Day 11/12/13 - Jerusalem to Houston via Paris

It is Sunday morning (or Day 15) and back home. As usual the effect of returning from a significant time difference is doing a job on sleep patterns. This is an expected consequence of an eight hour time difference between Houston and Israel. (The time change is further complicated by the fact that Israel and the U.S. change to and from Daylight Savings Time on a different schedule).

Day 11 - As reported on the Day 10 blog post, our only scheduled activity was to visit the Garden Tomb which many of us believe to be the most probable spot of Jesus` burial. To those of us who adhere to this belief there is a cliff which appears as a skull. Unfortunately the ravages of time, erosion and other weather phenomenon has changed the formation so that one must rely on pictures from early in the 20th century to get a good idea of how the formation might have looked at the time of the crucifixion. The Garden Tomb Association who administer the Garden Tomb refer to this site as "Skull Hill."

Today there is an Arab bus lot at the base of Skull Hill so you can see that the area is in the midst of an active Arab community in East Jerusalem.There is a great deal of evidence that justifies the belief that this is the actual site of the crucifixion rather than the more traditional site identified by the huge Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Garden Tomb which is just a short distance away from Skull Hill is so peaceful that it is difficult to believe how quiet and serene it is.

For those of you have never been to Israel, a visit to this site is worth the cost of the trip.

Randy and I spent an hour or so in the garden in prayer and conversation. It was very special for me.

Leaving the Garden Tomb site we walked back to our hotel to make final preparations for our late afternoon departure from Israel. We are always sure to allocate enough time to get to Ben Gurion airport and through the security procedures there. These procedures include typical questions to insure that only you have been in control of your luggage since packing and that no one has given you something that would endanger the aircraft or passengers. There is a lot of eye contact with the security people and I am sure a lot of profiling by them.

Our arrival in Paris was in the late evening and on our way to the hotel at the airport a bag fell of the cart we were using and I tripped on it and fell flat on my chest. All was OK but I do still have soreness in my right shoulder to add to the miseries of a bad ankle.

Day 12 - Our hotel at the airport was convenient to the RER. The RER is a train from the airport into the city and with an added short trip on the Metro (i.e. subway) we were near the agency where we picked up our prearranged "skip the line" tickets for the Louvre. It was a short walk to the Louvre from the agency. The agency provided a audio tour and instructions for the fifteen most important items at the museum. This of course included the Mona Lisa portrait and the Venus de Milo sculpture.

The Louve is a very large museum. It would take days to take a quick look at everything on display so our two hour stop definitely only allowed for the highest of highlights.

The Botbus is just what it sounds like, a boat bus. The twenty minute ride on the Seine River dropped us off right at the Eiffel Tower.

We also had a very informative guided tour of the tower including a ride to the top for a dramatic view of Paris. If you ever visit Paris be sure to find a "skip the line" ticket of the Louvre and Eiffel Tower. The ticket lines were very long.

Since we seemed to be gluttons for punishment we continued our walking tour over to the Champs Elysee Boulevard for a distant view of the Arc de Triomphe.

While this was already a full day we decided to return to the Eiffel Tower for a nighttime view.

Back at the turn of the century thousands of strobe lights were added to the tower to give a spectacular light show. Even though these extra lights were only planned for the millenia celebration the "sparkle" was continued because of its popularity. The five minute "sparkle" show was worth the time.

Our day of touring Paris, mostly by foot, ended our planned odyssey to Israel and Paris.

Day 13 - Our morning departure from Paris for Houston took back to Texas by late afternoon Houston time thus completing our adventure.

What a wonderful experience of being able to spend this quality time with my sons.

Day 10 - Jerusalem

Sorry no pictures today.

Our stay in Israel and Jerusalem is quickly coming to an end. Those of you who know me know that I am saddened that I must again say goodbye to Israel.

We leave for the airport tomorrow afternoon at 1:45 and so this is our final post from Israel.

