Tired but happy. That describes today. The weather was cold today, coldest day we have had while here. Not sure exactly, but guessing it never got above 45. Our mission was to see Jerusalem, in all its glory. And boy did we ever. I really wonder how much we walked, but everyone agreed it was miles! Still, even with the cool weather and the strenuous walking, we ended up with a great day and everyone is in good spirits. I’m sure just a little of it is the knowing that we are almost going home. Several of us are showing signs of homesickness.
Our morning started out on the wrong foot, nobody got their wakeup call! But after a good breakfast, we headed out to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus stood many times, prayed , and sweated blood here. While on the Mount, we visited the cemeteries (all Jewish people desire this area because it is so close to and faces old Jerusalem). We got great pictures of the Dome on the Rock, which is where the Muslims say their God, Ishmael, climbed up to Heaven. Following this we walked (and walked some more) to the Church of All Nations, which stands right next to the Garden of Gethsemane (where Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested). On to Mt. Zion, for the denial of Peter, torture of Christ by the Romans, Lords Supper, and the Pentacost.
After lunch (falafel’s eaten in the old city, Jerusalem), we made a short shopping stop, then visited the Church of the Resurrection. Next was a leisurely walk (yeah right) thru old Jerusalem and its walkways and covered streets, ending up with an exit out the Damascus Gate of the Holy City. Our final stop was to the Garden Tomb and to Calvary (Skull Hill) where Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb. It was a very powerful day, trust me. To see this amazing history take place in front of your eyes, to see the proof and amazing evidence of Christ’s place in the stories of the Bible, is just unbelievable.
Doug’s camera gave out by midday, I gave him my camera so he could oversee all photo taking, while I concentrated on video. Honestly, we collected hours of stuff, just today. It becomes painfully obvious that there is no way you can video or photograph everything, even though there is so much to see. We are finally forced to be selective about just what to photograph! Very very hard to do, trust me!
Just saw Carol for a bit at dinner. She is tired, came to hotel to sleep tonight. She says Bill has been moved to intensive care and things are getting petty serious. Since we are leaving Jerusalem to travel back over to Jordan again, I am leaving my rented cell phone with Carol in the morning, so she can be in contact with her family and 2 sons back home. I believe her son Doug is making arrangements to fly out here in the next day or so. Again, keep Bill in prayers, he is in pretty serious situation at the moment. And Carol needs our thoughts too.
Tomorrow we travel to an area known as Petra Jordan. Supposed to be beautiful there. Looking forward to it, mostly cause it means we are about ready to return to Missouri!
Well, better stop, get packed and get ready for the trip tomorrow. Night everyone! Dave
Pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51566&l=d597f&id=578079683
Map of our day
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8d4b7b6c0b137ce&z=13
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Hi everyone. Finally getting a little time to get back online! The last 2 days have been really busy. A good example was yesterday. Honestly, we were either walking or standing all day. I was wiped out by time we got back to hotel; too tired to even get online and give an update of the day.
Yesterday we started out by visiting the Western Wall, otherwise known as the Wailing Wall to the Jewish and is Jerusalem’s most sacred site. Our guide, Mark, had even arranged a special trip thru the tunnels that border the wall. This is something that even the folks on the tour that had visited Israel before, had not gotten to do. It was amazing.
Afterwards, we ended up on the Via Dolorosa path, which is the claimed path that Jesus Christ took, carrying the cross to his death. Disputed by many, but just about everything in the Holy Land is, either by Muslim, Christian, or Jew. Got to visit the Lithstratos, the location of the judgment of Christ by Pontius Pilate, then a brief stop at Bethesda. This is where Jesus saved the man that was paralyzed, told him to get up and walk away, which he did. Again, this is amazing stuff, to actually stand exactly where Christ stood 2000 years ago. We spent the afternoon at the Holocaust Museum, which was both amazing, and saddening. The worst by far, was the pictures and stories of the children that suffered and ultimately died, simply because Hitler wanted the Jewish race to die. Finally, we arrived back to hotel, but as many of you know, Bill Gutshall had remained behind yesterday because he was not feeling well. When he didn’t open the hotel door for Carol, we all knew something was wrong. Hotel provided a spare key, and when Carol opened the door she screamed a horrible sound. Bill was found on floor, semi conscious. Had been trying to get up for hours, rubbed his knees and hands raw. Ambulance came and he is now in local hospital. They are continuing tests, not a blood clot, but they won’t permit him to leave or fly home at this time. So keep them in your prayers, it would certainly be a scary thing to be in a foreign country with your spouse in a hospital and unsure what will happen next.
