Along the Coast

Leaving Vered Hagalil was not easy. Not only was it a beautiful spot but we also were not all that practiced at making sure we had everything. It took two times returning to the ranch once we departed (once because Eli had his room key, the second time because Orly left her favorite sweater at breakfast) to get underway. Our first stop was in Akko on the Mediterranean. This was our first glimpse of the sea. Very very beautiful. Like many other spots in Israel, Akko has a long history of multiple cultures living sometimes peacefully and often conflicting. In Akko, the Crusaders had a big influence on the city. We focused mainly on walking through the old part of the city. In the market, Ross bought some saffron and date honey. Then we went through a recently discovered tunnel under the city.

From Akko, we drove through Haifa, saw the Bajai gardens (greatly expanded since the Lox family trip in the 80s). Ikey wanted to do something for the kids so we stopped at some 1,000,000+ year old caves where one of the oldest human skeletons has been found.  Quick lunch of shwarma and then onto Caesarea.  Had I known how much they now have at Caesarea, I definitely would have spent a half day there for sure, at least. There are two great educational but not cheesey films that we all enjoyed.  There are also all kinds of shops, restaurants and a really pretty beach you can swim at. Since we didn't have time for it all, we got some ice cream and then walked along the coast, seeing the Hippodrome (which Orly loved) and then the Roman ampitheater. The kids had fun pretending to be actors in the Roman days. They must have been excited for our next stop -- Tel Aviv -- because soon the van was filled with singing in the back seats serenading us in our final leg with Ikey. Arriving in Tel Aviv, at the Melody Hotel which I would highly recommend -- it was time to say goodbye to Ikey. We'll miss his endless stories and the extreme pride he -- like so many Israelis -- have in their country. And we'll even miss being told when we are asking dumb questions or when he's told us something before, once or even twice!  In Tel Aviv, we quickly went up to the hotel's roof top terrace to watch the sunset then walked over to a restaurant called Jeremiah in a really nice residential neighborhood.