Our only activity planned for tomorrow is to go to the Garden Tomb and again recall in a very special way when Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice paying for our sins and providing a way to be with Him throughout eternity.  The Garden Tomb is located in East Jerusalem in an Arab area. It is so surprising to find it so peaceful in the midst of all the noise of a vibrant city.

Today Randy and I spent two hours sifting through buckets of sediment that was recovered from the Temple Mount. The "Sifting Project" has the difficult task of sifting through debris that was extracted from the Temple Mount when the Arabs did an expansion of the Al Aksa Mosque. The extraction was done carelessly with no supervision from archaeologist. I can share more detail about what happened but it is too much to try to include here.

This afternoon we visited the Holocaust Museum here in Jerusalem.  The depictions of this very difficult historical event is heart rending.  At the same time I am reminded that it was the culminating event that led to Israel`s Declaration of Independence. The world, through the United Nations, approved the Partition Plan that finally made it possible.  David Ben Gurion declared the State of Israel at 6:00 on May 14, 1948 and President Truman issued a statement of recognition at 6:11. 

Being in Israel with my sons has been a marvelous experience and I stand in praise that I have been treated to this exceptional time with them.

See all of you soon. You know that I am never hesitant to speak about Israel the place God has chosen for His habitation.

(Charlene  -After leaving Jerusalem they will spend  a  day in Paris before returning  home.)

Day 9 - Jerusalem

Since Randy missed the Segway experience last Monday we did a Segway tour today but this time in Jerusalem. Of course Mark is on his way back to Houston and plans to work tomorrow. I am expecting to hear that he had a hard day on Tuesday.

Interesting that this tour took us right by the Avissar House where Charlene and I stayed last fall on our trip with David and Edith Bush. (and where we stayed the year before with the Roses.)  While we there before we saw the Segways go by our apartment several times and thought that it would be fun to try.

Tomer our guide asked us what is the difference in Catholics and others. That led me to essentially give him the story of Jesus. He wants to go to school to be a guide and I told him he would learn a lot about Christianity in the guide school. He told us about a baptism place just north of the Dead Sea and opposite Jericho. That gave the opportunity to get a New Testament in Hebrew and read the book of Matthew. He said, "I have one."

In the afternoon Randy wanted to visit the Israel Museum so that gave us the opportunity for him to see the Jerusalem model and to visit the Shrine of the Book where most of the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed.

Shrine of the Book Museum roof

What day is this? 5 already? (no, day 6)

(Mark)
Capernaum - I guess its a good thing we came back. I always remembered the excavation at Capernaum as Nazareth. One of the most memorable pieces they had was a mantle with the Ark of the Covenant pulled by 2 winged creatures (I think they look like butterflies). They also have a good reproduction of a first century synagogue. This is the town Peter was from, and the Catholics have a church over the place attributed as his house. We stood in for the beginning of a mass  for a Chinese tour group. I did get a few nice pictures of the Sea of Galilee from the shore line.

Mt of Beatitudes - This location has changed a lot too, but not necessarily for the best. Although I'm sure there is a good reason for it,  the iron fences around the outside of the site took away from my memories of sitting on the low wall and hearing the reading of the scriptures of  Jesus' sermon on the mount.  I think I'll stick with my earlier version of these memories.

Bet shean - Dad was horribly disappointed. We went to the place he calls his favorite restaurant in the world. But we got there too early. Being a Friday, it turns out they weren't opening until much later in the day. After lunch at another place we found, we explored the Bet Shean excavations which was a huge Roman city (in the decapolis, the ten cities-a place Jesus preached the gospel--charlene)
- This is a very large complex. Absolutely fascinating. Its amazing how much you can picture about a civilization from the layout of the streets and the buildings. All of the stone walls makes one wonder how our own time would be remembered. Then we found a place that I felt very comfortable in until I dropped  my  phone. (Mark and Randy were sitting on stone Roman toilets when he dropped his phone into the ancient  latrine.)

