Eden Tiberias

... ya, that base closed down years ago, it's just around the corner". At least I remembered correctly.<br>We walked and I recognize the wall with the barbed wire on top, I see the turn to the entrance and hope I can go in. We make the turn and there's no one there. I can freely walk in although there are signs everywhere saying that trespassing is not allowed. Meh, whatever.<br>The whole base looks like it was trashed. Of course it wasn't, it's just that they had to remove absolutely ...

... basalt. Addison walked a hillside that looked like an ancient artifact parts yard where each stone item was carefully numbered.<br><br>As we exited I overheard a Christian group asking their guide lots of questions about this site and its connection to the Old Testament story of the defeat of King Saul. The guide seemed to be taken aback thinking that a Christian group would be only interested in the site's significance to Christ. As a ...

... natural sights, but we are all simply passing through. Perhaps, the most we can hope, or aim for is to leave this world just a little bit better for those who come after us. It's this perspective that leads me to conclude that when I named this blog "Cruising into the Past", I had neglected this important consideration. Perhaps, I should have called it "Cruising from the Past into the Future". <br><br>Stay tuned for more.....<br><br>Best wishes,<br>David and Bonnie

... seem to know the words, but just as loudly as if she did, which we found amusing and annoying all at once. The younger couples in front of us went from wild side-to-side swaying to sultry Eastern dancing as the night progressed. Certain exuberant men and women dancing in Greek style were featured on the big screens on either side of the stage.<br><br>Had no problem getting out and onto the road, and back to the hotel by midnight. Another day done.

... we got to those grounds, our guide had brought his Bible and asked me to read from Matthew chapter 5, the part containing the beatitudes ("Blessed are the poor in spirit..."). It was a special time for the four of us tourists. By the way...side note... this was the first of several times our Jewish guide brought out his Bible (I'm talking New Testament here) and had me read from it. It made me sad that ...

... and need to learn some tougher discipline. Here in the north, the beautiful green trees and forest hills represented a remarkable change from the desolate desert of the south, from which there was no recourse against the sun. Perhaps since this base could hold up to 3,000 soldiers apparently, the cafeteria food was actually not too bad. We slept in bunk-bed cots with about twenty of us per room. Needless to say, the first shower after Field Week was unbelievable. The few days ...

... no one uses it and I see why, but the idea sounds cool. <br><br><br><br>On the way back home, the train broke down and came to a halt inside a tunnel for about 15 minutes, and after finally reaching the next station, all the passengers on board were instructed to switch to another train. Coming soon after Shabbat ended, both trains were completely full, so imagine one train filled by double the capacity. My friend and I sat on the stairs near the door, where a ...

... We noticed many kids outside all over the streets and then we noticed they all carried around toy guns. We remembered that it was their holiday that night or today, as it was the end of Ramadan. That may explain why all the kids were around roaming the streets and why they were dressed up a bit, although somewhat ostentatiously (with shiny &amp; gold &amp; silver) and much older dress than appropriate for their ages. But it didn't really explain the whole gun ...

... on one of them but a guy in Jerusalem had mentioned another hostel nearby. Azar. With only this name we stumbled around in the dark and twisted backstreets until we arrived, sweaty and tired, at the Fauzi Azar Inn. When the volunteer said they only had one bed left, I was prepared to sleep in the common room when he decided to open up one of the private rooms and convert it into a "dorm" for our use. At least we had a bed. The Azar was an expensive dorm ...

... It was like a huge carnival with booth after booth after booth of cotton candy, sweet crepes, candies, cakes, ice cream &amp; other foods too. There was music as well. It was massively crowded &amp; Rascal was not having much fun, so we had a sweet crepe &amp; went on our way. Well, this has been a jammed pack day. Back ...