Today was another great day. Probably the most beautiful scenery we have seen the entire time here. I took 123 photos and have a lot of video I will have to review, of this day. Our day started at a place near the Dead Sea, known as Masada. This is a huge fortress that was built by King Herod. It ultimately was the location of the final fight between Romans and the Jews. This fortress is something like 1400 feet up, and the view is stunning. It overlooks the Dead Sea. Again, I just kept taking pictures, as did everyone else. Probably one of my favorite destinations so far. Trolley car ride up, but several of us daring folks took the long and winding hike back down. Tiring but wonderful view every step of the way. We Stopped briefly at Ein Gedi, for more view, then visited Qumran. This is the location where most all the Dead Sea scrolls were located. Great to learn the history and how they were actually recovered. Finally, a stop at the beach of the Dead Sea. Mark says the Dead Sea is poisonous; drinking a cup of the water will cause cardiac arrest. Nothing lives here; the salt content is a third of the volume, about 10 times the salt of ocean water. You gotta be careful if you swim here to not get in face or eyes. The good news is you float, due to the specific gravity of the water. Doug, Dema, and Vladimir all swam, while several others waded in. It was hilarious at times, had a great time of it all.
Tomorrow is supposed to be our busiest. And will be our final day touring Israel before heading back over the border to Jordan on Wednesday. Several of the folks are pretty worn out; hopefully they can make it just one more day before we move on. The food and the hotel have been great, although I don’t always recognize what I’m getting from the buffet. Don’t care much for their scrambled eggs; they don’t cook em long enough. Also since we are in Israel, there is no pork here. So there is seldom meat of any type at breakfast. They also don’t serve coffee at dinner, otherwise people would want creamer for it. And there can be no dairy product with meat at same setting. Oh, speaking of meat, that another funny thing; they don’t call it steak, or roast, or hamburger, or meatballs, brisket, etc. It’s all called simply beef. So, when you order something, they usually ask if you want chicken or beef, no matter what the beef actually might be.
Anyway, that should pretty much catch everyone back up with our days. Oh, Doug found a place that sold Dr. Pepper today! He was so excited, until he had to pay $3.50 for it. Ha! But we are finding everything is expensive here. Soup and salad will usually cost more than $12 here. A full meal at lunch can be $20. But none of us are starving and as expected, we have all become a big family, sharing our lives with one another throughout the day. I’ve made some wonderful friends and love every one of these folks, they are special to me, I’m sure everyone else on the group feels the same.
Ok pictures are up on Facebook and I've added a map of our journey again. Had to create a new folder of pictures, cause Facebook only accepts 60 in one folder.
Again, keep Bill and Carol in your prayers. Goodnight everyone, love and miss you all………Dave
Pictures
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8d1a6316e0aa4ce&z=9
Yesterday we started out by visiting the Western Wall, otherwise known as the Wailing Wall to the Jewish and is Jerusalem’s most sacred site. Our guide, Mark, had even arranged a special trip thru the tunnels that border the wall. This is something that even the folks on the tour that had visited Israel before, had not gotten to do. It was amazing.
Afterwards, we ended up on the Via Dolorosa path, which is the claimed path that Jesus Christ took, carrying the cross to his death. Disputed by many, but just about everything in the Holy Land is, either by Muslim, Christian, or Jew. Got to visit the Lithstratos, the location of the judgment of Christ by Pontius Pilate, then a brief stop at Bethesda. This is where Jesus saved the man that was paralyzed, told him to get up and walk away, which he did. Again, this is amazing stuff, to actually stand exactly where Christ stood 2000 years ago. We spent the afternoon at the Holocaust Museum, which was both amazing, and saddening. The worst by far, was the pictures and stories of the children that suffered and ultimately died, simply because Hitler wanted the Jewish race to die. Finally, we arrived back to hotel, but as many of you know, Bill Gutshall had remained behind yesterday because he was not feeling well. When he didn’t open the hotel door for Carol, we all knew something was wrong. Hotel provided a spare key, and when Carol opened the door she screamed a horrible sound. Bill was found on floor, semi conscious. Had been trying to get up for hours, rubbed his knees and hands raw. Ambulance came and he is now in local hospital. They are continuing tests, not a blood clot, but they won’t permit him to leave or fly home at this time. So keep them in your prayers, it would certainly be a scary thing to be in a foreign country with your spouse in a hospital and unsure what will happen next.