Jordan Valley headed towards Dead Sea - I had no memory of this stretch of land. I was probably sleeping in the bus the last time through. As we got closer to the Dead Sea, I was surprised at home many palm trees are being farmed for dates. There had to be over a hundred individual farms for just the palms. Irrigation can do  wonders.
Mark

Day 8 - Dead Sea/Jerusale.m

(Randy) We had a very busy day today. Since it was Mark`s last day so we tried to fit in all the best things. We walked down Mt Olives, walked through the Garden, (you need to see the picture of Mark), Traditional tomb of Mary, Grotto of Gethsemane, Dung Gate, Tunnels under the Western Wall, Temple Institute, went to the closed Garden Tomb. Then we checked into our hotel inside the Old City at Christ Church.

We are going to have a a short trip to get Mark on the bus for the airport later.

(Charles) We left Ein Gedi on the Dead Sea about 8:00 and got into Jerusalem about 9:30 and I drove directly to the Mt. of Olives and dropped Randy and Mark off. They walked down what is now a nice paved pathway down the Mt. of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane. This pathway is very near the path Jesus would have taken from Bethany into the city on the of entry into Jerusalem when He was honored (Triumphal Entry). It provides a great view of the Old City.

After leaving them I was able to take care of getting access through Jaffa Gate for our rental car and to arrange for Mark`s transportation to the airport tonight for his early (1:00 am) morning departure for Houston via Paris.

After leaving the Garden of Gethsemane Randy and Mark chose to walk to Dung Gate which is near the Western (Wailing) Wall making several stops along the way.

Mark had to improve his clothing from shorts to a more 'moderate" style at the Garden of Gethsemane and a couple of other stops. Happily there was a gentleman who was glad to help for a small fee.

Along the way they got some great shots of the Eastern Gate.

And beautiful flowers as they neared Dung Gate.

We linked up at the Western Wall.

After getting back together we took a tour of an underground tunnel that has been excavated along almost the entire length of the west side of the Temple plateau.

This tour that took about an hour where we could see foundations stones for the Temple mount plaza. Randy said later that he would enjoy spending hours studying this amazing feat from an engineering perspective.  Most of these foundation stones are massive with one estimated to be the equivalent of two loaded 747s. How did the ancients get this done?

The exit from the tunnel tour was very near the Via Dolorosa so we stopped at what is believed to be the first station of the cross. It is below today`s street level where the Antonio Fortress stood and was possibly where Jesus trial took place. On the rocks forming the floor is the outline of a "game board" for the game called the "Game of Kings." Could this be the game played by the Romans over Jesus` robe?

Our next stop was at the Temple Institute. An organization that has reconstructed all the furnishings except the Ark of the Covenant needed for a fully restored Temple. Everything could be moved to the Temple mount in a few hours if they only had the access.  When will it come?

(No pictures available> Google "Temple Mount Institute" to see pictures.)

The Menorah is on display on a plaza overlooking the Temple Mount. It is made of a brass support structure and ninety-five pounds of gold. Today`s technology does not know how to make the menorah with only gold as instructed in the Bible.

We wanted to end our day at the Garden Tomb so rushed to that site only to realize that it is closed on Sunday.

After a brief time of rest Mark went to the airport for his return to Houston. Our last report was that he was in Paris for the scheduled layover.



Day 7 - Dead Sea

Qumran is located very near the northern end of the Dead Sea.  Originally I had hoped we could stop at Qumran yesterday on our way to the Ein Gedi Kibbutz Guest House but we were running late on our run from the Galilee to the Dead Sea. The Qumran Reserve was already closed as we passed the entrance.

This morning we backtracked about 20 miles to give Randy and Mark a chance to visit the remains of this area where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in late 1947. It has always interested Christian supporters of Israel that this discovery came just as the U.N. was passing the proposal for the partitioning of the area known as Palestine into two states, one part for the Jews and one part for the Arabs. This action provided the path for the independent state of Israel.

