The camping post, at last

Here's the deal on camping: it's fun. Really.

But two nights would have to be my maximum.

When you go to a hotel, even if it's a dive, all you do is put down your bags and you're ready to go.

Not so with camping. There's alot more involved.

First you have to find a "good spot". [Not so easy when half the Israeli population is camping with you]. A good spot, in my limited experience would be one that is shady (and not just in the afternoon, as we discovered ours was. Oh well. Live and learn); not to far from where the car is parked; not to far from the bathrooms; not to close to the bathrooms, for fairly obvious reasons; and a place where you have nice neighbors who have lots of equipment [but that's totally luck].

Once you have found the spot, you leave a kid (preferably your own) there to "save" it; and the rest of you start dragging tents, sleeping bags, coolers, and various overpriced "necessities" that your husband concluded are must haves to the spot.

Then you have to pitch the tent. Orli and Isaac did this, with some help from Tali. Orli was kind of mad that she wasn't photographd working and that Tali seems to get all the credit in this picture, but here, on my blog, I am giving credit where it's due: Orli was the big tent-pitcher.

Once the tent is pitched, you have to shlep the air mattresses to the car, because you realize that you need to turn the car on to use the pump. Once you have the air mattresses blown up you need to listen to your kids ask why they don't get air mattresses and when you ignore them, you have to hear them mutter something about "old people" under their breath.

After all the equipment is organized, it's about 7 PM and everyone is starving. The master chef of the mangal, or barbeque, begins to do his thing and about 45 minutes later you sit down to an absolutely scrumptious meal that you didn't cook! Then you have to clean up after yourselves.




After that you have to decide whether you are going to use the showers that about 7,000 other people have used before you. (I voted no; everyone else did shower. I figured a nice swim in the morning would take care of any foul body odor emanating from me).

Then you go to sleep. So to speak. You listen to all the conversations around you. You watch your 12-old-daughter struggle as you are struggling to sleep and are thankful that she is awake at 3 AM to take a walk to the bathroom with you.

You "wake up" in the morning to the sun beating down on you and to the dawning realization that your spot isn't as good as you thought it was going to be.

Then you begin the day's activities. Breakfast takes place on a picnic bench in a river and is cold, courtesy of said river that you kept the milk and yogurt in. You go for that swim and then hike in another river and picnic and laugh and splash and push each other in. And laugh. You go for a ride to Metulla and look down on your country and wonder at the beauty of it and marvel at the people living a stone's throw from the enemy. You close your eyes and listen to the silence and you wish for peace.

And then you go back for more amazing barbeque and maybe a better night's sleep.

The next day, you do everything you did when you first arrived, only in reverse. And go for another hike in water and then rafting. And you laugh some more.

You marvel at your kids, how they are right there, working alongside you to get things done. How everything would have been much more work without them. At how much fun they can be.

And you look forward to the next time you can do this. It's so much better than a divey hotel.

But only for two nights. That's my maximum.




For more of Summer Stock Sunday, check out Robin at Around the Island.

Haveil Havalim is up at West Bank Mama's!

Trippin' through Israel

What I love about Chol Hamoed (the intermediate days of the holiday) is that we get a chance to explore our new country. The weather has been beautiful, hot, but not uncomfortably so, blue skies--perfect weather.

On Sunday we met some friends who were visiting from America. When they saw us, they immediately noticed that we were all wearing hats and carrying water bottles. None of them had hats, although they did have some water. In Israel you don't go anywhere without a hat, liters and liters of water and sunscreen. Remember that when you come for a visit.



Yeah, but the hat is supposed to be on the head.



Anyhoo, we went to a place known as "Churvat Midras", or the Midras Ruins. This is a fairly easy hiking route of about 2 kilometers a stone's throw from the city of Beit Shemesh. The ruins contain a series of caves and tunnels from the Bar-Kochba era, some underground burial chambers and a pyramid. It is a hike with beautiful views:



The kids (and some adults) had a great time crawling through underground tunnels and caves and barely complained on the ascent up to see the pyramids (okay, it was a "pyramid-like structure" that was probably a mausoleum.) All-in-all a good day.

