Day 10 - July 15th Easy day today after the physically and emotionally tiring day yesterday. No alarm clock is set. We are just going to hit the beach in Tel Aviv. It is partly cloudy which is o.k. with me. No need to fry my white ass in the sun. The beach is beautiful. It is less than a 15 minute drive. It is very active but not overly crowded. A nice mix of families and singles. The water is clean, just the right temperature and just enough waves. As we leave...

Day 9 - July 14 Masada, Dead Sea, Yad Vashem & Jerusalem I am skipping a few days because I wanted to get my thoughts down about today while they are still fresh. Masada First a little history lesson. Masada today is one of the Jewish people's greatest symbols. Israeli soldiers take an oath there: "Masada shall not fall again." Next to Jerusalem, it is probably the most popular destination of Jewish tourists visiting Israel. It is strange that a...

Day 8 – July 13th Surprisingly, I feel relatively good after a physically exhausting day. Sore, but not bad, manageable. We decide to go in the total opposite direction and instead of nature and hiking we go to a mall and office building. The Azraeli Center has 49 floors, making it the tallest building in Tel Aviv and the second tallest in Israel. The top floor has an indoor observation deck and a high-end restaurant. The views are spectacular and I get a ...

Day 7 - July 12th Mount Meron, Meron & Zefat We decide to have an off the beaten path kind of day. I have a conversation with my friend and one of his friends that I need to step outside my comfort zone and that to really experience Israel, I have to walk the land. As you know, I am beyond out of shape. I decide that I am going to try hiking for the first time in, oh EVER! We (I) choose the easiest trail at Mt. Meron. It is a nature reserve and one of the...

Day 6 - July 11 I am getting some of the best nights' sleep in recent memory. Probably due to the absolute physical exhaustion every day. Well either something I ate or pure exhaustion but I spend the whole day in bed. Time to recharge the batteries. Hopefully with the day off I will be in better condition and will be able to enjoy the rest of the trip even more.