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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.

As usual, our day began with breakfast in the Starlight Restaurant before getting off the ship in the city of Hilo on the Big Island or Hawai’i. Our excursion today was called “Volcanoes and Taste or Hawai’i,” with the main attraction being a trip to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to see Kilauea. This was my favorite place when we came to Hawaii over 15 years ago, and I was excited to see it again.

Our second day in Maui again began with breakfast in the Skyline Restaurant before leaving the ship for our tour. Today we were supposed to do the road to Hana, but the Moana Kea protestors blocked the routes to Hana and Haleakala, and all of those tours were cancelled. Instead we did a tour called “Best of Maui.”

We are scheduled to spend two days in Maui before leaving for the big island. This first morning started with an awesome view of the island from our stateroom balcony as we sailed into the port in Kahului. We had a yummy breakfast in the Skyline Restaurant on deck 5 before leaving the ship.

For our final day in Oahu, we had a buffet breakfast at the Rainbow Lanai restaurant at the resort before checking out and boarding our tour bus just after 7am.

We initially travelled southeast and saw Diamond Head Crater and the area of Kahala, which is kind of like the Beverly Hills of Oahu. Kimoke’o shared with us a real estate listing for a 2.7 acre that was – $48 million with $8,700 per month in property taxes. Yikes.

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Photo taken at: Norwegian Pride Of America

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Photo taken at: Kualoa Ranch & Private Nature Reserve

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