Well, the man in charge told us we weren’t on his list, but we insisted we were part of the group and followed him anyway. For a minute I was seriously concerned as I thought this was the man I had been in contact with all along. He was wearing a name tag. Though his clothing covered part of it, I could see the letters “ndy Bretz.” The man we had been in contact with was named Andy with the same last name. “Aren’t you the one we’ve been emailing?” I asked. “No,” he replied. I followed him anyway. As it turned out, this was Andy’s father Randy and Andy was in fact at the airport and also expecting us so all was well. Whew!
We exited the airport looking at each other in amazement. “We’re in Israel!” we kept saying. The bus was a short walk away. I was immediately sorry that I had not stopped to use the airport bathroom on the way out as our tour bus did not have a bathroom in it. No tour buses in Israel have toilets! A small thing, but the fact did surprise me!
Our tour guides were fantastic! Yahaloma was our guide as we drove away from the airport. She began educating us from the beginning. With a map she showed us where we were and where we would be going. So exciting!
A little way into the drive I looked over at my husband. “Are you okay?” He shook his head “no.” Rats! I had thought about bringing him some Dramamine, but had in the end forgotten. He was car sick. I insisted we move up in the bus so he went forward a few empty seats.
Pretty soon our tour guide walked down the aisle with our first taste in Israel–fresh strawberries from her garden! I looked at Jason to see if he would take some. He didn’t want to miss out, but uh…pretty soon…he saw them again. Thankfully I had a zip lock back in my back pack! They pulled the tour bus over to the side of the road. That just figures doesn’t it? Still, have never gone on vacation without someone getting sick! On the bright side they put him in the jump seat and he had a great view for the rest of the drive!
I snapped a couple of photos as we drove. I wanted to remember this first view of Israel. It was so green and beautiful, not at all what most of us expected.
I tried to soak in the view. I was looking at the land of Israel, the land I have read about my whole life in the Bible. I couldn’t wait to see more!
My husband on the other hand, bless his heart, was just happy when we arrived at our destination…
I was expecting the landscape in Israel to look more “desert” like…but the scenery looks so very lush! Perhaps spring is the prettiest time of year to go?
I’m just like Jason ~ I’d have to sit towards the front of the bus or risk getting motion sickness. Poor guy ~ hope Jason felt better after resting at the hotel.
Israel had gotten a lot of rain recently, but the land is very diverse. We did in fact visit the dessert too. 🙂 It took Jason a while, but he was at least able to eat supper that night!
Never a dull moment! Glad you were able to find your contact. Sounds super scary to be in a foreign country and not be able to find your group. Can’t wait to hear all about the trip. The Instagram pics were awesome. Praise the Lord for a safe return:)
Connecting with the group was in fact my biggest concern as most came from the same church and we didn’t know anyone except for Jason’s Dad. I’m so glad you enjoyed the Instagram photos!
Since you are one of my favorite bloggers, I finally decided to leave a comment to let you know how much I enjoy your site. Your vacation pics reminded me of when my three were finally old enough to leave with the grandparents while hubs and I finally reconnected. Hope you had an amazing time.
Lexi, you made my day! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. The trip was really incredible. I feel so blessed to have been able to go!