I scream, you scream, we all scream...

You know what the best part about vacation is? Ice cream. And lots of it. Have a little breakfast and have a little ice cream. Have a little lunch, have a little ice cream. Have a little dinner, have a little ice cream. Then for a snack have a little ice cream. It’s not a problem when you are walking a lot, but when you are being chauffeured around on a tour bus… well, I only packed clothes that fit.

Wednesday started with a boat ride out into the middle of the Sea of Galilee where we had a nice little discussion and read from the scriptures about different events that occurred at that setting - what a way to begin a beautiful morning!

Our bus took us further north to Capernaum to view the remains of an ancient Jewish synagogue as well as visit the location they believe that Jesus taught the multitude the ‘Sermon on the Mount’, among other things. We had the opportunity to open our scriptures again and recount that timeless message.

The sites are all pretty packed with tourists; at least the Jewish ones. It’s the three-week break marking the day of the destruction of the ancient temple at Jerusalem and Rosh Hashanah - the one time of the year that all the Hasidic Jews take their holiday. We are good to go at the Christian sites but those that are significant to Jews are mob like.

Scott and I reminisced about our first visit to Tel Dan and how things were quite a bit different then. At that time swimming in the natural pool and under the waterfall was permissible and we were the only ones around. Now there is a boardwalk, signs, a caution and no way you can get in the water. But it’s still beautiful!

Just to petrify my mother I’ll let you know that we were at the border of Lebanon, then again at the border of Syria and passed through a Palestinian checkpoint. She won’t be concerned so much about me, but she’ll want to know that her grandchildren are safe.

We ended the day with a BYU/Jerusalem/Galilee tradition - one that my sisters will remember… St. Peter’s fish! And it’s still yucky! The kibbutz serves them as an entire fish. Heads. Tails. Skin. Needless to say, Drew will just fill up on ice cream.

Déjà-Vu

6:30 AM in Jerusalem translates to 9:30 PM in Utah so our wake-up call just seemed rude. I think I could have rolled over and slept for two days. As it was I missed breakfast and was almost late for our bus. Scott was kind enough to grab some toast for me so I didn’t starve!

Today (Tuesday) we drove to Caesarea, an Israeli coastal town north of Tel Aviv. Pontius Pilate lived here and the ruins of his palace are clearly visible. The government has reconstructed the amphitheater, with improvements of course, and they were actually setting up for a concert while we visited. We couldn’t resist dipping our toes in the Mediterranean Sea, which was quite warm - it made sense. It felt a little like a moist oven standing outside. Our tour bus is air-conditioned so it kind of becomes a refuge.

We continued north and stopped at Mt. Tabor, the Jordan River and are staying the night at Galilee’ all locations with significant biblical histories.

It feels so sweet to revisit the places that were part of our semester abroad 24 years ago. Scott and I are remembering and reminding each other of things that we did, and eating kosher again. It’s a ‘walk down memory lane’ but boy how things have changed! They are actually putting a light rail system in Jerusalem and the little trailers that we staying in last time at Galilee are comfortable hotel rooms. It’s been especially amazing to share it with the kids. They are having a blast as our tour group mostly consists of young single adults and they’ve made some fast friends.

Kind of an interesting development today; a mother and her son joined our group and will be with us for 4 days or so. She and her husband just picked up their son from his LDS mission in Sierra Leone. Turns out that they lived in our Pleasant View neighborhood and the missionary, Rhett? Well, he played lacrosse for my team!