Qumran was a community of very religious Jewish zealots.  The introductory film at Qumran included an interesting story about a man named John who had entered the community and started a two year period of testing before being fully admitted to the sect. This person left the community just before completing the trial period. Later they heard of a man who had been beheaded by Herod and wondered if it was the same man.  It of course was possible this could have been the same man and very likely could have been the man we know as John the Baptist.

After a short visit we returned to the Ein Gedi area to visit the Ein Gedi Nature Preserve. The archeologist have not found anything here to support this as the location for David`s encounter with King Saul where David cut off part of Saul's robe but it certainly meets the description of the area found in the Bible.

There is a paved sidewalk to a small waterfall.  This is a shot of the waterfall with Randy and Mark. (Several people we have encountered asked if they were twins).

They continued further into the park to "David's Waterfall" while I returned to the Visitor Center. The path gets pretty rugged so I decided to return and wait for them there.

(Marks waterfall pic)

The higher waterfall has both a warm side and a cooler side. The geology explanation is that there are two sources of water with one of the springs being heated by a lava source and the other spring being away from the heat source.

As I was going back to the Visitors Center I found a Catholic group involved in the Mass. I thought that this seemed to be a strange place for a Mass. Then on second thought, why not?

While the boys continued to the primary waterfall further upstream I returned to the Visitor Center. Usually the Visitor Center is quiet but it was anything but quiet with a lot of people out for the day with the family. It is a nice place for a family picnic since there is shade on a fairly warm day.

After leaving the Ein Gedi Nature Preserve we traveled just a few miles further south to Masada. For those who might not know, Masada was a summer palace built by Herod the Great. Its location also served as a natural fortress sitting on top of a hill with deep valley all around. In Jewish history it was taken by Jewish Zealots in the war that saw the Herod`s Temple destroyed and it was a final holdout by the Zealots against the Roman army. I chose not to join the boys at the top to try to preserve my poor old injured ankle as they rode the cable car up.

While on the mountain Randy and Mark walked down what I referred to as a staircase hung out on the side of the mountain to visit what is left of the primary palaces of old King Herod.

After their return from atop the mountain we had a quick meal and then took off for the Ein Gedi beach in hope of fitting in a Dead Sea swim. Unfortunately we were too late for the actual swim but at my request they reluctantly agreed to apply some of the healing Dead Sea mud for a picture.

While they did not get to do an actual Dead Sea swim they were able to take a short swim in the inside Dead Sea water pool at the spa.

Day 5 - Around the Sea of Galilee and Looking into Syria

(Randy) We ate breakfast at the House of Prayer and had short devotions. We went to the “Big," a small mall in Tiberius, to get medical supplies and  cash from the ATM.  We were on the road in 20 minutes. Unfortunately we promptly ran into traffic and road blocks because today was the holiday of Purim and everyone was out of school and many were off work.       There were families and children with costumes heading to the main street for a parade.  Since we couldn’t head North as planned, we headed South and    looped around the east side of the Sea of Galilee and on northward into     the Golan Heights.

The first stop was an overlook with a view of the valley where the border   to Syria is located. There was a small UN camp (white buildings)  near the  border. I doubt they would be able to stop anything if it got started.

[(Charlene) Actually the UN officials deserted the buildings and ran into       Israel a couple months ago when they were threatened by ISIS in Syria.]

From there we went on to the Banias Springs. The town of Banias was also called Caesarea Philippi during the time of Jesus. This was a properous city during that time based on the number of idol temples that we saw. These  springs are one of the three major sources of water for the Jordan River.

About half of all the water for the Jordan River comes from the springs at Tel Dan. This National Park is a small archaeological site  surrounded by a larger wildlife refuge with nature trails. We enjoyed hiking around the site and viewing the Israelite Gate to the city and the large walls. The city was large but much of it has not been excavated. Other things of interest were the Canaanite Gate and the High Place where one of the two idolatrous golden calves was worshipped.