Today was another great day. Probably the most beautiful scenery we have seen the entire time here. I took 123 photos and have a lot of video I will have to review, of this day. Our day started at a place near the Dead Sea, known as Masada. This is a huge fortress that was built by King Herod. It ultimately was the location of the final fight between Romans and the Jews. This fortress is something like 1400 feet up, and the view is stunning. It overlooks the Dead Sea. Again, I just kept taking pictures, as did everyone else. Probably one of my favorite destinations so far. Trolley car ride up, but several of us daring folks took the long and winding hike back down. Tiring but wonderful view every step of the way. We Stopped briefly at Ein Gedi, for more view, then visited Qumran. This is the location where most all the Dead Sea scrolls were located. Great to learn the history and how they were actually recovered. Finally, a stop at the beach of the Dead Sea. Mark says the Dead Sea is poisonous; drinking a cup of the water will cause cardiac arrest. Nothing lives here; the salt content is a third of the volume, about 10 times the salt of ocean water. You gotta be careful if you swim here to not get in face or eyes. The good news is you float, due to the specific gravity of the water. Doug, Dema, and Vladimir all swam, while several others waded in. It was hilarious at times, had a great time of it all.
Tomorrow is supposed to be our busiest. And will be our final day touring Israel before heading back over the border to Jordan on Wednesday. Several of the folks are pretty worn out; hopefully they can make it just one more day before we move on. The food and the hotel have been great, although I don’t always recognize what I’m getting from the buffet. Don’t care much for their scrambled eggs; they don’t cook em long enough. Also since we are in Israel, there is no pork here. So there is seldom meat of any type at breakfast. They also don’t serve coffee at dinner, otherwise people would want creamer for it. And there can be no dairy product with meat at same setting. Oh, speaking of meat, that another funny thing; they don’t call it steak, or roast, or hamburger, or meatballs, brisket, etc. It’s all called simply beef. So, when you order something, they usually ask if you want chicken or beef, no matter what the beef actually might be.
Anyway, that should pretty much catch everyone back up with our days. Oh, Doug found a place that sold Dr. Pepper today! He was so excited, until he had to pay $3.50 for it. Ha! But we are finding everything is expensive here. Soup and salad will usually cost more than $12 here. A full meal at lunch can be $20. But none of us are starving and as expected, we have all become a big family, sharing our lives with one another throughout the day. I’ve made some wonderful friends and love every one of these folks, they are special to me, I’m sure everyone else on the group feels the same.
Ok pictures are up on Facebook and I've added a map of our journey again. Had to create a new folder of pictures, cause Facebook only accepts 60 in one folder.
Again, keep Bill and Carol in your prayers. Goodnight everyone, love and miss you all………Dave
Pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51566&l=d597f&id=578079683
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8d1a6316e0aa4ce&z=9
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Day 4 - Hectic!
So sorry to everyoen who waited patiently for info on this blog. We left Galilee early yesterday morning and didnt get into hotel till late last night. It was a very good, but exhausting day. Again, I simply dont know how the older folks in the group are doing it. I fell asleep last night immediately after dinner.
Only have a few minutes before we depart again. Briefly, pictures are up on Facebook page, please enjoy. Here is where we went yesterday, will try and expand upon this later tonight when we get back from our day.
Day 4 was:
Nazereth and visited the Mount of the Precipass(sp?) . This is where the false prophets attempted to throw Jesus off the cliff.\
We then visited Migiddo which is the location of the future Armadeddon. 25 settlements have been here.
NExt was Caesaera on the Meditearaenian Sea. (Sorry no time to spell check today)
Finally, was a visit to Bethlehem and then into Jerusalem.
Today we visit the Wailing Wall and Dome on the Rock here in Jerusalem. Planning lots of pics.
Gotta run. Love all of you and miss you much......Dave
Map of Day 4
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8cc319d9dee4e11&z=8
Only have a few minutes before we depart again. Briefly, pictures are up on Facebook page, please enjoy. Here is where we went yesterday, will try and expand upon this later tonight when we get back from our day.
