tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15525740469754864222024-03-21T23:34:57.456-04:00menendez.usA journal of life's happenings in our familydeltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-6631429073609576452009-07-25T14:59:00.000-04:002012-12-31T14:14:07.108-05:00First beach trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week Beth & I surprised the kids with a trip to the beach.
We took them to Bethany Beach, DE and stayed in a nice bed &
breakfast called <a href="http://www.cedarbreeze.com/" target="_blank">The Cedar Breeze</a>.
They had a 2-room suite which worked out great, and they were nice
enough to make extra pancakes for the girls to have at breakfast on the
2nd day. They provided beach towels, chairs, and umbrellas, so we were
able to pack lighter. Very nice place to stay - we recommend it!<br />
<br />
The girls really liked seeing the Chesapeake Bay as we crossed the
bay bridge. Although as we were going higher and higher, Anna asked me
to get to the other side because she was scared. It reminded me of when
we lived in Florida in the early 80's - I remember crossing a very tall
bridge over Tampa Bay, and you could look down through the road. Plus
one of the two spans clearly had collapsed, so that didn't help (I was
excited to have recently been watching a show on the History Channel,
maybe called <em>Engineering Disasters </em>or something, that actually had a segment about what had happened; I never actually knew till then).<br />
<br />
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<br />
Anyway, the last time we had gone to the beach was when Kylie was
visiting - she was 6 at the time, and she was scared of the waves,
which, to be fair, were bigger than her, and they were even knocking me
around. This time, she enjoyed playing in the waves, and the bay bridge
wasn't as big as she remembered (kind of like how huge the Christmas
tree seemed when we were little, but now it's so disappointing to
realize it wasn't as magnificent as you remember).<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
When we went to the beach the first evening, we walked the girls
right up to where you could see the waves crashing. They took a little
getting used to all the sand in their feet at first. And when we saw
the ocean, Anna was a bit scared and covered her ears. Cara was fine,
and Anna was fine after I explained the ocean would stay over there.
The girls had big fun playing in the biggest sandbox ever. <br />
<br />
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We saved going into the water for the next day. For most of the day,
Cara was content just playing in the sand and didn't want to venture
near the water. Anna was over her fear of the waves and wanted to walk
into the water as long as I would hold her hand. She laughed, screamed
(with delight), and giggled when the water would rush over her feet and
legs, then would quickly retreat, washing sand over her feet. Cara
eventually came down to the water, too, and also had big fun, until a
big wave proved to be too much for her after sweeping her off her feet.
Then she was content to just play in the sand nearby. The weather was
cloudy and only about 80 degrees, so it was a little cool, but it didn't
matter. The girls insisted they weren't cold and wanted to stay more
even though their hands and lips were purple.<br />
<br />
<br />
It was a short trip, and the girls are ready to go back to the
ocean. On the way home, their stuffed animals were talking about going
on a surprise trip. Pics are on my Facebook page or in the picture gallery under <em>Vacations and Trips -> 2009 Bethany Beach</em>. Maybe next year we'll try staying for a week.<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-8426400493733127472009-05-17T21:25:00.000-04:002012-12-31T14:06:32.954-05:00Andrews Air Force Base 2009<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I felt like a little boy at a monster truck rally today, only I don't
care about monster trucks; I went to the 2009 Joint Service Open
House/Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, DC, and anyone
who knows my love for aviation will understand how exciting it must have
been. The last big air show I remember going to that featured very
cool military aircraft was in Chicago. I don't remember all the planes
we saw then, but the stealth bomber and Harrier jet (the one that can
hover) stick out in my memory. But as cool as that show was, this one
was even better.<br />
<br />
I think one of the reasons was that in Chicago, everyone is basically
gathered along the shoreline of Lake Michigan waiting for the planes to
arrive and do their thing. Today's event took place right on the
airfield at Andrews AFB, and the first thing you saw as your shuttle
(from FedEx Field) pulled in were the HUGE transport planes used by the
Air Force to transport tanks & such, including a C-130 Hercules (the
one where the front nose opens up). You got to walk right up to the
planes, walk inside, and talk to the pilots, and in some cases go into
the cockpit.<br />
<br />
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It turns out there were just tons of military aircraft parked for you
to come and see and get inside. Everything from the huge transport
planes to the B-52 Stratofortress bomber to the F35 Joint Strike Fighter
to Blackhawk and Apache helicopters. They even had the B-17 Flying
Fortress that was used in the film <em>Memphis Belle</em>.<br />
<br />
One unexpected treat that those who came today got to see was that
President Obama was departing in the morning from Andrews AFB to South
Bend, IN, to speak at the Notre Dame graduation ceremonies. They
announced that this was going to happen, and we saw the three Marine
helicopters come in (the President is always on one of the three, but
very few actually know which one, exactly). Then he boarded Air Force
One and we got to see it take off. Very neat.<br />
<br />
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The highlights of the show were seeing an authentic Russian MiG
flying, as well as the F18-F Super Hornet, the A-10 tank killer (which
is surprisingly quiet), and the new F-22 Raptor. It's simply amazing
what the F-22 can do, and after seeing the demo, I can see why everyone
thinks that anyone flying against this guy doesn't have a chance. It
was also fun being right on the front row at show center and watching
these planes taxi right by. Then, of course, there were the Air Force
Thunderbirds, a group of six F-15's flying in formation and doing
dangerous head-on maneuvers at crazy speeds. And the helicopter that
could somehow do loops and fly upside down, which should be impossible.<br />
<br />
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I had a crappy little camera that did no good for most of the live
demo shots - I would probably need an SLR camera with good zoom to get
good shots of the live action. Plus it ran out of battery relatively
quickly, so I didn't get any shots of the A-10, P-51, or the F-15s
flying around. But I did get a bunch of shots from the many aircraft we
were able to explore and a couple short videos of some of the live
stuff. They're in our photo gallery under <em>Day-to-Day, 2009 Spring, Andrews AFB Airshow</em>, and also on my Facebook page.<br />
What little boy wouldn't get excited to climb into planes you only
see in the movies or on TV, or to watch a jet zoom by silently only to
be followed a couple seconds later by its sound, or have his eardrums
blown out by the intense crackling and bright glow of full-on
afterburners zooming by again and again, or watch a jet zoom by just
under Mach 1 only to abruptly go vertical and shoot 2 miles straight up
into the sky? The answer is no little boy would not get excited by
that, and this little boy/pilot had BIG fun today in aviation heaven.deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-71946603132405844812009-04-05T21:42:00.000-04:002012-12-31T14:01:06.192-05:00Hosecara!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, as life's gotten busier I've been very bad keeping this blog
updated, but Cara said something today we had to put into the blog and
not lose, so I'll catch up on a couple anecdotes. Today was Palm
Sunday, so Anna was telling us what she learned in Sunday School, about
all the people shouting "Hosanna, Hosanna!" Cara added that they also
shouted, "HoseCara! HoseCara!"<br />
<br />
The other day there was a spider on the floor, and when I got home
Cara kept telling me about the "speeder" in the other room and how they
need to just look at the "speeder" and don't touch the "speeder." I
ended up putting the "speeder" down the toilet.<br />
<br />
Anna is a very good helper with Eddie. She loves being the mommy.
It's apparent when she's talking, though, that she believes that one day
she'll grow big enough to be the real mommy, and by that time, mommy
and daddy will have shrunk down to be the babies that need to be taken
care of.<br />
<br />
Anna and Cara really like fried rice, just like daddy, so I get two
boxes now everytime. After I give everyone rice from the first box, and
start to get seconds, Anna clearly gets nervous. "Don't take too much
from the box, daddy!" But if I ask if she's afraid it will be all gone,
she assures me she's not afraid of that. But then she'll need to make
sure that there's another box in the bag. But don't worry, she's cool,
nothing to worry about.<br />
<br />
And finally, the last one I can remember for now… Beth was telling
me in code that she thought Anna was sick. But Anna gets upset if you
say that, so she spelled it out - "I think Anna is S-I-C-K." But that
still upset Anna - she protested, "No, I'm not! I'm A-N-N-A!"deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-18771706705821543232008-12-13T16:17:00.000-05:002012-12-31T13:58:36.465-05:00Firetruck Santa 2008<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every year the volunteer fire company in our little town drives
around in their firetrucks & ambulances with lights flashing and
sirens blaring, giving Santa a ride through the neighborhoods as he
waves to the kids and his "elves" pass out candy canes. This year we
went to a friend's house and made a small donation to the fire company
to have Firetruck Santa make a personal visit to the kids.<br />
<br />
When we got to the friend's house, Anna and Cara kept looking up in
the sky asking if we saw Santa yet. After playing with their friends
for awhile (there are 3 girls in the other family right around the same
age), we heard the sirens. All the kids piled by the front door to see
the firetruck pull up with lights flashing, and Santa stepped out.
There was MUCH excitement!<br />
<br />
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He passed out candy canes to all the girls (most of which got broken
before we left), and each one took a turn on his lap. Anna talked to
Santa so quietly I couldn't really hear what she was saying. Cara
didn't really care to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas; instead,
she introduced him to everyone in the room: "that's my sister; that's
my daddy; that's my mommy; that's Lauren," etc. I'm sure Santa was
enthralled!<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-16148451503035521442008-11-02T23:39:00.000-05:002012-12-31T13:53:09.131-05:00Anecdote of the day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today after playing at the park, we got some chicken Mcnuggets and
fries from McDonald's. As usual, I got some sweet & sour sauce to
use just in case the girls didn't finish their nuggets. We must have
played hard enough to make the girls hungry, because they both ate all
their nuggets, which is rare.<br />
<br />
This time, though, Anna actually asked to have some of the sweet
& sour sauce, which is a first, because she never tries anything new
and has always just eaten her nuggets plain or with ketchup. She
actually liked it, too, which surprised me. I asked if she liked it and
said that it's called sweet and sour sauce, and she said "Yeah! It's
apple sauce for your chicken!" Ok, I guess it's the right color…<br />
<br />
I know it's been awhile since I've written anything - life's been
very busy, work's been busy and frustrating. I plan to write some
entries to catch up on what the girls have been up to the last couple of
months. Today I uploaded a bunch of new pictures to our photo gallery for the last couple months, so you can enjoy those in the meantime. They're under <em>Day-to-Day->2008 Summer, Day-to-Day->2008 Fall, and Vacations and Trips->2008 IndianaIllinois</em>.deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-41864707083350022572008-08-10T23:31:00.000-04:002012-12-31T13:44:05.617-05:00Montgomery County Fair 2008<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tonight we took the girls to the Montgomery County Fair. We haven't
been able to take them to any of the local carnivals this summer, so we
wanted to be sure to take them. Anna loved the ferris wheel last year
and had been talking about it for awhile. This time, Cara was able to
ride with us. She really liked the ferris wheel, too, and kept saying
she wanted to do it again. I can't remember without looking if Cara
rode the merry-go-round last year or not, but this year she really
enjoyed it, too. She had to sit out and watch Anna go on the "jet skis"
by herself, though, since she wasn't tall enough yet. The only drama we
had was when we were leaving. Nobody wanted to go home!<br />
<br />
Montgomery County is the county south of us. I always thought the
name of OUR county's fair was a little grandiose: "The Great Frederick
Fair." I discovered that there must be a rivalry between counties
regarding who has the best one, because down there, theirs is called
"The Spectacular Montogmery County Fair."<br />
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More pics are in our photo gallery under <em>Day-to-Day, 2008 Summer</em>. Here are a few videos of the girls having fun at the fair:<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-61038369974951151772008-07-31T04:55:00.000-04:002012-12-31T13:38:04.862-05:00Little shopper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's a grocery store that Beth likes to use, when possible,
because they have little miniature shopping carts for kids to push
around. I think it's a great idea. Anna insists on having her cart,
and only her cart, loaded up with the groceries.<br />
<br />
And completely unrelated to that, the other night Anna found my
noise-cancelling headphones and tried them on. She was very pleased
that they could make it so she couldn't hear the thunder, and said, "I <em>love</em> your ear muscles, daddy!"<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-22622955600486755092008-07-31T04:46:00.000-04:002012-12-31T13:49:57.701-05:00The Money Store<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A friend asked Beth the other day if we were going to sign Anna up
for soccer. Anna had said something about dancing before, so Beth asked
her if she wanted to be a soccer player or if she wanted to dance.
Anna replied, "I want to be a dancing ballerina in my tutu!" She loves
this tutu - everything with the tutu these days. Beth said that we'll
have to ask daddy because dancing costs a lot of money.<br />
<br />
Apparently Anna had been thinking about it the rest of the day,
because that night at bedtime, she asked Beth again if she could dance,
and was very distressed when Beth said, "We'll see, we have to ask
daddy" again. Anna then made the suggestion, "But daddy could just buy
some money to have for the dancing!" Hmm, that would be nice depending
on their prices, but a money tree would be better. Maybe it's time for a
little lesson on money and an allowance…<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-12726266866996775492008-07-14T20:57:00.000-04:002012-12-31T13:32:35.349-05:00Anna's new bling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We got a package from Lelo and Abuela Menendez today, for Anna's
birthday. She was very excited about the crown and the jewelry and
couldn't wait to put it on. When we asked if she wanted to draw a
thank-you card, she said, "Yes, but I want the crown first!" So she put
on her crown, the necklace, the earrings, the jewelry… the only thing
missing was the princess dress, but she didn't want to try it on,
"because I'm already wearing my crab shirt." She'll try it on later,
she says.<br />
<br />
The next big hit was the fishing game. Anna, Cara, and I pretty much
played it until it was time for bed. We'll pull out the sticker books,
the leapfrog pad (which I hope Anna likes so she can start learning to
read!), etc., later on when they're not thinking of fishing. The girls
say, "Thank you!"<br />
<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-24419736139452655482008-07-09T00:04:00.000-04:002012-12-31T15:09:18.101-05:00Israel Tour 2008 - Part 7<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIwumOjXnGd70QEKJh0yT2cIrFAIJi0LFNZ9c6ne4biJCvxMRHmIdEBnkxiCpxN2boCAb18el3im6mjiVSXNQjR5hM7lRa0ExshyphenhyphenlxppNsAJeD0xGR7hOLT14p_KZU2HWGuryblfp2sX1/s1600/161.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIwumOjXnGd70QEKJh0yT2cIrFAIJi0LFNZ9c6ne4biJCvxMRHmIdEBnkxiCpxN2boCAb18el3im6mjiVSXNQjR5hM7lRa0ExshyphenhyphenlxppNsAJeD0xGR7hOLT14p_KZU2HWGuryblfp2sX1/s1600/161.pic.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church of the Annunciation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is Part 7 of my account of our tour to Israel with <a href="http://www.nationalchristianchoir.org/" target="_blank" title="The National Christian Choir">The National Christian Choir</a>.
