A Slice of Texas

Brooding for More

2011-12-07T20:03:00.000-06:00

This past week I've moved the chicken coop to the west side of the house and expanded the size of the coop. I'll post pictures soon, but wanted to quickly share the 4 newest members we've added to the brood. Two of these chicks are Frizzle Chochan Bantams. They'll resemble fluffy boa's once fully grown.

Unfortunately, this little fella (I'm hoping it's a hen) had to be separated from the group, as she's the largest and a complete bully. Everytime I allow her to join the other's, she pecks them constantly in the face. I'm concerned she's going to hurt the tiny Frizzles.

Uncooped in the Kitchen

2011-10-26T19:38:00.004-05:00

How fast they grow!

From soft baby down, to a fluffy feathered pullet.

Every day's a marvel.

I like raising chicken's in the kitchen!

Chicks in the City

2011-10-17T15:18:00.008-05:00

CORRECTION - Chicks in the kitchen!

We're back to raising chickens again! I was half hoping my sister would talk me out of it, but when she told me this morning, "Go ahead and get some, you'll be glad you did!" I was secretly happy.

So this time we got 4. Remember, last time we got 6 chicks and raised them successfully. The only problem we had was one of our hen's turned out being a rooster. It wasn't very pleasant listening to the cockadoodle-dooo's early each morning. I actually love the sound of a rooster, but I wasn't too sure about our neighbors--not to mention, roosters aren't allowed in city limits.

Before we left the country on our last trip, we had sadly given all our laying hens/rooster away. Over the months, we had missed collecting eggs and giving them table scraps.

We're keeping the chicks in the kitchen till they're old enough to go outdoors. Thankfully I had kept the old chicken coop and supplies!

WANTED: dead specimens

2011-05-06T13:21:00.035-05:00

Face of wasp (click photo's to enlarge)

For my daughter's homeschool science projects, we've been enjoying our dissecting digital microscope.

The Roly Poly that took me 20 min to kill - Dawn dishsoap.

bug fished from pool (pool's are perfect for finding intact/dead or atleast sedated bugs)

wasp

Earring my brother purchased for me when he was in Egypt. This is the exact flower design I had seen in Jerusalem, and on some ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Israeli Shekel

bug (hadn't identified) found in pool

If you look closely, there's a circular shape on the abdomen that resembles a pig's snout. While viewing through live video, I noticed this "snout" has tiny tentacles that protrude from the openings.

Fly

Wild onion flower stem

Wild Onion flower petal

Although the microscope comes with an upper/lower light, my mini LED flashlight captures the true color's the best.

Plant leaf

Moth eye

Moth leg

Fly

Roly Poly

Rock found on the Mount of Olives

Diseased leaf

Okay, STOP HERE if you are squeamish. Are you sure you want to know what this is?

Last chance to stop reading.

While examining a dead fly, this "parasite" crawled out of it.

~

Left by the Birds...

2011-04-28T14:29:00.013-05:00

What a pleasant surprise to find a wild Mulberry tree growing in my backyard. I've seen the tree thrive from a young sprout, to a towering giant, never noticing the yummy berries it produced. It was while I was walking in my backyard that I did a double-take, mistaking a branch for wild blackberries. But blackberries don't grow on trees....

Sure enough, it's Mulberry! Must had been brought over by bird droppings. Just like I'm finding pecan's growing in my flower pots, more than likely from the squirrels. We don't have any pecan trees in our yard.

Now that we have Mulberry, we'll see if the silkworms show up. Another project in itself.

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.
Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.

Did you know this song originated in England? Many claim it was the Wakefield Prisoners, who would sing this as they circled the Mulberry tree on the prison ground.

It's amazing what will grow in one's yard if a certain area is left for the birds.

Backyard - Certifying for Wildlife Habitat

2011-04-19T16:22:00.024-05:00

One of the things that we're working on is certifying our yard as a wildlife habitat. What does this mean? Well, many things. My family likes being outdoors and seeing animals come to our house - rabbits, squirrels, possum's, raccoons, frogs, lizards, birds, bats, snakes... yes snakes. I don't mind a simple garden snake. They after all, DO serve a purpose. We also don't like cookie cutter backyards. I'm one of those people who gets frustrated when I watch the home decorating network on TV and they start chopping down trees and shrubs for curb appeal. I LIKE trees, I LIKE shrubs, and wild plants. So do wildlife.

To be certified, our backyard needs to provide food, shelter, water, and a place for young to thrive. Also, we need to be showing good stewardship in how we handle pesticides, water conservation, and compost, etc.

With a keen interest in seed saving, and growing healthier (non genetically modified) vegetables, I stopped using pesticides several years ago. This includes spraying for mosquitoes. One of the most natural (and effective) ways to combat insects is using cedar mulch! Not only does it smell wonderful, but the bugs will find somewhere else to burrow. Home Depot sells local Texas cedar that is amazingly cheap - about $2-something a bag. The few bags I had purchased from Walmart's were not only more expensive than Home Depot, but were disappointing in texture and smell. Not worth it, in my opinion.

Enjoying the outdoors from a screened porch was the best investment we had ever made!

Seasonal pools are considered a water source for the wildlife habitat. The pool fountain offers relaxing background noise of splashing water, and even cools the air. Colorful dragonflies, birds, and hovering bumble bees love to dive over the sparkling water.

Squirrel nest above the pool.

This is an old English ivy climbing the tree. Considered invasive to some, but I love it.

This is an invasive reed that I do need to take under control. Currently I have been harvesting it for "bamboo" projects which I will share about later.

Growth by the fence that harbors many bird's nests.

Gotta have blackberries!

Wild honeysuckle... smells wonderful in the mornings and evenings!

We no longer mow our backyard, but now use an electric weed eater to trim away paths.

bird's nest almost eye level. Can hear baby chicks when we walk underneath.

We have a lot of work to do to get our yard in shape, but it's well worth it having the great outdoors right at our doorstep! What will the certification gain? Hopefully interested neighbors. I would love to see more people take an interest in making their suburban backyards a wildlife habitat!

Garden Room - Update

2011-03-21T17:22:00.034-05:00

Since I live in Mosquitoville, I decided to take the plunge and screen off my backporch! Boy am I glad I did! You wouldn't think a mere 6' by 12' backporch would be THAT big of a difference in living space, but it is. I was able to not only fit in some shelves, but also a huge buffet sized foldup table with folding chairs. Now my family can actually enjoy the outdoors without the mosquitos running us off.

Last year at this time, my daughter and I were recuperating from jetlag. We had returned from our backpacking trip from the Middle East. So this year, we are getting an earlier start on the gardening! For starter plants, we got blackberries, strawberries, tomatoes, bellpeppers, hotpeppers, squash, asparagus, herbs, and a variety of flowers.

From seed, I've started several varieties of lettuce, spinach, green onions, radishes, beans, and Swiss Chard indoors. Right now, I'm doing a lot of research on INDOOR gardening. As you can see, the plants are stretching for sunshine. But I think it will work out just fine as the porch stays nice and bright and there's full sunshine midday.

After painting my backporch a lovely olive green, we used the leftover paint (green/yellow) to decorate the cinder blocks, and the shelves made from picket fence. Surviving through winter, I also have several varieties of onions, and carrots that I had planted last year.

~For those who have asked, and are curious, I do have an update on our upcoming RETURN TRIP to the Middle East:

My daughter and I had joined WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and had made contact with a host family we had selected in Israel. We were excited as this family had kids and lived by the ocean. We were looking forward to spending about 2 months with the family and in Jerusalem.

Due to the escalating crisis in the Middle East, we decided to delay purchasing our plane tickets till the last minute. Unfortunately, this wait has caused our tickets to jump an additional $800. Gas prices are soaring! We're hoping that the prices will drop and things will settle down...

I'm forever reminded of our experience in Jerusalem last year when I overheard a reporter ask our waiter, "Do you think Jews, Arabs, and Christians can live peacably among one another?"

I never heard his answer as we had already paid and were walking away, but a few hours later, I sat on the Mount of Olives with my daughter and listened to the gunshots and fighting.

Praying for peace in the Middle East, and lower gas prices!

DOLL VACUUM COVER

2011-02-16T18:52:00.013-06:00

My most recent project is the pioneer doll vacuum cover. This is 100% handsewn. No sewing machine, no serger. Just wanted to create something with a simple needle and thread - which I find very relaxing.

Online at www.ozcrafts.com/country04.html you'll find several varieties of doll vacuum covers to choose from. The pattern I had used is Sweet Suzanne. Not wanting to paint her face, I decided to go with the primitive look and leave it at that.

For bonnet, I used a child's size pattern.

Now, no more ugly vacuum cleaner to take up space!

Volunteer Tourism

2010-10-03T21:58:00.003-05:00

Cambodia

Integrating our world travels as part of homeschooling, you can only imagine my delight to have discovered, GoEco! Thank you, Darlene!

GoEco is an Israeli based company that allows people the opportunity to travel the world as volunteers.

For myself, I'm always looking for opportunities to travel as a family. After all, this is why I'm traveling to begin with. Education.

Through the GoEco website - www.goeco.org/ You can click a link for volunteer opportunities that allow FAMILIES.

Two of them that caught my attention was the family Kibbutz in Israel, and the medical aid in Cambodia. We're hoping to volunteer with GoEco in October 2011, after our return from Jerusalem.

Basically, all you're responsible for are your plane tickets, and in some cases, transportation to the site from the airport. Although some programs will have a rep meet you upon arrival. The fees for each projects are different, but usually include room and board, living with other international volunteers, meeting the locals, learning their customs, languages, and working side by side.

Kibbutz in Israel

This morning, a rep from GoEco called me from Tel Aviv. She was able to answer a lot of my questions. She explained that they periodically update their website, so if you're interested in volunteering abroad, keep checking back! I know I plan to!

Garden Fresh

2010-09-24T18:36:00.011-05:00

Not only has the cooler weather given my garden a boost, but since the temperatures have dropped to the 80's, I've had to do less watering!

They say we should save our seeds from the first batch of crops, but as my beans have become more energized, I'm allowing several "late season" beans to dry on the vine to save for later.

All my Kentucky Pole beans have been producing. I'm not picking "bucket fulls" a day, but I'm able to save enough to have the occasional stiry fry!

My favorite dish is to add olive oil to the wok, cubed beef with worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic. After meat is med well, I add whatever is available from my garden - squash, bell peppers, green beans, peas, onions, okra, and frozen vegetables from the grocery store - broccoli, and zucchini. Toss till heated, then serve with rice and soy sauce.

Rain + Cooler Nights = Happy Garden

2010-09-15T20:26:00.012-05:00

Guess what we had for supper tonight? Vegetable soup! Somewhat of a slim pick'ns, but it was nice to drop some homegrown veggies into a pot.

Thankfully we had been getting some rain - over 15" worth! More than we needed all at once, but I was happy I didn't have to water my garden for a few days.

The temperatures are climbing back up, but the nights seem to be dropping into the 70's, giving all my plants a much needed boost. Everything's blooming like crazy.

Cantaloupe

Bell pepper plants as tall as my fence....

Melons....

More melons...

For awhile there, I didn't think my Patty Squash would make it, but now the blooms are holding on. I'll try and capture my thriving Kentucky Beans on my next post. They are finally blooming and I'm really hoping for a lot of beans before the winter sets in. This is something we eat a LOT of around here. Practically with every meal.

Rescue Squirrel

2010-09-02T10:27:00.010-05:00

This morning our dog stayed outside extra long, which was very uncharacteristic of her. Usually she does her business then bark at the sliding doors.

Curious, we called out for her. She took her time coming to the door and was sporting a guilty look.

Dogs wear their emotions on their sleeve. I knew she was dying to tell me something. So, she followed closely at my heels when I reopened the door. She took off ahead of me, and led me to the fence of my garden. I looked down and found this baby squirrel.

You see, we've turned our dog into a monster. All we have to do is say the word squirrel, and she'll dash for the door in a frenzy. I don't like squirrels either. They like my garden too much!

But as I stared down at this helpless breathing creature, I sat aside all animosity.

So now it's wrapped all snug and cozy in a soft shirt.

Digging out the heat lamp that I had used for our baby chickens, I gingerly cradled the squirrel in an old box and sat it under two lights.

Following the advice of a website, I created an oral hydration solution of warm water, 1 tsp of salt, and 3 tsp's of sugar.

Keeping wildlife is against the law, so I requested help on Craigslist for volunteers, and had to cancel my post in less than 20 minutes! My phone was ringing off the hook. So, in about five more hours, a woman who is trying to get her wildlife license, will be over to adopt.

In the meantime, we won't be calling him a squirrel, because we taught our dog to dislike squirrels.

As for my garden, I will learn to get along with these furry creatures. Somehow.

Staying Organic

2010-08-31T21:23:00.012-05:00

I found this treasure at my local library for $1 in the used book section. A very handy guide on organic gardening. The author has some great articles on why we should grow organic, rather than hybrid, not to mention why bugs and even WEEDS are essential! -- Yes, weeds. (It is nice to know that I'm not the only one who likes weeds!) http://www.malcolmbeck.com/

This video was really motivating about how gardening requires good stewardship in handling outdoor pests. When left alone, nature takes care of itself! If you're even thinking about organic gardening, watch this video! This man's garden is amazing and I really like his perspectives.

For a natural and more effective way of handling unwanted pests, Diatomaceous (pronounced - die-uh-toe-may-she-us) earth, can be used as a barrier around your home to prevent unwanted guests. This is of course, the BEST remedy, rather than using poisons that will harm ourselves, pets, and our environment. Diatomaceous Earth can be purchased at Lowe's, or your local feedstores. Some brands come in food grade, and is used for cattle consumption to ward off unwanted parasites, etc. I wouldn't use this on my plants, as the last thing I'd want to do is kill off the essential bugs - Lady Bugs, Praying Mantis, Beetles, Bees, etc.

Corn! This is the organic gourmet popcorn that I had purchased from an Amish store. Check out the miniature ears.

I have a bunch of reeds (bamboo-like) growing in my backyard, and these have served wonderfully as tall sticks for my pole beans. What I hadn't expected was the reeds to propagate! From all the watering, the reeds are now growing new leaves and enjoying their new home with the beans. I'm thinking that what I'll probably do is allow the potted reeds to continue growing, and use these for shrubbery and screens around my home. Of course in pots! Unfortunately, the reeds that are growing against my fence like to spread into my neighbor's yard! :(

Another reason why I refuse to use poison in my yard. Lizards! These are my garden's best friend. It's been a few years since we've fanatically sprayed our yard with poisons, and mosquito sprays. In some cases, we would hook up the garden hose and spray every week or so! (shudder) It is safe to say that the health of my yard is finally bouncing back. Each year my garden is improving.

My peas are blooming!

Some of my pole beans. Next year, I have plans to grow several more pots of these, doubling the size of my garden.

We are at the end of August and I can sense fall in the air, even though the temps are averaging 100 degrees. Last week, we were teased with a few cool mornings. I'm really looking forward to shutting the pool down, and just focusing on a winter garden, opening my windows, and baking fresh bread!

Toiling for Melons!

2010-08-16T11:04:00.014-05:00

I was forced to pick my melon early. Thankfully the Galian Israeli melons will continue RIPENING after being picked, unlike a watermelon. I also harvested a mini cantaloupe as well.

