Today begins my first trip to another continent. I’ve been so excited to go to Israel since my dad told us we could come about a year ago. Today, we traveled to Miami, and we are hopefully going to be able to board a plane to Tel Aviv.
Today, our whole family begins our long-awaited trip to Israel. I love visiting this country and am looking forward to sharing this journey with Olivia, Kate, and Sara. This time, I’m one of the co-leaders of the group, along with Bruce Zupa, who has been to Israel six previous times. With us are 24 other pilgrims, many of whom are making their first trip to the Holy Lands.
PDF copies of the Slides and Notes from the preparation classes for our group going to Israel in May & June 2022
Lesson 01 – Introduction, Israel Overview, Caesarea Maritima, Tel Megiddo (February 15, 2022)
Lesson 03 – Sea of Galilee, Zippori, Jordan River, Beth-Shean, Qumran (March 8, 2022)
Lesson 04 – En-Gedi, Masada, The Dead Sea, Be’er Sheba, Valley of Elah (March 29, 2022)
Lesson 07 – Herodium, Shepherd’s Field, Israel Timeline (May 10, 2022)
I’ve had a few requests for a printable copy of my Israel Journal that was posted on this blog. A PDF version with all of these posts can be accessed via the link below. The full journal is 207 pages.
Israel 2020: Journal – 207 Pages (PDF copy suitable for printing)
For anyone interested, you can access my photos and videos from our recent trip to Israel via the links below. All photos and videos are separated by day and can be downloaded from the linked site. I’m still processing videos taken, so more of these will be added shortly.
Israel 2020: Favorites – 671 Photos (Subset of Albums Below)
Click “Read More” below to see the photos from individual days if they are not visible.
January 8, 2020
Our final, chilly morning in Israel started early with clouds and a little rain. My alarm went off at 5:30 so that we could board the bus and leave the hotel by 7am. I was able to get my final items packed up and grab some scrambled eggs and coffee in the restaurant before loading onto the bus. Jerry Sells offered a prayer as we were leaving.
I’m posting this a day late because I was not able to keep up with my journal as well while walking around Jerusalem.
Today was an early morning with a wake-up call at 5:30am. It was another beautiful but chilly morning in Jerusalem, and I decided to bypass the hotel breakfast because it didn’t open until 6:30am and the bus was leaving at 7:15am. Instead, I walked down and got a latte from the restaurant and then came to the room to work on my journal and eat a protein bar before having to leave.
I’m posting this a day late because I was not able to keep up with my journal as well while walking around Jerusalem.
I woke up at 6:30am to a sunny but chilly morning in Jerusalem. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheeses (three types today), we boarded the bus at 8am for a short drive to the Mt of Olives. Keith Parker led us in a prayer as we left.
We had a chilly but beautiful morning at Ein Bokek on the Dead Sea. I woke up at 6:30am and quickly got on my bathing suit and water shoes to go take a dip in the Salt Sea. This area is breathtakingly beautiful in the sunlight with the water bracketed by the desert mountains.
After three mornings of sunshine in Tiberias, today I woke up at 6am to a cold and rainy morning on the Sea of Galilee. There were no fried eggs for breakfast this morning as everything was prepared yesterday because we are in the middle of Shabbat.
I woke up at 6:15am to another beautiful morning in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. This will be the last day and night here before we move to a hotel near the Dead Sea tomorrow.
There was loud music coming from the street, along with lots of activity, as they were preparing for the marathon around the Sea of Galilee. Today also marks the Shabbat (Sabbath) at sundown.
In spite of all the forecasts of rain, It was another beautiful morning on the Sea of Galilee. I woke up at 6am, had breakfast in the hotel, and got in a little study prep for our itinerary today before boarding the bus at 7:45.
“Shanah tovah” (שנה טובה) – “Happy New Year” in Hebrew
Happy New Year from Israel and the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee! I ended up staying up to see the new year last night standing by the shore on the Sea of Galilee. It was quiet and peaceful with the sound of parties way off in the distance. Not a bad way to start off 2020.
With our 6am alarm, we woke up to beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea from our balcony on Hadera Beach. Breakfast was at the hotel buffet, and I was able to see my friend Greg Tidwell from Ohio and we agreed to meet up later in the trip for dinner to catch up.
We crossed into our second day shortly after taking off from Newark last night. The flight to Tel Aviv was long (10.5 hours) but uneventful, and I was actually able to get in some decent sleep.
Today begins an 11-day trip to Israel that I’ve dreamed of for many years. I’ve signed up for two other trips to Israel in the past that were ultimately cancelled, but it seems like this one is actually going to come to fruition. I’m traveling with my Dad and a group of 90+ people who will arrive from three different airline routes and are scheduled to convene on December 30th at our first hotel in Hadera.
Our final morning aboard the NCL Pride of America started with a big breakfast in the Skyline Restaurant before grabbing our bags and disembarking from the ship. Since our flight was not until 4:07pm, we decided to store our bags at the port and take an Uber to Diamond Head Crater for some hiking.
Our second day in Kaua’i, and final day of the cruise, began with an early breakfast in the Aloha Cafe buffet. We prefer to have breakfast in the Skyline Restaurant, but they do not upon until 7am, and we had to be on the pier by 7:15am for our excursion.
This morning we had breakfast in the Skyline Restaurant as the ship pulled into the port at Nawiliwili, Kaua’i. Our tour today was called the “Best of Kaua’i” and covered a lot ground.
Today we were anchored off the coast of Kona on the west side of the Big Island of Hawai’i. Our day started very early with breakfast at the Aloha Cafe buffet. We then took a tender ship to the port in Kailua-Kona to meet our tour. Sara was fascinated by the tendering process and getting aboard a lifeboat.