This entry begins with our visit to the Church of the Annunciation,
then to Beit Shean, Jericho, and finally arriving in Jerusalem with a
stopover in Bethlehem. To start at the beginning, <a href="http://menendez-us.blogspot.com/2008/04/israel-tour-2008-part-1.html" title="Israel Tour 2008 - Part 1">click here</a>. All my Israel pictures and videos are in the photo gallery under <i>Vacations and Trips</i>, then <i>2008 Israel</i>.<br />
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<h4>
Day 5 - Church of the Annunciation</h4>
We started out the day by visiting the Church of the Annunciation,
which is the traditional site where the angel appeared to Mary and
announced that she would give birth to Jesus. I have to say that I was
impressed with the churches that they built on many of the traditional
sites. I thought they were beautiful, and they were also great places
for our group of 300 to sing in. Since this was where Jesus' name was
announced, we sang <i>Holy is His Name</i> by John Michael Talbot - a very nice choral arrangement that sounded fantastic in this church.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church of the Annunciation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church of the Annunciation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained glass windows in the Church of the Annunciation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up at the dome in the Church of the Annunciation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional site of the annunciation to Mary</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As she was walking us out of the church, our guide, Gila, threw her
gum away in the ashtray that was by the exit. Then about 5 steps
outside the door, it hit her as strange that the Church of the
Annunciation would have an ashtray inside the sanctuary. Then she
stopped in her tracks and ran back inside to retrieve her gum, which she
had discarded into the bowl of "holy water."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXkyu1VrsWiXSmWY9nlAs-0hpaBrtQUY6xkJAP4cVhoKjSorQdmXl9SjZEa_KNc2JD-7KSalNsASmb2dtjaaVpM0CtZUAMfVl_OTWxqt8zrOimiQezSaVhxmakR_XFI-ZuWNzHNt5im_Y/s1600/DSC03601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXkyu1VrsWiXSmWY9nlAs-0hpaBrtQUY6xkJAP4cVhoKjSorQdmXl9SjZEa_KNc2JD-7KSalNsASmb2dtjaaVpM0CtZUAMfVl_OTWxqt8zrOimiQezSaVhxmakR_XFI-ZuWNzHNt5im_Y/s1600/DSC03601.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool-looking building outside the Church of the Annunciation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I took a picture of this building just outside the church on this
narrow, cobblestone street because I thought it looked neat. Reminded
me of something you'd see in a movie set overseas.<br />
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<h4>
Day 5 - Beit Shean</h4>
From the church, we went to the ruins of Beit Shean, which is
mentioned in the book of Joshua and is Israel's best example of how
Jerusalm looked in Jesus' time. Again, I did not think ruins would be
interesting to me, but they really were. With a little imagination, you
could envision the buildings along the main street. There was a very
large hill, or tel. Gila told us that there were at least 13 different
civilizations buried in the hill (remember it was common for a city to
be built, destroyed, buried, then later on rebuilt on the same site).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCqVx6FaFe5Qrlq5ajmwuG8sejTDMcMg-vNeokT1VG68AYXjAnA58RFaC8Yam9_n9YM9Cc_jgaw1RFfyUFneIIpe_K07jEsu8lwf-C9f_t_mFnrqx-0X6qxry03zIf4_1akQec70Gx1_Q/s1600/DSC03607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCqVx6FaFe5Qrlq5ajmwuG8sejTDMcMg-vNeokT1VG68AYXjAnA58RFaC8Yam9_n9YM9Cc_jgaw1RFfyUFneIIpe_K07jEsu8lwf-C9f_t_mFnrqx-0X6qxry03zIf4_1akQec70Gx1_Q/s1600/DSC03607.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main street in Beit Shean</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6G5_UrjhBSqRx0wmS4eI6LOac3f7tFEdnq8VU50WLAdiEiEqQwo0iKimwcmu6BXvdfBSyQuiJdcP_qgKvP0NFbPJjKVDNhfJsc05hXvb3cy_3USZw93qi7vDaOIGpnPJ3emGBxMnVsgA/s1600/IMG_0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6G5_UrjhBSqRx0wmS4eI6LOac3f7tFEdnq8VU50WLAdiEiEqQwo0iKimwcmu6BXvdfBSyQuiJdcP_qgKvP0NFbPJjKVDNhfJsc05hXvb3cy_3USZw93qi7vDaOIGpnPJ3emGBxMnVsgA/s1600/IMG_0696.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tel at Beit Shean - at least 13 civilizations are buried within it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsLhFxKAFEpmYrWi67D7beKq4j8NYrsVPRurskkWgnHR0RtRXxE32J1cyCHerQDQh66UErINW2y_E_d9xfpWYLTiUI-YIqNFeRaRgnJx3Tw1W46l61DAOI7WeYJi076fJjY5TydYuzRcY/s1600/IMG_0697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsLhFxKAFEpmYrWi67D7beKq4j8NYrsVPRurskkWgnHR0RtRXxE32J1cyCHerQDQh66UErINW2y_E_d9xfpWYLTiUI-YIqNFeRaRgnJx3Tw1W46l61DAOI7WeYJi076fJjY5TydYuzRcY/s1600/IMG_0697.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave at Beit Shean</td></tr>
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I wish I could remember who it was, but our guide told us that some
prominent Bible character was killed and his body hung on one of these
pillars. I think that it may have been Samson. Someone will have to
correct me if they remember.<br />
<br />
Beit Shean also has the remains of a large Roman amphitheater. The
stage floor was rebuilt, as well as portions of some of the columns.
Sitting in the seats, it was easy to imagine how grand the theater must
have looked - tall, clean, polished, full of spectators…<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLdxk4c40F6l_5HUBc5HGzYfBV9BuM3AM7ga2X3xVPSZTag8hgsu8hGf1ivJtgcTYDDOUNrihhtIDCeaASaABTQLsCEMZ5BTK9YrSWaJI9ORr4cW-4Ky3NeG8BvBLtuJHG5m0JQQjhn4R/s1600/DSC03608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLdxk4c40F6l_5HUBc5HGzYfBV9BuM3AM7ga2X3xVPSZTag8hgsu8hGf1ivJtgcTYDDOUNrihhtIDCeaASaABTQLsCEMZ5BTK9YrSWaJI9ORr4cW-4Ky3NeG8BvBLtuJHG5m0JQQjhn4R/s1600/DSC03608.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman theater in Beit Shean</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFt05hT98qrG__O1h65ajCtrov2sJCLArcadprVmSgEChKKjOSQAr5zAAuPR141gZSibQsHhFJq0RGIkHJImywpJal9oqOP6hQKxYj6qI_FMAqOxNXQBasP3RkxxHDCQwoxrbZjaqvMMJG/s1600/DSC03609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFt05hT98qrG__O1h65ajCtrov2sJCLArcadprVmSgEChKKjOSQAr5zAAuPR141gZSibQsHhFJq0RGIkHJImywpJal9oqOP6hQKxYj6qI_FMAqOxNXQBasP3RkxxHDCQwoxrbZjaqvMMJG/s1600/DSC03609.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman theater in Beit Shean</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlztNY_-ZHudvJU5T6FEupNLJnEsfUpQNyNtrdBX4w77t7y6CUkCACd1ODroUFJbtu6RVX0c4OZfjeXtXZ-VFRWcK0xH9oTuTDN4V3_-2jQbf0oFXxft5HnsoW06jxBPDzH1yBHgYwTrx/s1600/DSC03610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlztNY_-ZHudvJU5T6FEupNLJnEsfUpQNyNtrdBX4w77t7y6CUkCACd1ODroUFJbtu6RVX0c4OZfjeXtXZ-VFRWcK0xH9oTuTDN4V3_-2jQbf0oFXxft5HnsoW06jxBPDzH1yBHgYwTrx/s1600/DSC03610.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman theater in Beit Shean</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h4>
Day 5 - Jericho</h4>
We got on the bus and headed for Jericho, which was a good hour
away. This was also the first time on the trip that we ventured into
Palestinian territory. We were warned not to take pictures at the
security crossings as neither side particularly appreciates it (you'll
see though, that I snapped one or two very discreetly, because I
couldn't resist). We were to have our passports ready in case a soldier
boarded the bus, and if he asks anything, simply answer his question in
as few words as possible, and don't offer anything more unless asked
directly about it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUEMrG_IW6rOwyOLm34iL9o_7722BK8QrKyYIiKIU4DKTsargyBuMoyNFQJNSIKU9PTO3rxIgUowqAQsFRPtZJoI2zydc4JSTmKpJFzErNjxc5Pr5iGS1dHB3Bi9rjpn2S1nuOv-HiqqW/s1600/IMG_0698.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUEMrG_IW6rOwyOLm34iL9o_7722BK8QrKyYIiKIU4DKTsargyBuMoyNFQJNSIKU9PTO3rxIgUowqAQsFRPtZJoI2zydc4JSTmKpJFzErNjxc5Pr5iGS1dHB3Bi9rjpn2S1nuOv-HiqqW/s1600/IMG_0698.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing security checkpoint into the West Bank</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8IqrOpKHpbHc-rgFnFyJkLRT_lustZgoVFfPjA2yB_fYs8ytWU9uO0Z4HqSczjyenjO7BZ58_iJgE4KTEys7AouT1xs_yOm-Dvb2ET0urPjFfrmiRDc3YNntejSEP-CkJyBuplkTQgZH/s1600/DSC03625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8IqrOpKHpbHc-rgFnFyJkLRT_lustZgoVFfPjA2yB_fYs8ytWU9uO0Z4HqSczjyenjO7BZ58_iJgE4KTEys7AouT1xs_yOm-Dvb2ET0urPjFfrmiRDc3YNntejSEP-CkJyBuplkTQgZH/s1600/DSC03625.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
As we drove from Jewish-controlled Israel into the West Bank, I
noticed a distinct change in the landscape. We used to be among lush,
mountainous, green fields - very pretty. After we crossed into the West
Bank, everything seem to dry up. Everything started turning brown,
looking dry and barren. There were still plenty of hills - and valleys,
hills and valleys, hills and valleys. It gave me a real appreciation
for what it meant for someone to travel this country on foot or on
donkey - the terrain is very difficult and unforgiving. I couldn't help
but wonder if the Palestinians got stuck with the crappy part of the
country, and that's why they're so ticked.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08GlKS87Wl0_OrRypRE4-CCJO3Bd_kFf0PUCoJ3CE1VZIax_u_xKQ2FtPdoDKSNbBUQxA9HNWXjxXPR4S6hLyeaZKTI452csySIVNPEzUcxYswAIshIRV20V7KorS-_iUy_ZJT8nJlF2I/s1600/DSC03618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08GlKS87Wl0_OrRypRE4-CCJO3Bd_kFf0PUCoJ3CE1VZIax_u_xKQ2FtPdoDKSNbBUQxA9HNWXjxXPR4S6hLyeaZKTI452csySIVNPEzUcxYswAIshIRV20V7KorS-_iUy_ZJT8nJlF2I/s1600/DSC03618.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mount of Temptation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOgbmcpRAOvdU6XhDt1PYuhm55cuoUooahB5rnIHZgQMuJjH12DwSiJNDpZwGJEq0CjPzREItygOJD09T5RgpiPgjFeZsNwl_04MLMPdZEll8IunzKepy37WHVmBprVvNj4mPId6tzPaZ/s1600/DSC03619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOgbmcpRAOvdU6XhDt1PYuhm55cuoUooahB5rnIHZgQMuJjH12DwSiJNDpZwGJEq0CjPzREItygOJD09T5RgpiPgjFeZsNwl_04MLMPdZEll8IunzKepy37WHVmBprVvNj4mPId6tzPaZ/s1600/DSC03619.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down on Jericho, a true oasis in the midst of the desert</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This is a picture of the mountain where it is said Jesus wandered on
for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. Next to it is a view of
Jericho, which is believed to be the oldest and lowest city on earth.