Obviously a very hungry and annoying creature likes my melon's too :(

The last of the Mohicans. Undecided on whether I should just go ahead and pick it now, or see if it can survive a few more days on the vine.

The cantaloupe.

One of the surviving melons.

Delicious!

Saving seeds! Non-hybrid (genetically tampered.)

After rinsed, the seeds will dry naturally in the greenhouse. Afterwards, they will be stored in a cool dry place.

This is what I'm battling. The garden seems to have reached the end of its first season. Growing (producing) has slowed down, if not completely stopped. My opinion is that it's the weather. The nights barely cool down, and we need rain. Lots and lots of it! Hoping for cooler weather!

Snake Beans!

2010-08-07T20:23:00.016-05:00

I'm enthralled with the Asparagus - yardlong beans! They can grow 3 feet or more. Curious as to why these are growing faster than my other bean plants, I reread the seed packet and realized this bean variety LOVES sweltering hot weather.

Check out the bean on the right. It's too long for me to fit in the picture. I'm totally in love with this plant!

My cantaloupes have been battling the heat, but so far, I've spied two healthy melons.

My best plant so far is the Galia Israeli melons. I have several melons on the vine. You can see how they've changed since my last post. Once they turn yellow, they're ripe.

Bell Peppers are doing well.

This is the Fajita Bell variety. The red bell peppers are hotter than my Serrano, and Jalapeno peppers!

My onions are sprouting. This is the batch I had purchased from Whole Foods to grow my own. I have found it's sometimes cheaper to buy organic non-hybrid vegetables to cultivate my own seeds. This way not only do I get fresh vegetables out of the deal, but also more than enough seeds to save for years to come. The plant beside my onions to your left, I've forgotten what I planted. Don't you just hate that? I tend to do that a lot -- go nuts with the planting and forget where everything went.

My tomato plants are just plain not producing. I'm hoping that once things cool down, they will take off in the fall! This past week, I planted several pea plants, Malabar spinach, Kentucky pole beans, some more Zucchini, and for companion plants (to share pots with other veggies) I planted carrots and radishes.

Now if only it would RAIN!

Melons and Pole Beans

2010-07-19T18:10:00.008-05:00

Oh, my Israeli melons are doing WONDERFULLY! I've spied two large ones in the garden so far. I must confess though, I'm afraid to poke around the melon patch too much. The leaves are so huge and I just know there must be a snake lurking nearby. If I were a snake, I'd want to hide among the melons too. Those leaves make a nice cool shade!

THANK YOU my wonderful mother for sharing all those beans with me. I used bamboo poles (growing wild in my yard) to use for bean poles. As you can see, the beans have sprouted and my frying pan is ready!

Gourmet popcorn that I had purchased from an Amish store in Missouri. Actually, I had purchased the kernels to pop, but decided to plant my own too! Er yes, I'm growing them together in a pot.

My melons taking over the garden.

Cherry tomatoes are doing well...

So this is my problem. It's this HUGE, HUGE tomato plant that is taking over my yard. I haven't googled it yet, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to PRUNE it by 50%! You can barely see my Bell Pepper to the left, nor my greenbeans to the right. It's a real hog and nusiance. Especially since it's blooming but not really producing.

Jumbo sized cucumbers. Nothing to brag about though. I only have two on the vine. The bugs are always hungry!

A sweet neighbor down the street gave me two peanut plants.

I'm especially pleased with my OKRA. I had revived my plants from the dead after they were overtaken by bugs. They were literally reduced to nubs. No leaves, no nothing. I kept watering hoping for a miracle. Persistence pays off!

Cloth Dinner Napkins

2010-07-08T20:28:00.006-05:00

While visiting my mother in Missouri, I admired all her crafty creations. Beautifully crocheted table runners and rugs created from colorful old tee shirts, stacks of fabric coasters, quilted wall hangings, embroidered blouses, and even a crocheted "warmer" for her drinking glass. I especially liked her gorgeous stash of cloth napkins. I had to try this for myself.

I used a paper napkin for a pattern, selecting a wide assortment of cotton prints that would match my country kitchen.

No, I haven't gone "green"... but this is just one of many ways that I can cut back on unnecessary spending, not to mention, it gives our meals an elegant touch. Since I've introduced the cloth dinner napkin, we've been eating more frequently by candlelight!

Thy Garden Groweth Over

2010-06-24T17:09:00.017-05:00

Now that my vacation is over, it is time to focus on my home. My garden needed desperate weeding! With caution, I pulled, and pulled, and pulled. I half expected to grab the tail of a snake.

Many of my melons and cantaloupes were buried under grass.

Does this look like work, or what?

This past week, I added more veggies to pots. I planted several varieties of beans, corn, squash, and more okra.

I figured it would take 2 days to weed my garden. I filled basket, after basket, after basket with weeds and grass...

Surprisingly, it only took 2 hours!

Look how nice it looks, and no snakes!

My Mediterranean melons are thriving!

Some of my bounty...

My beautiful French Brocade Marigold's.

Would you like some Marigold seeds? These are certified Organic. Grow your flowers and save your seeds forever. From my garden to yours. Send me an email and I'll mail them to you for free, or if you live in the area, swing on by!

Turning your Oranges into Lemons!

2010-06-24T16:54:00.006-05:00

There is nothing more refreshing than a sweet cold orange on a hot summer day. But what does one do when that bag of oranges turns out to be too sour? Turn them into lemons!

The next time your bag is sour, slice and freeze for that cool glass of water, or serve with sun tea!

St. Louis Zoo

2010-06-16T17:02:00.008-05:00

The highlight of our day today, St. Louis zoo.

Garden Progress

2010-06-13T21:11:00.010-05:00

I'm currently on a roadtrip and finally getting around to uploading my photo's from a hotel room. I wanted to do a quick update on my garden to show its progress and really hoping it's in good shape when I return within a week. The day before we left, I did some moderate weeding, staked my tomatoes, and inspected my squash, melon's, peppers, cucumbers, and greenbeans. Okra seems to be reviving, tomatoes are blooming, and my Zucchini seems to be taking a turn for the worse. I win some and lose some.

This week I also planted some non hybrid Granny Zinnia's, figs, and Black eyed Susans.
Hoping for more rain while I'm gone.

Serious weeding needed in the melon patch, but I ran out of time.

Garden Progress

2010-05-25T21:49:00.013-05:00

Due to our abundant rain and sunshine, the garden has been doing well.

Here are a few photo's...

Winter Squash. I had planted these into the ground holding my breath. I half expected the slugs to find them before they got this big.

Cherry tomatoes

Tomato plant and green beans.

Mediterranean (Israeli) melons

Eggplant

Cucumber

Friend or foe? I checked my Texas Bug book and couldn't identify.

Zucchini

Baby watermelon

Melon patch.

The melon vines are spreading like wildfire. We pulled weeds today and found a snake. Tomorrow, I'll catch the plants early and spray them with a combination of Dawn dishsoap and Cayenne pepper. So far so good, on keeping the aphids under control. I have a lot of space around my bell peppers and hope to do some companion planting beside them soon.

Bird's Eye View II

2010-05-18T17:33:00.010-05:00

Thought I'd update you on the bird's nest we had found. The day after I posted the first entry, I checked and 1 egg was missing, leaving two. Look at how pretty Ma Cardinal is. She lets me get up close.

Papa Cardinal.

Only one egg hatched. The hatchling here is 1 day old.

Both Ma and Pa Cardinal have been taking their turns feeding the chick.

Garden and Grill

2010-05-08T22:38:00.009-05:00

We've recently replaced our old barbecue grill with this new cast iron smoker. All I can say is that cast iron makes a huge difference! This is one of the best grills we've ever owned. Food cooks faster, and the warming rack adds more space. Our last cook-out, we used it to bake the potatoes and corn on the cob.

I had a lot going on this week, but managed to spend my Saturday working on adding more raised garden beds. The box in the middle is where I planted my Galia Israeli melons. These will vine toward the other melons from the opposite direction. I have several potted gardens in the front yard and figure this should be plenty enough to keep me busy. So far I have growing - Watermelons, cantaloupes, greenbeans, okra, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, bellpeppers, Jalapeno's, Serrano's, Zucchini, and eggplant. Since I've started a raised garden bed, I have plenty of empty pots to start my flowers. I'm hoping to get to those this week. I know, I'm getting a very late start!

And by the way, the weather today was absolutely perfect! In the uppper 70's or early 80's. This is amazingly cool compared to what we endured with last year's heatwave. I'm really hoping for a good growing season!

Bird's Eye View

2010-05-03T21:29:00.005-05:00

I found a bird's nest in my backyard.

But I'm concerned. The tree is less than 4 feet tall. I can't believe mama built her nest so close to the ground. Now I'm worried the stray cats will find this.

Sheba, standing under the nest. Don't worry, after taking my pictures, I found mama back in her nest, keeping her eggs warm. I wonder how soon it will be before they hatch!

Garden Coop

2010-04-30T10:34:00.019-05:00

Life has returned back to normal at our house. Now I'm focusing on gardening.

Our old chicken coop has been turned into the garden. For years, this side of the house was never used. Just a real pain to keep mowed. Mainly, out of sight, out of mind. It became overgrown with weeds too uncontrollable. After the chickens moved in, they took care of everything. Now that the ground has been tamed and fertilized, I'm looking at this plot of land with new eyes. The chicken wire has served perfectly to make an enclosed garden plot.

I have several garden pots growing in the front yard. Tomatoes, Bell peppers, Zuchinni, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Jalapeno, and Serrano. After this morning's incident with the bird I'm transferring everything to the garden coop.

Last week I planted two watermelon's and two cantaloupes. I was shocked that in less than half an hour my plants were dugged up and tossed across the yard. Sometimes I'd like to take a hidden camera and see what exactly is going on. Those nasty little critters! I'm so glad my dog likes to chase squirrels.

So far so good, with everything covered under wire. I had to sit out some bowls of beer for the slugs. They all slid in, and drank themselves to death. Not a very pretty sight! Won't try that anymore either. It works, but guess who has to haul them off?

My neighbor was tearing down a playscape in his backyard. I asked him for the wood. I'm sure my husband was thinking I was junking things up with all that wood we had piled to the side of the house. Well, look what I did... Raised garden beds! The boards couldn't have been more perfect. No nails used either. I sawed wooden "pins" to hammer the boards into place, then filled each box with fresh potting soil. I sawed the playscape ladder in half to use as a trellis for my greenbeans. I plan to make enough raised beds to line the entire length of fence where it can get lots of sunshine. The melons will get to roam the rest of the coop.

The garden bed is enclosed in a plastic green fence that is easily moved to the side. I was worried the squirrels would dig everything up. Do you think they will climb down the side of the wooden fence and still get to them? Should I cover the top of the fence too? I'm hoping this works. Now off to the store I go for some organic pesticide.

DAY 18 - Amsterdam, Houston, and HOME!

2010-04-21T22:34:00.032-05:00

54 days ago, we left for the Middle East. It is hard to believe.

I feel encouraged and motivated, along with persistence, faith and prayers, that anything is possible. Overcoming fear, doubt, and language barriers, we were able to see countries we had only read and dreamed about. It was not a vacation, but a learning experience. Even in the midst of confusion and being uncomfortable, we rank this experience as one of the top highlights of our life. Knowing what I know now, I can only wish I had done this trip sooner. My daughter and I agree we would do this trip all over again. We are already dreaming and planning on another trip to the Middle East!

I have finally placed (not all) most of my photo's on a music video. Included are some short clips of cab rides, the Nile cruise, belly dancing, Khan el Khalili market, and a bus ride past the Dead Sea.

Now on to the last leg of our trip...

~

I think we were dropped off at the wrong airport.

We only saw signs for Egyptair inside the terminal. Nothing looked familiar.
At our second counter, and feeling fortunate he could speak English, we were informed that we needed to catch a bus!

Outside the terminal, we waited for our bus. I was apprehensive. After climbing onboard, we drove a couple of miles while the bus emptied itself of passengers. Pamela, myself, and another man was the only ones left. I walked up to the driver and asked him for the second time if we were really on the right bus.

We were. We were the last stop. To my huge relief, we were issued our etickets inside the terminal.

With a few hours left, we grabbed a snack and waited until we were allowed to go through security. For some reason at the Cairo airport, they didn't do early check-ins. They had us to go through customs, security checks, and pay our exit taxes at the last hour. After passing inspection, we were allowed into another room where we waited for another bus.

Just before we left, a group of smartly dressed Dutch stewardesses appeared in pretty blue dress suits. They took the first bus, then we were allowed on the last two. We were taken to our plane outside, and there we huffed and puffed our backpacks up a steep flight of stairs. Pamela and I were crunched in the middle isle of the plane. We tried to sleep the almost 5 hour flight to Amsterdam.

Three hours later, we were served scrambled eggs, sausage, yogurt, and a fruit cup. I think I had managed about 5 or 10 minutes of sleep all together.

Amsterdam departure

Arriving in Amsterdam! We had a traffic jam leaving the plane. I guess security was extra firm since we were arriving from Africa. We were individually questioned and searched while holding up the line. I also had less than an hour to catch my connecting flight!

We were disappointed we didn't have time to look around. We were literally running to catch our plane. But we had another hold-up. Up ahead were those full body scan machines. I was not too happy about that. A man asked for our passports and started asking us questions. Unbelievably I couldn't get the name of my hotel right when he asked where we had been staying in Cairo.
Palace Garden!
Grande...
I mean Garden- something...
Rose Garden...
What was the name of the hotel Pamela??!
(thus the curse of the hotel again)

The man smiled and waved us on. A lady was waiting to pat us down.

By the time we arrived at our gate, passengers were boarding.

We were pleased to see that our plane was HALF EMPTY. Everyone spread apart, some taking three seats, lifting up the arm rests and making beds. I couldn't believe that some slept the entire 10 hour flight!

Lunch - amazingly good.

Was really surprised to be fed another meal. It was going on 1pm, Houston time. We had finally gained back our missing 8 hours. Still no sleep for me... I watched two movies on the plane.

We were excited as we hit the runway in Houston. Airport security was extreme. I learned it is harder to enter America, than the 5 countries we had visited. It was even announced on the Houston intercom that we could be arrested for jokes. After clearing customs, and security, I couldn't believe we were finally free!

Since we had no baggage checks, we headed straight for the bus to catch a ride to the Rental Car agency. We spent 2 hours going from one rental booth after another trying to find a rental car. Unbelievably they were all sold out. I did not look forward to returning to the airport, buying tickets to Austin, and stepping on yet another plane. We were just plain exhausted.

The last booth we checked was Advantage. They had a car, but my lack of planning (advance reservations) had cost me. $260 later, we were pulling out in something black and sporty.

I drove less than a mile and pulled over. I had to pull myself together. Sleep deprivation was blurrying my vision and I could barely read my map. I was confused by the toll roads. I would stop somewhere and get me the coldest and largest Coke I could find, turn on the radio, any music station, and stay awake. Only 180 more miles...

We were on the highway somewhere outside of Houston and I realized I hadn't seen any trash on the sides of the road. It was a sight for sore eyes - open green fields, rolling hills, and lots of spring flowers in bloom. I fell in love with my country all over again.

It was good to be home! We did it!

Egypt, Israel, Jordan from Helen Ruth on Vimeo.

~Music video of trip - Singers: Natacha Atlas, Michael W Smith, TobyMac

DAY 17 - Khan el Khalili and Midnight Madness!