Mark and I walked the trail up into "Paradise" or the "Garden of Eden." We did not see the twelve fruit trees but had already determined to not eat     any of the fruit if we did find them.

On our way back south we stopped at a burger place that had internet so Mark could Skype with his girls who were just on their way to school. And Charles made a free call to Charlene on “Magic Jack.”

Then Mark and I spent about 20 minutes in the new dig at the village of    Magdala.  This is a new site that was started in 2010 which is well done.     They will continue to have more finds but already have uncovered a first    century church, marketplace, purification baths (Mikvah), and houses. This will develop nicely into a site worth making a return visit.

(Charlene - Sorry about the crazy formatting. They are using Word docx to write and it won't format correctly in the blog no matter how many times I try to edit it.)

Day 4 continued - Galilee Sites: Jordan Baptismal, Peter's Primacy

Yardenit Baptismal Site
 

At the south end of the Sea of Galilee where the Jordan River begins its flow southward is a place where capitalism is definitely at work.  On our very first visit to this area our pastor at the time, Hal Brooks, took some baptismal candidates from the road down the banks of the Jordan River and baptismed them right in the midst of some fishermen cleaning their nets.  Now just to south is a complex constructed by a local community, the Kibbutz Yardenit and known simply as Yardenit.  Nice walkways lead into the water where baptisms are much more convenient and includes robe rental, changing rooms, and of course, one of the most extensive gift shops in the country. 

Peter's Primacy
 

From Yardenit we went to another site on the Sea of Galilee known as Peter`s Primacy.  It is the traditional site where Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. After Jesus asked the question the third time Peter used the agape form of the word love hence the term Peter`s primacy.  You can walk down to the beach and let you imagination run away and see Jesus there early in the morning preparing a breakfast of fish for His disciples.

Full moon over Sea of Galilee

Day 4 - Casearea, Megiddo, Sea of Galilee

(Charles) After a good night's rest for all three of us, we made a stop at Caesarea by the Sea. This picture has a couple of interesting items.  In the foreground is a small portion of the hippodrome at Caesarea (think, chariot race in the movie Ben Hur).  

 

In the background there are remnants of buildings at the ancient Roman Mediterranean port, most of which is now underwater.  While Randy and Mark surveyed the area spending more time here than planned, I rested my ankle.

 

Next on the agenda was a stop at Megiddo overlooking biblical Jezreel Valley which is mentioned as the location of the last World War at Armageddon (Rev. 16:16 -Har Megiddo or hill of Megiddo).

 

Randy and Mark recalled their past visits to Megiddo as children.      They seemed to particularly interested in revisiting an overlook that   provides a beautiful view of the Valley of Armageddon and a view of  early archaeological work. The dig revealed a large Canaanite altar from a time before Abraham was sent by God from Ur to the Promised Land.

 

I chose to opt out of the underground walk and pick up the hikers at  the exit of the Iron Age water tunnel. Given the time period and the   tools available, it was a masterpiece of engineering, built to access a  spring from inside the city walls. James Michener's historical novel, The Source was based on civilizations that occupied the Megiddo site throughout history.

 

Leaving Megiddo we started toward the Northern Galilee but the        navigator (Charles) chose a wrong turn and when we realized it, we   changed plans and headed for the Sea of Galilee to visit all possible    sites in that area before dark.

 

   

In reference to Charlene's edits to my post (fussing just like at home)

(Charles) Just to set things straight I did not say I was injured while riding the segway.

I think Charlene  just wanted for those reading the post to think it was while on the segway so she could include that video.  My original post about my injury was that I turned my ankle when I caught on a curb and fell.

But guess that I will fess up. I was on the segway when I caught the curb wrong and was trying to compensate when I over compensated and the segway went into small spin and I fell off.