Notice how it is lush green and full of life - a true oasis in the
middle of the desert. And let me tell you - it was hot, HOT, <b><i><u>H-O-T</u></i></b>
in Jericho. Dear Lord, it was hot. It gave me an appreciation for how
strong one of the temptations would have been for Jesus, when after
wandering on that barren mountain in the hot desert for so long, the
devil said he would "give" him "all of this," talking about this
refreshing oasis.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphgJ8cGfb_zLIyaRQslLGbiV1mGNcxebdZot2ku-6rc0UndNd2BV-q9vFfzRC9lQoWomghSX4aIr8aNiCWxyF6x7DptvUfoZ-P1sOJS5re8WPjddlkaBQ4tN_07twVi5U6Nec1krv4JD0/s1600/IMG_0702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphgJ8cGfb_zLIyaRQslLGbiV1mGNcxebdZot2ku-6rc0UndNd2BV-q9vFfzRC9lQoWomghSX4aIr8aNiCWxyF6x7DptvUfoZ-P1sOJS5re8WPjddlkaBQ4tN_07twVi5U6Nec1krv4JD0/s1600/IMG_0702.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins of a wall at Jericho built to control flash floods</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYggHaOB-Yej4unR8a_b81-2OpW08hWrgCxx8eJkxJnawLd9oXsxct-eeK0peeWuSHebNALecN52pjusiLF7SlgbXPraHZjxZu_F9he3CxAMRWwGOpuS-9E7vU9Gqfl7y_LbJKyMS2dYfY/s1600/IMG_0703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYggHaOB-Yej4unR8a_b81-2OpW08hWrgCxx8eJkxJnawLd9oXsxct-eeK0peeWuSHebNALecN52pjusiLF7SlgbXPraHZjxZu_F9he3CxAMRWwGOpuS-9E7vU9Gqfl7y_LbJKyMS2dYfY/s1600/IMG_0703.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins of a wall at Jericho built to control flash floods</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Apparently flash floods happen regularly in the desert here when it
rains. There was a ruin of a wall or fort that was built to protect the
city from the floods and divert the water. The Arabs here were
actually very friendly and courteous - not sure what I was expecting. I
still felt an overall unease from simply being in Palestinian
territory, though. Not because of anything that happened, but just
because of my perception from the media coming in.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVOEyo1TkiUDdhXkZOdmQHHIHRhkNssS0ZTbBGTH3TRlQopw1AM9EBlTxfWTgwhIADofoqM5-4dTPcNNwImW4VZnnxrZzHkUJ7GO9nDzDNAJHV-bVT69A8wsxilApniddpd2gvtJsx9Zp/s1600/DSC03620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVOEyo1TkiUDdhXkZOdmQHHIHRhkNssS0ZTbBGTH3TRlQopw1AM9EBlTxfWTgwhIADofoqM5-4dTPcNNwImW4VZnnxrZzHkUJ7GO9nDzDNAJHV-bVT69A8wsxilApniddpd2gvtJsx9Zp/s1600/DSC03620.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry giving a talk at Jericho</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLlwfmbsKkQe4VNzO1mPWaYDXMcEfv3aa5e8EDuSLhv6CrRvHGXKKxQsXy6DBHweNqbiRebs3RHfQX-nUTK78BJfUy6xs1EDd_1Un-us_D9lyzwZmTzMgTsHuoULwA8Zvi3suiSSfQCpv/s1600/DSC03621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLlwfmbsKkQe4VNzO1mPWaYDXMcEfv3aa5e8EDuSLhv6CrRvHGXKKxQsXy6DBHweNqbiRebs3RHfQX-nUTK78BJfUy6xs1EDd_1Un-us_D9lyzwZmTzMgTsHuoULwA8Zvi3suiSSfQCpv/s1600/DSC03621.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's this? A camel for rent at a gas station outside Jericho?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2_ZWhQTDXCM8llcbFDgCeykJ-lQw3Ue5IIJkgghyL4BJ1IKdojp_hEFg76tXzm_LMvllluia7lB-zG_hwoMGvkjL_VBYmXQAMm7wkdbyC1VJzjXWR_f6gsVqI3cXphZXpwnufq0QNbf0/s1600/IMG_0704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2_ZWhQTDXCM8llcbFDgCeykJ-lQw3Ue5IIJkgghyL4BJ1IKdojp_hEFg76tXzm_LMvllluia7lB-zG_hwoMGvkjL_VBYmXQAMm7wkdbyC1VJzjXWR_f6gsVqI3cXphZXpwnufq0QNbf0/s1600/IMG_0704.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad and Dave at Jericho</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Nothing interesting happened to our bus at the checkpoints crossing
into/from Palestinian territory, probably due in part to the fact our
bus driver was Palestinian. I was a little disappointed - I was hoping
for a good story. But one of the other buses had one. They were
boarded, and the soldier asked to see someone's passport. Some genius
asked him if "that gun was real," at which several other geniuses
laughed. The soldier then made the entire bus get out, line up, and they
checked all of their passports.<br />
<br />
One kind of sobering thing we noticed, though, was that our guide,
who is Jewish, had to be dropped off before we went into Jericho, for
her own safety. No Israeli citizens are currently allowed to enter
Palestinian-controlled territories. We picked her back up after we left
Jericho.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Day 5 - Arriving in Jerusalem / Bethlehem</h4>
After leaving Jericho, we drove up, up, up towards Jerusalem. We saw
the gold dome on the Temple Mount for the first time, which was neat -
we'd only ever seen it on TV or in pictures before. We passed by the
walls of the Old City, which we would be touring later on.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy90vvP8YPwVwt7St4_Gz-4dFGEdc6RNTb4Yj-1rlo8w0-syPAvtrhmXN3vFIxbh4XFDxV_8R1rOSKSPpo9RoJMfL2Ljl2bG21pqpZptTa3hTFT2gcZKzZ2adnoesxhk095vRLFGpPTX7M/s1600/DSC03627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy90vvP8YPwVwt7St4_Gz-4dFGEdc6RNTb4Yj-1rlo8w0-syPAvtrhmXN3vFIxbh4XFDxV_8R1rOSKSPpo9RoJMfL2Ljl2bG21pqpZptTa3hTFT2gcZKzZ2adnoesxhk095vRLFGpPTX7M/s1600/DSC03627.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gold dome on the Temple Mount comes into view from the bus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEW-6dZVFnXM4XFm8HdA1P4Hk9VqJghw5zFu5qwJGYOAfkB_zlqKaX-gEtEU121_Cc_P-ix6ITgVo_-iflf1MeaG5yvW-nVL-5aiUtORdIkqLxmuu-Bh6HZI14QQ4IaBwSYPHlIVgZQDWY/s1600/DSC03628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEW-6dZVFnXM4XFm8HdA1P4Hk9VqJghw5zFu5qwJGYOAfkB_zlqKaX-gEtEU121_Cc_P-ix6ITgVo_-iflf1MeaG5yvW-nVL-5aiUtORdIkqLxmuu-Bh6HZI14QQ4IaBwSYPHlIVgZQDWY/s1600/DSC03628.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passing by Hebrew University, where several people were killed by a Jewish shooter days before our tour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzI9sFBLg62qaNVCvbu5JNugqGeAdzU9K-b5gwftDFTGiYL5boiVBPNMz0MTf8rM-N355FL6UfgjnPJDUYcH4eGkFOcXmpY4aqqhlvOy88AWUBLbejbTSVhg8K0goGGts245tuFIp7zx4/s1600/DSC03630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzI9sFBLg62qaNVCvbu5JNugqGeAdzU9K-b5gwftDFTGiYL5boiVBPNMz0MTf8rM-N355FL6UfgjnPJDUYcH4eGkFOcXmpY4aqqhlvOy88AWUBLbejbTSVhg8K0goGGts245tuFIp7zx4/s1600/DSC03630.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Jewish family walks outside the walls of the Old City</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91nqfXrR126mH1r69VtvgVxeEKJQm40VdPNXC964TKETRAoP-6XouW7wRFI99ImNvYV8p6PVBvzsLKQQukgUKiehnxGeUJVO0oblsFsxWmyPf61kqmNz7IJfdKEFz6gnhDV53-hl4A6ES/s1600/DSC03635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91nqfXrR126mH1r69VtvgVxeEKJQm40VdPNXC964TKETRAoP-6XouW7wRFI99ImNvYV8p6PVBvzsLKQQukgUKiehnxGeUJVO0oblsFsxWmyPf61kqmNz7IJfdKEFz6gnhDV53-hl4A6ES/s1600/DSC03635.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of some of the more modern buildings in Jerusalem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We went into Bethlehem after driving a bit through Jerusalem. As you
can see from the pics below, Bethlehem is controlled by the
Palestinians, so we had to go through another security crossing. Gila
once again had to get off the bus before we entered, and a Christian
Palestinian guide took her place on the other side. It was sad to see a
very large wall being built right through Jerusalem, to physically
separate the Palestinian side from the Jewish side. Things were
definitely dirtier on the Palestinian side - again it felt a bit
uncomfortable. Especially with the graffiti (see the dove picture
below).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfWYCzRVXXccVFI5lT40flgIgtsKiI7G1kTI18yciIXXhl26Ak-q0O_6xcCdWWjj_iXPpMapFn_ieQTejE_6G_Tb_XsoN3twqYV1a-C1pb3l8V_MSxfPIYSzW-CV8H3LGObzsZkRDrQUF/s1600/DSC03636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfWYCzRVXXccVFI5lT40flgIgtsKiI7G1kTI18yciIXXhl26Ak-q0O_6xcCdWWjj_iXPpMapFn_ieQTejE_6G_Tb_XsoN3twqYV1a-C1pb3l8V_MSxfPIYSzW-CV8H3LGObzsZkRDrQUF/s1600/DSC03636.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sign just before reaching the checkpoint into Bethlehem warning Israeli citizens not to enter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPoObj7tfE3n3eo8pujnZUK8nT6nRMBIzuQGA0hlXIMvY8M29TicF92y1_phqGUzdZt37WC08e5AcBnuOVnGJXGRItqlhT-719PsyHJ1_r3CP8YwCE-0Tibvr9TTrtgrVGrgTIORQNX0K/s1600/DSC03637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPoObj7tfE3n3eo8pujnZUK8nT6nRMBIzuQGA0hlXIMvY8M29TicF92y1_phqGUzdZt37WC08e5AcBnuOVnGJXGRItqlhT-719PsyHJ1_r3CP8YwCE-0Tibvr9TTrtgrVGrgTIORQNX0K/s1600/DSC03637.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A somewhat disturbing piece of graffiti in Bethlehem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGjMPGpfcDgff3Cmw5p388fwkfYSmt30G4mFW1V2XRX5x41ksOH62Xs2m74-fvnaQQQdckSCaN7lUGr3PkaBvkacZP30rfETmKUICKh2iCel0fOkBjvfmdVo0RoX4TTwpADOPdDjBPsB0/s1600/DSC03694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGjMPGpfcDgff3Cmw5p388fwkfYSmt30G4mFW1V2XRX5x41ksOH62Xs2m74-fvnaQQQdckSCaN7lUGr3PkaBvkacZP30rfETmKUICKh2iCel0fOkBjvfmdVo0RoX4TTwpADOPdDjBPsB0/s1600/DSC03694.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Security checkpoint at Bethlehem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Once we parked the bus, we started walking towards the Church of the
Nativity, the traditional site where Jesus was born. On the way, we
could look down onto the shepherds' fields - Bethlehem itself sits
pretty high on a hill. As usual, there were lots of peddlers around. I
normally ignored them, but I just could not say no to a little
Palestinian girl with big brown eyes that was selling little wooden,
hand-carved camels for a dollar. I ignored the boy next to her just
fine.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzY5FMexFOQ1DUAxK1bOZmuqXT6zzWIqtL1hssoalX5X7w6FgkWi1POARbmKy7xwrJcO2ct_I69GXCcjM9XlO8p0xDoBYpgNl5v2hXmoblk0UhvxTd3_1_mycbOgvcOQd6-BoCXPS47knC/s1600/DSC03638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzY5FMexFOQ1DUAxK1bOZmuqXT6zzWIqtL1hssoalX5X7w6FgkWi1POARbmKy7xwrJcO2ct_I69GXCcjM9XlO8p0xDoBYpgNl5v2hXmoblk0UhvxTd3_1_mycbOgvcOQd6-BoCXPS47knC/s1600/DSC03638.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down from Bethlehem at some of the shepherds' fields</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjbXnCMcGuVhMbzGbxPJHBWt947mukgImVR1jPOpYbXg44roN-tzTX12CxhLDqB7Jo4YRYUYnbm5u8aSESyfMSZ0x8uPrV0HrNDL4YCjvpoNhhNZdimCH28T6LlHXecwVNoEVSHPHs4RP/s1600/DSC03639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjbXnCMcGuVhMbzGbxPJHBWt947mukgImVR1jPOpYbXg44roN-tzTX12CxhLDqB7Jo4YRYUYnbm5u8aSESyfMSZ0x8uPrV0HrNDL4YCjvpoNhhNZdimCH28T6LlHXecwVNoEVSHPHs4RP/s1600/DSC03639.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside the Church of the Nativity</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAfil26Hh1hw0KLHlcP4kzAx1Pzx5YF7NruYVkUkROVecHc14pskC2NBMfxWs0GBJbJemlX4EOHssOvGggO8GYm8RAd5q4iw0ozzFxu9nppnE9JB0iGxJ5BVEh2DnRvseIWGN0sOcznnH/s1600/DSC03640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAfil26Hh1hw0KLHlcP4kzAx1Pzx5YF7NruYVkUkROVecHc14pskC2NBMfxWs0GBJbJemlX4EOHssOvGggO8GYm8RAd5q4iw0ozzFxu9nppnE9JB0iGxJ5BVEh2DnRvseIWGN0sOcznnH/s1600/DSC03640.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad crouching through the tiny, tiny door into the Church of the Nativity</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After getting my souvenir, we arrived at the Church of the Nativity.
There is a relatively large square outside where we gathered before
heading inside, through a really tiny doorway. I mean, really small. I
think our guide said it was built that way to make it harder for
soldiers on horses to get inside quickly, for some reason. I really got
sick of the peddlers at this point, though - they swarmed the square
peddling their junk. But I guess it's no different today than it was
back then.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnvgjf-Y32r0OKzgYTldF96ofpAbk0q58Q5oG4EA5cenC0gX5jf-UCrzvhJnVRLwxTp285mMz8b93k6hIKQ8x7kI8P7xt7EIhjpFdaketavW3svrswYyg7iB5bCa2GCyaU1iRvTPE1pKp/s1600/DSC03641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnvgjf-Y32r0OKzgYTldF96ofpAbk0q58Q5oG4EA5cenC0gX5jf-UCrzvhJnVRLwxTp285mMz8b93k6hIKQ8x7kI8P7xt7EIhjpFdaketavW3svrswYyg7iB5bCa2GCyaU1iRvTPE1pKp/s1600/DSC03641.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Church of the Nativity</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmFx7yfmS6kzzZPcWsGrNQmlWL_FcBi6HOjduIDPumqXZ7Dpq5mY9vH2DNowQ-L5Sr6wjXdYDW6U9OqdKPpCLg_aZhxulLmy1j71tx7Gnb5RMmqG__bhRkpLX3HtH-anTSV2INN9ztdk-/s1600/DSC03642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmFx7yfmS6kzzZPcWsGrNQmlWL_FcBi6HOjduIDPumqXZ7Dpq5mY9vH2DNowQ-L5Sr6wjXdYDW6U9OqdKPpCLg_aZhxulLmy1j71tx7Gnb5RMmqG__bhRkpLX3HtH-anTSV2INN9ztdk-/s1600/DSC03642.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting, and more waiting, inside the Church of the Nativity</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkPYE_luoCOg27rL7FfSvyB7AVfqtgvO4ZUihwMqsNZ8oVFeufUKsi-KZDTKyQfuXOnLynnp4SjOG87UKHSK1wXVcY-arPC5Z_XPXMXtLzBaJeqWG5DWdF2U_2fXGIAUd65KxLTVC3LfO/s1600/DSC03643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkPYE_luoCOg27rL7FfSvyB7AVfqtgvO4ZUihwMqsNZ8oVFeufUKsi-KZDTKyQfuXOnLynnp4SjOG87UKHSK1wXVcY-arPC5Z_XPXMXtLzBaJeqWG5DWdF2U_2fXGIAUd65KxLTVC3LfO/s1600/DSC03643.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Church of the Nativity</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After the extraordinarily long wait, we finally arrived at the door
to the manger area. I have to say, for one of the defining
(traditional) sites of Christianity, seeing the manger was decidedly
anti-climactic and disappointing. We were rushed in and rushed out,
barely given time to get a picture, and given no time to even reflect on
the whole idea of being there. But here are the pictures I managed to
take as I was whisked through:<br />
<br />
Once inside, we waited, and waited, and waited, with hundreds of
other people inside this church, for our peek at the traditional spot
where Jesus was born. I think we must have waited 2 hours, at least.
And people were pushy, cutting in line - not what you'd expect from a
crowd of supposedly mostly Christians waiting to see the place of Jesus'
birth, but whatever.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkUZfi9VqtyUif4SiWnrprcait49cqmiHc-p3WD4tPBcFOSz3_TU-y9TKYKQBWBhWig-cXMseyC-rr4gnjy5YBTXeSZUHXkTd93TnFPLMrjflbgy6AxgFEUdHuuxQlsHMuk9jbW7ab09y/s1600/DSC03644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkUZfi9VqtyUif4SiWnrprcait49cqmiHc-p3WD4tPBcFOSz3_TU-y9TKYKQBWBhWig-cXMseyC-rr4gnjy5YBTXeSZUHXkTd93TnFPLMrjflbgy6AxgFEUdHuuxQlsHMuk9jbW7ab09y/s1600/DSC03644.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the manger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcwLGF0hOCC8v4iZKr7v1OOsE5ZE-aUE3AgCDcB-PBozzULUWEm2lu4uXaGNcCQPDY2gYducGLi3uCj5Qh6bMRLmKtyR3sBUUdrWXJASmvp7kadm-9Wcw5eMz-U_mbb8n4t6Y_tntTar4/s1600/DSC03646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcwLGF0hOCC8v4iZKr7v1OOsE5ZE-aUE3AgCDcB-PBozzULUWEm2lu4uXaGNcCQPDY2gYducGLi3uCj5Qh6bMRLmKtyR3sBUUdrWXJASmvp7kadm-9Wcw5eMz-U_mbb8n4t6Y_tntTar4/s1600/DSC03646.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The traditional spot of Jesus' birth, represented by the star on the floor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h4>
Day 5 - Checking in to the Regency Hotel in Jerusalem</h4>
After the long day, we finally went to the hotel and checked in.