2010-04-17T21:22:00.050-05:00

We slept in. No particular hurry to get dressed. We had plans to return to Khan el Khalili and do some last minute shopping. After yesterday's exhausting ordeal, we relaxed in our room, feeling excited about our day. No more bus rides and border crossings. Today we would be simply tourists on the town!

After dressing, we checked our emails downstairs at the lobby, before hitting the street. We walked the busy sidewalks until we were standing in a park square across from the Cairo Museum. From there we hailed a cab.

The wall we passed reminded me of Jerusalem.

At the market... Khan el Khalili is a must see! The souq's been around since the late 1300's. Also known as a Turkish Bazaar, during the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunately, two recent terrorist attacks - 2005, and 2009. I'm not a gambler, but I know the odds. The chances of us being there at the wrong time is the same as winning the state lottery. That's why I don't buy lottery tickets!

The few times I regretted bringing only a backpack. No space for exotic fabric!

We did what we said we'd do before we left on our trip. We ate at the Egyptian Pancake house! They were very delicious, but not what we had expected. I had ordered "nuts" in my butter honey pancake and was served coconut.

The filling was in the middle of the crispy cake.

Touting wasn't as bad as last time. I had learned my lesson. The salesman looks at your expression, (especially your children's) to see if there's a spark of interest. The price will depend on how bad you want something.

Bartering became a game for Pamela and I. We agreed before we arrived that she would not show an interest in anything. With obvious boredom she would stand in front of a display of earrings. I would casually ask her if she wanted anything and she would say as unenthusiastically as possible - "I don't know..." This mean't, YES! YES! YES!

A no, mean't NO, and undecision was a bored, "I'm thinking..."

This worked so well, we were able to bring a quote of 75LE down to 10LE! If that didn't work, we'd walk away and they would yell, OKAY!! OKAY!! We got 90% what we asked for!

We walked the Souq for a couple of hours, and stumbled into an angry shouting match between two Arab males. Not knowing their culture, I wasn't sure what they were capable of. Would they pull out a knife? A gun? I didn't understand a word they were screaming, but the expression on a few women's faces was enough for me. We were tired and decided to leave.

We caught a cab back to the Cairo museum, thinking we'd find our way back to the hotel on our own.

We were starved. Unbelievably no decent restaurants in sight except Pizza hut and KFC! I had long ago ruled out the street vendors.

We were nestled on a corner street across from Tahrir Square, watching the traffic from the 2nd floor of Pizza Hut. I spent over an hour just street gazing.

We walked in the general direction of our hotel. Figured we try it on foot. I pulled out my hotel card and showed it to several pedestrians. We were given conflicting information. We were lost.

Building after building, store after store, was beginning to look the same. Over two hours later, our feet were in pain. I hailed a cab. We drove a half block and Pamela excitedly pointed out her window. She recognized a landmark. I paid the cab driver 10 LE for his trouble and we dashed across the street. Passing a small store, we stopped in to buy bottled water and snacks.

At the hotel, we were too tired to take the stairs. With reluctance we entered the elevator. Half way up, our lights flickered on and off. At first, I thought we were stuck. To our relief, the elevator continued moving. The sixth floor had a door, but no knob. We had to slip our finger into the knobless hole and push the internal bar to get it to open. We tried to do this as quickly as possible as we were afraid our elevator would start moving again with our finger stuck inside! (An elevator dropped several feet with us in it while in the Yacoubian building.)

After getting the door open, we stampeded out. I don't think we ever calmly "walked" out of any elevator's while in Egypt.

Pamela, not very happy I'm still taking pictures...

Caught her again!

From our top floor window... See? It's Garden, not Grande!

What I look at when I open my curtain.

We were tired and more than happy to just lay around. I was also thankful that I had heeded my husband's suggestion to download a few movies onto my computer. With no TV or Internet, this was the perfect escape! While Pamela watched a movie on her Zen, I watched the movie, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, about a family dealing with Down Syndrome.

I wanted to head for the Cairo airport around 10-ish, so we still had a few more hours. We both watched the Disney movie, UP, on my computer.

After the movie, I was anxious to go. It was dark outside and time was escaping. We packed, checked the bathroom, under the beds, and double checked our money, and passports.

The dreaded elevator. We were done with excitement. Loaded with our backpacks, we took the stairs.

We turned the key in at the lobby, and I quickly checked my emails and posted an update. Then we were ready to go. I'm sure the hotel must have been a "palace" back in its heyday... The area would make a great setting for THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

The doorman hailed a cab for me.

Stepping to the curb, I told him through the window we wanted to be taken to the Cairo airport. He asked WHICH airport.

What!?

There's only ONE airport, I sputtered to him. The doorman stepped down to help. With limited English, both him and the cab driver asked me again WHICH airport?

Flustered, I dug into my bag and pulled out my airline print-out I had brought back from home. It showed the airport, and departure dates. Both men looked blankly at the paperwork.

There's only ONE airport in Cairo, right? I tried asking. They told me there were TWO.

I explained it was the INTERNATIONAL airport. They met me with blank looks.

I was beginning to feel like the hotel was cursed. Lost getting there, lost trying to leave!

Another cab drove by and I stopped him against the protests of the doorman and the other cab driver. The new cab driver didn't have a clue either. I finally asked HOW MUCH to take me to ANY airport. By this time, I figured maybe I'd just get plain lucky and be taken to the right one. I held my hands apart wide and said I wanted to be taken to the BIG airport. He quoted 80LE. A man and woman were walking down the street and overheard. They told me I was being ripped off. I shrugged. I was too tired to barter and I didn't care anymore. I would have happily paid the cab driver 200LE if he'd just take me to the RIGHT airport so I could GO HOME.

The new cab driver I had hailed appeared to speak worse English than the first, so Pamela and I climbed into the cab of the first driver. I told him I would only pay 70LE. I felt I needed to put my foot down. He agreed and opened the trunk. I insisted on riding with our backpacks on our laps. Since many cabs didn't have seatbelts and they drove like maniacs, I figured our backpacks would serve as airbags! Sounds silly, but while on the road to the airport, we witnessed our second car wreck for the day! The first was leaving the market, and this time I watched a guy rear end the car in front of him.

Traffic was congested and it was already after 11. We seemed to be driving forever. I started to worry. Our flight would be leaving at 4 am, but if we were going to the wrong airport, would we make it on time? At that point, I knew I wasn't going to breathe easy until the wheels of our plane lifted off of Egypt and we were in the air. Not till we were crossing the Mediterranean too.

DAY 16 - Dumped in Cairo!

2010-04-13T22:54:00.099-05:00

The cab dropped us off at the border and I paid him 40 shekels.

Pulling out our passports, I showed them to the female guard and was directed into the building to pay our exit taxes. I counted out the last of my Israeli notes and realized I didn't have enough money. The woman at the window suggested I use my credit card. I sighed in relief and wondered for the umpteenth time what happens if people don't have enough money when they're at the border? Do they detain them and tell them they can't go back home? How do they squeeze blood out of a turnip?

I paid and we walked past the Duty Free shop and looked for groceries. We mainly saw bottles of alcohol, candy, and no one working the counter. I suggested we wait till we enter Egypt to find breakfast.

We stepped outside.

We were now leaving Israel.

We passed through more guards. Directed into a building, we placed our backpacks on the conveyor belt and walked through the metal detector. The male guard unzipped Pamela's pink backpack instead of mine, did a curt check of the first layer of contents, then handed her back her pack.

I showed our return visa's to a man at the window, he inspected, then stamped our passports.

We had officially re-entered Egypt.

Stepping outside, we walked past more guards and headed in the direction of the bus station. Immediately to our right we were met with shouts and waving hands. Several trucks and vans were parked along the road and a group of people were milling about.

A driver approached and explained in broken English that the bus wouldn't be leaving for another 3 hours. He could get us to Cairo in less than 4 hours! Only 150 LE he insisted.

Two caucasian males in their mid twenties approached us and said they too would be riding the same van. The taller one in the red Keffiyeh (Arabic head covering) spoke to the driver in fluent Arabic, then turned to me. He explained that the bus was very unreliable and sometimes late. If we took the van, we could ALL leave immediately for Cairo, giving us a head start.

The driver, and the two males looked at me expectantly.

I was confused and taken aback. This is not what I had planned. I had assumed the bus would leave at 8am. I did not realize it would be after 10 before we headed for Cairo. The last thing I wanted to do was get stuck riding through the Sinai after dark.

It was tempting but I needed to think about this. They seemed impatient. I told them 150 LE was too much! I was stalling for time. I was under pressure and couldn't think. Inwardly I said a quick prayer. Everyone was looking at me. Waiting...

I turned to Pamela and asked HER. She pointed out there would be no other ladies in our van. I nodded and looked over at some other backpackers. A few women were in the group but they appeared to be headed somewhere else.

I could feel everyone's glance and stared at the ground. Finally I had had enough. I told the driver, we'd catch the bus. He shook his head and said we'd be waiting all morning. I told him, GOOD! I'M A VERY PATIENT PERSON!!!

With determination I stooped down, grabbed my backpack and told Pamela, LETS GO!

The driver yelled for us to WAIT! The tall guy spoke to him in Arabic then caught up with me. He explained that the driver would only charge us 100 LE, and we could wait for some others to travel with us. I told him, NO again, and turned to walk away. Ignoring the yells and pleas, I noticed we were attracting a lot of attention. Guards walking past stared from us to the driver.

I could tell the two guys were a little disappointed but they were nice about it. The driver refused to take them alone. He wanted to make more money.

We walked for a bit following the road and turned a corner. Up ahead in the distance, I could make out the shape of the bus station. Passing us to our right, a white van slowed and stopped beside us. Incredulously it was the driver and the two guys!

ONLY 100 LE!! NO BUS!! WE CAN GO NOW!! Insisted the driver.

WE'RE TAKING THE BUS!!!!! I yelled.

I deliberately fixed my nose straight ahead.

Finally he passed us up, turned around and passed us to our left. I turned my head in the other direction, feigning interest at something in the trees.

Finally the van was gone and we reached the station. We stood at the outside window and purchased our tickets for about 60 LE. I sighed in relief.

There were plastic chairs scattered about the porch. A few buildings down from the station, there was a small store with open doors. Boxes of food, and crates were piled in a heap. Limited on choices, we selected our meal.

Our breakfast!

We were sitting at a table on a dirt driveway, tearing into our Twinkies when the two guys walked by. Looked like they were getting a snack at the store too, and waiting for their driver to find more suckers! That van didn't seem much faster than the bus, after all!! I smirked.

We had less than 2 hours to kill so we took our time watching people walk by. Suddenly the white van appeared in front of us. To my utter disgust, the driver yelled out again! NO MORE WAIT! WE CAN LEAVE NOW!!! The two guys were in the backseat, looking at me expectantly.

I yelled in disbelief, I ALREADY HAVE BUS TICKETS!!!!!!!!! Geesh! The nerve!

Two Egyptian men were sitting at another table and looked from me to the driver. The driver was red faced waving his hands out the window and yelling more offers.

LA SHUKRAN!!! LA SHUKRAN!!! LA SHUKRAN!!! I yelled and rolled my eyes.

The two Egyptians looked at the van driver again and busted out laughing. The driver waved his arms again, then stepped on the gas, spraying gravel. The Egyptians laughed again.

We watched a man pull up to a car in the parking lot with his camel. Obediently the camel heeled to the ground and waited.

Pamela checked her watch and said we had about an hour left for our bus. This time we had moved from our table and was sitting on the porch of the bus station.

Honking like crazy the white van drove past. The driver was making a HUGE DISPLAY of having a FULL VAN and wanted to gloat at me for having to "wait"... He honked the horn again waving. Look at us! Look at us!! He seemed to be gloating. The two guys were in the backseat with about 4 other people.

The two Egyptians stared after the driver and busted out laughing again. The van disappeared around the corner and one of the Egyptians turned to look at me. He smiled and gave me a THUMBS UP!

Our bus was on time. Sighing in relief, we sanked into our seats. I tried not to think about the long ride ahead. I warned Pamela to sip her water. We would have only 1 bathroom stop in 7 hours.

We drove for less than a minute. The bus stopped and guards climbed on board walking straight for me. My heart raced and I handed them my passport. They flipped through the pages. Handing me back the passports, they asked for 150 LE!! I was having a hard time hiding my frown. I was tired, and starting to feel very grumpy. Irritated, I dug into my wallet and pulled out the money. The guard took it and ripped off a receipt. Holding the paper, I watched them leave. The bus started driving again. I took a deep breath.

Like last time, we stopped at the dusty old bus stop in the middle of the Sinai and braced ourselves for the bathroom. We splurged on cokes, and chips.

Passing through a series of road blocks, we entered the Suez Canal. This time Pamela was awake. After a moment the bus stopped and some guys got off the bus. We continued on.

A few hours later we hit a traffic jam in Cairo. The bus pulled into a dinky station and stopped. The door opened, the bus driver stood, stretched, and motioned everyone off.

Was this a rest stop? The Central Bus station was clear across town! The bus driver told EVERYONE OFF THE BUS! This was the last stop!

I had no idea where we were at. Pamela and I stepped off the bus. I told the bus driver we wanted to go to the MAIN bus station. This was where we were supposed to go! He shook his head and said this was the LAST STOP!

I was dazed from the long trip and looked around. We were standing in the parking lot and people were looking at us. I knew we stood out.

I walked to the guard standing watch at the gate. He didn't budge to open it for me. The bus driver yelled out something about taking us to the bus station but we'd have to pay extra! A car drove past us and the guard opened the gate. I tried to exit and the gate started closing on us. We dashed through. Standing on the side of the busy intersection I waved at a cab.

Suddenly the bus driver appeared at our side, insisting he'd take us to the bus station. He'd be our "cab" he insisted.

I ignored him and grabbed the attention of the cab off the street. The cab driver pulled to the side of the road, and I stuck my head in the opened window. I told him -- GARDEN PALACE HOTEL!! He barely spoke English but nodded his head. Pamela and I shoved our backpacks into the backseat with us and closed our door. Suddenly our bus driver started yelling at our driver. He was furious that we had picked the cab over him. Both men screamed at one another red faced. We sanked low into the back seats. Arms were flying and cursing in Arabic.

Wow! We were relieved when we pulled into the traffic! Wow!

As we passed the Nile, the area started looking familiar. Our cab driver pulled to the side of the road and waved at a passing pedestrian. He spoke in Arabic, and repeated the name of our hotel. The person shrugged. We drove a moment further. Our cab driver stopped another pedestrian. GRANDE PALACE! He inquired.

"GARDEN Palace," I corrected.

Huh? The cab driver looked at me.

"GARDEN PALACE, our hotel is GARDEN PALACE!" I repeated.

The cab driver drove us in circles around the area. Nobody it seemed, knew where the hotel was, or had even heard.

Oh boy!

Our cab driver stopped about 3 other people for directions before we drove through a narrow street alley.

An alley? Cars were littered in zig zags throughout the street. Laundry hung from the windows. Trash was scattered about. I couldn't believe my eyes. The sign to our hotel appeared. A valet stood at the side of our cab and helped us out. He insisted on carrying our backpacks.

I paid the cab driver and we walked up the steps and entered the lobby. The man at the front desk smiled. I told him we had reservations and gave him my name. He asked for my printed receipt.