Yesterday's hike was spectacular. My friend Marta found a posting on some internet list she belongs to by an Anglo-Israeli tour guide. It was advertised as "Whose beach is it anyway?". We hiked for about 4 kilometers along a path and then over sand dunes. We learned about the history of Tel Dor, where archeologists are finding civilization upon civilization who have been here in this land. I never get tired of hearing this stuff. Dor was a port city mentioned in Joshua, and and in Kings. It has been ruled by the (from memory, not necessarily in order) Canaanites, the Philistines, Phoenicians, Israelites, Persians, Greeks, Assyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Crusaders, Turks, the British......and now we are here. On the
Tel (a Tel is a man-made mound created by the destruction of a civilization and the establishment of a new one on the ruins of the old one; they are all over this country) there are findings up through the Crusader era. What I thought as I reached the peak of the Tel and looked at the gorgeous views of the beach (thought by some to be the most beautiful beach in Israel) in front of me and Zichron Yaakov behind me was we must never take this land for granted. We are here today by G-d's Grace...

Much of the Tel Dor to Nachsholim hike is on a Nature Preserve, and therefore protected and maintained by the Israel Nature Authority. Some of the beaches are not and we saw people camping there...which looked like an excellent idea. Unfortunately we also alot of garbage, which thorougly saddens me. I can't say I'm the most environmentally minded person in the world, but I do try to leave a place I've camped or picnic-ed in the same condition as I when I got there, and maybe even a bit better. I wish everyone else would do the same.

Just another comment on Israeli's going on tiyulim (trips/hikes). These people have got to be the most resourceful people in the world. We sat down for lunch on a blanket on the sand and then I pulled out the matzoh, hard-boiled eggs, some tuna and a couple of cut-up vegetables. All over the beach, people were setting up homes! They set up protective shade from the sun, tables, chairs, pots full of food, including the requisite "ketzitzot" (patties in yummy sauces), "salatim" (salads), "shnitzel" (you should know what that is), for the sefardim, rice. I felt very inadequate indeed. A hard-boiled egg never tasted so pitiful....

Unfortunately, most of the pictures I took have my kids in them, and they do not want to be seen on the blog. And so I leave you with little proof as to how gorgeous the place is. You'll have to take my word for it; it's a great hike, with some fun rock-climbing and lots of history. If you'd like specifics feel free to e-mail me.




I'd love to hear what you did on your vacations....





BTW, Haveil Havalim is up at Shtetl Fabulous. Enjoy.

Sheepish about my groveling....and a nomination

I must admit, I churned out the previous post in haste, the minute I read the e-mail from Stephen Leavitt of Webads. I so badly wanted to be on that NBN flight for so many reasons. And I thank SuperRaizy for immediatedly responding and nominating me.

Since I wrote that post I've read several nominations including West Bank Mama for Soccer Dad, RutiMizrachi for Bat Aliyah, and SerandEz for Bad4Shidduchim. And I think all of them deserve to go for the reasons given--plus, I just like the way the way they write. (Funny. None of these bloggers are on my blogroll--not because I don't read them. I do. Just not regularly and I don't comment. There are so many of us in the Jewish Blogosphere that I find it impossible to get to everyone, all the time.)

Speaking of my blogroll, I think (almost) all of those bloggers should go; some of the examples:

Gila should go because she was/is a Victim of Terror (how do I put that darn copyright symbol in anyway?) She's her own person, with strong views and opinions that may not always necessarily be PC but are honestly expressed.

Mom should go because, well, she just takes such good care of all us, and her advice is so sensible. Plus she's been living here for years, and if I recall correctly, her first few months in Israel were very difficult; I think the NBN experience would be a bit of "tikkun" for that.

Ruti should be picked because her emunah and passion about living here are so inspiring to me. If I could, I would meet her for coffee every week to get a personal dose of that. Since I can't, I settle for her beautifully written blog, but I'm looking forward to seeing her at the convention and we'll set a date then, okay Ruti?

SuperRaizy, and Leora and Ilana-Davita should be on that flight because, well, mostly because I feel like they have become friends. And their blogs are witty, and entertaining and intelligent and informative, and they all love their people and their land with a passion. But mostly because I want to meet them in person.

I'd love to nominate all of you and so many more, but time limits me so please forgive me; I'm just going to nominate one blogger.

My first thought when I saw the original e-mail was to nominate Ezzie of SerandEz. He just seems like such an intelligent guy with a good head on his shoulders. His blog is prolific and varied. I also feel like maybe, maybe, maybe he is thinking about Aliyah (maybe--don't think he's ever said so outright, just a feeling I have and I could be totally wrong) and if he is, well the NBN thing could have an impact. But then, I realized he probably couldn't take the time off because he just started a new job. (I'm thinking maybe I know way to much about people because of these blogs.) And he himself has said on his blog that he couldn't be at the convention due to a wedding. So, Ezzie, hopefully next year the timing will be better.