(Charlene) So let me get this straight--you were on the Segway, hit a curb and fell off, injuring your ankle. And that's different from what I said about being injured while riding a Segway? Uh, sure. So that video WAS you going into a spin and falling.

Like texting and driving?

Was that before or after Mark was taking a picture while riding a Segway?

Day 3 - Tel Aviv/Caesarea and a bit more drama

Charles - After some difficulties with our cab driver finding the rent car company and then difficulty with the rent car company since they did not have a car available for us. And then once we did get a car from another company down the street we had trouble finding our way back to the highway for the normal twenty minute drive from Tel Aviv to the Ayalon Bullet Factory for our 10:00am English tour.

Mark found the tour fascinating and commented that he thought it would involve a couple of guys reloading used cartridges in their garage.  He discovered that the factory which operated for about three years before Israel declared Independence and was a elaborate factory built under a kibbutz clothes laundry with twenty-five or thirty active workers making bullets from raw materials right under the eyes of the British army.  This was all made possible by a very noisy washing machine operating during the day doing laundry for the kibbutz as well as citizens of nearby Rehovat and British officers who liked the quality of the laundry service.

Firing range adjacent to the bullet manufacturing and all underground, 

This scene is a worker very carefully loading gun powder into the casings made in an adjacent room out of raw materials. The powder loader had to be extremely careful since a mistake could lead to an explosion destroying the factory as well as the workers. Only women filled the cartridges since their touch was deemed to be lighter. If discovered, the work would be totally destroyed with devastating results for the Israelis working for independence.

We had learned that Randy had his updated passport and would travel to Israel arriving today so we limited our planned activities to the "Bullet Factory" so he wouldn't left out of any other adventures.  So to occupy our time until his expected arrival around 5:00 pm, we discovered a couple of nearby places to spend some time.

The Weisman Institute is also at Rehovat (south of Tel Aviv) where the bullet factory/kibbutz is located.  It is known for extensive research in cancer therapy and the use of computer systems in solving deep scientific questions.  This research has led to some very dramatic discoveries that are used today in cancer research.  It was interesting to watch a video with both female and male scientists who have made these discoveries including Nobel Prize winners.  

 

As a note, the Weisman Institute had a working collider on campus but mothballed in the 60's when they joined in participation with the Cern Collidor located in Switzerland.  Texas had plans for a massive collider in East Texas but funding was cut off and work will likely never be continued. 

After visiting Weisman, Mark and I stopped at Latrun where there is a large display of tanks and related type equipment which had been used and/or captured during conflicts with its neighbors.  

 

Then we stopped at a nearby roadside cafe for some refreshment when we learned that Randy would not get to Tel Aviv until 10:00 pm (6 hours later than expected).  So we decided  to go on to our hotel at Caesarea and get checked in.  Because of traffic it took us over two hours to get there including some unplanned side trips.  Later when we went back to the airport it took about half an hour..  For those interested, Mark will be happy to expand on this time period. (Mark was the driver since Charles has a hurt ankle.)

 

Charlene - I got a text about 2:30 (10:30pm in Israel) this afternoon that they had picked up Randy at the airport and were headed back to the hotel for the night. Hopefully they will all sleep peacefully now that they are all together.

 

 

Why wear pads and helmet while learning?

Read all posts down the page to get all the drama. cm

(Charles) Mark and I arrived in Tel Aviv at 4:20 pm after a long flight from Houston to Israel with a connection at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. We finally got word that Randy did get his new passport in Houston and will join us as soon as possible.

 

After arriving into Ben Gurion airport we proceeded to the immigration where everything went fine except for a lot of people in the queue (we picked the slowest line as usual.) and then on to the Dan Panorama Hotel on the Mediterranean Coast.

 

I was able to surprise Mark when we walked to the beach and met up with ZuZu Segways where we "learned" how to maneuver a Segway and took off for Biblical Joppa.  I hit a curb and twisted my ankle so I am pretty handicapped for the time being. Be sure and watch the video above.