This was, I think, the nicest of all the hotels we stayed at. Very
large, very clean, very modern. Large dining room which our group
filled up.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOyZYZoenUOWeOr1aTnCsAQeB3uHH_bqD9mGDnWnhJvteuriue6QOewbzWTGTI2NcG6zJuR1oxEGkzsauJRKIoXO89nk0mV7PGmOfE1zGp36uHpnQ5xBS4YYjrxc9rm7lGO5xC-TgKMGk/s1600/DSC03649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOyZYZoenUOWeOr1aTnCsAQeB3uHH_bqD9mGDnWnhJvteuriue6QOewbzWTGTI2NcG6zJuR1oxEGkzsauJRKIoXO89nk0mV7PGmOfE1zGp36uHpnQ5xBS4YYjrxc9rm7lGO5xC-TgKMGk/s1600/DSC03649.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Regency in Jerusalem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkz26pNC-dI-fZzLhSTTYZCoumsf0Ubn2_0i08MBt2lzo2nmauaNK4q2CZkWo16xZl9TzpCwmpyHhwv2ozRPOOuWLlEkKmnTrCRfY5AMzW1bECas2df5IabjYQ5cMux0iniC8uM2uYVgft/s1600/DSC03650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkz26pNC-dI-fZzLhSTTYZCoumsf0Ubn2_0i08MBt2lzo2nmauaNK4q2CZkWo16xZl9TzpCwmpyHhwv2ozRPOOuWLlEkKmnTrCRfY5AMzW1bECas2df5IabjYQ5cMux0iniC8uM2uYVgft/s1600/DSC03650.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Regency in Jerusalem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qffdQfOxv7CyIyLkjJ2py-CdUkuU0CtSFN-H5M_UVLqohNgSRzzMgPDs5YwqZx2cVlFf4WBl2dYCZppVUQOQLYMj1tfAZC6MFCf5B8fBtuicm564pvp9kX6pcvsxFXT_aS6TFNf9ni_L/s1600/DSC03829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qffdQfOxv7CyIyLkjJ2py-CdUkuU0CtSFN-H5M_UVLqohNgSRzzMgPDs5YwqZx2cVlFf4WBl2dYCZppVUQOQLYMj1tfAZC6MFCf5B8fBtuicm564pvp9kX6pcvsxFXT_aS6TFNf9ni_L/s1600/DSC03829.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave and his bus buddy Lillian, who's from Chicago</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In my next entry, I'll cover the next day of our tour, which included
our visit to the Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room,
and the shepherds' fields. Until next time!deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-58386673720582373662008-07-08T19:52:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:58:48.262-05:00Visit to the "real" aquarium<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-BAESm95Kp-29-eZYLwn3811hfjSb0qY0moEdA7a_ySvk7jtwX-g73YBEJujli_FWnR69shOZZ4ySuYT8D32lqwmoF11Y8jpI4L0XDS7fhkpzd3nSdvPjmeWwGMLGXfA8e1Y2vq1oXJi/s1600/160.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-BAESm95Kp-29-eZYLwn3811hfjSb0qY0moEdA7a_ySvk7jtwX-g73YBEJujli_FWnR69shOZZ4ySuYT8D32lqwmoF11Y8jpI4L0XDS7fhkpzd3nSdvPjmeWwGMLGXfA8e1Y2vq1oXJi/s1600/160.pic.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Today I took the day off, and we took the girls to the National
Aquarium in Baltimore. We got a membership that pays for itself in 2
visits, but gives you year-round admission and lets you enter right away
instead of getting a timed ticket. We thought it'd be good since the
girls loved SeaWorld, and each time we go to Walmart, they go crazy
looking at the fish, calling it the "aquarium."<br />
<br />
They really had a good time. Anna was so excited about seeing
seahorses, that's all she could talk about. Then when we saw an
alligator, she was so excited telling mommy about it that she made
herself cough and couldn't finish. Cara liked laying down on the ledges
and watching the fish lying on the ground next to the glass. While it
was neat seeing dolphins, the show at SeaWorld is much more
entertaining.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EH7oQSinkwLudZz_ZamND31mSC2VlWgSL6QNqpzOJTiypi9mZLKDuJNvm5ZiIgsF2aETtzyq3fAiCGTTLBCGum-SsAVMAtfliNOKtAFh357w3O0fLhIF4Z3YDC0p6Pl-_pPIzrhPTXgo/s1600/DSC04027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EH7oQSinkwLudZz_ZamND31mSC2VlWgSL6QNqpzOJTiypi9mZLKDuJNvm5ZiIgsF2aETtzyq3fAiCGTTLBCGum-SsAVMAtfliNOKtAFh357w3O0fLhIF4Z3YDC0p6Pl-_pPIzrhPTXgo/s1600/DSC04027.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNJkZTiJJxIgUziL8EnJVuCzAmw4H0B921ySgWtkFONy4RaamkWS_vJBBdLZiIlurzXPUn60DINXQSknFE4UWDnG4aM0JEF4lnSVNYlJZ-iAazVC9WGa9gkVg2LLtxE6AjT9qPvRr_juo/s1600/DSC04033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNJkZTiJJxIgUziL8EnJVuCzAmw4H0B921ySgWtkFONy4RaamkWS_vJBBdLZiIlurzXPUn60DINXQSknFE4UWDnG4aM0JEF4lnSVNYlJZ-iAazVC9WGa9gkVg2LLtxE6AjT9qPvRr_juo/s1600/DSC04033.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlNdIkJGOT8Mcm9W2YXREH-px4qPYn4xz29qutc5K412KNztQNmeSFCSGUz0fOS5UiWVwwXn6RXDU2xSX9Czjhq9MUwvxUQEs0q9_fwKftMeZ2PKSvat8pwmrJ6XgS6kn83PBMtssc_qa/s1600/DSC04034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlNdIkJGOT8Mcm9W2YXREH-px4qPYn4xz29qutc5K412KNztQNmeSFCSGUz0fOS5UiWVwwXn6RXDU2xSX9Czjhq9MUwvxUQEs0q9_fwKftMeZ2PKSvat8pwmrJ6XgS6kn83PBMtssc_qa/s1600/DSC04034.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Anyway, I imagine we'll being going back a few more times during our
membership year. Anna was crying when we were walking back to the car -
she didn't want to go home but wanted to stay at the aquarium, or at
least walk around the Inner Harbor more. It is a neat section of
Baltimore, right on the harbor. We'll be back.<br />
<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-47632258884829284992008-07-04T23:33:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:55:07.432-05:00Burned on the 4th of July<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppZ6MA2Vig31cqvL-xul8u1ttRgrdhmItno-UFxkTL-Mx1fWbBdTO_jfU5W3N_fVBm07h53tt6vi5BqIndaJKpx8vvONhbehFXr5svjJuLS9irFSMwjwi_tJgHqcz1EJZerVFfpn_1E9L/s1600/159.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppZ6MA2Vig31cqvL-xul8u1ttRgrdhmItno-UFxkTL-Mx1fWbBdTO_jfU5W3N_fVBm07h53tt6vi5BqIndaJKpx8vvONhbehFXr5svjJuLS9irFSMwjwi_tJgHqcz1EJZerVFfpn_1E9L/s1600/159.pic.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Tonight, Anna and I went to our old friends the Morris's annual 4th
of July party. Beth and Cara couldn't go this time. We love the
Morris's and always look forward to their get-togethers. This could
have been the last one, though, since sadly they're planning to retire
and move away to Ohio. Life goes on.<br />
Anyway, this year I bought a few tame fireworks to share at the
party. And the Morris's had some old hand-held sparklers lying around.
Anna really liked the little firework that I bought - just a tiny thing
you set on the ground, and it shoots sparks and colors, relatively
quietly, into the air for maybe 15-20 seconds. After some "dinner" (2
bananas, but that's better than nothing) and some cake, she was ready to
go see the fireworks.<br />
<br />
We lit the sparklers first. Anna didn't want to hold one initially;
just enjoyed watching. But then she saw another 2 1/2 year old hold
one, so she got the courage to hold one. I helped her hold it, showing
her to hold it away from her and watch it, and she really liked it.
When it burned out, I turned to get the disposal can, then I turned back
around just in time to see her reach with her other hand to grab the
portion of the sparkler that was burned out but still very hot, too late
to stop her.<br />
<br />
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I
feel really bad. I had talked her into holding one, she went out on a
limb, and because I didn't think to warn her not to touch it anywhere
else, in 2 short seconds she got burned. Fortunately it was just a
little blister on her finger, and holding a cold washcloth helped.
Surprisingly, she even agreed to help pass out sparklers to everybody -
she just didn't want to hold another burning one. I'm sad that her
first sparkler experience ended like that, but maybe by next year she'll
be willing to try again.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
She did thoroughly enjoy the other fireworks I brought. I also had
two bigger ones that popped kind of loudly. John Morris held Anna as
those went off. The first one, she covered her ears and was half
crying, half laughing. Then for the 2nd one, she covered her ears, but
was clearly laughing and enjoying it. Then on the way home she
excitedly pointed out fireworks in the sky - maybe next year she'll be
ready to see some "real" ones at the park.deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-42057957039741447642008-07-04T23:01:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:50:56.790-05:00Am I really that old?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUsnVhAPx9MBRvutMf9PVOoVc9mfS4Fcw0Kv1ApoQ7jWwq4Wq_YUWlgnSSLA2MM3mlTwqIzI5j-a2v_IxYj1MdgAYfJrICI8yIgxJ5FrJwjNlN0uUhcU5QxGc895TCt0hbDOQ9ukhyphenhyphenn5z/s1600/158.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUsnVhAPx9MBRvutMf9PVOoVc9mfS4Fcw0Kv1ApoQ7jWwq4Wq_YUWlgnSSLA2MM3mlTwqIzI5j-a2v_IxYj1MdgAYfJrICI8yIgxJ5FrJwjNlN0uUhcU5QxGc895TCt0hbDOQ9ukhyphenhyphenn5z/s1600/158.pic.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Do I look like this?</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tonight at the Morris's 4th of July party, I was chatting with Fran
Morris, catching up. In the course of the conversation, she cautiously
asked me, "So Dave, how is your health these days?"<br />
<br />
"Huh," I thought, "this is a new one." It was such a general
question, I was trying to comprehend what would have sparked it. Do I
look sickly? I didn't think that was it. Do I look older than I should
at 32? No, I didn't think that was it, either. Is there an unspoken
age that I've now reached where people just know they better ask about
your health? If so, is 32 that magic age? Seems young to me.<br />
<br />
"Uhhm," I replied, "my health? It's uh, fine, really. Nothing
exciting - I don't even think I've been to the doctor since high
school!" That seemed to surprise her, so now I really wondered what was
wrong with me.<br />
<br />
Hoping she wasn't opening a can of worms, Fran cautiously told me why
she asked. Apparently, Tony, the hispanic pastor of our old church,
leads their Bible study. Two years ago or so, he apparently got the
impression from somewhere that I had multiple sclerosis, so I've been on
their prayer list for two years! I was certainly touched that they
prayed for me, but it's pretty funny - except for the <em>real</em> person with MS who's been missing out on all the prayer.<br />
<br />
Now I have to wonder who told Pastor Tony that I had MS. I'm willing
to bet it's the same person that told us that the Morrises had already
moved out of Ohio and made us miss their parties last year. Whoever it
is - they must be stopped.deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-38298865500193281162008-06-29T23:06:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:46:59.609-05:00Still growing...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTEnTzBAvJZ3uji4dEiyjLcnKsQSxb_HZI55v2FaG0Wz0J8dOXBcBYThaMHWK6kXos1sbx5PDnxCt7oeNFlxVVisuuUmN9toRl5DfazEQh3LcHrZUEyTx9OLD17vY5hmfx7Y5YCj9H4PQ/s1600/157.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTEnTzBAvJZ3uji4dEiyjLcnKsQSxb_HZI55v2FaG0Wz0J8dOXBcBYThaMHWK6kXos1sbx5PDnxCt7oeNFlxVVisuuUmN9toRl5DfazEQh3LcHrZUEyTx9OLD17vY5hmfx7Y5YCj9H4PQ/s1600/157.pic.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
In a previous post, I noticed a little sign of Anna growing up - she
stopped putting two feet on each step as she climbed stairs. She's now
all but stopped having to have her kitty and blankets with her wherever
she goes. She does keep them in her bed, though, and sleeps with them
every night, along with her pink snowman slippers. Today in church she
actually sang with her VBS class in front of everybody. Before, she'd
cling to her teacher, but this time she asked us to sit up front so we
could see her, so we did. And I think it helped her confidence, because
once she saw us, she got a big smile on her face and sang out. And
she'd smile big throughout the other songs when she'd glance over and
see us still there, watching. She can also count to at least 5, maybe
10, thanks to her friend Dora the Explorer. She knows some other
Spanish words as well, though "perrito" comes out as "burrito."<br />
<br />
Cara is now walking down the steps standing up, but still using two
feet per step. She is very, very independent, but still loves to copy
whatever her sister does or says. She likes to sit on the kitchen
counter and watch Beth do whatever. She is still a big mess at the
table - yesterday we had spaghetti and that Texas Toast garlic bread
with cheese. She ate the spaghetti with her hands, and after licking
the cheese on the garlic bread, she peeled it off bit by bit to eat just
the cheese, then somehow ate a hole in the middle of the bread, and was
trying to put the bread on her arm like a bracelet.<br />
<br />
<br />
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In other kind of sad growing up news, I may need to start limiting
how much the girls, at least Anna, can jump on my belly. The girls like
to hold my hands while they leap up and pounce on my belly. Anna's
getting big enough now, though, that it's starting to hurt!<br />
<br />
Both girls are very scared of thunder - Cara probably only because
Anna screams whenever she thinks she hears a little thunder. When a
tiny roll of thunder came during naptime and Anna freaked out, I tried
to calm her down by saying it was just the sky burping a little, and she
just needs to say, "Excuse you, sky!" That seemed to work, a little,
we'll see. But now whenever she gets scared by thunder, she says, "I'm
scared of the burping!"deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-37378325891025977782008-06-25T20:15:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:44:32.881-05:00Slipper emergency<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwP6CQ7F1sSf5jfr24bln7nIMabr4mC7NFSh3NlR_7AcLvjIi_iHujdri6Qb3pbcCacW7ievCeALEcKomPwpBfMkU0mXm_fRE8e7pJ9a9yNe9FK6tqoyfYz9QUrIyb7Y-yM79hIqGxWNtv/s1600/156.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwP6CQ7F1sSf5jfr24bln7nIMabr4mC7NFSh3NlR_7AcLvjIi_iHujdri6Qb3pbcCacW7ievCeALEcKomPwpBfMkU0mXm_fRE8e7pJ9a9yNe9FK6tqoyfYz9QUrIyb7Y-yM79hIqGxWNtv/s1600/156.pic.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Last night at 3:15 a.m., Anna came and woke me up. "Daddy, I lost a
slipper! I need to find it!" So I got up to help her find her single
lost slipper in her dark room. Once we found it, all was ok. She put it
on (she was wearing the other one already) and went back to sleep. Titi
Edna, these are (still) the pink snowman slippers that you gave to Anna
in Orlando last fall. She loves those slippers and still wears them to
bed (i.e., sleeps with them on) every single night. They're getting a
little worn from so much use. Titi Toni, you asked what Anna would like
for her birthday - I think she would love another pair of silky, shiny,
fluffy slippers. I could be wrong, and she might insist on the pink
snowman slippers till they literally fall apart!deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-51675686195543381302008-06-21T15:00:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:42:31.524-05:00Lucky to still be alive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6zlwcX1ZhcKHC0sXpTL6kRla_HO1zdDEFZKvHAz0Sgens-EXSjpKPUHwc1rifA8kdA3M-yw6i5aMTAcDXRmHFnEaGQvjOkWvJ3a0fGDhWxPLoVozX7RK78pVw5Nc1zPh_vUvxd9hQOss/s1600/155.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6zlwcX1ZhcKHC0sXpTL6kRla_HO1zdDEFZKvHAz0Sgens-EXSjpKPUHwc1rifA8kdA3M-yw6i5aMTAcDXRmHFnEaGQvjOkWvJ3a0fGDhWxPLoVozX7RK78pVw5Nc1zPh_vUvxd9hQOss/s1600/155.pic.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a></div>
My mom recently sent me this picture of her first time "rapelling,"
if you can call it that. I had to laugh, because it reminded me of my
first time rapelling at summer camp. I hate what I call "low heights,"
meaning I'm just fine riding on or piloting an aircraft, but if I'm
standing on a cliff where one misstep will obviously cause a painful
fall, I freeze up.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I was absolutely terrified, but they made all of us do it. I
was frozen up, maybe a quarter way down this 100 foot cliff, when my
whole harness thing started to slip off. I started yelling, "Oh crap!
