Israel Trip

Somehow, I have forgotten to post this trip. I may try to continue to add to it, because this is such a small highlight of our whole trip

Old Jerusalem
Near the Western Wall

Noah and I went to Israel in December of 2017.
It was an amazing time to explore, learn, and grow. We saw so many things and still there was so very, very little that we saw. To imagine that these places have been inhabited by many, many generations of people for several thousands of years is just so incredible. There is such richness of  history throughout the area; no matter where you turn or which direction you travel everyone has a story and history to tell that is just so huge that you can not ever take it all in.

Tower of David
Old Jerusalem

There are many, cultures, many differences, so much beauty and a lot of struggle and turmoil because everyone wants to claim a part of its vast richness, religious significance, cultural significance, historical significance.

Tower of David
 Old Jerusalem

I have always loved history and how the pieces of history weave into each other  to form layers of stories that fit together like a puzzle, but on so many layers and levels that you can only imagine it as an intricate tapestry of many layers, levels, and colors. Being in Israel was so much like that. I am not good at remembering timelines, dates, and specifics of history, but listening to the tour guides and others tell the history and layers that literally stack and add upon the previous generations either rebuilding the destruction of the past eras or adding on to existing structures and fortifications. 

Entrance to the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre

at the end of the Stations of the Cross

on the Via Dolorosa and St. Helena Rd.

The historians can show where different eras ended and others began by the size and structure of the brick work on the walls. There were many times where they pointed out where the walls were destroyed by siege and taken over by the Phoenicians, Arabs and Philistines, Romans, Babylonians, the rise and fall of the kings and their kingdoms.

That is just a very little bit of the historical end of things. From a religious standpoint, the very idea of walking in the very place where the birth of our Lord happened. Touching some of the very same places, seeing some of the very same sights and vistas,  and  walking some of the same streets. It has truly made the Bible more understandable and more real. Over the years in life you read and imagine the places and the stories that you are told and you have an idea of it, you see movies and pictures and get glimpses and they seem so much closer. 

Bread Shop at a Market

Then you get there, you walk the streets, see the sites and the vast expanses of dessert, smell the smells and touch the rocks, and sand, and stones. Walking the market places watching the families go about their usual daily business and visiting with people that  live and work there, kind of gave me a pang of jealousy, but only for a moment because everything in life comes with a price and although it looks exotic and wonderful, it also comes with a high cost of living and living under constant military and heavy police guard, constantly having tons of tourists always walking the streets and

neighborhoods and relying on the many tourists and visitors as a steady stream of income.

Dessert Shop at the Market

Each area we visited had more stories to tell than there was time for. We spent a lot of time in Jerusalem, I truly loved walking the streets of Old Jerusalem the most. Walking in and out of the high walled streets that were very much like a maze and very easy to get lost in. It was broken up into Quarters that belonged to the Christian section, Muslim section, Jewish Section, Armenian Section

and maybe another. It was interesting to walk along and realize that the dynamic of an area changed drastically as you moved from one area to the other. 

Beautiful Pomegranates

Although the market places had mixed markets of different groups, Each area had a unique feel according to its section. The amount of culture and diversity found in this small space was incredible. Growing up and only hearing English everywhere you go and then getting the opportunity to walk these streets and for the first time in life understanding that you are in a place that language is so very wide, and diverse and everywhere you turn there is a different culture standing next to you no matter which corner you are on. American culture is a melting pot(that's what we were taught as kids); but what I found fascinating and I loved about this experience is that I love the distinctions in each of the cultures. 

This had to be one of my favorite shops 

Fruit cubes used for Tea

I loved the sights, the sounds, the looks, and styles. I loved that each individual culture was still part of the

bigger picture, but still distinct and separate and yet they each existed in and among each other with respect. I am fully aware that it doesn't fully exist in harmony and they are in an area of extreme conflict and it can be seen as an area of danger from on moment to the next, but in talking to the people that lived there, a lot of that is political and the day to day life is a different experience. 

