While you are likely still sleeping as I write this, we are on the bus headed to Masada. Thanks to Kim’s motion tablets, I can post this while the bus is driving without losing my breakfast.

Well yesterday was, quite simply, divine. We started off the day driving to Jerusalem. While talking with Ruthie (more on her later) the Rubins walked up to us from out of nowhere to surprise us! None of us had any clue they were in Israel and seeing them resulted in the first of many tearful moments on the day.

As you can see, I am very in tune with what’s going on…

Ok ok. Dry those eyes folks. We’re only a couple hours into the day! Back to Ruthie. Ruthie runs Shuk and Cook. https://shukandcook.com/home.html She split us into groups, gave each group a shopping list, and sent us off into the Shuk. The Shuk is kind of like a farmer’s market on steroids….and crack…that drank 3 Red Bulls. It was insane and insanely fun!

These are Dragon Fruits. They come in yellow and neon magenta. I needed sunglasses just to look at them because they were so bright. Very pretty!

We took all our food back to Ruthie’s, where she divied up the responsibilities and we all started prepping and cooking our meal for later that night. I was the official sous chef for the group. Don’t worry, I opened my eyes for that part.

After the prep work was done we had time to go to the hotel and get ready for Shabbat. Then it was off to a walking tour of Jerusalem. The picture below is of the Western Wall (not the wailing wall, just the west side of the wall that surrounds the Old City) from the balcony of the King David Hotel.

Our guide for the evening, Steve Israel, was absolutely fantastic. He had the perfect mixture of history lesson, deep thought, and appreciative points about the city. Here, we stand on a hill just outside the Old City (Old City is just what they call the center of Jerusalem, like downtown).

The walk into the Old City was gorgeous.

The tunnel on the way to the Wailing Wall. This is the last picture because you can’t take pictures once inside the area of the wall.

The wall was quite an experience. More tears of joy by many members in the group. Several of us got the opportunity to put our notes in the wall. I won’t attempt to put into words what everyone in the group was feeling. For me personally, I missed my wife. Said a prayer for my family and friends and then we left. We’re going to go back to the wall on Sunday when we’ll have more time spend there.

Back at Ruthie’s, dinner was ready. When I tell you that this woman is a good cook, I mean it in the Iron Chef kind of way. This was easily the most fantastic dinner we had on the trip. Getting to help in the creation of it, and eating with Pam and Ron made it that much more special.

We capped off the night with a walk, some tea, and a nice discussion about how we were feeling so far on the trip. Perfect end to a perfect day.

I leave you with a picture from just inside the Old City. Once again, Julia gets an amazing shot.

Ok friends. We’re almost at Masada and then it’s off to the Dead Sea! Catch ya later!

Author: Sam March