Day 4 was:
Nazereth and visited the Mount of the Precipass(sp?) . This is where the false prophets attempted to throw Jesus off the cliff.\
We then visited Migiddo which is the location of the future Armadeddon. 25 settlements have been here.
NExt was Caesaera on the Meditearaenian Sea. (Sorry no time to spell check today)
Finally, was a visit to Bethlehem and then into Jerusalem.
Today we visit the Wailing Wall and Dome on the Rock here in Jerusalem. Planning lots of pics.
Gotta run. Love all of you and miss you much......Dave
Map of Day 4
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8cc319d9dee4e11&z=8
Friday, January 9, 2009
Good evening everyone! Another very busy day, finished! When I say we are running sun-up to sunset, I’m not kidding. Our wakeup call at 6am, breakfast in the dining room at 6:30, then loaded and on bus by 7:30. We are usually stopping for a brief lunch about 1pm, then continue on with our day, ending back at hotel by 6pm, with dinner at 7. Whew……
Today we started out with a really cool event. 2 in our group, Jim and Carol, asked to be re-baptized in the Jordan River. The place is known as Yardinet and is specifically designed for this purpose. They have the towels and robes (and a nice gift shop) there. Many many people get baptized there every single day. The pictures will show what I mean. The water was ice cold, but Carol and Jim didn’t seem to mind. Pastor Green said he got comfortable as soon as his body became numb from the cold!
Afterwards, we went on a boat ride across the Galilee, on a fishing boat, similar to what Jesus would have taken over 2000 years ago. The ride was wonderful, the waters were peaceful. The weather, by the way has been fantastic here, sunny most days and reaching 50 to 55 degrees in midday. Upon landing on the North shore of Galilee, we took a trip to the ruins of the old city known as Beth Saida. BethSaida is where about 5 of the disciples were born and where Jesus walked several times. Felt strange to actually be walking on the stones and streets that Jesus himself likely walked upon as well. BethSaida is also the location of the famous feeding of 5000 with 2 fishes and 5 loaves.
Following BethSaida, we visited the ruins of the city known as Capernaum. This was fascinating, we actually walked into the synagogue of Jesus, where he spoke and taught. I think everyone was just amazed to be in there. Following this we traveled to Tabgua, which is where Jesus returned following his crucifixion and fed the disciples breakfast. Next stop was St. Peters church, thought to hold the actual rock used to prepare the breakfast with. Finally, we proceeded the actual location Mount of the Attitudes, where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.
I have to admire everyone on this trip, to be honest. Several are older folks, yet they appear to be holding their own just as well, if not better than I! Although we may not be as bright eyed and ready to go at the end of day as we are in morning, I don’t see anyone asking to slow down yet.
Tomorrow appears to be one of our busiest. We depart this hotel in the morning and will travel to see numerous sites, including the city of Cana, Nazareth, and the East coast of Israel, near Haifa. Then we will proceed thru Bethlehem and finally end up at our next hotel on the schedule, located in Jerusalem. Sounds like a crazy busy day so I am going to end here and try to catch up on sleep.
One note - I want to thank each of you that are watching this blog and looking/commenting on pics on Facebook page. Trust me its been a struggle for Doug and I. The Internet connections here have been extremely difficult. We both find ourselves spending hours each evening trying to upload pics/ maps, and words so we can share our experience with you. Also, thanks for all the great and positive comments. Becky, I am quite honored you would share pics with your class at school. I'll try and remember this as we begine our travels South into Jerusalem/Bethlehem area. Goodnight everyone and God Bless…….Dave
Pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50690&l=80f9c&id=578079683
Map of the Day
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8c6eb780013dbc3&z=10
Today we started out with a really cool event. 2 in our group, Jim and Carol, asked to be re-baptized in the Jordan River. The place is known as Yardinet and is specifically designed for this purpose. They have the towels and robes (and a nice gift shop) there. Many many people get baptized there every single day. The pictures will show what I mean. The water was ice cold, but Carol and Jim didn’t seem to mind. Pastor Green said he got comfortable as soon as his body became numb from the cold!