 

Street in Old Jerusalem

When we arrived the Jewish people were celebrating Hanukkah. Every night throughout the celebration something different was going on in the area. We spent one of our first evenings out on the last night of Hanukkah walking around during their celebrations and they did something similar to what we would consider caroling at Christmas time where people walked through the streets and viewed all the lit Menorahs throughout the area.  It was quite crowded and chaotic, but fun to see and be a part of. The Christian/Catholic section was decorated in typical Christmas decorations with lights and Christmas trees and it felt very familiar. The other areas were not particularly decorated for celebration, but it was no less impressive to walk through and experience. All of the market stores, vendors, and things for sale made each area unique and beautiful. 

The Shepard's Fields Fountain

Every single place was a little treasure to see and explore. We spent a decent amount of time on buses traveling to the destination sites on the tour routes and quite a lot of things were quickly pointed out along the routes. Some of the areas that we really wanted to see were closed because of the holidays but we were able to see enough to make the experience complete. 

The whole trip was amazing and surreal. It is not something that I every expected to experience in my lifetime and I will truly be humbled and grateful for the experience. As a child I had always expected that I would travel the world and see every corner. That didn't happen, but in my lifetime, I think that I have gotten to experience on of the absolute best places. 

Mount of Olives Tour- Catholic Church

with a View of the Dome of the Rock

I hope that by having to opportunity to travel with Noah as a child, that it will give him the fortitude to reach further in life to live, travel, and find adventures and experiences to fill his life. 

Hanging at the park on a dragon

At the Jordan River

Noah always has an animal near him

A boat on the Sea Of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee

Mary at the Basilica dedicated to her

A view from on of the areas at
 Ein Gedi Park Reserve

View of the Dead Sea seen at the top of the Masada Fortress

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea

Camel and the dead Sea

Very old olive Tree

Wall Surrounding Old Jerusalem

Rampart Walk on the Wall Surrounding Old Jerusalem

The Cardo - Part of the North-South Roman Main Street

Life sized Nativity

Given to Bethlehem by Italy

6th Century Mosaic

Bethlehem

Mosaic at the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre

Church of the Holy Sepulchre 

One of my favorite meals
Falafel and Hummus with a salad

On of the many interior streets in Old Jerusalem

New York Trip Part I

Matt went to New York for work and gave me the opportunity to spend time there for a few days so we decided to take our oldest son with us because we don't often take trips like this.

Matt has done a fair amount of traveling over the years and has seen quite a few places  because of the Army and family travel as a child. This was the first time that Nathan and I have been on a commercial flight. I've been on a few small planes and a helicopter before, but never a bigger airplane...I have to say, it really isn't that much different except that the smaller planes and especially the helicopter are more exciting, but that's a story for another time.

We spent four wonderful days in New York. The cab ride from the airport to the hotel was the very first sign that we were stepping into another world. It was about eight miles of terror zooming in and out of cars on the freeway with so many near misses, literally inches from the cars to the left and the right of us. At one point I noticed the speed limit. Holy Cow…60 in a 40 with only inches between the cars in front and behind. I've never experienced a car ride with that much skill, and yet still be so terrified in my whole life…it was a journey all it's own.

The city truly never sleeps. Looking out of our hotel window(we were on the 35th floor) no matter what time of the day it was people were milling around. It was all very surreal.

 It has been a hope of mine since I was probably about eight years old. Old movies, historical documentaries, photos, trips by friends, but mostly some old pictures that I found in some of my mom's memories of New York in the 1960's and a picture of Niagara Falls when I was a young child all just made me really want to be able to go at least once in my life...I have to say, once is not nearly enough! There is so very much to see. I would never want to live there, but being there, walking down the streets, seeing things close up that I saw on television all my life and wanting so much to be there. It was so amazing.