I told him I didn't have a printed receipt. I had payed for our room in advance in a coffee shop in Israel. There were no printers in the coffee shop! I didn't have room in my backpack for a printer! I didn't tell him this, but I couldn't believe he was asking for a copy of my receipt!

Can't you print it out for me? I can bring up my email for you!

He explained the hotel didn't have a printer!

I asked if he could just look at my email from my computer and we could just get my confirmation number from THERE? He shook his head. He would be unable to give us our room without the receipt. He needed it.

Frustrated I stared at him. What a long day!

Another man appeared and identified himself as the manager. He smiled and said if I could download my information on a thumb drive, he'd find a printer and print it out. I thanked him, dug out my laptop, and located the email. Now I just needed to locate my thumbdrive! It would be like a needle in a haystack!

Twenty minutes later, I had everyything downloaded and handed the thumbdrive to the manager. Pamela and I sat in the lounge, checking our emails and waited. The manager showed up with the paperwork, smiled, and handed me my thumbdrive. I thanked him profusely.

Finally we had our room key!

The valet said he would show us our room. Grabbing our backpacks we entered a small dirty elevator. We lifted to the sixth floor. There was no door on our elevator, so we watched the walls with peeling paint flash before our eyes. Finally we stopped and the valet took us down a hallway to our room. Unlocking our door, he waved us in. There were two double beds. He layed our backpacks on the dresser. I dug in my pocket for the tip he was expecting and handed him 10 LE.

After he left, we locked the door behind him and threw ourselves to the bed. After awhile we investigated our room. I turned on the TV and everything was fuzzy.

I searched for a plug-in by the nightstand and noticed the lamp was hotwired. We opened the curtains. They were huge windows that slid easily opened. I couldn't find a way to lock them. No safety rails. A child could easily fall out. I looked at the street alley down below and shuddered. I closed the curtains.

The computer was on and I tried to connect to the web. No signal! Darn!

Pamela and I stared at one another.

I'M HUNGRY! She said.

Well, I guess we can go to the restaurant in the hotel...

We grabbed the room key and chose to take the stairs. The front desk said the restaurant was on another floor, so we reluctantly took the elevator back up.

Other than one couple off in a corner, the restaurant was vacant. I asked to see the menu. We couldn't find anything appealing to order and I felt strange eating there.

We decided to check out the area by the hotel. It was dark outside. Linking arms, we quickly walked through the street alley, turned a corner and entered a busy intersection.

We passed by a few lighted shops, looked into some store fronts and tightened the scarves over our head. We passed a few dark alleys and walked the sidewalk. It was busy with people, but nothing like Talaat Harb street. Talaat Harb had coffee shops, and seemed more bright and festive.

I was afraid we'd get lost. Pamela said she really wanted a hamburger. It sounded good to me too. I was missing American food.

I didn't see anything from where we were standing. I hailed a cab.

The driver opened the window and I said loudly over the sounds of the traffic. "MC DONALD'S!"

The cab driver looked at me blankly. "WE WANT TO GO TO MC DONALD'S TO EAT! HAMBURGERS!"

Hearing my own words, I felt like a fool! We're in Egypt for crying out loud!

He nodded and we climbed into the back seat. After awhile, he pulled to the side and waved at a pedestrian. MC DONALD'S?? He asked the guy.

Oh no! He doesn't know where one's at!!! I was probably the only idiot in the history of his career, hailing a cab for Mc Donald's!

Suddenly I had an idea.

"Sir! Yacoubian building! Take us to the Yacoubian building, Talaat Harb!"

A glimmer of recognition crossed his face. Whew!

We finally entered familiar territory and up ahead Mc Donald's! He was surprised when I asked him to pull over. The Yacoubian building wasn't in sight yet. But that was okay. I had used a landmark to get us where we needed to go!

We paid, climbed onto the busy sidewalk and heaved a sigh of relief!

Entering the restaurant, we stood in the long line. We would get Big Macs, fries, and a coke. We sat down to eat and I could barely finish my food. I had a major headache. My appetite was leaving. Fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted to pass out. Suddenly I recognized a song on the radio.

Bye bye, Mrs American Pie, drove my Chevy through the levee but the levee was dry...

I glanced at the people sitting next to us. Three women in burqa's and a child.

...an them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singin this'll be the day that I die...

The place was packed and I stared in amazement around me. We were the only American's in the restaurant, eating American food, and listening to American music, clear across the planet!

SURREAL!!

I just wanted to go back to the hotel, but worried about the nightmare getting back.

We dejectedly left the restaurant and walked down the sidewalk. I stared longingly at the Yacoubian building up ahead. At that moment, I wished that I had my backpack. I would give anything to climb those stairs and stay another night at the Brother's Hostel.

I couldn't believe those reviews said the Garden Palace was a 3 star hotel! There had to be a mistake!

Our Mc Donald's in daylight. I borrowed this from the web, because I had forgotten to take a picture!

I braced myself and hailed another cab.

GARDEN PALACE! I told the cab driver. He didn't speak English, but this time I was armed. I handed him a card the front desk had handed me. It had the hotel's name, and address in both English and Arabic!

After awhile, I realized we were driving in circles. I was very glad they didn't run meters in Cairo. We had an agreed price, right?! Our cab driver pulled to the curb and waved at a pedestrian.

GRANDE PALACE?? He inquired.

GARDEN! It's GARDEN PALACE! I corrected the cab driver. Geesh! What's with the grande?!... it's like everyone's speaking Spanish now.

The cabbie handed the guy my card. He looked at it, rubbed his chin and pointed in the opposite direction. Our cab driver did a complete turn around in the road, facing oncoming traffic. With a series of slammed brakes, honked horns, we circled the block over and over.

SONSOFABITCHES!!! Yelled our cab driver.

Pamela and I looked at each other. Our eyes were wide. We slunked in our seats. Pamela mouthed the words, oooooookaaaay??!

I wondered where he learned to speak impeccable English....

A policeman was stopped and he looked at our card. He pointed straight ahead, said to make a turn and then another left.

Finally we pulled into the street alley and the hotel appeared ahead.

I was never so glad to pay our cab driver! I was practically giddy. He earned every penny (I mean Egyptian Pound) and probably used a tank of gas to get us there! He also had a nasty temper.

In a daze, we took the elevator back to our room. We flopped ourselves back on our beds exhausted. Suddenly our lights flickered and went off!

WHAT?? OH NO!!!

The key! It's the key mom, you have to put it back in the wall!

What? Oh, the wall?

Yeah, by the door. PUT THE KEY BACK IN THE SLOT!

I slid the key in the wall and our lights came back on.

What an interesting way to keep people from wasting their electricity! I wasn't so sure I liked it.

Somebody was making a lot of racket walking down the hall. They stopped at our door, breathing heavy. We froze. Pamela and I looked at each other. We held our breaths. With relief, we realized they were trying to enter the room next door. We exhaled.

I think our nerves were fried....

Enough was enough. I slid a table to block our door.

Good night!

~

DAY 15 - Red Skies and Sad Goodbyes

2010-04-13T19:39:00.032-05:00

How could the skies be so beautiful one day and dusty the next? I could barely make out the Negev mountains. We were torn. We had hoped to swim and snorkel. It was our last day and we felt we needed to do SOMETHING. I tried to check my email at the park, but the wind was persistent and the Internet choppy. I was desperate. We were due in Egypt and I had no idea where we would stay.

I told Pamela we needed to walk down to the sea and find a restaurant or Internet cafe where I could pay and surf the web. We needed to make hotel reservations as soon as possible.

Darlene met us along the way and suggested we eat breakfast together. The waiter reassured me there was free Internet available on the premise, but my computer wasn't connecting. The waiter tried and couldn't connect as well. I gave up and decided to focus on my breakfast of eggs, fresh cheese, chopped veggetables, toast, juice, and latte.

Game machine outside the restaurant. One thing I had noticed while in the Middle East was that it seemed everyone smoked. An Egyptian explained to me that smoking was their culture. While walking through the Khan el Khalili market in Cairo, I remember pausing at a large booth of firecrackers. I was surprised there were fireworks for sale. Even more surprised, everyone leaning on the fireworks was smoking!

Pamela and I were disappointed we wouldn't be snorkeling, but we agreed it was too windy to head for the beach. We headed back to the hostel so that I could do some last minute laundry, and pack. I told Darlene that I wanted to walk her to the bus station when it was time for her to go. She was headed back towards Jerusalem later that afternoon and I wanted to see her off and say goodbye.

It seemed a lot of people were leaving that day. Two guys from Germany asked if I'd take their picture together with their backpacks. I noticed their bedrolls and asked them where they were headed. They were going to walk the Israel National Trail, like our hostel owner John, and Judy Pex had done and had written a book. The trail is 580 miles long and can take up to 70 days. I congratulated the Germans and wished them well. As I type this, it just dawned on me - they must STILL be on the trail. Wow!

Saying goodbye to another amazing staff member (pictured above) who had shared his AMAZING testimony with us the night before!

We walked Darlene to the bus station and I insisted on waiting till her bus arrived. We hugged and wished each other well. She would spend another few weeks in Israel, then head for England to visit, before returning to Dallas.

Pamela and I walked to the piers by the promenade. We found a coffee house with Internet. Finally out of the wind and hooked to the Internet. But no plug-ins. Battery was low. I quickly logged onto Orbitz and scanned the hotels in Egypt and looked at reviews. Arriving on Sunday, we'd be leaving Tuesday at 4am. Technically, we only needed to sleep for 1 night, but I needed to pay for a 2nd night as we wouldn't be heading to the airport until Monday night.

My battery blinked a warning. I quickly entered my credit card information and paid for two nights at the Garden Palace in Cairo -- right near the Nile, TV, Internet in our room, a restaurant. We were excited. Our FIRST "hotel" while on this trip! I couldn't wait to flip channels and have our own bathroom. What indulgence!

After double checking my email to make sure the transaction was approved, we walked through the promenade. It was already dark. We bought some jewelry, popcorn, and took a last look at the Red Sea. We had mixed emotions about saying goodbye. We would miss Israel. But we also missed our home, and family, and every dog we saw in Israel tore at our hearts.

Back at the hostel, we double checked our packs, and visited in the lounge. Our South African friends would be leaving in the morning too, headed for Masada.

Plugging my laptop to charge we prepared for bed. Our only roommates were the ladies from Finland. That night, I thought about the long day we faced ahead. We would be crossing the Sinai for the second time.

As I type this, I'm reminded of the news report today that Israel is warning all citizens to avoid the Sinai and surrounding border towns by the Red Sea. For some reason they fear imminent kidnappings and smugglings of Israeli citizens into Gaza. Not to mention, this week, it was announced that every household in Israel would be receiving a gas mask!

I didn't fear too much while on the trip, but I'm so thankful I didn't have this report on my mind while crossing the border. Our re-entry into Egypt would be stressful enough! And sometimes I'm glad I can't see into the future. If I knew what was ahead of me in the morning, I probably wouldn't have slept!

DAY 14 - Camels, Lamb Chops, and Shabbat!

2010-04-10T09:35:00.028-05:00

While writing my trip report, I've used the order that my pictures were taken to remind me what we had done and in what sequence. As I attempt to write about our 14th day, I'm at a loss on what we did first. Looking at the photo's of the Red Sea, my speculation is that Pamela, Darlene (our Texas friend) and I had walked there first... But I don't remember WHY...

The night before, Pamela and I had gotten a new roommate. A young Israeli woman with a scowl on her face. I didn't get the impression she was very happy having roommates, but I wondered what she had expected considering there were 8 beds in the room! She would smile to my face, but Pamela claimed she was given dirty looks behind my back.

Wearing earplugs, covering her head with a blanket, and sighing loudly throughout the night, our roommate gave us the impression she wished we'd disappear. So, creeping out of our beds early that morning as quietly as possible, I can only speculate we had gone to the park to check our emails and somehow or another found Darlene that morning and had joined her for a walk to the beach. We had unanimously agreed we wanted to go see camels together, so back up the hill we walked to hail a cab...

While looking for a cab, I was pleasantly surprised to see the car, in broad daylight!

This time we got to meet the owner and talk to him as we admired his masterpiece.

What a nice guy he was, and honest too! Darlene didn't realize she had dropped some money until he handed her a 20 Shekel note that she had dropped!

The camel ranch...

We had the choice to ride camels for an hour, eat lunch in the bedouin tent, or just take a 15 min ride...

I was glad we decided on 15 min. The ride was very uncomfortable, and holding on was very difficult.

But it was fun, and I now have a higher respect for desert nomads who depend on camels for their transportation!

Being off in the boonies, we had to walk to the main road to hail a cab... but the walk was very pleasant and we enjoyed the view.

We passed a Texas ghost town! It was built for a Texas Wild West movie, and they somehow thought the Negev mountains looked more western. How we wished that it was still open! We would have gotten a kick out of seeing them imitate us Texans!

Finding a cab on the main road we agreed to be dropped off by the promenade. Famished, we headed for the nearest restaurant.

We had lambchops, chicken, fries, pita, and some relishes and veggies. One thing I've noticed in the Middle East is that people eat a lot of fries! But the fries there are called, chips. In the beginning when we'd ask for "chips" (potato chips), we'd get fries. So now we know that potato chips are called, CRISPS. (While in a grocery store, we noticed a can of Prinkles in Hebrew that said, Potato CRISPS.)

Hanging around the piers, trying to decide if we wanted to take a cruise, but short on time. We had shabbat services that night.

A store nearby was offering the (Garra Rufa) fish pedicure. I had read about this in magazines and was always interested in how the fish ate dead skin. 15 min for 50 shekels. I came very close to getting me and Pamela one, but rereading the sign, we realized we'd need 30 min apiece to get the job done right, and that would set me back about 200 shekels! I'm sure the fish would have enjoyed their all-you-can-eat buffet though. All that walking gave us lots of yummy callouses!

We stopped for fresh fruit yogurt

Taking a small break at the hostel, we were saddened to see someone go. He was the person who had checked me in at the office when we first arrived from Cairo - heading back home to his home Holland.

I also got to say goodbye to Margaret. She's the English woman, who had made my Petra arrangements and had lingered to visit with me and Jeff. I will definitely miss her!

While at the hostel, I noticed we had two new roommates. They were both from Finland and very very nice! Our Israeli roommate visibly shuddered when she walked in the room and saw us all talking. We couldn't help but wonder why she was going through such a tough time.

Pamela and Darlene liked the idea of swimming until shabbat services that night. So back down the hill we went, wearing shorts, and carrying towels. We beachcombed and I walked to the promenade to get us snowcones.

Was taking a picture of the two guys doing a canoe standing up, but got this guy who walked in the picture. Thought it looked pretty neat. He also looks like Rob Lowe doesn't he?

Services were packed with the hostel guests, Sudanese refugees, and many people from
the surrounding neighborhood.

Services were done in Hebrew, English, German, and Arabic. It was quite amazing seeing how the hostel was reaching out to the community!

After services a meal is provided for everyone, compliments of the Shelter Hostel. I couldn't believe there was enough food for everyone!

Sudanese children serving the guests.

After everyone went home, it was us hostel guests who were left behind. We sat in the living area and visited until bedtime. Darlene would be leaving the next day, but had made arrangements to see the Aquarium first. Since we had already done that, Pamela and I were thinking of snorkeling.