Get me down! Get me down NOW!!!" Everyone started laughing, but I
didn't see the humor in being 75 feet in the air with my safety
equipment tenuously wrapped around my ankles instead of my groin, where
it was supposed to be. I guess I got my skills from mom.deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-43118170609691224662008-06-16T22:30:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:39:44.404-05:00Driveway carnage<div class="postentry">
Anna just has bad luck when it comes to the driveway. When we
pulled into our villa in Orlando last fall for our family reunion, she
was quite horrified when she saw <a href="http://menendez-us.blogspot.com/2007/10/the-lizard.html" target="_blank">this dead lizard</a> right outside her van door.<br />
Today, when they were getting into the van, Anna discovered yet
another life claimed by the driveway, again right next to her door.
This time, it was the decapitated carcass of a bird. Not only was it
headless, but it also looked like something ripped its chest open and
took the insides, in the style of <em>Temple of Doom</em> or <em>The Thing</em>.<br />
<br />
Probably the only thing I could do to make it more scary for her
would be to tell her that a thunderstorm did that to the bird, but Beth
didn't think that would be a good idea.<br />
</div>
deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-2550711294454172008-06-12T16:46:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:36:23.440-05:00Scary clothing<div class="postentry">
Beth: <em>I need to go put on my capri pants.</em><br />
<br />
Anna: <em>Why do you need to put on your creepy pants?</em><br />
</div>
deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-56690335020132607422008-06-07T13:59:00.000-04:002012-12-31T21:03:01.270-05:00Anna's 4th birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkk46gHUMULqGTuWk5lDHg61ahfJD8triDKs6LA5QEpapKYcWMzZcmURUZYiriwQ4J8LmCkWPeEx0j_iOmMmg-WWMa577inSxIO63o_4IXInPQ5L9zsxbvZulDq7YUJHIh8f0qVVQpkT5v/s1600/151.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkk46gHUMULqGTuWk5lDHg61ahfJD8triDKs6LA5QEpapKYcWMzZcmURUZYiriwQ4J8LmCkWPeEx0j_iOmMmg-WWMa577inSxIO63o_4IXInPQ5L9zsxbvZulDq7YUJHIh8f0qVVQpkT5v/s1600/151.pic.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Yesterday (the 6th) we had a party for Anna's 4th birthday. She was
very confused because on the 5th (her actual birthday), we wished her a
happy birthday, and she thought she was having a party that day. After
work I had done a big run to the grocery store for Beth to get both
general groceries and things for the party. When I brought the stuff
home, I had to run back out to get more things for the party so
everything would be ready (a new propane tank, for one). So I wasn't
actually home much on her actual birthday. Poor Anna - I don't know what
she thought was happening, but she said, "This is the best birthday
party EVER!" to Beth, when there was no actual party, no presents yet,
and daddy wasn't even home. I think she was confused when she went to
bed.<br />
<br />
Yesterday made up for it, at least, when she had her actual party,
which she'd been looking forward to for months. It was really a simple
cookout with several friends from Beth's MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)
group and friends from Anna's preschool. The guys, of course, met for
the first time. But we had balloons, cupcakes, and a bunch of toys in
the backyard to play with. I have to count in my head how many girls
were there… I don't even know, maybe around 15 little girls? Counting
the boys is easy - there was only one! Anna's friend Alex, who's
deathly afraid of our black-and-white cats and asked me repeatedly to
"put them away," even though we were outside and the cats were nowhere
to be seen. I forget what the game was, but at one point all the girls
were chasing Alex around the yard.<br />
<br />
Anna was too excited to eat her hot dog & baked beans, so she
told us that she "didn't like it" and "wanted to play." We let her,
since it was her birthday after all. She didn't have a problem eating 2
or 3 cupcakes later, though. All the kids had a really fun time
playing in the sprinkler when we turned it on. At first Anna didn't
want to get wet, so she stood far back and held her hands out to feel
the water droplets. But one of the other dads somehow convinced her it
was fun, then picked her up and held her over the sprinkler and got her
all wet - after which Anna repeatedly went back to him to do it again
and again. After the sprinkler, there were bubbles for everyone to play
with.<br />
<br />
Below is a short collage of some pictures and video clips from Anna's party (or <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxUTv89Ix8E7ekg5bE5iV1gzYkE/edit">click here for a high-quality version</a>, ~25MB). All the pictures and raw video clips will be in the photo gallery, under <i>Day-to-Day, 2008 Summer, Annas 4th Birthday.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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<i></i><br />
It was a fun time, and all the kids had a ball, I think. It was a
little warm, but our backyard is shaded in the evening, so it wasn't too
bad. It was good we had it yesterday because we have an excessive heat
watch for the rest of the weekend, with heat indeces near 110 degrees.
The only casualty was after everyone left, when Cara let one of Anna's
11 balloons float off into the sky. When Anna saw it, she screamed in
horror then cried for her one lost balloon. It didn't matter there were
10 others.<br />
<br />
Happy Birthday, Anna!deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-11113411930731001542008-05-30T23:00:00.000-04:002012-12-31T20:59:13.743-05:00Too far between<div class="postentry">
Last night I was going to put together a short video collage of
the clips we took of the girls (1 and 3, at the time) "dancing" their
little hearts out at our family reunion in Orlando last fall. I did
that, but as I was watching the clips and looking through all our
pictures from that week, I began to really miss the fun time we had, all
together, which are very few and far between, playing games, dancing,
singing, relaxing, laughing, Titi Edna cheating at blitz… I started to
get that really sad feeling I had for the first hour when we drove away,
heading for home. I don't know when (or even if) we'll get to see
Abuela again. So this video contains the dancing clips I originally set
out to put together, but I also followed it with a short slideshow of
our time together. I hope we see each other again soon.<br />
<br />
You can view the video below, or <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxUTv89Ix8E7YWZPTkMzbmVpR1E/edit">click here to download a high quality version</a> (~75MB) to play back locally on your machine (right-click the link in your browser to save the movie file locally).<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/yXcyGblElc8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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The first couple of dancing clips are a bit dark, and the video clips
were taken on our old digital still camera, so they’re a little choppy -
sorry about that. The slideshow begins around 3:30 into the video if
you want to skip the dancing videos. If you want to re-read all about
our reunion, you can find my entries under October 2007 and November 2007 in the "Blog Archive" sidebar section.</div>
deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-2603390518751248752008-05-29T20:38:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:22:52.666-05:00These boots were made for... everything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Beth & the girls went to a shoe store yesterday. One of my friends in the <a href="http://www.nationalchristianchoir.org/" target="_blank">choir</a>
manages the store, and he was kind enough to give them full service and
a nice discount. While the girls got a few pairs of new shoes, their
favorite item by far was their new rainboots. They wanted to wear them
out of the store and in the car back home. This morning they insisted
on wearing their rainboots with their outfit for the day. They love
those boots - now we just need it to rain so they can go splash in
puddles.<br />
<br />
This evening we played a little bit on the porch with sidewalk chalk
and bubbles (in our boots, of course). Anna wanted a chalk outline of
her whole body. After I outlined her and Cara a couple times, I took a
rest, and the girls continued outlining each other.<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-1271082465178466262008-05-29T20:37:00.000-04:002012-12-31T11:19:00.087-05:00New games<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFqkPiqwkWERuDg9AFIugPTdqULoWE4sLDa23V8j5gpT_WRkZR1qmn39d2pD6WTznmBNVr_f5wY7xNW8yD37Jr6EiTS41P3CJf77FOrJ4k8bpHgRink484buJTG8fWblIm72phF-mo0ij/s1600/149.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFqkPiqwkWERuDg9AFIugPTdqULoWE4sLDa23V8j5gpT_WRkZR1qmn39d2pD6WTznmBNVr_f5wY7xNW8yD37Jr6EiTS41P3CJf77FOrJ4k8bpHgRink484buJTG8fWblIm72phF-mo0ij/s1600/149.pic.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cara hand-feeds a hungry, hungry hippo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We got out some games recently that Beth got at yard sales. One was
Connect Four. The girls just like to fill the thing up with all the
pieces, then move the switch to dump them out, then repeat. And repeat.<br />
<br />
We also got out Hungry Hungry Hippos. That was a big hit. Cara
likes to hand-feed the hippos. Anna likes to talk to the hippos,
sometimes giving them their "food" by hand, but mostly dumping all the
marbles into the middle and making one chomp and chomp furiously.<br />
<br />
Cara still likes to eat all her food with her fingers, whether it be
spaghetti, corn, yogurt, or ice cream. Anna still loves to wear her
pink snowman slippers to bed (the one Titi Edna and Abuela gave her in
Orlando), regardless of which set of PJs she's wearing.<br />
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deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-21751890122215791962008-05-27T23:47:00.000-04:002012-12-31T14:56:21.670-05:00Israel Tour 2008 - Part 6<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3728qXUaY2vuemxRjmFVufwW10Ym4GF-Vx9dmcUqpsUp8dhe5EweYzsk9G1TE4murMUyn7JD8T8d5Ym6GAB5MgX2wPpXH-GibREtM7Qu89jfQLB4u16X0meTUFhM57H5A53Zin__Yu9x/s1600/145.pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3728qXUaY2vuemxRjmFVufwW10Ym4GF-Vx9dmcUqpsUp8dhe5EweYzsk9G1TE4murMUyn7JD8T8d5Ym6GAB5MgX2wPpXH-GibREtM7Qu89jfQLB4u16X0meTUFhM57H5A53Zin__Yu9x/s1600/145.pic.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad on the Sea of Galilee shore</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is Part 6 of my account of our tour to Israel with <a href="http://www.nationalchristianchoir.org/" target="_blank" title="The National Christian Choir">The National Christian Choir</a>.
This entry begins with our visit to various sites around the Sea of
Galilee, including the Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha (feeding of the
5,000), Capernaum, and the Jordan River. To start at the beginning, <a href="http://menendez-us.blogspot.com/2008/04/israel-tour-2008-part-1.html" title="Israel Tour 2008 - Part 1">click here</a>. All my Israel pictures and videos are in the photo gallery under <i>Vacations and Trips</i>, then <i>2008 Israel</i>.<br />
<span id="more-145"></span><br />
<h4>
Day 4 - Sea of Galilee</h4>
We started the day bright and early, as usual. After breakfast at
the hotel in Nazareth, we piled into our six coach buses and headed for
the Sea of Galilee. The trips really were not that long wherever we
traveled in the country - it's just not that big. Probably the longest
we sat on the bus was an hour, and that's when we traveled from the
northern part of the country to the southern part, by the Dead Sea. But
they obviously didn't have the luxury of vehicles 2,000 years ago, and I
have a new understanding of how difficult the various journeys
described in the Bible must have been. The scenery was very pretty -
tall hills, deep valleys, covered with green grass and lots of rocks.
Pretty to drive by, but I bet a pain to walk over to get from here to
there.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the Sea of Galilee</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the Sea of Galilee (city of Tiberias is visible on the hillside)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the Sea of Galilee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8HQNnDDcS7ee1WkUSPkfnVBI50Q24js7WQ_ozyuX0EyPzXrM3LwmfkvlnskTa4dSvNya5bGlNVHaIoleoxcn-V0PeKKv7E6Rx1xWcwAtAY0cqxp3CAu8Wkm802Dkq6jNsm_fGLGXzN3a/s1600/IMG_0645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8HQNnDDcS7ee1WkUSPkfnVBI50Q24js7WQ_ozyuX0EyPzXrM3LwmfkvlnskTa4dSvNya5bGlNVHaIoleoxcn-V0PeKKv7E6Rx1xWcwAtAY0cqxp3CAu8Wkm802Dkq6jNsm_fGLGXzN3a/s1600/IMG_0645.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The Sea of Galilee is nestled in a valley with hills and cliffs all
around it. Very scenic. And very, very calm and still (at least on the
day we were there). The city on the hillside in the middle picture is <a href="http://blog.menendez.us/wp-admin/We%20went%20to%20the%20northern%20shore%20of%20the%20Sea,%20with%20our%20first%20stop%20being%20the%20Mount%20of%20Beatitudes." target="_blank" title="Tiberias on Wikipedia">Tiberias</a>,
which was built in 20 A.D. by the son of Herod the Great. During the
Great Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire, the Sanhedrin (Jewish
court) eventually settled here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfpgyBibWRSOv-LFUFtGArPZ9fHzF6rteV63ShG9z7upxdkl8bmZiznltiNFWVR4JW1Wk_XtkRr3s5385s8tuZ_Cvg-7pC-HcC5J2UmWsLGLcGRAdfkg2FR469ljqN3PTYVI5Jb63r4jt/s1600/DSC03544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfpgyBibWRSOv-LFUFtGArPZ9fHzF6rteV63ShG9z7upxdkl8bmZiznltiNFWVR4JW1Wk_XtkRr3s5385s8tuZ_Cvg-7pC-HcC5J2UmWsLGLcGRAdfkg2FR469ljqN3PTYVI5Jb63r4jt/s1600/DSC03544.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church at the Mount of Beatitudes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4Hgu6QF0ZAmi1DTDLNYwWxSiHJ7_72xDGHk5avNjGiK4FpVzbpHF5HlbGhxAfdQmnYPEzPbxJyphMDxOrhlqwYOc4gDcBEhcsy_p8H1Zx7ZFlpYOuyimV-LtDgE8tG279eqnDLAqJgZP/s1600/DSC03543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4Hgu6QF0ZAmi1DTDLNYwWxSiHJ7_72xDGHk5avNjGiK4FpVzbpHF5HlbGhxAfdQmnYPEzPbxJyphMDxOrhlqwYOc4gDcBEhcsy_p8H1Zx7ZFlpYOuyimV-LtDgE8tG279eqnDLAqJgZP/s1600/DSC03543.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view from the Mount of Beatitudes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OHvx4JDGdLNLaukL1w4AsM5BfURRwiIg6d1E0ZagYGXvvQa9NnOvgwpLVxQKFManhKzCf21QzfmZDeUY22GOyKk-ItJvFE0geimmIcpYLUYbbtO0sua_fnP0xWvKtAnVdyDyRgtXyIuK/s1600/DSC03545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OHvx4JDGdLNLaukL1w4AsM5BfURRwiIg6d1E0ZagYGXvvQa9NnOvgwpLVxQKFManhKzCf21QzfmZDeUY22GOyKk-ItJvFE0geimmIcpYLUYbbtO0sua_fnP0xWvKtAnVdyDyRgtXyIuK/s1600/DSC03545.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mount of Beatitudes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Kjj3sBlWAnaUQuoLywK8xsiyde6LRhUJ6QZwb9jmxbu9iDeOwXzVBzbkJDy_NwvlIPPW0Gn3Sip-cgXX2iFpE2zg90gOaHZTJWXDfsVQl894ELx40qSKhRln-1AAnuno920HDG7cZG90/s1600/DSC03542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Kjj3sBlWAnaUQuoLywK8xsiyde6LRhUJ6QZwb9jmxbu9iDeOwXzVBzbkJDy_NwvlIPPW0Gn3Sip-cgXX2iFpE2zg90gOaHZTJWXDfsVQl894ELx40qSKhRln-1AAnuno920HDG7cZG90/s1600/DSC03542.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry speaks to the group at the Mount of Beatitudes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We went to the northern shore of the Sea, with our first stop being
the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205:1-11;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="The Beatitudes on BibleGateway.com">Matthew 5:1-11</a>). There
is a beautiful campus on the Mount. It consists of a church, well-kept
gardens and landscaping, and another building that I assume is where
the caretakers live. A number of priests and nuns currently reside
there and maintain the grounds. We gathered in a peaceful, outdoor
mini-theater with the Sea as the backdrop, where Harry talked to us
about the Sermon on the Mount.<br />
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I can only guess that the priests and nuns must get exasperated at
all the stupid tourists that come through their site. As we were walking
around snapping our cameras and looking like tourists, we apparently
stumbled into a restricted area. We only figured that out when a nun
came walking briskly towards us on the path we were on, waving her arms,
telling us to get out in whatever language she was speaking.
