fun times. we went to Jericho today. our first visit to Palestinian territory.
once we arrived in jericho, the kids rode on a camel. it reminded me of our trip to egypt : an enterprising man with a camel looking to make a few bucks.
nice work young man. if the camel doesn't produce a buck, sell the juice.
we were stopped at the spot with the camel because it gave us a nice view of a monastery built high up on the mountain above jericho. honestly, i don't remember the details. but it looked cool. here's two pictures:
jericho, of course, was a highlight for our kids because it's where the walls came tumbling down. here they are in front of the site where archeologists are working on recovering the ancient walls.
as we pulled out of jericho, we saw a tank.
to grandpa and grandma: the kids are still safe, we are still having fun. i'm still chunky and ben still likes my big belly. the food is good and you should come here some day. when we were at qumran today, we saw a bus full of young people that looked to be about your age file off a bus. they all had minnesota shirts on, so i know there's people in your neighborhood who are making the trip.
before we arrived in jericho, we stopped at the at the jordan river, at the place claimed to be the spot where jesus was baptized by john the baptist.
to save you the time of pulling up google and typing "jericho" in an attempt to figure out just where in the world this is, here you go. the blue dot was when we were at the jordan river. the pink line is the border between jordan and israel. jericho is across the street, more or less.
some observations from the river jordan: i doubt anyone wants to spend much time in the jordan river. it's not exactly pristine. it's small. the country of jordan is immediately on the other side. we waved at the people on the other side of the river. see that net behind the family? that's immigration control, i believe. it's what keeps people from turning their baptism into a dash to another country.
once we arrived in jericho, the kids rode on a camel. it reminded me of our trip to egypt : an enterprising man with a camel looking to make a few bucks.
one of the best moment was when, after our three kids rode the camel, the camel owner asked my mother in law Vicky if she wanted a ride. "I'm too old for that." to which he replied: "no problem. i give you pomegranate juice"
we were stopped at the spot with the camel because it gave us a nice view of a monastery built high up on the mountain above jericho. honestly, i don't remember the details. but it looked cool. here's two pictures:
it seems like the food should bring peace. the food is very much the same in both Palestinian and Israeli cities. i'm sure they would dispute this, but it's true. we had lunch in a restaurant near the Jericho ancient city walls.
My bartering skills need some freshening up. I attempted negotiating the price of my lunch. The workers were not as amused as I was.
elaine, on the other hand, negotiated the price of her lunch, a package of dates, 6 oranges, some Dead Sea cosmetics, and a bottle of water, down in price to less than half of what I would have paid. Nice work.
elaine, on the other hand, negotiated the price of her lunch, a package of dates, 6 oranges, some Dead Sea cosmetics, and a bottle of water, down in price to less than half of what I would have paid. Nice work.
jericho, of course, was a highlight for our kids because it's where the walls came tumbling down. here they are in front of the site where archeologists are working on recovering the ancient walls.
as we pulled out of jericho, we saw a tank.
to grandpa and grandma: the kids are still safe, we are still having fun. i'm still chunky and ben still likes my big belly. the food is good and you should come here some day. when we were at qumran today, we saw a bus full of young people that looked to be about your age file off a bus. they all had minnesota shirts on, so i know there's people in your neighborhood who are making the trip.
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