Superficial Joy

Well, this is our last "event" day of the trip! It doesn't officially end until tomorrow night, but tomorrow is basically a travel day back to Amman. Today's activities: Meet at 8 a.m. to tour Petra! Although we met early, we were still walking in with a multitude of people from cruise ships that port at Aqaba. There were zillions of people! I had to fight myself to maintain a positive attitude and not get snarky. I really don't like crowds. The local guide we have had since our arrival in Jordan had a family emergency and was unable to guide us through Petra, but his replacement, Hussein, was good. Honestly, I only absorbed about 50% of what he said, as his accent was thick, he talked fast, and I was trying to stay out of the crowds.  What I got was this: Petra  is super old (4000 B.C. ish) and was the capital of the Nabataeans. Later the Greeks moved in and even later the Romans came. Much was destroyed by an earthquake in the 300...

This trip continues to be amazing! Blogger and Google Photos don't cooperate, so here is the link to the slide show for today with comments. Today's itinerary: Sea of Galilee boat cruise.  This is actually a big lake, but it is where Jesus did about 75% of his teaching, according to our guide. Visit the Deganya Kibbutz. A kibbutz is unique to Israel and is a settlement in which people live communally. When I was here in October for my friend's birthday party, I had the honor of staying in a kibbutz where part of her family still lives. It was not the same kibbutz, but a special experience. The closest experience I can relate it to is permanent summer camp. You walk everywhere you need to go, you drive through a gate to get in and out, and everyone lives very close together in small quarters.  Travel to Nazareth , where Jesus grew up. Shockingly to me (or just exposing my ignorance) is that Nazareth is the largest Arab town in Israel--approximately 70%!  Sudd...

Today we began our first full day with the entire tour. On the itinerary: Hebrew lesson from our local guide, Orr.  Walking tour of Jaffa , the oldest part of Tel Aviv.  After lunch, a walking tour of Tel Aviv, especially Rothschild Blvd, the main street. I am in the Amman airport and cannot get the pictures to upload to my blog. Sorry!  Here is the link to the pictures from Day 4 (with commentary!). I really enjoyed Tel Aviv. Our hotel was right on the ocean along the Promenade . And it felt really good to be back with my dad after not seeing him since summer. How quickly I revert back to my old habits when around family!!

Today we DID leave the room, albeit later in the day. Today also marks the first day of our official Tauck tour. We met everyone at dinner in our hotel. Daddy and I awoke to less rain and wind than yesterday. Breakfast at this hotel was only until 10, so we had to get up early. For about 24 seconds I thought I would go to church this morning, but that quickly faded when I woke up after only 4ish hours of sleep. The view from our hotel room  After breakfast, we commenced our computer-ing for several more hours. Both of us seem to have inexhaustible number of things to do electronically. It was so rainy and cold outside that the thought of going outside wasn't super attractive. However, eventually I went out to find a little food (another no-protein breakfast) and wander around. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I went again to McDonald's. It's so easy! And it's cheap! And their fries taste essentially the same on every continent! I intended to do a ...

It was a blustery day in Tel-Aviv on Sunday My friend from the National Park Service, Jill, used to say that during furlough you do one thing a day. You know, like, "today I went to a movie," or "today I went to the grocery store." I find this is true when on vacation, as well. By this measure, Daddy and I had a busy day! We did 3 things: breakfast, lunch, change hotels. We set the alarm for 10:30 so we wouldn't miss breakfast. It was a lovely affair where I received my first education about Kosher food. I kept looking for the bacon and sausage, but there was none to be found! During this revelation, some poor manager-type woman came over to ask how our service was going. I, very nicely (I promise!) asked where the meat is. I'm sure she rolled her eyes at me in her head, but she was very kind as she explained to me that meat and dairy cannot mix. She was nice enough even to ask the kitchen if they could prepare me some meat, but they politely decli...

We made it! Daddy & Joy have been reunited in Amman, Jordan! We begin our tour of the Holy Land in Tel Aviv officially on Sunday night, but we arrived safely to our hotel this evening two nights early for some down time before we meet our fellow travelers on Sunday at dinner. But this was only the second highlight of my day! To get on the same flight to Tel Aviv from Amman with Daddy, I had to catch the 5:35 flight out of Abu Dhabi and arrive in Jordan at 9 a.m. An 8-hour layover. Blech. But wait! It just so happens that I have a friend in Abu Dhabi from Amman that has college-age children whom I've recently met (we'll call them D and A). About 2 months ago they came to visit and we hit it off. So I messaged them earlier this week to tell them I'd be in town.  D immediately invited me to her house during my layover. Her dad arranged for another son, G, to collect me from the airport. We all exchanged numbers and off I went. When I landed, I texted G ne...

I'm finally booking travel for the summer, and I've got great plans with lots of flights: Abu Dhabi to Luxembourg Amsterdam to Dublin Shannon, Ireland to DFW Dallas to Boise Boise to Austin DFW to Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi to Seychelles Seychelles back to Abu Dhabi. The process takes me forever. I really try to get the best deals (if you know my father, you know what I'm talking about) so I spend hours Googling and Kayaking and searching all the mileage programs for the best combination of deals. I've been working on Shannon to DFW then to Boise the next day so I can stay one night with the fam in Dallas. I booked an Alaska flight on Wednesday, July 24 from Dallas Love Field to Boise for 2:15 p.m. I used miles to hold a flight and planned to cancel it within 24 hours. Now, to be fair, it DOES say you only have 24 hours to change or cancel without penalty. Of course, I forgot to cancel it and just now called to see what, exactly, my penalty situation would ...