We headed for our dorm and had planned to read, but realized all our roommates were in bed early with the lights out. We had no choice but to go to sleep too. I tried to read from my booklight, but couldn't get comfortable. The last time I slept in a dorm situation was when I was in Navy bootcamp. Never a problem sleeping then. Everyone was so tired, we'd pass out as soon as we hit our pillows.

I tossed and turned, kept drinking from the water bottle, coughed, and resigned myself to the fact that my roommates probably hated me by now. The next day would be our last in Israel. I couldn't believe we were getting close to the end of our trip!

DAY 13 - Permission to re-enter Egypt, and Popcorn!

2010-04-08T21:33:00.023-05:00

The elderly homeless man was lying in his usual spot under the tree when we sat down to check our emails. The park bench we chose in the shade kept our backs away from the sun to prevent glare while we surfed the web. Although it was going on 9am for us, it was after midnight back home in Texas.

After updating our status, writing emails, and checking the bank, we headed back to the hostel. John Pex (the owner of the hostel) was holding a bible study with a group in the outdoor living area when we walked through the gate. He yelled out a greeting and asked how I was feeling.

I then realized he hadn't seen me since I had asked for his help to cancel my reservations to Jerusalem earlier that week. I was feeling amazingly better, except for a nagging cough.

I asked for directions to the Egyptian consulate, and a Swiss girl at the hostel said she was headed that way herself and knew the exact location. We walked together up the street and she told me she was engaged to one of the Sudanese refugees who worked at the hostel. She wanted to take a bus to Cairo to buy a wedding dress. Unfortunately, her fiance didn't have a passport, so couldn't join her.

I regretted at that moment for not taking pictures of the wedding dresses my daughter and I had passed up daily while staying at the Brother's Hostel in Cairo. Strangely, in that old Yacoubian building, there was a wedding store we'd pass on the 3rd floor while climbing down the flight of stairs from our hostel. (We were always looking for excuses to not take the elevator!) How I wish I took those pictures. Our Swiss friend, Jasmine felt the same way.

She was going to take the same Delta bus system like we did round trip to buy a dress. I marveled at her determination to travel so far alone just for a gown.

It was a beautiful day, and flowers were in full bloom.

We arrived at the consulate and filled out paperwork and handed over our passports, and a small passport sized photo. (Thankfully, I had brought extra photo's on our trip for this exact reason.)

Our Swiss friend was a bit disgruntled that she had to pay 100LE for her Visa, and we American's were only charged 60LE! She muttered that the Egyptians must think Swiss are very rich. I told her, of course, because we American's keep all our money in SWISS bank accounts!

After we got our visa's, Jasmine headed back to the hostel, while Pamela and I walked further up the path to explore a grocery store.

I couldn't resist buying all the trimmings to make fresh popcorn back at the hostel. I popped every last kernel that night, and shared it with everyone in the hostel. We all sat around in the living area visiting and making plans for the following day. Some friends we had made from South Africa were headed for Timnah Park.

I had always wanted to go there and had done some research on the place before we had taken the trip. This is where King Solomon's mines are. The hard part about going there is that a cab wouldn't be sufficient. We'd need to rent a car to drive the area. Our South African friends had made prior arrangements with a cab driver to be their guide for the day for 500 shekels. This was more than I was willing to pay for a guide when I could get a rental car for less than half. I was just worried about liability issues.

Our Texas friend Darlene said she'd be willing to come along for the ride, and split the cost.

Before we retired that night, I decided to skip the rental car and to do something different.

Maybe we'd go to that alligator farm I had read about, or maybe go ride camels....

Gotta ride a camel at least ONCE while in the Middle East, right?!

DAY 12 - Eilat, Israel - Home away from Home!

2010-04-07T18:01:00.026-05:00

We checked out of the Citadel hostel early that morning. We were going to catch a city bus to the Egg-ed bus station to catch bus 444 back to Eilat.

After watching several wrong busses pass us by at the bus stop, I decided to hail a cab.

For 70 shekels, our cab agreed to take us. After dragging our heavy backpacks around the bus stop, we sanked gratefully into the backseat of the cab.

At the bus station, I asked for the earliest bus possible. Thankfully we got the last 2 seats at the very back of the bus. With 45 minutes before departure, we bought a donut and some juice at the snackbar. Next to us a soldier sat with his girlfriend. I watched as he layed his machine gun on the table while they talked. I wondered if they were allowed to be so relaxed with their weapons like that. I made a mental note to ask the people back at Eilat about civilian gun laws in Israel.

Heading south...

Passing the dead sea again...

Very thankful for our assigned seats. I noticed throughout the middle east that busses were always crammed full. While in Cairo, people would be dangling from outside of the bus!

Splitting a burger at our rest stop.

We were looking forward to heading back to Eilat, although I was saddened to leave Jerusalem. I wish we could have explored further north, but we were missing a day (since I had been sick) and needed to get back on schedule. I felt anxious to be back before the Egyptian consulate closed early. In order to see an Egyptian consulate in Israel, I needed to either travel to Eilat, or Tel Aviv.

We would not be able to return to Egypt if I didn't have our approved visa's. There was a lot of pressure on me to make it back to Cairo in time so that we could catch our flights home!

While on the bus, we met another Texan! Darlene said she was from Dallas, and was headed to the same place we were going to. The Shelter Hostel!

We walked to the hostel together from the bus station and I paid for Pamela and I to sleep in the dorm. We fortunately had the room to ourselves again, so we grabbed the bottom bunks.

Tired from the long drive, we rested at the hostel, did some laundry, and walked to the store. In the morning, we would see the Egyptian consulate.

DAY 11 - Mount of Olives, Gunshots, and Fleeced!

2010-04-06T20:34:00.067-05:00

It was barely 6am. Everyone was still asleep. I quietly dressed, woke Pamela, and told her I'd meet her downstairs.

The best part of old Jerusalem is walking the cobblestones early in the morning when the air is cool, fresh, and less crowds! We walked and walked the old city until shops began to open.

Passing security, we weaved in and out of the city, exploring.

We discovered a restaurant that was just opening and ordered the Jerusalem breakfast. It was a combination of humus, pita, fresh salad, Arabic coffee, and hot cocoa. Very good!

While we ate, a male voice over the loud speakers of the city, sang a hauntingly beautiful song in Hebrew. This was so different than the Arabic singing I was used to hearing in Egypt when there was the call to prayer. I actually found many songs in Arabic quite beautiful too, and never tired of hearing them.

The entrance to our restaurant. After we paid for our meal, I noticed our waiter/owner was being interviewed by a reporter. I overheard her ask him if he thought Jews, Arabs, and Chrisitans could live peaceably among one another. We walked away as I mused over that question.

Outside the city...

I stopped to stare at the walls. I was fascinated. I noticed my interest was causing a distraction and others would pause and look.

An orthodox Jew couldn't help himself and unashamedly leaned over to listen as I pointed out to Pamela that bricks were interestingly layed over the rock formations. The kind man finally spoke up in broken english and volunteered that the bricks had all been cut and used for the wall from a quarry. I turned to look as he pointed directly behind us. I thanked him for his help and took several snapshots to look at later.

Back inside the city...

Passing through tight security, we exited through another gate, headed for Mount Olives.

As we climbed up the hill to Mount Olives, we entered this old church, and realized it was the Virgin Mary's supposed Tomb.

A man coaxed us down some very steep steps into a very musty room and tried to explain that it was the place where Mary's parents were born, or something like that. I never really quite understood what he was saying. We left the church after a brief examination and sighed in relief under the sunshine. We continued to climb up the steep hill.

We had to hug the wall as cars passed.

Entering through a gate, we explored the grassy hillside.

Zooming at the gate we had earlier exited.

Suddenly gunshots were fired and we stopped and stared at one another. Was that what I thought I heard? More shots were fired.

Smoke rising up in the distance. Later we learned that stun grenades were also being fired.

Distracted from all the shooting, we started heading back. We felt sad, and I thought again about that earlier question about peace. Later that morning we did experience tenseness when we passed a group of Arabic boys who were throwing rocks. Another incident that comes to mind was a group of tourists walking past us and two Arabic teenage girls, singing and chanting on purpose to drown out the tourguide. Personally at that moment, I didn't want to take sides. It was a sad day for everyone involved. While descending down the mountain we passed an outdoor cafe and stopped to use the bathroom and to get a snack. It was very surreal eating our ice cream while listening to gun shots.

We were suprised to see this goat!

While hugging the wall to avoid being hit by a car, we couldn't help but notice/feel this nice thorny plant! I was shocked to recognize it as a plant we had back at home. I'd only seen it once before, and it was while I was on a local field trip at an archaelogical site.

Looking over the wall, we noticed the pretty bird and the lemons.

Back in the old city again.

Falafel for lunch!

Stopped in a candy store to sample...

We stopped to rest our feet at an outdoor cafe and couldn't help but notice we were sitting next to a table of Texans! Boy did they stand out. Wasn't too hard to figure out with the Longhorn ballcap, clothes, and accents. We learned they were from East Texas. It was really nice talking to people from back home.

While we were in the Jewish quarter, we stopped at the Temple Institute Museum.

We passed another restaurant. I wasn't very hungry, but Pamela said she wanted to stop. We peered inside and the waiter ushered us to a table. I explained to him that we weren't very hungry and he suggested we get a dish from the buffet. I explained to him that we wanted to SHARE a meal, as I didn't think we'd eat that much. He said no problem and had us seated. While we helped ourselves to a plate of humus, fries, a small salad, and coke. Our waiter brought us a basket of pita and a plate of grilled chicken. I told him please no more food!

As expected, we couldn't eat it all, and I asked for a take-out carton. We filled it with the leftover chicken and I asked for the bill. He said 240 shekels. I was floored and asked him to repeat himself. 240 shekels.

Quickly doing the math, I realized this was close to $70 USD! My heart started racing and I asked him to explain to me HOW our meal could cost that much! He shrugged. I looked helplessly around and spied another employee and asked him to explain the bill. He looked at me silently while the other guy wouldn't budge. I realized then that I had mistakenly sat down without inquiring about price first. I was duped. Never again. I angrily counted out the bills and told him twice that he should be ashamed of himself! He looked stricken as we stomped off.

The rip-off restaurant.

It was starting to get dark and we were exhausted. We agreed to head back to our hostel to check our emails. I went upstairs to get some things from our dorm and noticed our roommate in the burqa was sitting on the edge of her bunk. She was listening to Arabic music and writing letters.

Back downstairs, I bumped into Richard again, the Canadian guy we had first met at the hostel in Eilat. I asked him if he wanted our leftover chicken and told him how it had cost me a small fortune. He blew his top and said I needed to report it to the police. We walked to the front desk and guy working the office agreed. They explained that no restaurant would charge that much in the old city. I showed them pictures from my camera of the restaurant, and they shook their heads.

Richard said he would go with me to the police to file a report. We found a set of guards and they listened to our story, but seemed very distracted. They referred us to a nearby station outside the gate. We made our way to the station and they said it wasn't something they could take care of as they were in the middle of something important. We ended up being sent back and forth to different guards and finally we were informed to try again in the morning. The police seemed distracted and on edge about something.

I thanked Richard for helping us, but wanted to just forget about it. I learned a lesson.

We settled in the lounge of the hostel and checked our emails and I decided we'd catch a bus back to Eilat in the morning. I knew while on this trip, we wouldn't see everything.

My husband asked me over Skype later what I thought about Jerusalem and I told him that Jerusalem was like having a wasp, fire ant, and scorpion together in a glass jar! Earlier in Eilat, our friend Jeff had said Jersualem was INTENSE. I couldn't have agreed more!

DAY 10 - Dead Sea and Jerusalem

2010-04-02T18:13:00.046-05:00

Taking bus 444, we headed out early that morning. The ride costs 65 shekels one way, and takes about 4 hours from Eilat to Jerusalem.

Lots of palm trees...

Our bus at our first rest stop.

Salt mounds.

Dead Sea.

My first glimpse of the Old City!

We stepped off the bus at the bus station and immediately a taxi driver approached us. He was overly friendly. Too friendly. My policy is to not be solicited, but to find an unsuspecting taxi driver and to solicit him. We hailed a cab and asked him to drop us off at Jaffa Gate.

After paying the driver, we grabbed our packs and walked through tight security. We immediately entered the suq (market area) and I had to ask directions to find the Citadel Hostel.

After finding our hostel we dropped our packs to the floor at the counter and I told them that I was the one who had canceled my reservations the day before. I was hoping they had room available! Fortunately they happened to have space and assigned us to the women's dorm on the 3rd floor. There were 4 sets of bunks and only 2 beds available. I grabbed the bottom bunk while Pamela grabbed a top bunk. We dropped our packs on our beds and climbed a narrow flight of stairs to see the roof.

From the top deck of our hostel.

For the cost of $6 US dollars, you can sleep on the roof! After taking a few pictures, we went back downstairs to explore the suq!

I liked the suq's in Jerusalem better than Egypt (more cleaner) but the touting was worse, which surprised me.

Hadn't seen any women tailor's on this trip. They were all male.

Although I was getting used to the security in Eilat, it was nothing compared to Jerusalem. We were surrounded by guns.

My daughter decided she liked wearing head scarves while on this trip.

Never dreamed my first meal in Jerusalem would be pepperoni pizza! I didn't ask if it was beef pepperoni. I had only ASSUMED. Boy oh boy, was it good!

Across from us security was increasing and the guards distracted us while we ate.

After I paid for our meal, we started walking in the direction of the Dome of the Rock. To my surprise, an orthodox Jew in black approached me and very kindly asked me to not go in that direction. I heeded his advice and turned in the opposite direction.

There was a lot of tenseness over Israel's dedication to rebuilding a synagogue, and their rebuilding over contested areas. Israel was also breaking ground on the Cohanim being trained for the future rebuilding of the Temple. A very prophetic milestone!

After exploring for a couple of hours, we headed back to the hostel to check our emails and to post updates for family. While in the lounge area, I bumped into a Canadian that we had met while at the hostel in Eilat! This was one of many encounters I would have in Israel, bumping into people I had met from other towns. His name was Richard, and I enjoyed chatting with him about the bible and the significance of what was happening in Israel today.

It was after 11 when we climbed up the stairs and crept into our bunks. Some of our roommates were already asleep, so we undressed quietly, using a booklight to see into our packs. One of the bottom bunks (at the foot of my bed) had blankets attached to all 4 corners like a tent, enabling the person complete privacy. I wondered why the person was like that, and figured it out the next day. She was Arabic and wore a burqa. I was surprised she was so private around other women too. Even though she never spoke to us, I never felt she was hostile. She just kept to herself. I wondered about the life she lived and wondered if she were happy.

I couldn't believe I was about to fall asleep in the ancient old city of Jerusalem. I slept well that night.

DAY 9 - Dust Storm and Dismay

2010-03-30T22:12:00.037-05:00

I borrowed this photo from a friend at the hostel. Maybe we'll think twice before we build that next sandcastle!

It was no use. I couldn't sleep and I failed to smother my cough. I was doomed to keep everyone awake.

Grabbing my bible, a booklight, and my fleece blanket, I headed for the armchair outdoors.

There were people scattered about in sleeping bags, and I felt sorry for them. It was after midnight and the gate was locked. I had no where to go. The wind was increasing in strength, rattling objects, and flapping over rugs. It was in the wee hours of the morning and I headed back to my room.

