The Dead Sea and Masada

My family came to Israel during their Thanksgiving Break and it was pretty amazing. I was sad I wasn't able to see them as much as I did because they arrived the same week as my midterms, but I spent the weekend and evenings with them. I think that weekend was one of the most memorable weekends because I finally visited the Dead Sea and Masada all while being with my family.

They landed on Friday morning before Shabbat. I wanted to arrive at the apartment before them so I could buy them food from the grocery store across the street, but instead, Ariel and I went out to Etz Cafe (the best cafe in Jerusalem :) and talked. It has been too long since we had "Sister Talk" and it was everything I needed. Talking over the phone with Ariel felt strained but seeing her in person made everything better and when she left our sister bond felt connected again. When all four of us reunited we had family time in the bedroom Ariel and I were sleeping in and after a few hours of rest, I took my family to a restaurant a little ways off Ben Yehuda. It was nice to have a family dinner again. We exchanged stories and I taught them basic words in Hebrew.

Saturday morning we were in the tour guide's (Mickey) car by 8:00 AM. Dad sat in the front and asked a million questions, which was fun to hear after three months of not seeing him and by the end of the day, my mind was full of new information. We visited three different places (plus a view on the side of the rode): En Gedi, the Dead Sea, and Masada.

En Gedi was quick. The walk to the waterfall was longer than our stay. Unfortunately, we only dipped our feet in the little waterfall because the hike was too much for my knee. The water was cold and refreshing and the view of the waterfall was nice. There were a lot of kids on a field trip so that was exciting.

The Dead Sea was more relaxing and I'm happy we went there first before Masada because it was less crowded. When I saw it I was breathless. The sand had a red tint to it and the sea seemed to glisten under the sun. Before I got in the water, I took a ton of photos and when I stepped in, the salt crystals hurt my feet so I had to rush to get my shoes. The farther I walked, the more I could feel the salt on my skin. Finally, Ariel and I looked at each other and counted to three and sat in the water. It was cold and I had to squeeze my abs to keep my head from going underwater. After a few minutes of forced floating, I got out to give my mom a turn. She refused to sit down, but just before we left I convinced her to go in again and she floated for about five seconds. When we were walking into the hotel for lunch I could still feel the salt.

After a rushed lunch we sped to Masada. It was 3:30 and the sky lift to the top of Masada closed at 4:00. Mickey literally ran to the balcony where the lifts were and begged the employees (by this time it was 3:55) to let us go. Fortunately, they said we could be the last group to go up. The sun was beginning to set when we reached the top, which made the rushed walk more enjoyable and we glimpsed the beginnings of the sunset. There was a light fog so it was hard to see past a certain point, but the view was spectacular. I could have stayed there for at least an hour.

Everyone fell asleep on the ride back except my dad and Micky. I thought this was the perfect day trip for my family. Everyone got something out of it. When I was home we would sometimes go on day trips and although we were in a different country we were still together. After all, family time is the best time.