Afterwards, we went on a boat ride across the Galilee, on a fishing boat, similar to what Jesus would have taken over 2000 years ago. The ride was wonderful, the waters were peaceful. The weather, by the way has been fantastic here, sunny most days and reaching 50 to 55 degrees in midday. Upon landing on the North shore of Galilee, we took a trip to the ruins of the old city known as Beth Saida. BethSaida is where about 5 of the disciples were born and where Jesus walked several times. Felt strange to actually be walking on the stones and streets that Jesus himself likely walked upon as well. BethSaida is also the location of the famous feeding of 5000 with 2 fishes and 5 loaves.
Following BethSaida, we visited the ruins of the city known as Capernaum. This was fascinating, we actually walked into the synagogue of Jesus, where he spoke and taught. I think everyone was just amazed to be in there. Following this we traveled to Tabgua, which is where Jesus returned following his crucifixion and fed the disciples breakfast. Next stop was St. Peters church, thought to hold the actual rock used to prepare the breakfast with. Finally, we proceeded the actual location Mount of the Attitudes, where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.
I have to admire everyone on this trip, to be honest. Several are older folks, yet they appear to be holding their own just as well, if not better than I! Although we may not be as bright eyed and ready to go at the end of day as we are in morning, I don’t see anyone asking to slow down yet.
Tomorrow appears to be one of our busiest. We depart this hotel in the morning and will travel to see numerous sites, including the city of Cana, Nazareth, and the East coast of Israel, near Haifa. Then we will proceed thru Bethlehem and finally end up at our next hotel on the schedule, located in Jerusalem. Sounds like a crazy busy day so I am going to end here and try to catch up on sleep.
One note - I want to thank each of you that are watching this blog and looking/commenting on pics on Facebook page. Trust me its been a struggle for Doug and I. The Internet connections here have been extremely difficult. We both find ourselves spending hours each evening trying to upload pics/ maps, and words so we can share our experience with you. Also, thanks for all the great and positive comments. Becky, I am quite honored you would share pics with your class at school. I'll try and remember this as we begine our travels South into Jerusalem/Bethlehem area. Goodnight everyone and God Bless…….Dave
Pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50690&l=80f9c&id=578079683
Map of the Day
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8c6eb780013dbc3&z=10
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Day 2 -
Okay, its becoming obvious. I’m getting old. We have all seen that guy that is nodding off and stealing catnap thru the day, right? Well I’m it.
Wow. We got our usual 6am wakeup call and are meeting for breakfast in dining room at 6:30. By the way, no sausage, ham, or bacon on the buffet. Its Israel afterall! Then we all grab our things and meet at the bus by 7:30 for departure. By the end of day and arrival at hotel (6pm usually) and dinner at 7, I am nodding off into my dinnerplate!
Today was another wonderful day. Weather is simply beautiful here. Cool crisp mornings, followed by warmup at midday, then back to evening cool temps. We are located on the waters of the Galilee, so everything here is lush and beautiful, compared to other parts of Israel. Our guide is Mark Sugarman, an American who moved to Israel 37 years ago. He has dual nationality status as does his daughter. Mark is devout Jewish. Although he doesn’t necessarily agree with all Christian views, he is very open and is the ideal guide for our trip. Today, Mark took us up to the very Northern parts of Israel, known as the Golan Heights. Golan Heights belonged to Syria until the war of 1967. We traveled thru the Heights, learning about the importance of Golan and Galiliee to Israel (Galiliee is major source of fresh water to entire country).
Various stops thru the day to view Mt. Hermon and see glimpses of Syria and Lebanon border. We also had opportunity to see the source of the Jordan river and its path thru some of the national parks here. Thru the day we made stopovers at Bannia, Dan, and Hazor, each are biblical sites with centuries of history. What is probably the most amazing to me is the history. Afterall, this country has over 10000 years of history, compared to the US with a mere 200. Hazor, for example has evidence of over 21 different civilizations being built upon one another, all in the same spot! (this is known as a “tel” by geologists).
Thanksfully the day came to a close, we are all worn down, but will be ready for another day tomorrow. I believe we will be taking a boat across the Sea of Galilee tomorrow and visiting the city of Caupernaum on the North Shore. Several folks in our group have also asked to be baptisted in the Jordan River, although it is supposed to be ice cold! Will be interesting since its gonna happen at 8am in the morning!
I’ve uploaded some pictures finally. They are on my facebook site. Here is the link to them, for those that are not “facebook family” yet. And again, a brief map of our journeys today. By the way, we switched day 2 with 3. there was a bike race in the area that would have made travel inconvenient to Capernaum.
