right next to the Church of St Anne, where Mary’s parents supposedly lived. Both the pool and the church are located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, in a rather sketchy section, right by the entrance to St. Stephen’s Gate. I’m not stereotyping Arab men with this statement, but many of the men in the quarter were very rude and persistent when we would walk by their shops. The area is known for pick-pocketing as well so we all kept an eye on our wallets and bags. (more…)