(Charlene) Life is a bed of roses and sometimes you get into the thorns.

We praise the Lord that Randy did get the flight to Paris but when he arrived he found that he had been bumped from the connecting flight to Tel Aviv which gave him another 6 hours to sit and worry about how to let his dad know of the change. His phone did not work and the only email he could use was his old AT&T one. Randy's email to me said "I am using an iPad in the Air France lounge but it is difficult. Especially the french keypad and autocorrect." Ha! I have been there, paying by the minute and using a French keypad.

  Thank the Lord, I woke up very early and got the email from him and was able to then text Mark's phone (they were out sightseeing with no wifi). Now we can assume all three will be reunited at 10:30pm on Tues night their time. (Israel is 8 hours ahead of the US.)

Stay tuned and pray for a blessed trip for all. cm

 

Day 2 - ARRIVAL IN TEL AVIV (and the "SURPRISE")

(Charles) Our flight to Paris seemed to go fairly quickly for the almost nine hour flight. Mark and I both cat-napped but really not much sleep for the overnight flight. Charles de Gaulle airport is a very large complex but we  had no problem getting to our connecting gate.  However, there was a last minute aircraft change so we had to ride a bus to actually get on our plane.  It was a virtually full flight and felt something like a cattle car.

We have received word that Randy has been successful in getting a new passport and as of this writing are confident that he is well on his way to joining us in Israel.  

As usual we got in the slow lane to get through Passport Control. After visiting an ATM at the airport to get Israeli Shekels we rode a taxi to or hotel overlooking the Mediterranean and with a very good view of Joppa of biblical fame. It is a combination of old and new with most of the old city of Joppa having been rebuilt after Napolean failed in his attempt to gain the Holy Land for France.

The pcture isn't great but is from our hotel with Joppa in the background. The light building is a large Catholic church.

The first thing on the agenda was to visit a walk up stand offering one of our favorites, a falafel sandwich. (Can we assume that is the cook smiling and standing with Mark? Charlene)

The big event for the day was the surprise that I had planned for the boys. After an introduction to the segway we rode along the Mediterranean to Joppa Port. Including the introduction to the segway we rode for about an hour and a half including Joppa.

I caught a curb and fell down  twisting my right ankle fairly severely but am praying that I won't slow the boys down on their quest to see as much of the Holy Land as possible.

On I-45 at 6:30 am headed to Passport City

(Charlene) Randy took this on our way into town this morning. Foggy and the space you see is the largest one we saw between our bumper and the one ahead of us. Randy said, "Traffic. It's not like this on US280 in Birmingham."

It was a stressful day but by 1:45pm Randy had his spankin' new passport in his hand and we were headed back to the airport. I dropped him off a bit after 2 and he was inside the gate for his Paris departure by the time I left the airport property. I am so thankful that it happened in Houston where you can actually get a passport in a day.

A word to the wise--don't head to Europe, Asia or even Belize with a day less than 6 months left on your passport when you plan to travel. They won't let you in. Some cruise lines won't even let you board either. Every country has different rules but I say Renew those passports early!

Allison has gotten some texts from Mark and they had a full day touring and around Tel Aviv today but they are sleeping now. They know that Randy plans to join them tomorrow.

Day 1 - Departure for Israel

Many of you probably have already heard but our departure from Houston to Tel Aviv via Paris did not come off as planned. We were all at the airport in plenty of time but during the check in process with Air France, Randy, our oldest son, was denied boarding.  It seems that his passport which was valid through some time in July did not meet either a European requirement that the passport must be valid for six months beyond the departure date.

Mark, our youngest son, and I continued with our travel plans.  Randy will try to get a new passport at the Houston passport office in time to meet the same flights but one day later.  When he is able to join us in Israel we will make adjustments as needed to minimize what he is missing.

Here is a selfie taken at the airport before we learned that he was being cancelled.