Our Last Day in Israel

We had one last day to play with. I wanted to do something different enough that we would remember the day. We packed up, had showers, and went to borrow the car. Both Benjamin and Yael were out (Benj had taken his electric bike to the Technion and Yael was rehearsing for an upcoming performance) and Mika was at the zoo with her nanny.  It was a sort of a rainy day, but the rain stopped and started. Mika's nanny was brave to take such a long stroller trip in the rain.

Jon navigated and we went to Akko. When we got there we needed a nap already, so we parked in a lot outside the Old City and slept while it rained. When it seemed like it was raining less, we started to walk along the sea promenade, but then it was raining too much and we turned around. Drove slowly along the road that took us to the back of the Old City but I wasn't that curious (we had been there before and I just wanted an outing, not to get wet) so we kept on going, driving slowly through the regular parts of the town. Got stuck in a traffic jam where there was a school letting out at 1:00, lots of kids in matching purple and black shirts/pants/skirts. Lots of honking horns, for no good reason (Jon says I should stop reacting to the Israeli custom of honking the horn at every possible opportunity).

We found a supermarket parking lot and parked there because that feels safe to me -- I don't understand what the signs say about parking in the towns, I don't understand the stripes on the curbs, and I don't want to deal with police and tickets. We went shopping in this huge store with nothing at all in English, but we understand food shopping. Got some lunch items, some candy for presents, some sweet drinks because Benjamin and Yael don't consume anything fun and sweet. We were like kids in a candy shop, getting gauva/passion fruit juice.

We had a picnic in a park, all by ourselves, because it was sort of a rainy day. No children in sight. The best thing we bought was a delicious beet salad. I saved some for Mika (and she loved it later).

Back at Chez Mika, we hung out with Benjamin and Mika some, then went to have a farewell chat with our Airbnb hosts.  We learned that they have been planning to take down their house (built in the 1930s) and build an 8-story building there in its place. That is ambitious for a retired, globetrotting couple. Benj says this is happening all over Haifa. Our hosts said their neighbors have been objecting to this plan for 7 years but now they have their approvals.  Ugh, I cannot imagine the chaos of having to move out of the house, build an apartment building and move back in again. I told him this was his big chance to make a cohousing community. He said others have suggested something similar. He would be crazy not to, in my view.

Benjamin and Mika drove us to the train station and we were on our own. This time there was no English translation of the announcements about anything, but we muddled through. Got on the right train, got off at the airport, stood in a million lines, showed our passport on seven different occasions, the plane was full again, and we were headed home.

Thirteen hours later, the pilot bounced the plane down through a turbulent landing and we were back in Virginia. We have got to do the work to get Global Entry. It took us almost two hours to get out of the airport. 

So nice to be home. Alissa is getting better. My knee surgery is postponed again while we wait for a two week window of no illness.  My version of Jon's cold was much milder but we need it to be a distant memory before the anesthesia team will allow the surgery to happen. It's all fine.

Up and Out

We only have two days to get Jon to a place where he can get up and walk, pull a suitcase, sit on a plane, so he had to put up with some more nudging and cajoling from the person he is stuck with. Five days in bed can turn a person into a wet noodle. The expression on his face when I tell him he has to do this or that is so reminiscent of his father that it makes me laugh -- when Leon was in his later years and he didn't want to do something he would make that face (eyebrows down on the outside, up in the middle, twisted mouth, kind of humorous and pitiful and leave-me-alone all at the same time).  Too bad for Jon, I can tell that his cough is getting less painful and he is sleeping better. Time to get up.

So we slowly made our way to Benjamin's and watched Mika playing with her nanny (it was a very rainy day, so no trip to the park).  Eventually I suggested we go food shopping since there wasn't much food in either house.  We got instructions from Benjamin -- a little vague but we had some understanding of where we would have to make a U-turn and look for the garage entrance -- and we took Yael's car for our first adventure.  Jon navigated, I drove. It was about a half mile drive, but there are roundabouts and lots of traffic and it was raining and we didn't have precise directions. We found the garage under the mall, parked, took the elevator to a random floor (even though we pushed a button for the Zero floor, it opened up at -1) and found ourself at a supermarket.  Nothing in English but we know how to shop.  Found everything on Benjamin's list, checked out, even figured out how to get our parking ticket validated, and went home triumphant.

Jon rested on the nice couch for a bit and then he and Benjamin went out to the hardware store for adventure #2. Meanwhile back on the East Coast, the CSA was opening up at 7:30 in the morning and I was following the story with Becky, texting. Things started slowly, making both of us nervous that Mailchimp was not working, but gradually the registrations started to come in.

The rest of our day was largely focused on dealing with CSA issues -- when we planned this trip, we knew we wanted to be sitting with our computers on February 1 and not on an airplane, so that is part of the reason we stayed this long. It is best to be available when the CSA opens because questions come pouring in, and this system was unfamiliar to all of us. Becky and Jon and I worked into the night.Things went remarkably well, and we learned a lot along the way, as expected. 

We took a break to go to dinner at Gadi and Hedy's house -- Yael engineered this plan when it seemed like Jon might be able to make an appearance. It would have been really too bad for Jon to see them for only ten minutes out of ten days.  Yael ordered food from a Pan Asian sort of restaurant (sushi, soup, noodles, all delicious) and we went to visit the grandparents while we waited for delivery.  It was a late night for Mika and she heroically tried to stay in good form but there were a few inevitable meltdowns. She gave gracious kisses and hugs on the way out. It was very nice to have another chance to get to know Yael's parents. It is too bad Israel is so far away from Virginia.