The morning of May 29 we found our three-week European vacation coming to a close.
Glen had planned to retire his athletic shoes in Jerusalem so he didn't have to carry them home in his suitcase. Turns out that was a good plan because we needed all the room we could get to haul our olive wood purchases home.
I had been admiring this artwork on the wall of the hotel. Turns out I have a soft spot in my heart now for anything that reminds me of the places we had recently visited.
With our buses loaded with all our packed luggage, we planned to make the most of our last day in Jerusalem. We went to Hezekiah's Tunnel in the ancient City of David.
Hezekiah's Tunnel was built by the 14th king of Judah, King Hezekiah, in 701 BC. Upon hearing of the approach of the Assyrian army, the king wanted to protect the city's water supply and thus ordered the construction of this water tunnel to act as an aqueduct, bringing water to his citizens. It was also to stem the water supply, preventing it from reaching the invading troops.
This 1,750-foot marvel of engineering stretches from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam and is still in a remarkable state of preservation.
The tunnel has water in it and I was anxious to see how high the water level would be on me.
Anxiously waiting for our group to be called for our turn to enter Hezekiah's Tunnel.
Lots of steps to get to the tunnel.
We had our handy-dandy flashlights hanging from our shirts so our hands would be free in the tunnel.
Our guide Joseph gathered us together in this area for a presentation.
Here we are in the tunnel.
It took about 40 minutes to walk through the water-filled tunnel. Lots of times the water level was just ankle- or calf-deep, but there was one deep spot at the beginning. This photo shows Glen's shorts got wet above his knees. Those of us shorter than him got wet even higher than that.
There was a lot of the tunnel that wasn't tall enough for Glen to stand up, so he hunched over a lot of the walk.
The cave was also quite narrow in spots. There was a sign at the beginning that read: The visit is not recommended for claustrophobics.
I get claustrophobic and I'm scared of water, so I was afraid for two reasons to go in the tunnel. But it turns out it was a lot of fun (once we got past the deeper water) and I was very glad I hadn't chickened out.
There had been a dry tunnel option, but I opted for the wet tunnel. Aren't I brave?!?
At the end of the tunnel some of our traveling companions made a victory bridge for us to go under because we survived!
Up the stairs to get out...
...then back down these stairs to get to the Pool of Siloam.
Another view of the same stairs leading to the Pool of Siloam where Michael gathered us together to lecture about the man who was born blind and washed as instructed by Jesus and came away seeing.
Leaving the area we could see how close we were to the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
On the bus, we drove past the Old City of Jerusalem one last time. Joseph had us take one last look at the Tower of David and had us all bid Jerusalem farewell aloud.
We drove east a ways and stopped at the ruins of Beth Shemesh. (Notice the red and white hand road sign. That means stop.)
Beth Shemish is a border town between Israel and the Philistines. It was somewhere around this border area where Samson was born and sought a wife among the Philistine people. Michael gave a lecture on Samson while we were standing among the ruins.
Beth Shemesh is mentioned in the Bible with the return of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines.
We drove on the bus for a ways until we got to the Valley of Elah. Michael walked us out into this field and stopped to give us a lecture about this being the place where David fought Goliath.
The bus took us to a spot in what felt like the middle of nowhere and dropped us off.
We could do a little souvenir shopping right there if we wanted before we boarded the new "bus" which was a semi-truck cab pulling a people mover behind it.
It definitely wasn't the luxurious ride we had been used to, but we knew why the other bus hadn't been able to take us the rest of the way.
We rode and rode and wound around on bumpy dirt roads for a long time until we got to the middle of the middle of nowhere. We had arrived at Khirbet Beit Lei, which is an archaeological dig in the Judean lowlands of Israel.
Our archaeologist guide (on the left) explained to us about the things that had been found at the site. During the construction of a road in 1961, an ancient burial complex was found.
An archaeological expedition found multi-chambered caves cut into the chalky limestone.
This cave was used to make olive oil.
Another cave quite surprised us with what we saw once we stepped down inside it.
Once our eyes became accustomed to the darkness, we could see the walls lined with triangular nesting holes.
We were inside a columbarium or dovecote which is compartmentalized housing for pigeons and doves.
There was an opening in the top for the birds to fly in and out.
It was so huge and impressive!!
We walked over to another excavation area and found the remains of an ancient basilica thought to have been built around 500 AD. The mosaic floors were so amazingly beautiful with their precision in craftsmanship.