Apparently the area was roped off and said "Do Not Enter" but someone in
front of us had just taken that rope down, and the whole group followed
him in like lemmings. I still have no idea what was so special about
that one corner of the walkway.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Day 4 - Site of the miraculous catch of fish and reinstatement of Peter</h4>
From the Mount of Beatitudes, we went to the traditional site where
Jesus reappeared to the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
after his resurrection, where He told them to cast their nets on the
other side of their boat when they were having no luck catching fish.
When they did, they caught so many, they had trouble bringing all the
fish to shore, and Jesus had a fire going with fish and bread. The story
is in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2021:1-14;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="John 21:1-14 on BibleGateway.com">John 21:1-14</a>. The church on this site encloses a rock where tradition says that this fire was burning. Of course, since this is a <i>traditional site</i> (as opposed to <i>authentic</i>,
meaning verified), they don't know that this was the exact rock - only
that it occurred in the near vicinity, so that's where they chose to
commemorate the event.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCaDsZTN3dt3uXuMbyvXlm5_zU6rZh6wP_8rIcEGhE-rMxWzYQsdcYJ1CsodzSESrGHAkZRfgos9pp2HfaVfTJUW8rkFqoSIt7van5sJ8UYuzwepAa4_-f4YrkoIWYZpfr_c4q9q7ADJX/s1600/DSC03548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCaDsZTN3dt3uXuMbyvXlm5_zU6rZh6wP_8rIcEGhE-rMxWzYQsdcYJ1CsodzSESrGHAkZRfgos9pp2HfaVfTJUW8rkFqoSIt7van5sJ8UYuzwepAa4_-f4YrkoIWYZpfr_c4q9q7ADJX/s1600/DSC03548.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the shore at the site of the Primacy of Peter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRrco_ImSZTB7gYSQyiDEMTjgyzRlRzkxDrwOQmGqjzINI56FLb-5vRf_tE9GrCrqYOBNdxfLURLUwyMk52_iJv_-uL-Dnq05To6h5A1JxW-82meOtcRnyWEdDNs_4muEiu64oCbDQpSN/s1600/DSC03549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRrco_ImSZTB7gYSQyiDEMTjgyzRlRzkxDrwOQmGqjzINI56FLb-5vRf_tE9GrCrqYOBNdxfLURLUwyMk52_iJv_-uL-Dnq05To6h5A1JxW-82meOtcRnyWEdDNs_4muEiu64oCbDQpSN/s1600/DSC03549.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church at the site of the Primacy of Peter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_V0XdJtTi2bmejc-P2F-yFKucZJHN6cPL6P7TBsXQ2jZI-bD1ciLhqxCM6kW_g4FstR4zWa_PVjLB8ryPs7n9O4p1Okt00M1rAOwZTjw42F9csZfIGHsHHQyk70DAXU0nBrHiOX1-3Yuf/s1600/DSC03550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_V0XdJtTi2bmejc-P2F-yFKucZJHN6cPL6P7TBsXQ2jZI-bD1ciLhqxCM6kW_g4FstR4zWa_PVjLB8ryPs7n9O4p1Okt00M1rAOwZTjw42F9csZfIGHsHHQyk70DAXU0nBrHiOX1-3Yuf/s1600/DSC03550.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The traditional rock inside the church where the fire was burning after Jesus told the disciples to cast their net on the other side of the boat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTiSpH8k5KzYpthfSoxjOoI7pyq5i9vIIpx6kNwI7atakmWp6GbLpk_sX2WyTSX0m-0WL8o1TGK7iadgV0WVcQjgV5Il5FMJ_EnOcJI5hDwNK0-hK-qd3Rj5tt8HIW-Kh4PKRM3-EbroIo/s1600/IMG_0646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTiSpH8k5KzYpthfSoxjOoI7pyq5i9vIIpx6kNwI7atakmWp6GbLpk_sX2WyTSX0m-0WL8o1TGK7iadgV0WVcQjgV5Il5FMJ_EnOcJI5hDwNK0-hK-qd3Rj5tt8HIW-Kh4PKRM3-EbroIo/s1600/IMG_0646.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry speaks to the group at the site of the Primacy of Peter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vbQ57j-_L8tgiCLRtnklPDDXMRl6og-TXgDzfMONcAnxN6tWX-PzLZ-X5D1c-RpPZtrnsb67g2gkRWmabLI2vmb_avv5hrd27NDiVk7uLUwIzZGqC3OQF_H0iDJ6jKAUHqnAqka5aJNl/s1600/IMG_0647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vbQ57j-_L8tgiCLRtnklPDDXMRl6og-TXgDzfMONcAnxN6tWX-PzLZ-X5D1c-RpPZtrnsb67g2gkRWmabLI2vmb_avv5hrd27NDiVk7uLUwIzZGqC3OQF_H0iDJ6jKAUHqnAqka5aJNl/s1600/IMG_0647.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave on the shore at the site of the Primacy of Peter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It was easy (and neat) to stand on the shore, much like Jesus would
have done, looking out at the fishing boat on the water, the water
lapping gently onto the rocky shore. There were actually wooden boats
out on the water that were modeled after the boats of that time, so it
almost felt like you were there. The main picture of this entry with dad
has one of these boats in the background and was taken at this site as
well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
This also was the place where Jesus reinstated Peter after they
finished eating their breakfast of fish and bread, when Jesus asked
Peter three times if he loved Him (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2021:15-19;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="John 21:15-19 on BibleGateway.com">John 21:15-19</a>).<br />
<br />
<h4>
Day 4 - Capernaum</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifY1uW4iVbOJbxBDkba8uauEDjuJVzYp4LUKUvgQgaKNoQdt_rJtU5gYNlMPwM_KUC8U8ZTC8SwPvKSfUMtoYQJl8vrZheNVwY04RCrVjZqFi3BXNLG6UfJKxz8ddYjHkHln-DKHfTUbTO/s1600/DSC03551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifY1uW4iVbOJbxBDkba8uauEDjuJVzYp4LUKUvgQgaKNoQdt_rJtU5gYNlMPwM_KUC8U8ZTC8SwPvKSfUMtoYQJl8vrZheNVwY04RCrVjZqFi3BXNLG6UfJKxz8ddYjHkHln-DKHfTUbTO/s1600/DSC03551.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering Capernaum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbgmnoQNmbkS-LYjSbLoGjBXZsQEpZ6CzY5Z_VdlNpWDTK0HgWda_1c6XEkgbHRQbOlD4cDWtGZFSFayef_DeOROqeMRYNQdEyQQhHbJjXStnsGQGVafz5JBI0dIQWc3gymEVNuW2j1Sx/s1600/DSC03552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbgmnoQNmbkS-LYjSbLoGjBXZsQEpZ6CzY5Z_VdlNpWDTK0HgWda_1c6XEkgbHRQbOlD4cDWtGZFSFayef_DeOROqeMRYNQdEyQQhHbJjXStnsGQGVafz5JBI0dIQWc3gymEVNuW2j1Sx/s1600/DSC03552.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty vegetation at Capernaum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUdnh48Cz6rlSp_jTjZjE5H-1TvCSLyHfCFykM3Q6eCDvo8P0mrsLl8u7uoFWIBHypMD68dT2D2uuDSZJEcbnmJBdt3Haxw0qEjQ_RgXBu1aLVPPtSIaQHVPMSXzcfx05waIm2qfiKiJc/s1600/DSC03558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUdnh48Cz6rlSp_jTjZjE5H-1TvCSLyHfCFykM3Q6eCDvo8P0mrsLl8u7uoFWIBHypMD68dT2D2uuDSZJEcbnmJBdt3Haxw0qEjQ_RgXBu1aLVPPtSIaQHVPMSXzcfx05waIm2qfiKiJc/s1600/DSC03558.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty vegetation at Capernaum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhv6mFTqAF93GqK9-WzsV4_S6XZzEH25AHPVjITe3xkG8BLz7BmkRjd9vcaTCx0Gx2ZNxnlqS3_mKdEKi04jrPK2-YzUDsenZe9dcmojPpiZ41K-0PuQXlT3uA2fWQYHrXYchSo6Bo9zi/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhv6mFTqAF93GqK9-WzsV4_S6XZzEH25AHPVjITe3xkG8BLz7BmkRjd9vcaTCx0Gx2ZNxnlqS3_mKdEKi04jrPK2-YzUDsenZe9dcmojPpiZ41K-0PuQXlT3uA2fWQYHrXYchSo6Bo9zi/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty vegetation at Capernaum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We then traveled to Capernaum, Jesus' "home away from home" during
His ministry. A nice building with pretty trees and flowers welcomes
visitors. Beyond the gate, though, were the ruins of Capernaum. Many
of the foundations of the houses were still there, so we got a visual
idea of just what the town would have looked like. It seemed the houses
would have been pretty small, pretty modest, and pretty close together.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAEHy5pYoABplg5hEIJUcTlB8x-kyUcZ_pR0RKWW0wQD16p-_aHQsQSNdXBXHYEAS3sACRpt6sQ5r9Zk2-xOs6_DU1cuW0pS0RXJp8feyipFaer3lz1H6GYe_U55L0So3XvGNSH3-gBCzz/s1600/DSC03553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAEHy5pYoABplg5hEIJUcTlB8x-kyUcZ_pR0RKWW0wQD16p-_aHQsQSNdXBXHYEAS3sACRpt6sQ5r9Zk2-xOs6_DU1cuW0pS0RXJp8feyipFaer3lz1H6GYe_U55L0So3XvGNSH3-gBCzz/s1600/DSC03553.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capernaum synagogue ruins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk18l4EJ7pPdISNgJHcBKnXsfKtlANJAvyN5UfY127F5biQTbFj70lQfhCW61i0p3ymFJc478HmrW5tRW8SAfjPq4r3aeWSFNnpRL_2BV7hyphenhyphenjzEKt6YOwpU2E9O92FJFvuUFNTUW1XXEf9/s1600/DSC03554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk18l4EJ7pPdISNgJHcBKnXsfKtlANJAvyN5UfY127F5biQTbFj70lQfhCW61i0p3ymFJc478HmrW5tRW8SAfjPq4r3aeWSFNnpRL_2BV7hyphenhyphenjzEKt6YOwpU2E9O92FJFvuUFNTUW1XXEf9/s1600/DSC03554.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capernaum synagogue ruins - interior</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEqIR2_jvp8sL1hP_7Z1Ftpw7e0vuaDjPVmpT2gDlUvIkhONNonFvZUA48pJ2wbRRLkfz8z0E8tnKvRbjXYxuo7rNjvXhFMr-bsyNWbMzOJmdhzwX6obAbIYSSdDTotw-HikLePs41e6x/s1600/IMG_0649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEqIR2_jvp8sL1hP_7Z1Ftpw7e0vuaDjPVmpT2gDlUvIkhONNonFvZUA48pJ2wbRRLkfz8z0E8tnKvRbjXYxuo7rNjvXhFMr-bsyNWbMzOJmdhzwX6obAbIYSSdDTotw-HikLePs41e6x/s1600/IMG_0649.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capernaum synagogue ruins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1cHnFvZpQC5IWTTNpRJAFtTmbayf-M_PENLWOWhUnz8ttaKOUJFC6J8x7kRmkN3gqTPq2XZRAhMdU1fCSECK7ZdEEDyZb7gX5JR9gMBkLDQ6Luwj2j9JhTrHA-gWS3sj4GHELW4nu_c4/s1600/IMG_0650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1cHnFvZpQC5IWTTNpRJAFtTmbayf-M_PENLWOWhUnz8ttaKOUJFC6J8x7kRmkN3gqTPq2XZRAhMdU1fCSECK7ZdEEDyZb7gX5JR9gMBkLDQ6Luwj2j9JhTrHA-gWS3sj4GHELW4nu_c4/s1600/IMG_0650.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins of an olive press in Capernaum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcEIihoLD3e6iZDEGKqy9ynkl-f_2GWJIv332PIlOwt8pRTVGu7Wb2LICphq_e7Aflohti1IUspIvBk_dmlHnn24y__MtPROHZrvClwhZIgG3Vp5qxG2T7UCVYsAXiXYLH7lg0l7aAWcP/s1600/DSC03557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcEIihoLD3e6iZDEGKqy9ynkl-f_2GWJIv332PIlOwt8pRTVGu7Wb2LICphq_e7Aflohti1IUspIvBk_dmlHnn24y__MtPROHZrvClwhZIgG3Vp5qxG2T7UCVYsAXiXYLH7lg0l7aAWcP/s1600/DSC03557.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins of a column in Capernaum - such handywork!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We also saw the ruins of the synagogue in Capernaum. It's a little
hard to tell from the pictures, but if you look closely, you can see
that the synagogue was placed relatively high up, and in front of it and
much lower to the ground, you can see a lot of the ruins of the homes.