Before the sun peered over the mountain, I was back outside again. I knew we'd have to cancel our bus trip and I wondered about my reservations. We had bus tickets, but I was reassured that they were still good. We just needed to go to the bus station to let them know we were rescheduling our trip.

We were obviously having a dust storm and I dreaded the walk to the park. It was important that I contact the hostel in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it was too late to give them a 24 hour notice, so I expected to be charged for the day.

I also realized that I had no reservations to remain at the shelter we were at. We had expected to leave that day. I walked into the office and tried my best to explain the situation. I could barely squeak out the words. John, the owner, came to my rescue and offered to call the hostel in Jerusalem for me with his cellphone. After locating their number, he dialed and explained the situation. Then he handed me the phone.

I strained and squeaked into the phone that I wanted to CANCEL all 3 days we had reserved as I wasn't sure I'd be well for travel. They were very understanding and didn't charge me for the cancellation. I figured I sounded so pathetic over the phone, they didn't have the heart to make me pay!

I asked our hostel if there were any private rooms available that night to rent, as I needed to sleep without disturbing anyone. Thankfully they had a room available!

We moved our things from the dorm into our new room.

What a good sport Pamela was as I napped and rested. Thankfully she had movies that we had downloaded for the trip, and was content to hang around the hostel.

We walked to the store later and I treated Pamela to whatever she wanted. We selected fresh fruit, yogurt, ice cream, chips, and some nail polish.

The Mennonite girls were leaving for Jerusalem and we watched them pack. They were so much fun to talk to and we would miss them.

Sadly, another family was leaving as well. Earlier we had befriended a woman with 6 kids from New Zealand. Two of her daughter's were Pamela's age.

As the day wore on, I was feeling amazingly better. Other than the nagging cough, the chest cold was letting up. This was highly unusual as normally I'd be sick for a week.

In fact, I felt good enough to brave the dust storm, to renew our bus tickets! Tomorrow, we had high hopes for Jerusalem!

Since I wasn't feeling well, it was the only day on our trip that I didn't take pictures! Here's a video clip of a cab ride we took in Cairo. Thought I'd share.

DAY 8 - Beach and Bummed

2010-03-30T19:56:00.031-05:00

Shelter Hostel

Although it was barely after 8 that Saturday morning, it was the latest we had slept on this trip. I was surprised the Mennonite girls were still asleep. I crept out of bed, dressed, and made my way outside to the outdoor living area. Complimentary coffee and tea was kept on a nearby table for guests. I sat outside and dranked my coffee until Pamela was up and ready.

Our hostel is right behind the thicket of trees. It is secure by a wall and gate. After midnight, the door is locked. Although we were reassured over and over again the neighborhood was safe (even for us to surf the web at night in the park) it was still a nice feeling to know we were all sheltered in.

As routine, we made our way to the park to hook up to the web, check our emails, the bank, and to upload photo's. While settling in our parkbench, I was relieved to see the elderly man back in his regular spot, sleeping. The night before we became concerned when we didn't see him, worried maybe he had passed away.

After we were done on the computer, we went back to the shelter to change into shorts. We wanted to spend the day resting and beachcombing.

Music blasted from the outdoor speakers of a nearby restaurant.

Was really surprised to see the hookah so popular on the beach.

After we were back at the hostel we remembered we needed to get breakfast food and snacks for our bus ride in the morning to Jerusalem.

We headed up the street and disappointedly noticed our favorite store was closed. We had forgotten that it was still the shabbat. An elderly man sitting nearby reassured us that the store would be open within an hour.

He asked where we were from. As usual my Texas accent gave us away. Inviting us to share the bench with him and to wait for the store to open, he shared with us stories about Eilat. He was born and raised in Israel, and knew everything about the area.

I asked him about the homeless man at the park. He explained that the man was married, had grown kids, and wasn't really homeless. His own kids would sometimes check on him, try and get him to return back to his home, but he keeps choosing to return to the park! I wondered if maybe he was mentally ill.

I told him we were headed for Jerusalem and our conversation turned to politics. We talked about the U.S. and Israel's relations. Things were not very good, and he asked me to not repeat some of the things he had said about Israel's relations with Iran. He seemed to be in the know about something in the near future. It was about war.

I sat there gloomly and started to feel bad. Bad as in I felt I was coming down with something. My throat was feeling scratchy and I was feeling very very tired.

The store opened and we bid farewell to our new friend.

After selecting breakfast food, bottled water, and snacks for our bus ride, we headed back to the shelter.

Late into the night, I could tell whatever I was coming down with was moving into my chest. This wasn't good. And I wasn't very happy. The last time I had gotten sick was when my family had taken a trip to Las Vegas. That was over three years ago! What was it about going on trips?

DAY 7 - Petra and the Secret Service!

2010-03-29T17:47:00.061-05:00

Operating on less than an hour's sleep, I gulped down two cups of coffee, and had a quick breakfast before catching the van. Before heading for the Jordanian border, we had to stop and pick up some more people from two hotels.

First, we exited Israel, and handed our passports over to our guide who would be doing all the paperwork for us, including taking care of our Visa's that we had paid for in advance.

After clearing customs with Israel, we walked to the Jordanian side.

Passing through the Jordanian gate, we did some currency conversion and waited on our guide to return with our stamped passports.

Finally on the mini bus.

We passed through several towns, but we mostly drove through vacant landscapes. It was always surprising to see shepherds with their flocks. I'd look for miles and not see a house in sight.

The towns were very clean.

After awhile, we pulled into a bus stop and the place was hopping. We purchased snacks and took a bathroom break. Lots of souvenirs everywhere but everything was so expensive. The Jordanian Dinar is a lot stronger than the US Dollar!

Getting closer to Petra! Our bus stopped again so we could admire the view.

After a couple of hours, we finally pulled into the visitor center and parked. For the majority of the tour we'd be sticking close to our guide, but would have a few hours to ourself, before meeting again at the bus for our return home.

Part of our tour package included a complimentary horseback ride that we could take back from the siq when we were finished from our tour. It was explained to us that although the ride was "free"... we'd have to "pay" to get back off the horse! In other words, we needed to set some money aside for a tip.

As we started our downward descent into Petra, realizing that all that walking down hill was going to be UP HILL going back, I started counting and putting aside TIPS for our horse ride!

Heading down hill.

Our Jordanian guide in white, waving the paper. He was a really nice guy and kind of reminded me of Dustin Hoffman (a Jordanian Hoffman!) LOL

Going further down into the canyons...

Blocking the hot sun, the siq was a welcoming relief! I pressed my cheek against the wall and welcomed the coolness.

We walked for quite some time, still going down hill... Excitement building...

Peeking around the corner...

The Treasury in all its glory!

We stood in awe for quite some time, taking in all the sights.

Filmed spot of Indiana Jones, and the Last Crusades.

If you look very carefully, you might see the Bluebird on the upper left side of the Treasury. Pamela spotted it and I zoomed with my camera.

Unbelievably, more archaeological finds directly underneath the Treasury! I couldn't imagine more floors to this massive building. Everything was carved from the mountains.

Lots of camels to ride, but the touting wasn't as bad as Egypt!

We stopped at a snack bar for refreshments and our group broke apart for our individual tours. We were told to meet again at 2:30 at the same spot later. After we regrouped, we'd climb back up the trail and meet at our bus at 3:15 - giving us 45 min to make it back! Pamela checked her watch and we lingered over our snacks before trudging further down the trail.

Pamela and I climbed the exhausting trail to this building and was rewarded with a beautiful view as we caught our breath. Inside, not so beautiful. We found tiny jail cells, and the indentions of where shackles used to be.

So much to see and take in!

Pamela and I reluctantly climbed down the trail and started heading back up to the snackbar to meet our group. We were surprised to see nobody there, even though we checked our watch and it was 2:30. About 10 min later, I asked someone the time. Our watch was wrong by 20 min! Our group must have tired of waiting and left without us!

With dismay we broke into a trot and made our way up the hill. It was going to be a loooong walk!

As we passed the Treasury, we paused to see if we could catch sight of our group. Pamela begged to take a break as we were practically running.

I told her to look at her watch. We had exactly ONE MINUTE to rest!

After our quick break, we walked briskly into the siq. We were surprised by the appearance of two regal looking Jordanian men in what looked like Roman uniforms and helmets, riding upon two beautiful horses. I wanted to pull out my camera to take a picture, but we couldn't linger.

Surprisingly, directly behind the horsemen, a group of people appeared on foot, all clustered together! One guy in dark shades waved his arm at us to tell us to move to the side, as we had very little space in the Siq. I questioningly looked over at the people, wondering why there were so many video camera's. Why were they walking so closely together? I looked at them curiously, then wondered why a black SUV was driving slowly behind them!

I peered into the window and shrugged.

After the SUV passed I asked someone if they knew who it was. I figured it must have been some Jordanian diplomat.

I was informed that we had just walked by Vice President, Joe Biden, and his wife!

After leaving the siq, we noticed the long row of vehicles that weren't there when we had first entered the park. I was surprised to see Washington D.C. on most of the plates!

Disappointedly, there were no horseback rides! Due to the Vice Prez's visit, it seemed everything went to a stand still.

Pamela and I allowed ourselves one more min to rest, then we booked it up the trail. It was already 3.

I patted ourselves on the back when we reached the top of the hill to the parking lot and found our guide. He smiled and said we were JUST IN TIME. It was at 3:15! I rewarded ourselves with a nice cold soda and ice cream!

After we were all accounted for, our bus pulled out and we headed for the restaurant. Part of our packaged tour included a buffet, Jordanian style.

Wow, the food was delicious!

It was after dark when we finally arrived back to the border. We were held up for a while, while some Japanese guys from our tour group cleared customs. They were being interrogated for some reason. We couldn't leave until everyone was together, as we had a van on the other side waiting to take us back to our hotels.

Finally we were dropped off at our hostel, just as the shabbat (sabbath) services were breaking up. There were crowds of people standing in line for the after service meal that our shelter provides. Jeff, the guy we had met the night before, spotted us and asked how Petra was. We gushed about our day and he beamed. He couldn't wait for his trip the next day!

After virtually no sleep the night before, I was ready for bed. We said hello to our Mennonite roommates, climbed under our sheets, told them about our day, and THIS time remembered to turn on the swamp cooler! Boy did I sleep better that night!

DAY 6 - Red Sea and the Homeless Man

2010-03-28T16:21:00.041-05:00

The next morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of vanilla yogurt, cherry nectar juice, and apple cake. The night before while walking up the hill, we'd stopped in a small convenience store and purchased some groceries. After we ate, we headed to the park to check our emails.

It was after midnight back at home but we spied a few family members still logged onto Facebook! Such a small world we live in! =)

While sitting at the park bench, we noticed an elderly man lying on a blanket by a tree. He was wearing a dusty black suit, tennis shoes, and his suit jacket was drapped over a branch. A small paper bag rested by his side.

Returning to our room, we packed and turned in our room key. We were now moving into the dorm for the first round of our stay in Eilat. Two girls were packing to move out, so Pamela and I now had the room to ourselves. Our room had 4 sets of bunkbeds and its own bathroom and shower. Pamela and I grabbed two of the bottom bunks, while I sorted through the remainder of our clothes that needed washing.

A friend we met from South Africa took this picture and said I could use this for my blog. To the left you can make out a sink with mirror. This is where I hand washed our clothes for the remainder of our trip! In order to keep up with everything, I handwashed every single day, using a bar of soap to soak everything, scrub, wring, and rinse then hang to drip dry. I actually enjoyed doing this and our clothes always turned out looking clean and smelling wonderful!

Needless to say, as I type this, I'm machine washing right now at home, but my clothes ARE hanging to dry in my yard! I feel foolish using my dryer when it's so warm and sunny outside!

With clothes drip drying, we anxiously headed down the hill towards the Red Sea for a day of exploring! Crossing through the park we noticed the elderly man was now sitting up and eating something from his sack. I made a point of walking past him and saying, good morning, shalom! His eyes were very kind and he repeated the greeting.

As we made our way down the hill we stopped at the bank's ATM again to withdraw some funds. While standing in line we noticed another homeless man sitting at the side of the bank. He was filthy and looked like he'd wet his pants. Each time someone would withdraw some funds he'd hold out his hand from a seated position. Pamela and I couldn't help but keep glancing at him as he was very distracting. Each time a person lingered their gaze on him, he'd get mad, spew out something in Hebrew, and spit!

After I retrieved our funds, we made our way down to the water and stared across the sea.

We beachcombed a bit, and ordered a fruit drink from the promenade. Our drink consisted of freshly blended pineapple, banana, kiwi, and honeydew melon. Delicious!

We hailed a cab for the aquarium.

We paid our admission at the gate and looked around the park then headed for the snackbar before our shark show was to start.

I didn't read my show tickets when I had purchased, so I was surprised that our seats in the theatre came with seatbelts. To simulate the experience of a boat on water while the diving team dealt with sharks, our seats tossed and bounced to give the same affects. Needless to say, I was wishing I'd waited for lunch till AFTER the show!

The observatory. We climbed downstairs to the underwater observatory and marveled at the coral. At the top, we gazed across the sea and was able to see 4 countries at once - Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia!

It is no wonder this area boasts some of the best diving in the world. The water was so clear!

After spending a few hours around the aqurium, we headed back to the hostel for a short rest and found we had new roommates. They were all in their early twenties and were mennonites! They were so nice and we chatted for a bit while they settled in. I was very fascinated that their college was behind their travels. Instead of paying into college tuition, their school required them to travel the world for several months. My head spinned at all the places they had seen and done and they STILL had 2 more months of travel before heading home!

After our break, I went to the office of our hostel and inquired about a trip to Petra, Jordan. This had been something heavy on my mind. I knew that Pamela and I could do this alone, and save us a ton of money, but I simply wanted to do something on this trip that didn't require, THINKING. I wanted to travel with a group and just rest and let someone else do the planning for once. This would cost me about $200 USD more, and to me, it was worth it!

Our hostel hooked me up on the phone with a lady named, Margaret, and over the phone I gave her our passport information with plans to meet up later that night. Finally, my dreams were coming true. Petra, Jordan in the morning!

After arrangements were made, Pamela and I walked back to the park to check on emails. We noticed the elderly man was gone, but his blanket and things were still under the tree.

We walked back down to the promenade for another fruit drink and to look around. It was getting dark. With expectations to meet up with Margaret back at the hostel, we rushed up the hill and couldn't help but stop for as moment to admire this car!

Back at the Hostel, Margaret met me with smiles and a hug. She has a wonderful British accent and we ended up visiting for more than an hour. Included in our visit was another guy named Jeff who would be making the same trip, but on a different day. Jeff reminded me of my own son. He shared his testimony with me and Margaret. We listened as he recounted how he used to be an atheist and how he came to believe the Bible. His story was so incredible and motivating that I regret that I hadn't passed information with him to stay in touch! What amazing people we have been meeting!

That night, I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned while my head started to feel like an airport! Mosquitoes were buzzing loudly down the runway all night long! I tried to cover my head with the blanket but it was so hot. We were being eaten alive! Little did we know that we had a button to push and a swamp cooler would have kicked on, blowing away the mosquitoes! We learned this the next day! What misery we could have been saved!

It was getting very late and I was worried I'd oversleep. A van was due to pick us up outside the gate of the hostel at 07:00 and it was already 04:00!!