And so (drumroll, please) I give my official nomination to Jack. Because I love that he voluntarily manages of Haveil Havalim every week. He doesn't have to do this, but he sees something important in the Jewish Blogosphere, as do I. I think having Jack travel to Israel on the NBN flight would be an excellent way of acknowledging the work he does.

By the way, since the winner is going to be announced on or after September 3rd, Israeli bloggers would likely have to leave on a Saturday night flight, arrive in NY Sunday morning and then come right back with the flight on Monday morning. Wouldn't even have to bring a change of clothing.

That's crazy, but if I won, all my passports are ready and waiting.

(And I promise, the camping posts are coming!)

And we're off...

From the time my kids were little, Isaac and I took them on road trips every summer. This was partially in part to explore America, or at least the beauty of the Northeast coast. But also, I wanted to create some memories for my kids. When I was a kid, we couldn't afford vacations per se. We didn't have a car, so road trips were out of the question. Still, I have fond memories of traveling the D train to Coney Island, where we would ride the Wonder Wheel, and drive my mom nuts for more rides. I have memories of stale matzoh and hard-boiled eggs, of swinging back and forth around the poles on the subway (again driving my mother nuts). These trips weren't easy for my mother (my father sometimes joined us, but often not, also a distinct memory). We were four, then 5, rather wild rambunctious kids and I think we drove her nuts alot.

In any case, I wanted to create memories for my kids, so every year we would get in the car and go away for two or three days. We went to the Jersey Shore, Montauk, Long Island, Lake George, the Shenandoah Valley, New Hampshire among other places. Those trips were fun and I hope that my kids will always have memories beyond the "STOP LOOKING AT ME!" and "YOU HAD THE WINDOW LAST" variety.

I look at the girls and I think that the era of family road trips will end before I know it. Liat is going into 11th grade, and is already talking about life beyond high school and--G-d help me--driving lessons. I try not to dwell on that fact to much, because if there is one thing that I've learned it's that you've got to live life in the moment and enjoy it while it's happening. But somewhere, tucked in the back of my mind I know the number of family road trips left is dwindling.

Tomorrow we leave for the Golan. The plan is to make a quick stop in Tsfat (or not. We are notorious for leaving way after the designated time. Trust me on that--It happens every. single. trip.) and then head up to Chorshat Tal where we will pitch our tents, barbeque, swim, play cards (sign of the times: our kids are teaching me how to play poker) and bond. That is, if they haven't killed each other in the back seat.

We've done rugged vacations before, but we've never actually camped out. I'm really the Five-Star-Hotel-Type, but my wallet isn't, so camping it is. I'm sure I'm hoping it's as much fun as everyone says it is.

And thank G-d for our portable DVD player.

I'll be back soon, hopefully with some good pictures.

It's coming, it's coming

I am dying to post about our "vacation" up North and exactly what I think of camping out, but--suffice it to say that I am still recovering and am to tired to do it. Tomorrow we are going to Haifa to see the sites there and Tuesday we are volunteering at a soup kitchen in Jerusalem.

I do have LOTS to say--I'll try to get to it within the next few days. In the meantime, here's a preview picture to hold you over:



I'll be back soon.

In honor of Coffee and Chemo

I've read RivkA's blog almost from the beginning. She never failed to inspire with her humor, her honesty, her parenting skills, her love of Israel, her love of her husband and children, and her courage.

As a cancer survivor, I very much related to her battle. As the months and years passed I, and so many others, became increasingly inspired by RivkA. Through her brutal treatment she was determined to live her life. She continued to work, to play, to do the things she loved. She went camping with her kids only two months ago, driving them up North and spending two days in a tent with them.

I can't say that I knew RivkA personally. We met at the Blogger's conventions, where I was charmed by her humor and we had some great conversations. We commented on each other's blogs and occasionally e-mailed each other with more personal questions or observations. And yet, I considered her to be a friend.

Some of my friends think this whole blogging relationship is just plain weird. They wonder why I talk to "strangers". They don't quite understand why I am so saddened by a death of someone who, in their mind, I barely knew. It's hard to explain to you non-bloggers. I don't quite understand it myself. But after blogging for some time, we find that the lines of our real and blogging lives somehow blur. RivkA wrote so honestly about her disease and her struggle that I feel like I did know her. I will miss her--I checked her blog daily, even before the last week. She posted almost everyday.

I wish I had the words to comfort RivkA's family. I wonder if they understand that besides all the friends they actually know, there are so many more that loved RivkA, that were inspired by her and share in the pain of her loss.

RivkA, your legacy lives in your words. You will stay on my blogroll for a long time to come and I will remember you always.

May your family be comforted amongst the mourners of Zion.