The synagogue would have been an impressive building, standing tall
over the city, with very tall doorways and a spacious interior, columns
all around inside. There were also many ruins of columns around the
area.<br />
<br />
I guess I didn't get a picture of it, but we saw the house where
Jesus healed the paralytic man, after the man's friends had made an
opening in the roof to lower the man down to Jesus (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%202:1-12;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="Mark 2:1-12 on BibleGateway.com">Mark 2:1-12</a>). Jesus did many other great things in Capernaum, including driving out evil spirits and healing many (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204:31-49;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="Luke 4:31-49 on BibleGateway.com">Luke 4:31-39</a>), and raising a little girl from the dead (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%205:%20%20%20%2035-43;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="Mark 5:35-43 on BibleGateway.com">Mark 5:35-43</a>). It is also where He gave His sermon on the Bread of Life (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%206:%20%20%20%2028-59;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="John 6:28-59 on BibleGateway.com">John 6:28-59</a>)
- in the very synagogue we stood in. Ultimately, though, Jesus left
Capernaum, cursing it for being unrepentant even after all His work and
miracles (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2011:%20%2020-24;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="Matthew 11:20-24 on BibleGateway.com">Matthew 11:20-24</a>).<br />
<br />
<h4>
Day 4 - Tabgha</h4>
We now come to the first "memory casualty" of the trip, meaning I'm
not 100% sure where these pictures were taken. We went to a church near
Capernaum, which was centered around another rock. I admit I've
forgotten what this church was, but I suspect it was the traditional
site of the feeding of the 5,000, with only five loaves of bread and two
fish (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2014:13-21;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="Matthew 14:13-21 on BibleGateway.com">Matthew 14:13-21</a>).
The only reason I'm not 100% sure is because I swear I had a picture of
the tile mosaic showing two fish and five loaves of bread, but it's
nowhere to be found. However, I know we were there, and it was on this
day, so this must be that site.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphtsEQeVLl98tnKpRJH92ycidFak-yTjQ1Gucc_z-MYrDsVwPQ8oU9luBi8DGNOgLn4sNVT_aeuA5U_srXfGyKo-LI_ZPOfayVuJofhwhr_g4_NVDPJ5FFAIK7tJlEMyti-8DHVm1t8Bf/s1600/DSC03560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphtsEQeVLl98tnKpRJH92ycidFak-yTjQ1Gucc_z-MYrDsVwPQ8oU9luBi8DGNOgLn4sNVT_aeuA5U_srXfGyKo-LI_ZPOfayVuJofhwhr_g4_NVDPJ5FFAIK7tJlEMyti-8DHVm1t8Bf/s1600/DSC03560.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclL-tTv8ujR4msUaY3BSYOcWhM-dDAIAT2q5Kn3ZCoVtLxZMRxSwRS0FUfA1xCSPGi4g19ng6xvVhkielG9MlTCm2Hr87PTtqpBai81Sxeo30wvFJF2Z1sIGrOYhtLI6px-lyGkDrEH-M/s1600/DSC03561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclL-tTv8ujR4msUaY3BSYOcWhM-dDAIAT2q5Kn3ZCoVtLxZMRxSwRS0FUfA1xCSPGi4g19ng6xvVhkielG9MlTCm2Hr87PTtqpBai81Sxeo30wvFJF2Z1sIGrOYhtLI6px-lyGkDrEH-M/s1600/DSC03561.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000 - the rock where it is said the blessing was prayed over the loaves and fish</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Idp-wkqAyjUxH8jUPzrXqn9eLDekT-Vya1nzpXmGP9jZwsbKKaS79wOPokRPkRfw_sT1Jr9YutKxig_4PBROJWR8d5WeLQmbileHSZZn5mW3V3nU3Ny1GXSHma5LBKY-TkUZMRDu2QDN/s1600/DSC03562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Idp-wkqAyjUxH8jUPzrXqn9eLDekT-Vya1nzpXmGP9jZwsbKKaS79wOPokRPkRfw_sT1Jr9YutKxig_4PBROJWR8d5WeLQmbileHSZZn5mW3V3nU3Ny1GXSHma5LBKY-TkUZMRDu2QDN/s1600/DSC03562.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUNhbsu25w192jWPfjM7qqN5Fx1vrjR0W46Ej6LZOq6ZGv7dI_Uv9v6Z-oGkM81MkMhcy9F0k0JlZ6RQS_-Whb3HSQHAnz_0t8SSQ2gyqtf7zWilMKGXEXqTOdx9Z40gGt37XGLt4DBLQ/s1600/DSC03563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUNhbsu25w192jWPfjM7qqN5Fx1vrjR0W46Ej6LZOq6ZGv7dI_Uv9v6Z-oGkM81MkMhcy9F0k0JlZ6RQS_-Whb3HSQHAnz_0t8SSQ2gyqtf7zWilMKGXEXqTOdx9Z40gGt37XGLt4DBLQ/s1600/DSC03563.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Impressive tile work on the floor at the church in Tabgha</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKoLFNzMiOZzL7BUw1CqzWqrDZ_X74QhbFhLkPfG8iWqoQMMmaYjqtstgKYQ6vjBsxJ9TL8W0heTqPjDkXJiVmje8LIgMTxdbbBG84OKO6ERKRGNECP6hJgPWmdcryityGeACLm757Ysb/s1600/DSC03564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKoLFNzMiOZzL7BUw1CqzWqrDZ_X74QhbFhLkPfG8iWqoQMMmaYjqtstgKYQ6vjBsxJ9TL8W0heTqPjDkXJiVmje8LIgMTxdbbBG84OKO6ERKRGNECP6hJgPWmdcryityGeACLm757Ysb/s1600/DSC03564.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkS-yXOnP4GIjLh5317sOp1paIQPN7zHkb_aazlpF2Cdf47lNSVfgovhbmgHOle46M7Euy9oVwp0dObv3YqvGoem8Xpkd2R7BajsPJ7_5z1XEHFd34WF2tRyU1C8syXKRwO-xZspYu6Hk/s1600/DSC03565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkS-yXOnP4GIjLh5317sOp1paIQPN7zHkb_aazlpF2Cdf47lNSVfgovhbmgHOle46M7Euy9oVwp0dObv3YqvGoem8Xpkd2R7BajsPJ7_5z1XEHFd34WF2tRyU1C8syXKRwO-xZspYu6Hk/s1600/DSC03565.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h4>
Day 4 - Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee</h4>
We then ate lunch at an art museum which had a dock from which we
would ride one of those old-style wooden boats on the Sea of Galilee.
On the way in, there was a group of schoolchildren, I'd say maybe 3rd
grade or so. As we were passing them on the way in, they were saying,
"Shalom! Shalom!" to us, so, as our guide taught us, I just said
"Shalom!" back, and was then accosted by almost the whole group of
children. They were asking me where I was from, did I speak Hebrew, did
I speak Spanish, and on an on. I guess they were excited to talk to an
American. Their teacher finally came to my rescue.<br />
<br />
The lunch was pizza, and my bus was the first to get there,
fortunately. I had my lunch almost all eaten when the other five buses
from our group pulled in, and probably another two buses from some other
group pulled in for lunch. The place was pretty small, not
well-equipped to handle probably 500 people altogether - it got pretty
chaotic. People from the other groups were even taking our pizza (it
was only for the NCC group), eating it while waiting in line to pay,
only to find out at the register that the pizza was not for them - and
the guy was taking away their half-eaten pizza, as if someone in our
group would actually want it back!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWlor1Nzrw7krjKZu43bYnLb-40qqR0miQYmjre8PjLxyQHnJpwZxbRknazMDlIT24ZeFEAUfJdfhi6qx-dy6KwJdUgxwf05QP1rGWvdlhuVH21DstcvJqM3SLm8qErD_sJOAX-dWJ1zD/s1600/DSC03572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWlor1Nzrw7krjKZu43bYnLb-40qqR0miQYmjre8PjLxyQHnJpwZxbRknazMDlIT24ZeFEAUfJdfhi6qx-dy6KwJdUgxwf05QP1rGWvdlhuVH21DstcvJqM3SLm8qErD_sJOAX-dWJ1zD/s1600/DSC03572.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boarding the boats on the Sea of Galiliee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcY2C9mKvmCRaG_a3T6EdFysh9oi6ReKly9YYxjHb7344QJEbkiCX2MZ_R8woAhq-zwN94NK6tkZQB3CSHn-b5h6Q4_FK8WymxiM4FkgFSIYM_p4Xuj65uUSdvP4RYU-rlKUe4F8epFyD/s1600/DSC03573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcY2C9mKvmCRaG_a3T6EdFysh9oi6ReKly9YYxjHb7344QJEbkiCX2MZ_R8woAhq-zwN94NK6tkZQB3CSHn-b5h6Q4_FK8WymxiM4FkgFSIYM_p4Xuj65uUSdvP4RYU-rlKUe4F8epFyD/s1600/DSC03573.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Sea of Galilee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxby1vu7UwgUlUhe_zTjusgM-MXdunIvV8XUCnp8uGryJ-oIN9qvugGO95YSM_NVJIa9Hlyq__ZJTKV62fHH9-Wq7eMwZvts1qGmLRDlNIxRztqGbTR0xaaIuPqaXqK2wKNE3EiGcYF969/s1600/DSC03576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxby1vu7UwgUlUhe_zTjusgM-MXdunIvV8XUCnp8uGryJ-oIN9qvugGO95YSM_NVJIa9Hlyq__ZJTKV62fHH9-Wq7eMwZvts1qGmLRDlNIxRztqGbTR0xaaIuPqaXqK2wKNE3EiGcYF969/s1600/DSC03576.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Israeli and American flags side by side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFp-mh4goZWS3GTduZmr_4p1eZPXQK4CVZ-2HsqK-G5_l6WViDwZ07zV-EaiyaKBiGOtweJgpvJHPiFpiwFITz9T6QvCkRsm0I47GjR_gxnMxF9pfVpGKZL_VN9_apGymTQtyTJozwEg_/s1600/DSC03581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFp-mh4goZWS3GTduZmr_4p1eZPXQK4CVZ-2HsqK-G5_l6WViDwZ07zV-EaiyaKBiGOtweJgpvJHPiFpiwFITz9T6QvCkRsm0I47GjR_gxnMxF9pfVpGKZL_VN9_apGymTQtyTJozwEg_/s1600/DSC03581.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Sea of Galilee - so calm, so peaceful</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After lunch, we headed for the boats. I'm guessing each boat held
roughly 100 people, because it took three boats to hold our entire
group. The boat captain told us that even though the boat is modeled
after the fishing boats in Biblical times, the boats then were much,
much smaller, perhaps maybe a third of the size of the boat we were on.
The first picture there is the best one to show you the color of the
water - it was a bright green, even far out beyond the shore.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-qGIWeQKEvA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
See how calm the water was, too - so still. Harry said that the
weather on the sea can change in an instant, when a storm blows in from
the Mediterranean and swoops over the mountains that surround the Sea of
Galilee. He was on a boat once when it happened, and he said he was
actually quite afraid, with the whipping waves, the strong winds… he
said it really made him feel what the disciples must have felt when they
were on the water and a severe storm suddenly appeared, and after they
woke up Jesus, He told the winds to "Be still!" (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%208:23-27;&version=31;" target="_blank" title="Matthew 8:23-27 on BibleGateway.com">Matthew 8:23-27</a>).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZTnc5rxTUlndu0OqMCe6-qmD6JXwGLGAZiVmLbznB-MGTIJ1hK8yUMTPZ0fKk_BVK5p0kOg0A8J-rDNtUO4Z7bkbZIb0s218FZC54PDlE5PFrhjjl6KNQ7IaVlA_B6UQ0jUugMOM6UMd/s1600/DSC03570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZTnc5rxTUlndu0OqMCe6-qmD6JXwGLGAZiVmLbznB-MGTIJ1hK8yUMTPZ0fKk_BVK5p0kOg0A8J-rDNtUO4Z7bkbZIb0s218FZC54PDlE5PFrhjjl6KNQ7IaVlA_B6UQ0jUugMOM6UMd/s1600/DSC03570.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat on the sea</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZui8jCS1rCyWpFOK4Q6IMuCyi6VE64wJ-MuaDv6NntgFzXp6cadwW1U0Do06bb-n7k1NqW8i5QYodWAyv5UUtwRJ0XIt4z0d29uV0rmpxx-mDsOdDn13CaPtHAm_Uob3tgKjPAdKIAqe/s1600/DSC03575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZui8jCS1rCyWpFOK4Q6IMuCyi6VE64wJ-MuaDv6NntgFzXp6cadwW1U0Do06bb-n7k1NqW8i5QYodWAyv5UUtwRJ0XIt4z0d29uV0rmpxx-mDsOdDn13CaPtHAm_Uob3tgKjPAdKIAqe/s1600/DSC03575.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Towering cliff on the seashore</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUWFlJ5KJ6ZgdOqW2xjjORu4mHdyYfmgQmqTLwjoMR4dLse-T39w5hDLRjuqEaQN-TM1ssgvuREZ5khGDIKav3YDeVNr6BbnxTPicDfp5rkzT4oiyXWdRGyUVVIHVpUzRQNLyJTgKL_w7/s1600/DSC03580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUWFlJ5KJ6ZgdOqW2xjjORu4mHdyYfmgQmqTLwjoMR4dLse-T39w5hDLRjuqEaQN-TM1ssgvuREZ5khGDIKav3YDeVNr6BbnxTPicDfp5rkzT4oiyXWdRGyUVVIHVpUzRQNLyJTgKL_w7/s1600/DSC03580.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golan Heights, on the opposite shore from where we were</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The pictures really don't do justice in showing you how high these
cliffs were or how pretty it was with all the hills surrounding the
water. The middle picture above is of the hills on the opposite shore
from where we were - they're actually part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_heights" target="_blank" title="Golan Heights on Wikipedia">Golan Heights</a>, the portion of Syria seized by Israel in the six-day war, which has been in the news recently because of fighting.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkYxvi4RTkkak5ElQokUhxItLMJ7Uzl0OyD8jxccVOl1ZGAoc8Q02JONB2LJVnVOExcPpgAMpUn_xJUCB8SgivgdyQhynRE-a1odlR9t0TE-yyJeqv00M9ZCA5rVoAQUVU8r4HJhwRGIO/s1600/IMG_0665.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkYxvi4RTkkak5ElQokUhxItLMJ7Uzl0OyD8jxccVOl1ZGAoc8Q02JONB2LJVnVOExcPpgAMpUn_xJUCB8SgivgdyQhynRE-a1odlR9t0TE-yyJeqv00M9ZCA5rVoAQUVU8r4HJhwRGIO/s1600/IMG_0665.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat approaching to attach to ours</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLbgQkzQwJKlG-kj4Vs9PYM3oPx2Meiu4hfqn-R1PefM6v7k5P8FqonJrvCupCu-jYA20gHPQRRt69mCv9VFmM3K_wf0gltAaldPJkBLro4nU4ki-K-ChibrS6XDKgcl8UC3mjf55GyOy/s1600/IMG_0662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLbgQkzQwJKlG-kj4Vs9PYM3oPx2Meiu4hfqn-R1PefM6v7k5P8FqonJrvCupCu-jYA20gHPQRRt69mCv9VFmM3K_wf0gltAaldPJkBLro4nU4ki-K-ChibrS6XDKgcl8UC3mjf55GyOy/s1600/IMG_0662.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat approaching to attach to ours</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwp5XTcNKNRLq4SLRLpulQeMDvXIGqzDx8lQuQBL1reBRZrIFj7qMRzSO3jm8HOr9Jaiyh8eKIxv4mD4f5F2X9Pd9A9QoXshA_dovlu4dhegc7_EDAB6y_rkH8TuguRu1AH2DmjvRXOzXv/s1600/DSC03577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwp5XTcNKNRLq4SLRLpulQeMDvXIGqzDx8lQuQBL1reBRZrIFj7qMRzSO3jm8HOr9Jaiyh8eKIxv4mD4f5F2X9Pd9A9QoXshA_dovlu4dhegc7_EDAB6y_rkH8TuguRu1AH2DmjvRXOzXv/s1600/DSC03577.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boats attached to each other</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xTwcUBYrvRw7pIajyeZxTTZEBgyGZhPpQQb0HtiiEfmPezW6MUeEABRqqkUDKXC5D-grDcsPlz92j2DCeKim6UEeZxdHSpaJobZopDAV9h5hCpNJJxc7eggs_nbdBvDwUfBk-IalF-Ge/s1600/DSC03578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xTwcUBYrvRw7pIajyeZxTTZEBgyGZhPpQQb0HtiiEfmPezW6MUeEABRqqkUDKXC5D-grDcsPlz92j2DCeKim6UEeZxdHSpaJobZopDAV9h5hCpNJJxc7eggs_nbdBvDwUfBk-IalF-Ge/s1600/DSC03578.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boats attached to each other - Israeli/American flags fly side by side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cGWlDZCFnVtx15gNRahhuo_-1BcQDLmngQZH6oaqmKHxOtaYkz7iO-sCEvKV7Ic35NLXvBYf8CeRSkvYZFbaudb4R3DSUnuzU93O_aTgQC6FpKH48jmJIlZSLy7lBfO417vs4aWV3FZ5/s1600/DSC03579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cGWlDZCFnVtx15gNRahhuo_-1BcQDLmngQZH6oaqmKHxOtaYkz7iO-sCEvKV7Ic35NLXvBYf8CeRSkvYZFbaudb4R3DSUnuzU93O_aTgQC6FpKH48jmJIlZSLy7lBfO417vs4aWV3FZ5/s1600/DSC03579.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry speaking to all three boats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkYxvi4RTkkak5ElQokUhxItLMJ7Uzl0OyD8jxccVOl1ZGAoc8Q02JONB2LJVnVOExcPpgAMpUn_xJUCB8SgivgdyQhynRE-a1odlR9t0TE-yyJeqv00M9ZCA5rVoAQUVU8r4HJhwRGIO/s1600/IMG_0665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />
When we were on the water, the boat crew put up the American flag to
fly it next to the Israeli flag, playing the Star Spangled Banner while
they raised the American flag. They then rendezvoused with the other
two boats, attaching all three boats from our group together on the
water, so Harry could talk to all of us again. It was a beautiful day,
and it turned out to be a very nice boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<h4>
Day 4 - Baptisms in the Jordan River</h4>
The Jordan River passes through the Sea of Galilee. After the boat
ride, we went to the southern side of the Sea where the Jordan exits.