I was stressing and wide awake! I finally got up, showered, and slept in an upright postion on a couch in the outdoor living area. I was not going to oversleep and miss my ride to Petra, Jordan. No sireee!

DAY 5 - Bus from hell and the Promised Land

2010-03-27T11:50:00.064-05:00

I was dressed and ready to go. We would need to hail a cab and be at the bus station no later than 06:00. Not wanting to waste around, we left the hostel at 5:30 in the morning.

I was anxious to start the next phase of our travel. Israel! The night before, I'd met two American girls in the lobby of our hostel who were backpacking Egypt. We talked about my bus trip into Israel and one of the girls looked around cautiously and said, Remember - we didn't have this conversation! She was joking, but it was one of several incidences when I had mentioned Israel to another person (while in Egypt) and the person acted cautious.

In fact, I had mentioned my border crossings to one of our desk clerks and he intensely informed me that I WOULD NOT be able to enter Jordan with Israel on my passport! His remark stunned and dismayed me, until I reminded myself that I had spent MONTHS researching this exact information and that I COULD enter and re-enter all three countries. I shook away his remarks and noted mentally the tension between certain Egyptians and Israelites.

As we headed for the bus station, I remembered a comment several months back from a backpacker who had described his bus ride into Israel as the bus from hell.

His bus from hell consisted of the bus being too cold (from air conditioning) and loud Arabic music.

What a relief for me!

When he said, bus from hell, I was envisioning NO AIR CONDITIONING and as for the music, well, that's part of the experience of traveling the Middle East!

His comment made me realize that we all have different expectations on our travels. What was his hell, was really my heaven. So with that thought in mind, I hope people realize that my trip report is merely an account of MY own enterpretations and MY own expectations of this trip.

There was a bit of confusion when we arrived at the bus station. I found zero guards that could speak English and kept getting conflicting information. My bus would depart from gate 6 -- no gate 5 --- gate 6--- wait, gate 4--- gate 6! Our bus was to leave at 06:30, no 07:00!

A bus pulled into Gate 6 and we grabbed our packs and stood in line. A guard waved us away and shook his head. A handful of men stepped on the bus and it pulled away.

To my relief three English speaking women, of Filipino and Indian descent, appeared who were also catching the same bus to Taba. Now I had traveling companions to get lost with! But fortunately, our bus appeared and our driver confirmed that yes indeed, we were on the right bus - at gate 5, AND we were to depart at 07:00! (The day before, our guide said we were to depart at 06:30!)

Pamela and I settled into our seats for the 7+ hour drive. Leaving the city of Cairo took over an hour as we had morning traffic, and finally we reached the sprawling desert.

The landscape turned yellow and Arabic music played moderately over the speakers as the axles of the bus grinded and squeaked as we sped across the asphalt.

Occasionally the bus would come to a slow crawl or to a complete stop as we seemed to be inspected by the military every 20 to 30 miles. Sometimes they waved us past, or climbed aboard the bus to check our passports. I looked out the window and saw guards strategically standing throughout the desert. I realized we were fast approaching the Suez Canal. Another guard came aboard and asked me my nationality, and passport. He searched my papers carefully. He looked over at Pam and I told him she was my daughter. He nodded in satisfaction and walked to the back of the bus. Two Arabic men were led off the bus and detained. Our bus left without them. I decided against pulling out my camera.

Soon we entered a lighted two-laned tunnel. We were driving under the Suez Canal! I turned to tell Pamela but she was fast asleep.

Finally our bus pulled to a stop in front of what appeared to be a row of shacks. Our bus driver shut down the engine, opened the door and lit a cigarette. This was our one and only rest stop before hitting the border.

Not wanting to waste our only opportunity to use the bathroom, we stretched and climbed outside into the dust and heat. There were tables spread outdoors, and inside the building. The women gravited inside to the far backside of the wall, and we cautiously entered the bathroom and approached each stall. Door number 1? Door number 2? Or door number 3? We couldn't decide. Each stall was as bad as the other.

Pamela and I shrugged, chose door number 1, taking turns holding the door closed for each other. I reminded myself it was no different than using an outhouse. Don't look at what's inside the toilet, squat, and just do your business. We had no choice. I generously handed out toilet paper to the other ladies, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer as we stood by the sink that didn't work.

Stretching our limbs we walked back outside to a rundown snack booth and peered inside. Everything looked dusty! I wondered if sales were poor and if the food were expired, but then I remembered we were in the desert. Of course! Everything needed to be dusted on a daily basis! The area was fast reminding me of when we had lived in West Texas! The same flat landscape, the dust, and I would soon learn later, the same type of dust storms!

Pamela and I purchased Cokes, some potato chips that we couldn't figure out what flavor, and some chocolate snack cakes. I could tell when we paid that our prices were jacked up. Naturally with no competition out in the middle of the Sinai desert, a person could ask for anything!

Taba, Egypt

With anticipation, we braced ourselves for the remainder of the drive, crossing another series of road inspections and guards.

Finally things started getting exciting. Up in the distance the Negev mountains were appearing and the landscape changed. I could tell we were getting closer to Israel! My ears started popping as we entered into the clefts of the mountains and the peaks towered higher and higher above us blocking the sun.

Finally we entered Taba, and our bus came to a welcoming stop!

We dragged our packs down the steps of the bus, stepped onto the dirt driveway, and slung our backpacks over our shoulders and walked towards the Taba station. The two Indian lady friends wished us well, and headed straight for the border. They muttered something about needing to catch another bus.

We decided to wait for Diane, the Filipino lady we had befriended, while she used the bathroom. After realizing we had to go too, and taking our turns, everyone was very anxious to head for the border! We slung our packs over our shoulders and walked together to the Egyptian station for more visa checks, passport inspections and x-ray machines.

Finally, we were outside again and walking to Israel!

As expected, we had to show our passports every few steps as we neared the border. Finally we entered the airconditioned building of our final stop, and handed our passports through a glass window to a female Israeli solider. She flipped through the pages of my passport, glanced at me to verify my photo, then stamped something. Then she leafed through Pamela's passport, glanced at her, and smiled real wide. She happily stamped her passport too and waved us on.

This was becoming too easy. I had read earlier about people being interrogated and detained for hours at the Israeli border. We declared our belongings to customs, went through another series of x-ray machines, conveyer belts, passport checks, and each time we were waved on.

Welcome to Israel!

Our new friend, Diane wanted us to have lunch at the deli inside the building before we went any further. I agreed. With all that walking, and struggling with our packs, we needed to freshen up with a hot meal and something to drink! Pamela and I agreed to split the fish and rice dish, and ordered a coke. The meal was incredibly delicious!

After we had eaten, I couldn't locate an ATM machine to change money into the Israeli Shekel. (NIS) I had paid the cashier for our food in American USD, but it had cost me a small fortune! Using the NIS would have saved me some money.

Unable to locate a machine and pay for my cab, Diane very generously offered to share a cab and foot the bill. I had after all, saved her some money. She had purchased two bottles of Jack Daniels at the Egyptian Duty Free shop, but Israel only allowed one bottle to enter the country. Since we were traveling together, the Israeli customs had allowed (between us both) to enter her two bottles! Even better, Diane knew where the shelter was located that we were headed for. Her office was nearby! I thanked Diane profusely while we climbed into the cab. I listened in amazement as she spoke to our cab driver in fluent Hebrew.

While we were in the cab, Diane answered her phone and started yelling in both Hebrew and English. She stopped to explain to me that her husband was mad at her. I looked away embarrassed for her as she continued yelling. After she got off the phone, she explained that her husband was upset because she was arriving home a day late. She had missed her bus the day before (after our bus station experience, I totally understood!) She went on to explain that since her husband is an Israelite citizen, he was unable to enter Egypt with her! This explained why she was taking a cab, rather then him picking her up! She explained to me again that this was his way of showing how mad he was. She had to walk home!

I stared out the cab window, soaking in the sights. Like a glass of fresh cool water, the landscape greeted us. Palm trees, mountains, and the sparkling blue waters of the Red Sea appeared to our right. The cab came to a stop on a street corner and Diane pointed to a thicket of trees and palms. We were at the Shelter! Thanking her again, we bid farewell, and Pamela and I grabbed our packs. We followed the sidewalk to the gated entrance of the shelter, stepped inside, past the outdoor beduin-styled living area, and wound our way around the corner to the office.

With a sigh of relief, we dropped our packs to the floor and talked with the young volunteer who confirmed our reservations. We had requested a private room for the first day so we could rest, but would be moving to the dorms in the morning. I inquired about laundry facilities and was informed they didn't have any for the guests. John, the owner of the hostel, overheard my question and said that "laundromats" were not common in the Middle East! This was only something we had in the States! He then very generously offered me the use of the hostel's washer and that I could line dry my clothes. He explained to the guy at the front desk that we had traveled a very long ways from Cairo!

I appreciated his generosity and as soon as we had settled into our room of 2 bunkbeds (to ourselves), I stuffed as many clothes as I could into his small machine. The day before, while at the hostel in Cairo, I was offered the use of their tiny machine in the bathroom. I was informed to hand our wet clothes over to the Arabic woman (who had been serving us our breakfast each morning) and she would hang our clothes to dry outside our 4th floor window! I balked at the idea, as it was already late and we were leaving for Israel in the morning.

Although tired, I was anxious to explore the town of Eilat, but I needed to wait on the washer so we could hang our clothes. A clothesline was hung on the other side of the building for staff to wash sheets, and for guests to hang their own after hand washing. I looked at the outdoor sink and appreciated again that the owner had allowed me the use of his washer!

After our clothes were hung, Pamela and I walked outside the hostel and crossed into the park with a playscape and wooden benches. This is where we would find ourselves for the next several days hooking up to the free Internet. The signal was picked up as Kidoom, allowing us to surf the web on my laptop from a parkbench. I immediately emailed Alan, and told him we were in Israel! After we were done checking our mail, we walked down the sloping sidewalk, catching sight of the Red Sea down below.

We passed a bank and used their outdoor ATM to withdraw some funds. Earlier Diane had explained to me how to identify the NIS (New Israeli Shekel) from the Egyptian LE. Both currencies had the same concept. A shekel was the same as a pound, and the coins broke down into 1/2 shekel, 10 cents equivalent of a shekel, and some coins were marked as 2 shekels, 5 shekels, and 10 shekels. The bills were self explanatory. In Egypt, instead of coins, some of the breakdowns of the pound were in paper piastries (sp)

We walked to the Red Sea, passing a series of shops, markets, movie theatres, and shopping malls.

We played around the promenade until the sun dropped, people watching. What a total contrast to Egypt! It was like being back in the states. Light and colorful clothes, sandals, suntops, suntans, shorts, long windblown hair. Music flowed, and the smells of popcorn, cotton candy, yogurt, ice cream, and roasted corn on the cob, filled the night.

We walked into the shopping mall by the sea, and handed over our purses for a bag check, and to walk through the metal detector. Soldiers in plain clothes walked the mall, carrying machine guns. We would soon learn to expect this everywhere we went.

After ordering our falafel at the food court, Pamela and I wished we had split ours. It was more food than we could handle. Our appetites still hadn't returned. But they were good!

We were tired.

As Scarlett O'Hara had said, TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY!

We climbed the steep hill, back to our hostel.

DAY 4 - Pyramids and a Bus Ticket!

2010-03-26T20:23:00.041-05:00

It was Tuesday morning, March 9th. I felt rested and had a good night's sleep. Before retiring to bed the night before, I'd made prior arrangements with my hostel to hire a guide to take us to the pyramids. I didn't feel like wrestling with a cab driver. My guide would speak English, and cost 200 LE. Our agreement was for him to take us to the Giza pyramids, wait for us, then take us to the other pyramid Saqqara.

Pamela and I stepped out of our room before 7am to another complimentary breakfast of bread, cheese, fruit, jam, and this time orange juice to substitute tea. I noticed a guy sitting by the front desk and nodded to him. I was pretty sure he was our guide.

After we ate, our guide stood and introduced himself and we followed him out to the street and climbed into his car. Can't remember his name, but I learned he was married, had children in college, and his English wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I strained to understand him.

As typical of Egyptians he stepped on the gas pedal and I braced for a car crash. I once glanced over his shoulder and realized he was going over 100 miles an hour. I finally asked him WHAT the speed limit in Egypt was and he said, 90 miles an hour. In the city, 50.

That explained it.

To my shock, a motorcycle passed with a man, woman, and an infant on her lap.

I told our driver that more than half of Egypt would be in jail for traffic violations if this was in MY country. He laughed and got a kick out of my comments about his driving. I decided to lay off on the remarks before he started to show off his "driving abilities"...

First glimpse of the Nile...

I explained to my guide that I had a proposition. Instead of taking us to see the 2nd series of pyramids (Saqqara) I would be willing to pay him the full amount agreed, if we could substitute the rest of the day by him helping me run errands. I wanted to use his partial English and knowledge of the city to take us to the bus station so I could get our tickets to Taba, Egypt. We needed to be in Taba, the next day, to cross the border into Israel. He happily agreed.

A first glimpse of the pyramids! Our guide parked the car and said he'd wait for us and to take our time. Pamela and I walked behind the shops, and found our way to the gate and purchased our tickets. After we entered the gated area, the touting started! Boy was it bad! People coming up trying to sell us camel rides. One guy was really slick. He demanded I show him my ticket and said I needed to show it before I could go any further. Like a dummy, I handed him mine and then he led me to the Sphinx, even though I was protesting that I wanted to go to the pyramids.

It wasn't until I started to follow him in frustration that I caught on to what was going on. I yanked my ticket back from him and ignored his protests as I stomped off. After several more attempts of tricks and demands, I realized the only way to deal with them was to be very rude. Sad but true.

One guy approached and said, WELCOME! And shoved a gift into my hand. It looked like a head scarf. I shoved it back to him and he insisted it was for FREE. I kept handing it back and he refused to take it back. I finally layed it on the ground and walked off. Boy was I glad I did. I read later that this was another trick.

One mistake was paying a guy 1 LE just to take our picture with his camel. Even though we agreed on 1 LE, he got mad when I handed him the money. His friend said, MISS! MISS! No coins! Give me 20LE and I give you change back! MISS!! MISS!!! MISSSS!!!!!

I walked off. MISS!!! MISS!!! MIIIIISSSSSSSS!!!!!

How rude and annoying! We stomped off until their yells became distant and some poor other sucker got trapped in their line of vision.

Whew!

Woops! We made eye contact. Better walk off quickly!

I snuck a pat, and the camel felt brittle. Not exactly a petting kind of animal....

Lots of tourist police everywhere.

Really nice standing up close and touching the pyramids. It costs extra to enter the pyramids but we were okay just seeing the outside.

Cairo off in the distance...

The camel photo that cost me 1 LE and a headache.

I couldn't stop staring at the pyramids...

Pamela got a lot of attention from girls her age. They were tickled to have their pictures taken with us and made a huge deal about taking mine as well. I hope I didn't break their camera! :D

What you see behind the pyramids...

Our drive to the bus station...

We arrived at the bus station and boy was I glad we brought our guide. Everything was in Arabic! After purchasing 2 tickets to Taba, Egypt, we happily headed back to the hostel. While driving, I asked our guide if he could suggest a good restaurant, as my daughter and I hadn't had any Egyptian cuisine yet. For the past few days we've barely been eating 2 meals a day, with very little appetite. Other than breakfast, we've mainly been snacking, other than the Mc Donald's meal we'd had the day before.

