Sitting by the Roadside

More travel!  This time, though, it's for a very long time... My family and I are getting ready to fly to Asia.  Our flight is at night, so someone comes to pick us up at around nine o'clock in the evening.  We pile all the luggage and boxes into the van and start off for the Los Angeles International Airport. Boxes full of books packed and ready to go (six in total)! We check in our baggage and pass our backpacks (and ourselves) through the security check quickly.  There is about an hour left before boarding time for our flight comes. Waiting in the airport. I review a few of my National Bible Bee passages (for Game Show, just in case!), then get tired and decide to play an anatomy game on the kindle. Slowly the minutes tick by, and it is time for us to board the plane (midnight!).  Even though it is our eighth time to Asia, my siblings and I still get excited about flying planes, even if it means losing some sleep because the seats can't go back

The National Bible Bee Competition ( www.biblebee.org ) this year took place in San Antonio, Texas, November 16-20.  My sister and I were competing in the Junior division and my two younger siblings in the Primary division. My family drove across two states to Texas in our eight-passenger van packed with our personal belongings and a good amount of cookware (my brother has severe allergy to soy, eggs, milk, nuts, and peanuts, so we have to cook all his food).  We took a one-night stop in El Paso before continuing on to San Antonio. Registration (Wed. 11/16) When we arrived in San Antonio, I didn't feel much of the "Bible Bee spirit" yet; it was more like living in a dream.  Until Wednesday afternoon, that is. On the sixteenth (Wed.) we registered and got our name tags.  Our family photo was taken, and right after that a camera crew came up to us and interviewed my siblings and I.  I didn't mind, because I liked interviews, and they said they might s

We leave Israel tonight!  It has been a wonderful time to be in the Holy Land.  Here are some highlights from my trip: Monopoly (in Hebrew!!).  Our family does not have a set, though my siblings and I play it at friends' houses sometimes.  I had to try to recall how Monopoly was played and guess our way around the board.  I could only read a word or two on the "community chest" and "chance" cards ("lose" and "win"), so we had to take a couple of them out of the deck when I couldn't figure out what was written on it. Popcorn popped the "old-fashioned way"--on the stovetop!  The previous residents of our rented apartment left a bag of popcorn kernels in the cabinet (my family usually doesn't buy popcorn). The gigantic sand volcano my siblings built at a beach next to the Mediterranean Sea. Eggs!  What a treat since I don't get them often (my brother is severely allergic to them). Delicious chocola

Here are a few photos from the wonderful time my family and I had at the Tel Aviv beach!  The shoreline is only a five-minute walk from our apartment. View of the beach from a hill directly overlooking it. The sea was warm, unlike the cold water we were used to in the beaches of southern California (not many waves here, though!). My brother's sand castle (see note here ). The waves are beautiful during the evening (a different beach). Sunset on the beach.

Jaffa, or Joppa , is an ancient city and quite well-known.  It is mentioned a few times in the Bible. It is known as the port which Jonah went to in order to escape having to preach to the people of Ninevah ( Jonah 1:3 ). Acts 9:36-43  tells of the story of Peter raising Dorcas (Tabitha) from the dead in Joppa. Acts 10  is a chapter we all know; of Peter's vision and the conversion of Cornelius. The Church of Saint Peter in Jaffa From Jaffa you can see the Mediterranean Sea, stretching for miles and miles and miles.  You might notice an interesting rock formation grouped together--Andromeda's Rocks.  Legend has it that Andromeda was chained to these rocks as a sacrifice for a sea monster.  Perseus, on his famous winged horse Pegasus, came and saved her in the nick of time. Andromeda's Rocks We found a visitor's center and received a map and a self-tour booklet of Jaffa.  My camera broke down at about this time and I couldn't take a

Caesarea is another place mentioned a few times in the Bible.  It is probably best known as the city where Cornelius the Roman centurion lived ( Acts 10 ), but it is also the city where Paul is taken to under the cover of the night when his nephew uncovers a murder plot ( Acts 23 ). Caesarea National Park There was a lot to see here!  At eight-thirty in the morning we rode bus 5 to the Tel Aviv-Savidor Center train station and rode the train Caesarea-Pardes Hanna.  We missed Bus 80 by a few minutes, and since this bus makes its route every three hours , we decided to ride Bus 11 to the Caesarea Golf Club and walk to the National Park from there. Part of the path we took to walk to the National Park.  It's about the only part that's shady!!!! The walk to the Park was not long, but in the heat of day (it was around noontime), along with almost no shade, the trip was exhausting. We passed by a piece of land used for growing bananas during the walk: Banan

A blast of hot wind greeted me as I stepped off the bus with my family.  Tel Aviv turned out to be hotter than Jerusalem. We had checked out of our apartment at 2:30pm and ridden the Light Rail to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station.  Bus 480 took us to Tel Aviv, and from there we rode another bus to the station closest to where we'd be staying. The owner of our rented Tel Aviv apartment informed us that a leak had been found and that we'd had to stay in a different apartment for the time being. I did not mind very much, particularly because the previous residents had left a box of chocolate-covered ice cream in the freezer, along with another box of chocolate and a can of date syrup... In the evening we took a walk to the beach, which was only ten minutes away from our apartment.  The area was calm and still, and not a single person was in sight.  I lowered my hand into the water of the Mediterranean Sea and found it warmer than expected.  Straightening myself

We visited the Israel Museum again today, spending all our time inside the Archaeology Museum, except for a brief trip to the Shrine of the Book exhibit and the Nano Bible exhibit. Nano Bible Bookmark speaking about the Nano Bible exhibit. The Nano Bible is the smallest Bible (Tanach--Old Testament--only) in the world.  "Nano" means "dwarf", and that's exactly what describes this Bible.  How big is it?  The size of a grain of sugar. A new technology called Nanotechnology was used in the process of making this Bible.  First, a thin layer of gold was placed over a silicon square.  Then a program directed a laser to engrave the letters of the Bible.  With the program, it took only about an hour and a half to finish engraving the letters of this Bible. Archaeology Museum There were so many things to see in this section of the Israel Museum that I could only post a few photos!  My camera memory disc crashed and these photos were taken by my m

Today we visited the City of David, northeast of Jerusalem. Sign to the City of David. The place where it is claimed that David saw Bathsheba. Ruins called the "Large Stone Structure".  Some believe it to be the remains of David's Palace. More Large Stone Structure ruins Hezekiah's Tunnel In the City of David we took a trip through Hezekiah's tunnel.  You can choose to either walk through the wet tunnel or the dry tunnel.  My family and I decided to try the wet tunnel. Most of the time the water in the wet tunnel is just above your ankle, though in the beginning of the tunnel it does reach close to your waist. Sign at the entrance to the tunnel regarding it Stairs down to the tunnel The water in the tunnel is not very cold once you get used to it.  Flashlights are a must unless you enjoying walking in a wet place with rushing water and absolutely no light. Exit of the tunnel The walk through the wet tunnel cl