Several members of our group, about 60, wanted to be baptized in the
Jordan. In addition to being the founder and music/executive director
of the NCC, and arranging/composing songs and orchestrations, Harry is
also an ordained minister. In fact, at many of our rehearsals, we not
only get a vocal lesson, but we also get a little Bible study that he's
prepared for us as well.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGK4L6MaKEpWarXIZZV9H_uDqaOaF56_GHzNGbHtNqSbc1IvxxBJ5hWi9cx9mLhYixCyCW_Mtr51DW9xMPAbwNbhLbkHW3QqpDdXW88o7LCYqch5g0SpgsWz7QRbI6qAKetX1g_ZNfeW0/s1600/IMG_0669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGK4L6MaKEpWarXIZZV9H_uDqaOaF56_GHzNGbHtNqSbc1IvxxBJ5hWi9cx9mLhYixCyCW_Mtr51DW9xMPAbwNbhLbkHW3QqpDdXW88o7LCYqch5g0SpgsWz7QRbI6qAKetX1g_ZNfeW0/s1600/IMG_0669.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jordan River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hmi_vKUnj1CNzI28lmjzo1FZbIhBKgTm1KT3xXLY8RlKQ9QHPScMmNFf_Wpp2JdzRb0eY_2y-ZXAv1cNO5hCUz73GGafUFXsYQESTfP9GtNqV22WbxHdZP7bf0bEgtTtHTTqCzbalXQe/s1600/IMG_0670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hmi_vKUnj1CNzI28lmjzo1FZbIhBKgTm1KT3xXLY8RlKQ9QHPScMmNFf_Wpp2JdzRb0eY_2y-ZXAv1cNO5hCUz73GGafUFXsYQESTfP9GtNqV22WbxHdZP7bf0bEgtTtHTTqCzbalXQe/s1600/IMG_0670.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jordan River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLMfnWbfZVGqFMm31EXUJPVMNsfY44K3lPlFdHaPyoCQJl5M9EtjIolKYQVlNcxyCAfwy-s-yQ2MAXPwS7Afq2x_RBbhos8pyxrbCCvK5U0g2CwR-5KceiI8NpOiVvsPWSNG_VjahGBSY/s1600/DSC03586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLMfnWbfZVGqFMm31EXUJPVMNsfY44K3lPlFdHaPyoCQJl5M9EtjIolKYQVlNcxyCAfwy-s-yQ2MAXPwS7Afq2x_RBbhos8pyxrbCCvK5U0g2CwR-5KceiI8NpOiVvsPWSNG_VjahGBSY/s1600/DSC03586.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jordan River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXtZzeKu0czA_8rQenOt3RBWk7Td1KaHiogUGStxjMZZn1_4zojpDZWPFWmk90QL4yoRTm_d_-r8t7-6IVDon1ta_FlagH5Pxtb38G5PlLIfoIP4q5AN_MEIiP9w0gNl9aff94Rwl6q0b/s1600/IMG_0672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXtZzeKu0czA_8rQenOt3RBWk7Td1KaHiogUGStxjMZZn1_4zojpDZWPFWmk90QL4yoRTm_d_-r8t7-6IVDon1ta_FlagH5Pxtb38G5PlLIfoIP4q5AN_MEIiP9w0gNl9aff94Rwl6q0b/s1600/IMG_0672.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gathering at the Jordan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYn2wi3-v5wqwgeM8_qgVXQnWlc3GCDZcd5IKN1O-N2JR52UW1UZCxU0fO86p5YXfXCLb3zwq2sRGPobWVXHWLZSK18lndmrLkqsG5XtXCYmnIz7bCLuI0VLnD090K4dyPp424yP-rnvy/s1600/IMG_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYn2wi3-v5wqwgeM8_qgVXQnWlc3GCDZcd5IKN1O-N2JR52UW1UZCxU0fO86p5YXfXCLb3zwq2sRGPobWVXHWLZSK18lndmrLkqsG5XtXCYmnIz7bCLuI0VLnD090K4dyPp424yP-rnvy/s1600/IMG_0683.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gathering at the Jordan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlsjbv7HQI0BFM110_IUoEWaRnj6mPzpviwdEpgVu5pNVc1rTT1H6_qkEWPMAB_g8daozDe-nL6Olr4Dh17dqwGJ6CbcAqMKND3wdVl50ksLfxX_GbojqRAPdqRR71I_0m-MO9f8lFDBt/s1600/DSC03584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlsjbv7HQI0BFM110_IUoEWaRnj6mPzpviwdEpgVu5pNVc1rTT1H6_qkEWPMAB_g8daozDe-nL6Olr4Dh17dqwGJ6CbcAqMKND3wdVl50ksLfxX_GbojqRAPdqRR71I_0m-MO9f8lFDBt/s1600/DSC03584.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry speaks to the group before the baptisms</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpcCEIzJp6ePGHhu0UW681e7S5IQi1NdjlzeTf-Hmrxerx0oODjkqT0R-8no0bFYQC9v7fCARgfDlyV_xFYjksybJkPHvWLzXa7gsPGjrFwQ7Mt7IfngncX6xvHtV6-YQIJrdMCg8FedK/s1600/DSC03585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpcCEIzJp6ePGHhu0UW681e7S5IQi1NdjlzeTf-Hmrxerx0oODjkqT0R-8no0bFYQC9v7fCARgfDlyV_xFYjksybJkPHvWLzXa7gsPGjrFwQ7Mt7IfngncX6xvHtV6-YQIJrdMCg8FedK/s1600/DSC03585.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad watches the baptisms at the Jordan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The Jordan River has portions that roll along mightily, and calmer
portions. The place where we gathered was very calm. The water was
green. I was not one of the 60, but I hear the water was pretty cold. I
could see many catfish (what they looked like to me) pretty clearly
from aways away. The group of 300 sang hymns while Harry baptized each
person in the Jordan - a very special occasion for them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/0GGd6Y75K7w?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
Another special thing was that all throughout the whole facility, the
walls were made up of many, many sections of tiles put together. On
each section was written, in a different language from around the world,
<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%201:9-11&version=31" target="_blank" title="Mark 1:9-11 on BibleGateway.com">Mark 1:9-11</a>:
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and
was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the
water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him
like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love;
with you I am well pleased."</i></blockquote>
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<br />
<h4>
Day 4 - Back to Nazareth</h4>
We then headed back to the hotel in Nazareth in a hurry. The
National Christian Choir was giving a concert that evening (this one
without the additional singers from around the country that joined us on
this trip). We were SO exhausted from the day - as you might have
gathered, we packed a ton into this day. And when we arrived at the
hotel, we had to stand up for a short dress rehearsal and sound check,
before dinner. The rehearsal was really quite bad - imagine us trying
to stand up and sound like we were full of energy when we were dead
tired, hungry, with aching knees and legs from the day's tour. But,
nevertheless, after dinner and a bit of rest, we were ready to go for
the concert, which went quite well.<br />
<br />
I met a local pastor from Nazareth and his son before the concert and
got to chat with him for a bit. Very, very nice people! I caught them
afterwards and they had really enjoyed the concert. The non-NCC
members of our group really enjoyed it as well - for some this was the
first and maybe only time they would have gotten to hear a live concert
rather than just on <a href="http://www.nationalchristianchoir.org/recordings-pages/recordings.html" target="_blank" title="NCC recordings">CD</a> or on the <a href="http://www.nationalchristianchoir.org/Psalm95/min-psalm95.html" target="_blank" title="Psalm 95">radio program</a>,
so you could tell they really appreciated it. And apparently there was
another bus or two from a completely different tour group that checked
in just prior to the concert, and many of them attended as well.<br />
<br />
It was a good night, a nice ending to a very long day, that was
almost insanely busy. But we got to see so many special things that
day. I think I went to bed early that night, because once again it was
going to be an early start the next morning. And I think that was the
night that we found out that you can never get enough springing-foward
for daylight savings time! Not only did we spring forward an hour once
at home before the trip, which I think is always bad enough, but we
sprung forward 6 hours between the US and Israel, and after this crazy
busy day and concert, NOW we got to spring ahead AGAIN to celebrate <i>Israel's</i>
daylight savings time! Hey, why not spring forward every night?? We
didn't really need to sleep, did we? At least dad and I were fortunate
enough not to have gotten a room where you were woken up at 5AM by the
Muslim prayer calls outside!<br />
<br />
In my <a href="http://menendez-us.blogspot.com/2008/07/israel-tour-2008-part-7.html">next entry</a>, I'll cover the next day of the tour, starting at
the Church of the Annunciation (the traditional site where the angel
told Mary she would be bearing Jesus), through Beit Shean and Jericho,
arriving in Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. Yes, all in one day - there really
was not much down time at all on this trip. So much to pack into just
10 days! Until next time… deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-4876154957613754432008-05-10T21:11:00.000-04:002012-12-31T10:23:47.787-05:00Career choices - 1st edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday Beth asked Anna what she wanted to be when she grew up. In
what I'm sure is only the first of many interesting career choices we'll
hear from the girls, Anna replied, <em>"I want to be a jello maker!"</em>deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552574046975486422.post-87793711712725174282008-05-10T14:28:00.000-04:002012-12-31T10:22:05.824-05:00Staying put<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, after much discussion, thought, and prayer, we made the
decision to pull our house off the market for now, so we'll be staying
put in the DC area for awhile longer. We probably should have tried a
year ago at the latest before the market turned so sour for sellers.
The market is completely saturated with so many homes in foreclosure and
with people in trouble needing to sell their house… combined with a
much smaller set of viable buyers due to the credit crunch, prices keep
dropping and dropping, lower than we were willing to go, and we were
also not willing to dump any more money into the house to try to make it
stand out any more in the sea of homes on the market. All the advice is
that if you don't <em>have</em> to sell now, don't.<br />
<br />
So we'll sit and be patient. Who knows how long it will be. We're
disappointed that we can't move closer to Beth's family now, but we're
ok with it. We're thankfully not in a position where we have to sell, I
have a good job, the girls are happy, and even though I wouldn't have
plopped down the money if we weren't trying to sell, at least we now get
to enjoy the new silestone countertop, sink, faucet, and laminate
flooring in the kitchen. It does make the kitchen much more pleasant - I
hated, <strong>hated </strong>the old baby blue counter and old, stained vinyl that we put up with for over two years.<br />
<br />
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Plus, I'll get to remain with <a href="http://www.nationalchristianchoir.org/" target="_blank">The National Christian Choir</a>
for awhile longer - next year is the 25th anniversary season, so there
will be some exciting things we're doing. Our recording this year is a
new Christmas album. In July, we're giving a concert at the Richmond
Coliseum in Richmond, VA, to open the 300th annual Church of the
Brethren conference (7,000 people). And we're ending the season on May
5, 2009, with a special 25th Anniversary Concert at the <a href="http://www.strathmore.org/" target="_blank">Strathmore Music Hall</a>, <em><u>accompanied by full orchestra</u></em>.
The concert will consist of the top 15 or so songs that current
singers, alumni, and partners have voted as their favorites from a list
of all songs the choir has ever sung, and we saw the winners last
rehearsal (among the highlights for me will be <em>The Mind of Christ,
No More Night, The Majesty and Glory of Your Name, Psalm 95, Creation
Hymn, You Are My Hiding Place, Midnight Cry, </em>and <em>Hallelujah Chorus</em>).
It will be a very moving concert, and it will also be recorded live and
released as next year's recording. Hope to see you there!deltamike76http://www.blogger.com/profile/09278095825733686812noreply@blogger.com0