He suggested the Nile Cruise and said our hostel could arrange. I happily agreed!

The entrance to our hostel...

Shop next door...

Store next to hostel where we've been getting our snacks and bottled water.

Our hostel arranged for us to be picked up at 7pm for our cruise and we would be joining about 200 other tourists on the same boat.

Our driver appeared and I was pleased to see it was the same guy who had picked us up from the airport. This time I remembered his name. It was Wael. Or Waed... or Wa-something.

Either way :) He would be on the cruise with us, and to drive us back to our hostel. This time while he drove, we talked. His sister lived in California and he had never been to the states. He was in his mid twenties. A really nice guy with a lead foot and I braced for car crash! :D

Our boat. Lovely photo huh? I'm quite the photographer! (not!)

At our table, looking at the other tourists. We had a large group of people from India, and a large group from China. Thankfully a man who spoke English sat at our table (American), although his Arabic wife didn't speak English.

Our entertainment consisted of a swirling Dervish, belly dancer, and a band.

The Dervish poked fun at Pamela by imitating her folding arms and her irritation that she was getting unwanted attention! I was really glad he moved away as I was afraid she would do something to embarrass us both! Oh how she hates attention!

The dancer. My camera at this time was acting up, and I became concerned. I had dropped it earlier at the pyramds and had been wrestling with it since.

Our meal consisted of a buffet. While standing in line, I noticed the people from India were pushing and shoving to the point that I told Pamela to fill her her plate full ONCE, and to get dessert while we could and sit down. The food was okay, and the dessert interesting. I'm not too keen on Curry, never have been.

Although I appreciate India's custom to respect their elders, they made a point of taking every elderly person in their group to the front, shoving every one else to the side (even the elders of the other groups)... While this was going on, I kept thinking about those stampedes I had read about in India where people get killed in the temples.

Needless to say, after the cruise was over, a poor elderly Chinese woman was nearly trampled while leaving the boat. We sighed in relief when she finally was able to stand and limp off the ramp.

Before we went on the cruise, Pamela and I had 2 hours to kill, so we went shopping on Talaat Harb street. She selected the pink slacks, shirt, and I got a denim giba. Giba is arabic for skirt.

Glass bathroom in the ship.

My favorite part of the Nile Cruise was sitting on the top deck outside away from the noise and music. It was very restful sitting under the soft breeze of the Nile, watching the city slide by.

The Nile cruise was the perfect ending to our last day in Egypt. The next day we'd be crossing the border into Israel!

Author's note: Due to extreme jetlag, blurry vision, and plain laziness, I'm not going to stress over editing and correcting my grammar. Maybe one of these days!

DAY 3 - Museum and Mummies!

2010-03-25T12:05:00.034-05:00

I tossed and turned into the wee hours of the morning, grabbing a few hours of sleep at the most. I kept checking my laptop that I had left running to see the time. Earlier I had made a conscious decision to not do any trip reports while on the road. Most of my updates would be among friends and family on Facebook. Over the past few months, I had received emails and visits to my blog by Egyptian and Israeli people. These people were strangers to me.

It was after 8am and I was impatient to start our day! I started to explore our room. I opened the shutters to our bedroom window and felt chills. On our 2nd floor loft facing a dark alley, there was food and wrapper debris. Someone had once climbed the sloping walls and torn staircase right below our window eating and possibly sleeping? Examining the latch on our shutters, I realized how easily someone could have slipped into our room. It gave me the creeps, and I made a decision right then that we would NOT stay another night in that room!

Rummaging Pamela up from her bed, I reminded her that we were in CAIRO, EGYPT! No time for sleep, we came here to EXPLORE! We dressed, brushed our teeth with bottled water, and packed our bags. I told Pamela we were MOVING to another room. We climbed the two flights of stairs to the office of our hostel and greeted the morning desk attendant. I explained that we wanted another room and he was very accomodating. He apologised as he showed us our new room that was right down the hall from the front desk. We would be sharing a double bed, and even though the room had a shower, we would have to share a toilet with other backpacking guests in the 4th floor hostel. Knowing that the front desk was operated 24 hours, and that others were staying on the same floor, I told him that our room was PERFECT!!

We excitedly dumped our packs on the bed, and I plugged in my laptop to update facebook and email home. We then walked outside our room into a hallway of deli sized tables and chairs laden with lacey Arabic tablecloths. We were being served a complimentary breakfast of hot tea, a mini loaf of bread, butter, jam, an orange, and a variety of cheeses.

After we ate, we talked with our desk clerk about a ride to the pyramids. He explained that we should go EARLY in the morning as already the day was going to be too hot! It was already going on 10 am.

We agreed to go the next day and decided that today, we'd walk to the museum! Asking for a map and directions we headed down the flight of stairs onto the street of Talaat Harb.

Walking outside of our hostel of the famous Yacoubian building. Pamela and I did our best to not draw attention. Wearing long skirts, sleeves, scarves, and sunglasses, we walked briskly down the sidewalk, taking in the sights and sounds. I had been warned of the culture shock, but didn't experience it that bad. Perhaps it was so much advance research, videos, and talking to fellow backpackers. What I wasn't prepared for though was the pollution, and poverty to the extent that I looked into some shops and alleys and shuddered. Hanging onto each other's arm, we walked into the direction of the museum. Crossing the street became a game. Find others waiting to cross, stand on the side (away from the cars) and WALK FAST when they walk. If anyone gets hit by a car, it will be them first, as we were on the other side! Sounds cold, but it helped us build our bravery to do this on our own later. We were taking baby steps! Little did I know that a week later, I'd be sitting in a hostel in Israel, talking with a Mennonite girl who said she felt EMPOWERED after visiting Cairo, Egypt! We both laughed about how we felt we could do ANYTHING after learning how to cross the street!

The museum! How I had dreamed of going there someday! After passing through heavy security, and a bag check, we were in the gated property of the museum! I needed more Egyptian currency to pay for our tickets and was pointed to an exchange bank at the 2nd floor of the building. After we got our money, we decided to take a snack break first. The day was already sweltering and we were THIRSTY!

We climbed a flight of stairs to a small snackbar and got some cokes and chips, sitting by an open window to enjoy the breeze. Then we people watched. Busloads of tourists from every country poured onto the property and filtered into the snackbar. We took our time enjoying our cokes.

NO CAMERAS allowed in the museum. In fact, after passing through heavy security, a woman sits at a booth and holds out her hands. Everyone is required to hand over their camera! The lady was distracted with another customer and I slipped past her. There was NO WAY I was going to hand her my camera. I'd be honest this time and not take pictures! (I cheated in Israel at another museum!)

All I can say is that the museum was everything I had expected and then some! Of course, I was warned in advance that the Egyptians are not very good at indexing and identifying their antiquities for the public, so it would be best to hire a guide to assist at the museum. I decided to wing it myself, as Pamela and I had read and watched countless books and video's on ancient Egypt!

We spent almost 5 hours exploring each massive room, climbing the huge staircases to yet another wing of amazing antiquities. Some of my favorite rooms were the dolls. Hundreds of wooden dolls on wooden ships, portraying the ancient sailors. These dolls really gave a glimpse into the culture, clothing, and occupations of these Egyptians. We stared in wonder at King Tutankhamun's treasures, the jewels, and the pottery.

Although we were exhausted, we paid extra to see the mummies. We entered a glass room and solemnly stared down at the descendants of Ramses, and Queen Hatshepsut. Earlier that month, Pamela and I had viewed many videos with compelling evidence that Hatshepsuit might very well be Moses's stepmom. We read about the lives of these former kings and royalty, and how they lived and died.

After the mummies, we were ready to go.

Now to cross the street again into the maze of traffic and find our way to our hostel. We walked along the sidewalks, peering into the shops. A women's clothing store drew our attention and we walked in. Several women in burka's were shopping. Pamela and I were impressed with the clothes hanging from the racks. Beautifully embroidered tunics, long flowing skirts, silky longsleeved blouses. Pamela tried on a denim skirt but it was too long and I talked her out of buying it for later adjustment. Our backpacks were too heavy as it was!

For lunch, we wanted to try out the Mc Donald's nearby our hostel. This was something we had been looking forward to doing! We wanted to see if the food tasted the same wherever we traveled. In Germany, everything tasted the same at home, except for the Fanta orange soda. It tasted almost watered down.

In Cairo, we ordered big macs, fries, cokes, and a strawberry sundae. Everything tasted the same, except for the ice cream! I took a few bites and didn't like mine. Couldn't put my finger on why. Just wasn't like at home.

After we arrived back to our room, we decided to take a break! Pamela and I took turns logging onto our emails and we skyped with Alan through the video. Talk about free long distance phone calls. I turned the laptop around so Alan could see our room. It was the evening for us, but early in the morning for Alan.

Pamela protested as she felt tired, but I insisted we were going to hail a cab for Khan el Khalili! This is the ancient market place that closely resembles medieval times. It was also the place where a terrorist attack had taken place a few years back. But I felt safe with all the tourist police around. Arab nation or not, the Egyptians do NOT condone terrorism. Were it not for tourism, the Egyptian economy would crumble.

During the day, the place is full of tourists. At night, the suq becomes alive with local shoppers! I became quite good at hailing a cab. I asked first the price and gave up on asking for the meter. It's a well known fact that a cabbie could take advantage of a tourist by driving the long route while on meter. Since I didn't know my way, I'd just say how much I wanted to pay. 15, 20 Le, and usually they accepted. Of course, I checked with others on what the going rate was. If the cab driver changes their mind, AFTER the ride, just pay what was agreed, ignore their protests and walk away quickly!

Cab ride to market!

We saw a lot of stray animals while in the city. Didn't appear to be any animal ordinances.

At the market. I refrained from taking too many picures as we were trying not to draw attention to ourselves so late at night.

We found the famous El Fishawy cafe and ordered hot tea. This cafe has been opened non stop since the 1700's.

While at the cafe, we met an American couple and talked with them. I forget what state they were from, but they were very impressed with our trip and wished us well.

Mosque outside the market. The call of prayer happens 5 times a day over loud speakers throughout Egypt. Always a reminder to me that we are far, far away from home!

A man approached me offering a shoe shine. I refused and he became angry and muttered something about the shame of me wanting to walk with dirty shoes. Always someone approaching us to sell. Boxes of tissues, head scarves, necklaces. Everything's a mom and pop store here. No chain stores. Just people trying to carve out a living and so much competition! I became very good at saying, no.

After our cab ride home, we impulsively checked out the nearby bakery and admired the delicate cookies and pastries.

Pamela, holding the two cookies we purchased and agreed to share. We had a very long day and was very tired. Anxious to retreat to our room, check our emails and go to bed. Tomorrow would be the pyramids!

DAY 1 & 2 - From Houston to Cairo

2010-03-25T09:42:00.023-05:00

Checking our backpacks, and for the umpteenth time making sure I had our passports, we departed for our 3 hour drive to Houston at around 10 am Saturday morning. The day had finally arrived! Alan and the puppy dropped us off, we hugged tightly and waved good-bye.

Waiting at the George Bush International Airport. Our first flight was with Continental Airlines. We departed at 6:50 pm and lost about 8 hours due to a new time zone somewhere over the ocean.

The morning greeted us early along the coastline of Greenland.

About to land at Frankfurt, Germany for our connecting flight. It felt good stepping on land after that 10 hour flight, and I was surprised that we stepped outdoors onto a platform of stairs. The air was cold and windy, and we caught a shuttle bus to the main airport.

Found this interesting vending machine while using the bathroom at Frankfurt International. Mini toothbrushes that you chew to clean your teeth!

Short on time, and not wanting to exchange money for the Euro, we had a quick lunch at McDonald's using our Visa card. Then a dash for our gate and checking in for our boarding passes.

We were actually pretty impressed with Egyptair, considering I had read conflicting reports about the Egyptian airlines. Mainly complaints about how rickety the airlines is, not to mention a friend who had just returned and said his plane was leaking oil and nearly did a nose dive over the Mediterranean! Before our plane took off on the runway, I caught a few phrases on the intercom in Arabic. What stood out was the word, Jihad! A passenger was reading the Qu'ran a few seats behind us. About an hour into our flight, we were served dinner. Their salmon dinner with rice was very delicious! Actually, the best ever.

Wow, in 5 hours, we would be landing in Egypt! Really hasn't sunk in yet. Interestingly, the same guy was still reading the Qur'an when our plane landed.

Wow, Cairo! We arrived and I became overwhelmed with what I was to do next! I needed to get our entry Visa's, exchange money, find our driver to take us to our hostel, so many things and wondering if we were going in the right direction.

Following the lead of my fellow passengers, I stood in line to pay our fees (in USD) for entry Visa's. No problems there. Then I found an ATM machine and to my relief, I had options in English. It wanted to know how much LE - pounds I wanted to withdraw. I selected 500, thinking it was a lot, but in reality I had only withdrawn about $90 USD.

We found our driver holding our names on a cardboard sign. He greeted us, and led us to his car in the parking lot. We tossed our backpacks into his trunk and searched for a seatbelt while in the backseat. Couldn't find one and held on for dear life as our driver sped off. We soon learned that there were no road rules. 3-4 cars would crowd together in a "two lane" road. Honking and cutting in front of one another. No speed limits, no traffic lights and no right of way for pedestrians! With shock we watched people cross and dash across the highways, cars beeping horns, people on bikes cutting and darting across the traffic. It was a zig zag mess! A few times I had to hold my eyes closed as our driver stepped on the gas, speeding past cars while the brake lights of the cars in front of us appeared. Miraculously we arrived at our destination with white knuckles and rattled nerves.

It was going on 10 pm and we were amazed at how many people were walking the sidewalks. It was like the city never slept. Our driver led us to the Yacoubian building and we took a rickety old elevator to the 4th floor.

After checking in with our confirmed reservations, I paid the desk attendant and he led us to our private suite. I was surprised he led us to the 2nd floor away from the office. With pride, he unlocked an old door to a sitting room that sported a suite of private rooms. He gushed that we had the place to ourselves. Each private suite was named after an American President! Our room was named after Obama! The one next to us was named for Clinton. We went into our Obama suite and noticed we had 2 single beds, a table and lamp, and a bathroom. Handing us our room key, our desk clerk closed the door.

I was disappointed. It felt very isolating being on the 2nd floor of this old building. Not what I had in mind. I wanted to be around other people. Too tired to think about it any further, I quickly inspected our locks, slid on the door chain and it fell apart in my hand! I tried to fix it as best as I could, then located a plug-in for my laptop. I knew my husband Alan would be concerned if he didn't hear from us soon, so I needed to let him know we had ARRIVED!

We threw ourselves over the bed exhausted. I didn't want to sleep with the lights off so I left the bathroom light on, with the door cracked. While lying in bed that night, the magnatude of what we were about to do started to sink in. We were a long, long ways from home! I had this idea (crazy?) that I was going to backpack our way into Israel! So many months of planning and I was about to find out if I had done my homework or not. Do I really want to flunk the test so far away from home??

With a sinking realization, I knew that without a doubt, I was going to have to keep my wits with me at all times. It wouldn't have been so bad were it for myself, but the responsibility of my daughter, and the trust of my husband's faith in my judgement, would have to keep my mind sharp with common sense! I had to comfort myself in the realization that I was embarking on a leap of faith and answered prayer!