Israel Part 2

Our Next Stop in Israel was Jerusalem.

Hitting the road. Israeli roads are very nice. Israeli drivers are not. I don't think the guy in front of us in this pic was changing lanes, he was just driving in the middle.

Yoav's dog Alf. I loved this little guy!

Mirav, Yoav, Rotem and Alf walking over to the old city. 

It doesn't take long to walk to, then you just pop out and there's the western wall. It's the last wall standing that used to surround the old temple before it was destroyed. This is the last piece left. There were a lot of people there praying. People write prayers on pieces of paper and stuff them into the wall.

Yoav and Mirav

View of the wall from up top

Walking through the market and made a friend. I guess Israel doesn't put feral cats into shelters, they catch them, fix them then let them back onto the streets. They are all very relaxed and come up to bug you for pets. 

We took a stroll back to the old city at night. Most of the pics didn't turn out, but I like this one. Nice big full moon. 

View from the balcony at Yoav's place where we ate breakfast. Thank you Rotem for the delicious breakfast!

We left Jerusalem and headed over to the Yad Vashem, which is the Israeli's Holocaust memorial. You aren't allowed to take pictures inside. This is view you get when you leave the exit. 

Here is the building. It was extremely powerful and sad to see. So many people died. 

We met Yuval at the Yad Vashem and made our way out to Masada and the dead sea. In this pic we are passing a sign that shows where sea level. It is as hot as this picture makes it look. 

Camels at the gas station. 

First view of the dead sea. We'll get to the dead sea later. 

First up is Masada. Masada was a mountain top fortress in the middle of nowhere. Story is that the Romans were about to make it to the top and take it, but instead of being taken into slavery the men killed everyone in the fortress. Gruesome stuff. 

We rode the cable car up to the top. They didn't let you hike up or down because it was too hot. They were correct and I thank them for their judgement.

Like that hat huh? Thought so. That smile is entirely fake. I was sweating so much I thought I was going to die. 

This it the hill the Romans built to overtake the fortress. They BUILT this. They just piled up dirt until they could push a siege tower right up to the front door and knock. The hill is still there.

Mirav met this bird. 

Checking the map to see where the ruins are. Spoiler alert, they were everywhere. 

Masada was incredible, so awesome to see, but if anyone tries to get me to go up there again in that heat I will slap your face. 

We stayed the night down at the bottom of Masada. After breakfast we headed out for a hike. The before picture. It was hot, again. 

These little groundhog looking dudes just chilled on the rocks because it was shady. 

I'm in a picture! I stopped and took pictures like this here and there to prove I went on the vacation. 

It was pretty much like Niagra Falls. But we are thrill seekers. 

We climbed up to the top of this awful mountain that overlooks the dead sea. Mirav was close to suffering from heat stroke.Views were cool though. 

Ibex hanging out. 

Little guy jumped on the rock to pose for me. 

The after picture. No Mirav, you don't look red...

Then we went to the dead sea. We parked and Yuval asked me if I wanted the can of beer we had. IT was warm so I said no. He tried to put it back under the seat and punched a hole in it and it started leaking. I guess I will drink it now. So I shotgunned a warm beer in the parking lot of the dead sea. Good times.  

I am not going to beat around the bush, this water is disgusting. It was hot and slimy and felt like swimming in soup. It was also 112 degrees out while we were in there. 

Quick take a picture of my fake smile so I can get out and shower. 

Immediate rash on my hands, neck and calves from that miserable body of water. They say it's supposed to be good for your skin. It's a lie. 

We showered the filth off of ourselves, then made our way up north to Orit and Rami's brand new house on the Kibbutz. 

Most of the country is clustered in these little areas. 

We made it! This house is only 6 weeks old and it was amazing. We had a great family dinner out on the back porch. Great way to end a tiring few days.

End of Day 6. I'm getting tired just writing all this. I can't believe we did all this stuff.