Love to all and God Bless…….Dave
Map of the sites
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8c9a7c58a580b31&z=9
Photos on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50690&l=80f9c&id=578079683
Wow. We got our usual 6am wakeup call and are meeting for breakfast in dining room at 6:30. By the way, no sausage, ham, or bacon on the buffet. Its Israel afterall! Then we all grab our things and meet at the bus by 7:30 for departure. By the end of day and arrival at hotel (6pm usually) and dinner at 7, I am nodding off into my dinnerplate!
Today was another wonderful day. Weather is simply beautiful here. Cool crisp mornings, followed by warmup at midday, then back to evening cool temps. We are located on the waters of the Galilee, so everything here is lush and beautiful, compared to other parts of Israel. Our guide is Mark Sugarman, an American who moved to Israel 37 years ago. He has dual nationality status as does his daughter. Mark is devout Jewish. Although he doesn’t necessarily agree with all Christian views, he is very open and is the ideal guide for our trip. Today, Mark took us up to the very Northern parts of Israel, known as the Golan Heights. Golan Heights belonged to Syria until the war of 1967. We traveled thru the Heights, learning about the importance of Golan and Galiliee to Israel (Galiliee is major source of fresh water to entire country).
Various stops thru the day to view Mt. Hermon and see glimpses of Syria and Lebanon border. We also had opportunity to see the source of the Jordan river and its path thru some of the national parks here. Thru the day we made stopovers at Bannia, Dan, and Hazor, each are biblical sites with centuries of history. What is probably the most amazing to me is the history. Afterall, this country has over 10000 years of history, compared to the US with a mere 200. Hazor, for example has evidence of over 21 different civilizations being built upon one another, all in the same spot! (this is known as a “tel” by geologists).
Thanksfully the day came to a close, we are all worn down, but will be ready for another day tomorrow. I believe we will be taking a boat across the Sea of Galilee tomorrow and visiting the city of Caupernaum on the North Shore. Several folks in our group have also asked to be baptisted in the Jordan River, although it is supposed to be ice cold! Will be interesting since its gonna happen at 8am in the morning!
I’ve uploaded some pictures finally. They are on my facebook site. Here is the link to them, for those that are not “facebook family” yet. And again, a brief map of our journeys today. By the way, we switched day 2 with 3. there was a bike race in the area that would have made travel inconvenient to Capernaum.
Love to all and God Bless…….Dave
Map of the sites
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8c9a7c58a580b31&z=9
Photos on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50690&l=80f9c&id=578079683
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
First Day of our Tour
Wow. What a day! Funny, but I can remember thinking early this morning, about all the high hopes I had for the day ahead…..
As everyone in the family knows, I travel a lot for business. What you might not know is that I am listed on what is known as the “No Fly” list by the FAA. Basically it means that some bad guy out there has a similar name as mine, so my name is flagged everytime I travel. It permits the airlines to hassle me for a few extra minutes prior to every flight, until they finally see I am not the person they are wanting. Happens frequently, and I’ve adjusted to what has been a mild inconvenience. Until today that is.
We spent the night in Jordan and, after visiting Mt. Nebo (God spoke to Moses here and showed him all of Israel, Dead Sea, Jordan Valley, and its glory ) we took the 1 ½ hour drive to the border crossing at Israel (after a 30 minute delay for repairs to the poor old bus when the clutch went out). I guess the guy holding the assault rifle at the entry should have been my warning of the mess that would soon ensue. Everyone in the tour group went thru security checkpoints, including all bags, etc. Bill Gutshall was almost stripped down to underwear by time he got thru the sensors! Upon presenting passports, everyone got thru without anymore hitches, except for 1 person, ME. Yep, you guessed it. This country boy from North MO apparently is a potential threat to the security of the nation. They detained me for 30 minutes. I was asked several questions, what was your fathers name, where do I live, have I ever been to Spain, where is your wife, etc. Finally, after they realized that I was certainly no threat (I think it was my menacing posture, or possibly the look of fear in my eyes) they permitted me to proceed and re-join the herd. Honestly, I was spooked. The area was full of people, mostly Jordanians, that had been waiting for longer than me, for approvals to proceed in the country. I knew if I was not permitted entry to the country, I would have a nearly impossible task of returning to Amman Jordan alone to fly home. For Israel’s benefit, they must take their security seriously in this time of war. However, for a few moments there, I was really really homesick and simply didn’t want to be here anymore.