We stopped for a moment on our hike out of the excavation site to use this tree for the perfect backdrop for a photo.
Another long, dusty, bumpy, winding-road ride in the semi truck bus made us extremely happy we made it out of the "wilderness" and back to our Mercedes-Benz luxury bus with the much-needed, refreshing air conditioning.
We passed by many fields of sunflowers that were so beautiful.
The last stop our bus made was at the airport in Tel Aviv. And were we ever shocked to see such a huge airport be virtually deserted.
It was the Jewish Shabbat, a weekly day of rest, observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.
Our plane did not leave until midnight, so we had several hours to hang out at the airport.
All the Fun For Less people on our bus were on the same overnight flight to New York. Let's just say one of us got some sleep while the other of us watched 5 movies!! It was a loooonnnng flight!!
In New York we bid our good friends Steven and Patricia good-bye. That's always such a sad moment in our tripping when the vacation is over and we are parting ways, usually not knowing when we'll see each other again.
It's at that point in time when we start begging Steven to get busy planning another fun trip for us to do with them. (Steven...we know you're reading this. Have you begun thinking about our next destination?)
Lest I begin shedding tears once again just thinking about our good-byes, I'll insert the exciting thing that happened right after our sadness at leaving our friends.
Because of Glen's high and mighty status with Delta because of his weekly flights back and forth to Minnesota, not only did he get upgraded to first class, but I got upgraded as well!
EUREKA!! Except for the fact I kept thinking about how wonderful it would have been to have been upgraded on either one of the previous, all-night flights over the ocean...!!! But, we'll take what we get!!
Step count by the time we walked in our house was 15,049 which is 7.6 miles.
It's always fun to go on vacation, but it's always a really good feeling to return back home safe and sound.
We'd had such a grand adventure. We were feeling so blessed that I had gotten the pacemaker when I did and that I had felt so great on the trip. We had such fond memories of everywhere we'd gone and of everything we'd seen and done.
Our olive wood purchases have been a sweet reminder to us of our experience. The one Glen chose as his favorite is the "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men" carving.
The olive wood statue I wanted is of the Holy Family.
I'll quote the last sentence of our Fun For Less travel itinerary: We arrive back in the United States filled with memories of these wonderful lands where the scriptures, the greatest books ever written, were created.
A former member of our stake presidency took his family to the Holy Land last year. He came home so impressed and humbled with what he had experienced. When Glen shared with him that we would be going there soon, he told Glen that it will change his life forever.
It was interesting how that comment stuck with me throughout the trip. I kind of went into this vacation with the mindset that it was something Glen had always wanted to do. I hadn't ever really had a desire to travel to Israel. I consented only because I knew it would make Glen happy and I knew we'd have fun going with our friends.
So with every stop we made and with every lecture we heard, I was wishing it was all Glen had hoped for and more. As for me, I was content to just be along for the ride.
And I kept thinking about how the experience would change our lives forever.
As I visited different places, saw unique and interesting sites, heard various lectures, listened to guides explaining what they knew, I kept thinking to myself that it was all nice and everything, but I wasn't feeling any kind of profound wisdom, spirituality or insight coming to me. I never felt like I had a life-changing moment.
Perhaps I was a little hard-hearted while on the trip, because for me the appreciation, realization and dawning has come upon our return home. I find myself thinking so much about what we saw, where we'd been, the significance of everything in a spiritual sense.
I relive walking in the Garden of Gethsemane and have such a feeling of gratitude for Jesus Christ who would willingly submit to the plan of his needing to atone for our sins and hang upon a cross and lie in a tomb so he could be resurrected and live once again so we can live again.
When I listen to the scriptures or sit in church and hear the names of the places we'd visited or hear mention of the stories we'd heard in the lectures, I feel a connection to the place and to the story in a way I never had before.
As I sing the sacrament songs, the words sink deep into my heart as I think of our Savior taking upon himself the sins of every one of us--including me. I am thankful for Jesus Christ and for all those who came after him who believe in him and who follow him and who teach, lead and guide us to do the same.
I am blessed to know what I know and believe what I believe. I am blessed to have walked where Jesus walked. Not everyone can have that experience.
The important thing now is for me to live as Jesus lived and do as he bids every one of us, "Keep my commandments. Love one another. Come follow me."