Although, we didn't do everything that we had on our list of possibilities(not even close),  the things we did get to do will be some of the most amazing memories for the rest of my life...and I hope they are for Nathan too.

So what did we do...Well, mostly a whole lot of walking with a lot of stopping for me to take pictures. At some point Nathan made me stop stopping to take pictures...it was taking up too much time, and he thought we weren't getting anywhere fast enough.

On the Thursday we got there and got settled into the hotel and went eat supper, and found a great little bakery, Magnolia Bakery and ate dessert. Later we ventured out to just walk around. We went to Times Square. I have to say no matter how many times you see it on television, you really can not get a sense of it unless you are standing in the midst of it all. We went to the Hershey Chocolate Store, The Disney Store, and a few other stores on Times Square. We also walked near the Tonight Show Studio, Radio City Music Hall, The Rockefeller Center and the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza, and The Lego Store.

On Friday, we got up super early and went out to the Today Show Set. It was very interesting to see how very small the filming area was. We didn't stay long because we figured that it would be better to use our time finding things we wanted to see...you know, some of the usual sites: the Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, the Empire State Building, some of the Museums, Central Park, just everything possible...We walked around until almost lunch time and Matt had to go to work, so after walking back to the Hotel, Nathan and I continued our explore.

We decided to brave the subway and try to go to The Brooklyn Bridge, The Memorial site for 9/11, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and The Natural History Museum. After standing in front of the ticket machines for the subway, one of the people working on the machines helped me buy my first metro card and gave me all the ends and outs of riding the subway...said we'd be fine and sent us on our way. We went down into the tunnels and found our first map, figured out where we wanted to head and started out on our way. We got on our first train and headed out, it was a little confusing figuring things out uptown/downtown, but it didn't seem too bad...but time was not our friend. We made it out to the Brooklyn bridge, but not exactly where I wanted to be. Nathan was a little uncomfortable with the area...It was definitely not Manhattan...We walked a while, found the financial district, but didn't find Wall Street; found the Court House and Government Buildings, walked around for a while trying to figure out which way to go to get to the Staten Island Ferry...We got lost instead and realized that we were short on time and had to go back so that we weren't late for the show that we were going to see that night. So after a bit of walking around in a circle we finally found our way down to the subway and headed back to the hotel...we made it back and felt pretty successful on our first trip out alone. Got back to the hotel got ready to leave and we were off again this time for dinner and a show.


New York Trip Part II

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

 

Benjamin turns three.

Our sweet baby boy is officially out of those baby stages and on to bigger and better things. Learning his letters, numbers, able to communicate clearly what he wants...and doesn't want; he has quickly picked up on that little treasure. He is now big enough to do what all of the others are doing(or so he thinks) and is doing his best to keep up.

Since he has been old enough to stand and walk, my walls have never been better decorated; he is very artistic and loves to paint, use markers, chalk or anything else that makes my walls look prettier than before he got to them. Lets just say I am really glad I haven't decided on a wall color to repaint yet.

Benjamin is helpful and loving and always ready for cuddle time. His sweet smile is always charming. He is outgoing, friendly and always ready to make someone smile.

I often get hugs and reassurance that I'm his number one. He runs to me throws his arms around my neck, and says in a deep husky voice, "You're my best Mom", and I tell him he's my best Ben...Then he proceeds to go to each of the other family members saying each in turn, "Your my best Dad", "You're my best Nathan"...He is just so full of love for everyone.

He's got a great spirit and lots of energy to share. He truly makes everyday more fun, entertaining and joyful. He wakes up with a smile, a hug, and lots of love and goes to sleep the same way as he snuggles in between Matt and I and sweetly says good night, I love you.

Happy 3rd Birthday

May you always be sweet, loving, caring, and an adventurous explorer in life. My your life always greet you with new and better adventures with a bright future and plenty of loving, caring family and friends to surround you always.
May God Bless You Always.