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Shalom from a very hot Jerusalem! Temperatures should reach near the 100 mark. I know hot—being from Texas—and this is hot!

Will and I ventured up to the Galilee area this weekend and got into the heat there also. Still, it is good to be in Israel. We ended up staying at one of the nicest hotels in the Galilee area, The Rimonim. Interestingly, the name means pomegranate, which is also the Hebrew name for a hand grenade.

The Israeli schools have just gotten out for the summer, so lots of families were traveling. I like bringing the summer tour the first of June because most tourists have gone home and the Israelis do not start traveling until the middle or the end of June. So it is sort of a down time for tourism. However, I noticed this time that other groups know this and are traveling at the same time. Just more blessings for Israel.

We left Jerusalem early Friday morning and had time to visit the city of Katzrin and the Golan model (www.magic-golan.co.il [Hebrew]). The Golan model shows all the towns of the Golan and has a presentation about the area and its history. It really enforces the importance of the area. The Golan is about 300 sq. miles. Do not let anyone tell you that is it unimportant or it is a small piece of land. It is strategic to Israel’s safety.

Across the street is an Olive Oil factory (www.capernaumvista.com) that looks like it is an Italian villa. A retired Colonel (Avner) in the IDF army started this factory and has one of the only machines that pits olives before pressing them into olive oil. Will and I met Avner and enjoyed seeing the olive oil factory. I am hoping to come back for a nice lunch or dinner.

We always hope to have time for the artist’s village at Aniam. We did, and I found a couple of birthday gifts for some of my friends who have birthdays in July. We visited with Hanan Milner at his gallery (www.studioart.co.il) and bought one of his small watercolors. Will had an article about the artists published in a travel magazine and the artists we visited all thanked him. Hanan even had the article to show us. It is close to the Gamla site and is just so original. Israeli art by Israeli artists, not the usual tourist gifts.

That was Friday and it was very full. We treated ourselves to the Scott’s Hotel for Shabbat dinner and it was good as always.

We got an early start on Saturday and headed to Tel Hazor. It was a good thing, because it started getting hot early in the day. Hazor was very interesting. The largest Tel in the Galilee area.

We headed to Kiryat Shemona and drove around to see if all was well. The city looks good and many of the places that were hit by the rockets of last summer have been repaired.

Up to Metulla where I interviewed a farmer at the Dado outlook. Mount Hermon has no snow. I am so used to seeing snow on the famous mountain. I was just surprised.

I also did a stand-up interview at a border fence. All was quiet, but the Hizbollah flags were very visible from where we were standing. We saw U.N. cars and SUV’s traveling the roads in Lebanon. Why are the Hizbollah flags still flying if the U.N. is doing their job? Then I read today in the Jerusalem Post that five UN peacekeepers were killed and three others seriously wounded Sunday. The attack took place about 3 miles from Metulla, right where we were. Something is not right if even the enemies who have sworn to uphold all the U.N. sanctions, do not keep their word.

Finally back to the Rimonim to clean up and to meet with Brooke for dinner. She is one of those people who just encourages other Believers and it is good to be with her. We visit, and finally to bed. I am exhausted. This touring is hard work!

On Sunday, I watch the sun rise over the Golan. It is one of my favorite times. The Sea of Galilee and the sun rising over the Golan. Wow! God’s majesty at His finest.

A big congratulation to Brittany Brannon, Miss Grand Canyon State Teen America from Arizona. She and her family are Zola tour pilgrims. We love you!

We check out of Rimonim and head to Rosh Hanikra and the grottos. Rosh Hanikra is also a border with Lebanon. Last summer, the grottos were closed. They are tunnels formed by sea action on the soft chalky rock, the total length is about 200 meters. The grottos are reached by a cable car. It takes one minute to reach the entrance of the caves.

On to Nahariah to see how it was doing after last summer’s action. I found it very crowded with people and there is little evidence of destruction by the rockets. People are amazing. They go about their daily lives. I loved seeing it.

We swing by Haifa again to see if the destruction has been repaired and, again, all is well. In fact, Will talked to one guy who grumbled at him that “Hey, it is OK.” The guy acted like it was just another bump in the road. Life does go on.

We were scheduled to be at Yarkon Field by 4:30 for Will to interview a couple of the Baseball players in the IBL, Israel Baseball League. So we have time for a late lunch at, of all places, IKEA in Netanya. I have never been to an IKEA, even in the States. What an experience. Believe it or not, it has a Kosher restaurant—one side is milk and the other side is meat. You also have to sit on the milk or the meat side. So, I get turkey wrapped in a flour tortilla. I was thrilled to have any Mexican food. Will got “Swedish” meatballs. After we ate, we walked around and looked at the furniture and the other goodies. I may even go to the one in Texas.

BASEBALL! I love baseball. So I was excited to be able to go to the game. We were given tickets by Galtronics. Thank you! We got to Yarkon Field, which is in Petah Tikva, at about 4:30 PM with the game starting at 6 PM, between the Petah Tikva Pioneers and the Modi’in Miracle. There are people there and it is hot, so I search for the shade while Will does his interviews. All the teams of the league were there to show support for the opening game and they were all signing baseballs, and caps. It reminded me of how baseball was in the beginning. Families were there and the field was not a big stadium. We didn’t even have to pay for parking, which was a field that had recently been mowed.

It was Kosher—meaning it was a meat meal, not a milk meal, so no nachos for me. 🙁 The best burgers and hot dogs by Burgers Bar. 🙂 You have to think about that one a minute: Kosher baseball. Finally, the national anthem, HaTikva, was sung. I had tears in my eyes as I looked around the baseball field and thought how far Israel has come. The Miracles won 9-1. I must admit that about 80 percent were Americans, but the Israelis that came seem to catch on to the game.

Headlines from Jerusalem Post:

“PM [Olmert] Helping PA Risky, but necessary.”
One question from me: Why is it necessary? Charles Krauthammer asks “…what other country on Earth is expected to supply the very means for a declared enemy to attack it?” You want to be a country, then be a country!

“Historian Michael Oren points out that the PA has received more per capita aid than did Europe under the Marshall Plan.”

Please keep PM Olmert in your prayers as he meets in Egypt. I pray he does not give away more at the expense of the Israeli people.

Today is a catch up day: Laundry and mail.

This entry was posted by Sandra on Monday, June 25th, 2007 at 3:38 am and is filed under From Israel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.