Our day proceeded with a stop in the oldest city in the world, Jericho. Most people don’t know this, but Jericho is controlled by the Palestinians (yep, their buddies are the ones in the newspaper, Gaza Strip, etc.). Therefore, security was tight, both entering and leaving the city (as if I had not already seen enough automatic weapons for 1 day). We were permitted in to tour the city; got to see the 2000 year old sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed into and saw the remaining 8000 years old walls of Jericho. The local folks have figured out the art of peddling their goods to the tourists, I’ll tell ya.
Afterwards, we continued on, stopping briefly at Bat Shean and saw the ruins of the Roman Amphitheater. Mercifully, we then proceeded to our hotel, which sits right on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. Was pretty much dark here when we arrived, but I plan to investigate things in the morning prior to our day.
Maybe not exactly what I had in mind when the day started early this morning, but we are here, alive, and after catching up on some much needed rest (jetlag has hit us all) then we should be ready for an exciting day tomorrow. Probably one of the highlights of the the day was the fact that my rented cellphone works (now that we are in Israel). Somehow knowing that Missouri is just a phone call away makes things seem better.
I’m enclosing a link to my map, showing just where were traveled today. Photo’s are another story. As we are discovering, Internet access is a bit of a premium here, and service is iffy at times. I have uploaded a few to my facebook if you want to look there. Hopefully it works and everyone can enjoy a few scenes of what we are experiencing. Take care, will post another exciting day tomorrow.
Dave
Link to where we have been.... http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8c6eb780013dbc3&z=10
As everyone in the family knows, I travel a lot for business. What you might not know is that I am listed on what is known as the “No Fly” list by the FAA. Basically it means that some bad guy out there has a similar name as mine, so my name is flagged everytime I travel. It permits the airlines to hassle me for a few extra minutes prior to every flight, until they finally see I am not the person they are wanting. Happens frequently, and I’ve adjusted to what has been a mild inconvenience. Until today that is.
We spent the night in Jordan and, after visiting Mt. Nebo (God spoke to Moses here and showed him all of Israel, Dead Sea, Jordan Valley, and its glory ) we took the 1 ½ hour drive to the border crossing at Israel (after a 30 minute delay for repairs to the poor old bus when the clutch went out). I guess the guy holding the assault rifle at the entry should have been my warning of the mess that would soon ensue. Everyone in the tour group went thru security checkpoints, including all bags, etc. Bill Gutshall was almost stripped down to underwear by time he got thru the sensors! Upon presenting passports, everyone got thru without anymore hitches, except for 1 person, ME. Yep, you guessed it. This country boy from North MO apparently is a potential threat to the security of the nation. They detained me for 30 minutes. I was asked several questions, what was your fathers name, where do I live, have I ever been to Spain, where is your wife, etc. Finally, after they realized that I was certainly no threat (I think it was my menacing posture, or possibly the look of fear in my eyes) they permitted me to proceed and re-join the herd. Honestly, I was spooked. The area was full of people, mostly Jordanians, that had been waiting for longer than me, for approvals to proceed in the country. I knew if I was not permitted entry to the country, I would have a nearly impossible task of returning to Amman Jordan alone to fly home. For Israel’s benefit, they must take their security seriously in this time of war. However, for a few moments there, I was really really homesick and simply didn’t want to be here anymore.
Our day proceeded with a stop in the oldest city in the world, Jericho. Most people don’t know this, but Jericho is controlled by the Palestinians (yep, their buddies are the ones in the newspaper, Gaza Strip, etc.). Therefore, security was tight, both entering and leaving the city (as if I had not already seen enough automatic weapons for 1 day). We were permitted in to tour the city; got to see the 2000 year old sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed into and saw the remaining 8000 years old walls of Jericho. The local folks have figured out the art of peddling their goods to the tourists, I’ll tell ya.
Afterwards, we continued on, stopping briefly at Bat Shean and saw the ruins of the Roman Amphitheater. Mercifully, we then proceeded to our hotel, which sits right on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. Was pretty much dark here when we arrived, but I plan to investigate things in the morning prior to our day.
