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Monday, October 10, 2011

Travel Tales: Sweetman and the Hula River, and Hiking

Saturday, September 10, 2011

On this particular morning, we got up early because today we’re going kayaking on the Hula River (Sorry no pics. Cameras and cell phones weren’t aloud). I caught the sun rising over the mountain.

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Before we went kayaking, we had a traditional Israeli breakfast. Three egg omelet with mushrooms, green onions, and herbs. Salad with chopped cucumbers and tomatoes. A big basket of bread (they’ve got the best bread ever). Dates. Figs. Goat cheese. Olives. Kefir. Tuna (sometimes salmon or mackerel). Fresh squeezed orange, carrot, or pomegranate juice or mix them together. Cappuccino. OMG. The Israelis know how to serve a fabulous breakfast.

So after this feast we headed to the Hula River.

Daniella: Do you want to take the family trip or the challenging trip?

Me: Sweetman would never make it on  the challenging one. Let’s do the family.

Daniella: Are you sure? The challenging one is longer and more fun.

Sweetman: I’ll do whatever you two want.

Me: We’ll do the family. I’m telling you he won’t survive the challenging one.

Daniella: Okay then.

We bought our tickets for the family one and headed out to find the bus traveling to the Hula.

Once there, we were instructed to pick a life jacket. Sweetman picked up a child-size one and put it on.

Sweetman: It doesn’t fit.

Me: Because it’s for a child.

He proceeded to try and button it across his Fluffy. It didn’t work. He grunted and groaned.

Me: It’s for a child and it will never fit around your pumpkin-sized belly.

Reluctantly, he removed the vest and mozzied around another row of them and fingered through them. He looked helpless so one of the workers helped him find the right size.

Once fitted properly, we got our kayak and ores .

Sweetman: You sit in the front.

Me: Why?

Sweetman: Because I’ve never down this before.

Yup. I pretty much figured that one out.

Daniella got in the back.

For the entire ride he sat with his arms crossed in front of his chest hanging onto his life vest for dear life. Every now and then I’d looked over my shoulder at him. Either he had the widest smile across his face or his eyes were squeezed shut.

Me: Daniella he’s got the life. Two women doing all the work battling the rapids.

She chuckled.

Me: Wonder Woman, Super Girl, and the Wimp. Wow! You’ve got it made, Sweetman. Good thing you’ve got me to protect you.

Sweetman: But I told you, I’ve never done this before.

Me: We got that.

The journey on the Hula River took us two hours.

Later that day, Sweetman and me went hiking through Galilee. Below are some of the sights we saw.

We came across avocado, apple, and peach trees. The kibbutz grows them. Below is an avocado tree.

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Apple trees.DSC01344

We came across an old army look out tower along with some other stuff. Sweetman says it was from the Seven Day War, in 1967.

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Below is a memorial set up for it.

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Below are more pics of what we saw on our adventure.

The sky was beautiful that day.

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More avocado trees.

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We saw a lot of these holes along the way. Some creatures residence I suppose.

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We made it back to the kibbutz safe and sound. We walked around there for a while.

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An old olive tree

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DSC01370Edible cactus.

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We ended our evening at Focaccia, a near-by restaurant. It serves some to the finest Israeli gourmet.

Sweetman and me had the Lamb Kabob. Absolutely to die for. Total yum.

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Daniella had a Chicken Lentil dish.DSC01376

 

Before we went to bed, we hung out on the porch and I got a great picture of the full moon.

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I’ll be back with more. My work schedule has been insane.

Have a great day folks!

Happy blogging, reading, and writing!

See you all later in the ink,

Shelly

27 comments:

  1. Love the rising of the sun and the moon pics....very nice.

    I've done white water rafting...so much fun. But, never kayaking....I'm always afraid when the thing tips over, I won't be able to right myself from it...that's why I've never done it.

    Great pics.

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  2. Never been kayaking. I have this irrational fear I'm gonna tip over and STAY tipped over.

    The food sounds delish though!

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  3. @Vicki: Isreali food is the best ever!

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  4. Lovely pics. What fun kayaking and what wonderful memories.

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  5. Hi Shelly, Are you on assignment in the Middle East? Sorry losing track here.

    Great post by the way. But I'm wondering what your hounds are up to, now that their mommy's away...

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  6. Sounds wonderful! That food looks to be to die for. And the breakfast? WOW! Rafting sounds like fun, and the pics are great!

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  7. @DM: Sweetman makes it memorable.

    @Moon Child: Actually, I was on a much needed vacation. We mostly hung out in peaceful Galilee. There's so much to do there. As for the boys, we hired a sitter to stay with them while we were away.

    @Shannon: Their breakfasts are great! Let me tell you, it's definitely how to eat breakfast.

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  8. Great pictures!

    That sounds like a tasty breakfast. :)

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  9. Fab pics :D
    What an amazing experience!

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  10. Jolene: It's a fabulous place. Really.

    @Golden: All the food is delicious. Especially the bread.

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  11. Sounds like you're having a lot of fun. The food looks and sounds delicious. :-)

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  12. I went canoeing once - with my mother. Your adventure went much better than mine. It sounds like you had a wonderful time. Thanks again for taking the time to share.

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  13. @Tonja: The Hula River is beautiful. And yes, I had a wonderful time.

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  14. I love coming back to your blog each week, I laugh and feel calm. Plus I learn something new, this is gonna sound odd but i have never seen an avocado do tree. Not even in an encyclopedia. So you, my friend helped me learn something new.

    I hope you have the best day today!

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  15. @Russo: Everyday I learn something new, too.

    @Sarah: It's more lovely in person.

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  16. Thanks for sharing Shelly. That river trip sounds like something I would have loved. Good thing you didn't pick the challenging trip. Yikes!

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  17. Oh Eve: It was sooo much fun. Sweetman made it all the more so.

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  18. That breakfast sounds amazing, and I'm so glad you shared photos of the flora on your trip. I love that stuff!

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  19. I love it, and the pics are awesome. It is a good thing your hubs has you to keep him in line. Men need a good woman. Have a great weekend! :)

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  20. Terrific pictures, Shelly!


    I've never done the rafting thing...

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  21. @Lydia: It was a mighty tasty breakfast.

    @Laila: Yup. He needs me to keep him out of trouble and steer the boat.

    @Sir Wills: River rafting is fun.

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  22. Nikki: We had a blast. I'll post another travel tale on Tuesday.

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  23. Shelly,
    Thanks for sharing the photos. So neat! The food looked really yummy.

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Let me know what you think.