Day Two in Israel

Amazing. I,m sitting here at six in the morning in a christian guest house that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. It is still pretty dark, but I am sitting out on a balcony waiting for the sunrise. It looks like it will be glorious. Anyhow I want to describe yesterday, our second day here in Israel and tell how we arrived at this beautiful place.

I slept pretty well in Tel Aviv, even though we were in a small, cramped hostel. Pastor Ben's reasons for choosing this place, is for one, to see what the real Tel Aviv is, a very dirty, secular city that doesn't fit in with the general idea that fundamental Christians have of Israel. Also we were a block away from the American Embassy, a good thing to know and see in case trouble happens to arise. And we were planning on having a large delicious breakfast right next door, but the place was temporarily closed and we had to settle for a smaller really yummy breakfast about a ten minute walk away.

After we ate we headed back and loaded into the vans. Can you say fiasco? It was a small parking lot and the attendant was not to impressed about our plan of how to leave. It involved our van backing up and letting the other one out first because the pastor was going to pay for both vehicles as we left. That guy didn't want to have anything to do with it. Other cars were trying to leave and it quickly turned into a four-way argument about how to do it. Once we were all straightened out we were able to leave and the plan was to drive a few minutes to the Carmel Market. The streets were crazy, and there was no parking to be had anywhere. At one point we had stopped for traffic while Ben was figuring out where to go and so Mark, our driver, tries to call Ben on his cell. Next thing we know a police officer walks up to his window and starts grilling him and asking for identification. After a couple minutes he lets us go with an admonition "not talk on phone while driving".

After this happens Ben decides that we will just leave and head up the coast to Cesarea Maritema. So begins our next adventure.Following someone on these roads is pretty crazy, especially when your in a city or large town. And most especially when following another van with a pastor who likes to make sudden lane changes. Mark called our van "The Rolling Revival". "If your not a praying believer when you get in, you will be by the time you get out"! I had the exciting job of being shotgun and trying to keep an eye on the other van and help keep out of accidents with other crazy drivers.

It took about forty-five minutes before we arrived at Cesarea along with a few large tour buses. Upon arrival we step out and are hit with a wall of heat. Uhhg. Not ready for this in mid-October. This is also the time when we learn that the drivers side window doesn't like the idea of rolling up, giving us something to do while we stand in the heat. Ok, window is up. Now, on to the ruins. As we are heading there we stop by a gift shop for restroom breaks and Mark decides to go in and buy a hat to protect from the heat. That reminds me that my hat was left on the last plane we were on and so I join him to see if I can find one as well. Twenty sheckels later, (about five dollars), I am satisfied that I now look like a real tourist, wearing a hat with an actual place name emblazoned across it.