Maybe not exactly what I had in mind when the day started early this morning, but we are here, alive, and after catching up on some much needed rest (jetlag has hit us all) then we should be ready for an exciting day tomorrow. Probably one of the highlights of the the day was the fact that my rented cellphone works (now that we are in Israel). Somehow knowing that Missouri is just a phone call away makes things seem better.
I’m enclosing a link to my map, showing just where were traveled today. Photo’s are another story. As we are discovering, Internet access is a bit of a premium here, and service is iffy at times. I have uploaded a few to my facebook if you want to look there. Hopefully it works and everyone can enjoy a few scenes of what we are experiencing. Take care, will post another exciting day tomorrow.
Dave
Link to where we have been.... http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113407999173617109556.00045f8c6eb780013dbc3&z=10
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Well we made it! The flight from Chicago to Queen Alia Airport in Amman Jordan was nearly 13 hours. Richard, Connie, Doug, and myself were fortunate enough to sit next to one another during the flight over. However, putting Richard and Doug next to each other was quite possibly a mistake; like 2 kids seriously. They laughed and joked most of the way! Although long flight, it was fun.
As soon as we arrived, we were whicked away to collect luggage and tranported to our hotel for the evening, for checkin and another meal... :( . Seems we have ate alot, but everything has been very good. Dinner at hotel last night was buffet, with variety of foods, including several items I even recognized, including ham, brisket, and potatos! LOL Doug, however, is having mild withdrawal from Dr. Pepper. The service folks look at him funny when he requests Dr. Pepper, but seem to understand Coke and Pepsi.
Our tour group totals right at 20 persons at the moment. Besides Reverand Green and our little foursome from Dockery, there are 3 from Pennsylvania (1 a retired military husband who just departed Iraq a couple of months ago), Linda from Columbia, MO (this is her 4th trip over), Vicki and Susan from Kentucky, Gordon, a retired farmer from Edina, MO, Bill and Carol Gutshall from Trenton. Finally we have 3 friends of Bill/Carols that flew in to join us from Belarus (near Russia). Svetlana and Vladimar are farmers, speak no English! Their son has traveled with them and is acting as interpreter thoughout the tour. Finally, 3 more from Kentucky were traveling in late last night after their flights were diverted.
No opportunity to get photo's yet, unless you want to count the ones we took of Doug doing the moonwalk backwards at the Chicago airport on the skywalk. Thankfully Connie was quick with her camera and caught it! She has been taking several group shots and I hope to get one or two fromm her as soon as we get settled in. Anyways, the coming day should be great excitment for all and will make the long travel day worth it. Stay posted, will write more as we arrive at our next hotel, located on the sea of Galilee, later this evening. Linda says it is breathtaking and will be one of the most amazing things we will experience. Love you all.......Dave
As soon as we arrived, we were whicked away to collect luggage and tranported to our hotel for the evening, for checkin and another meal... :( . Seems we have ate alot, but everything has been very good. Dinner at hotel last night was buffet, with variety of foods, including several items I even recognized, including ham, brisket, and potatos! LOL Doug, however, is having mild withdrawal from Dr. Pepper. The service folks look at him funny when he requests Dr. Pepper, but seem to understand Coke and Pepsi.
Our tour group totals right at 20 persons at the moment. Besides Reverand Green and our little foursome from Dockery, there are 3 from Pennsylvania (1 a retired military husband who just departed Iraq a couple of months ago), Linda from Columbia, MO (this is her 4th trip over), Vicki and Susan from Kentucky, Gordon, a retired farmer from Edina, MO, Bill and Carol Gutshall from Trenton. Finally we have 3 friends of Bill/Carols that flew in to join us from Belarus (near Russia). Svetlana and Vladimar are farmers, speak no English! Their son has traveled with them and is acting as interpreter thoughout the tour. Finally, 3 more from Kentucky were traveling in late last night after their flights were diverted.
No opportunity to get photo's yet, unless you want to count the ones we took of Doug doing the moonwalk backwards at the Chicago airport on the skywalk. Thankfully Connie was quick with her camera and caught it! She has been taking several group shots and I hope to get one or two fromm her as soon as we get settled in. Anyways, the coming day should be great excitment for all and will make the long travel day worth it. Stay posted, will write more as we arrive at our next hotel, located on the sea of Galilee, later this evening. Linda says it is breathtaking and will be one of the most amazing things we will experience. Love you all.......Dave
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