Fun Day

We had a really cool day today traveling up the west coast of Israel from Tel Aviv Acre. Abba rented a car, so it made it possible, so thanks sababa abba!


View Larger Map

I think the link for this map may not be the best, sorry. U can get a better one on google directly i'm sure.

We first stopped at a place called Ceasarea. Its an ancient Roman port city that started to be built up over 2500 years ago. It was really neat to see all of the old stone that has been there for thousands of years, a hippodrome for gladiator fights and chariot races, and also an amphitheater that seats 4,000 people and is still used today.

From there we headed to a Druze village in the town of Daliyat el Carmel. The druze people have their own relgion and ethnicity, and are not only located in Israel. They are a peaceful group, and are known for their hospitality. We had lunch there...hummus, falafel, pita, egglplant, and more. The falafel was the best i've ever had. Actually the whole meal was amazing now that i think about it.

From there we headed up to Acre, an arab town towards the top of the country. It was quite an interesting dynamic to be there to say the least. I generally feel very comfortable in plaeces, but i have to say i was slightly nervous walking around there as an American with two Isaraelis. It was a very toursity area, and we had to walk through some places that made your heart pump a little faster than normal. I have a diffent level of respect for how some people must feel back home becasue i haven't often been in a situation where i stick out like such a sore thumb. I'm sure if it wasn't safe, abba wouldn't have taken us there, but if that is the safe part, i can only imagine what its like going into some other parts of Israel.

Still fighting this cold...hopefully it goes away soon and i don't get Dayna sick first. Tomorrow we are going to Jerusuelum, so that should be a pretty cool experience.

Estoy Enfermo.....

In Tel Aviv. Landed at 4AM local time.

We got up today around noon and went to the beach and walked around. The beach is amazing here, such a beautiful day, beautiful skies, beautiful people. After spending a few hours on the beach, we went to a restaurant overlooking the ocean, then walked to Jaffa to the Arab market.

I'm so impressed with the city. The culture here is so different, the people so unique. It's far different that i pictured, because all we hear about back in the states is the Arab/Israeli conflicts, suicide bombers, etc.

I really love it here so far, and Dayna wants me to extend my trip by at least a few days...i might take her up on the offer if she isn't sick of me by then. Both Dayna and I are really sick tonight, but hopefully that ends soon so we can go to Jerusalem, the dead sea, and lots of other cool spots soon.

Shalom.

on the way to Tel Aviv

Rode the train back from Frankfurt today and am waiting at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam for the flight to Tel Aviv in a few hours.

It was really great to get to spend time with Dana, Robbie, and their friends/family. They could not have been more hospitable, and it was really great after a few days in Amsterdam to spend time with them. Dana's wife Tanja is awesome, and their 2 year old son Jaden was quite fun to play with. I tried to kidnap him and bring him with me, but wasn't able to sell them on the idea.

Spending the time in Germany definitely makes me appreciate a number of things more in the states that i never considered before. First of all, everything is expensive as hell over here. Gas is like $9/gallon, food and housing is expensive, taxes are generally higher, there are less options for most things, and wages don't seem like they are better than the U.S. All in all, we have a pretty sweet deal going back home on most things, and I'm certainly going to appreciate next time i go to the restaurant and order a glass of tap water without being charged 2.50 EURO.

My camera is officially dead, but when i get to Israel, I'll get some more so i can upload some pictures.

Germany

In Germany now. had a great daz with Dana and Robbie, my cousins. Thez couldn't be more hospitable.

Have some pics that i'll get loaded soon hopefully.

Way too many beers and glasses of wine to be typing now, especially on a German keyboard where half the letters aren't in the correct place.

Only a few more days til Dayna and Abba!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thoughts about last night

Fernando Yamasaki (my jiu jitsu teacher) said that when you are in Amsterdam you have a complete sense of freedom. I didn’t fully understand what he meant until last night. I’m not sure there is a place on earth where you are as completely on your own as you are here to do whatever you want without fear of embarrassment or penalty.
There are so many others here looking for the same thing, knowing that the friends they make will probably only last for a few minutes, hours, or maybe a couple days at the most. I think its that common connection and sense of adventure of so many of the travelers here that allows us to form a bond so quickly. Yesterday I started hanging out with was named Becca at the coffee ship because we were the only two people here. She was from Florida and we became fast friends. As we went around to different places, we invited more people to join us in whatever we were doing, and it everyone was super chill. After hanging out for just a few hours, I felt this overwhelming feeling to protect her as if she was my sister, especially when we were in the red light district, and to make sure she got home safely to her hostel.

I wanted to take some pictures of the girls in the red light district in the windows for the everyone who wanted to see what that looks like, but you can’t do it. Well, you can, but I was told that the penalty for taking pictures is that the girls come out, smash your camera to pieces, and then dump a cup of piss on your head. I can deal with the pee on the dome, but don’t want to loose the camera for the rest of the trip. Some of the girls in the windows, many of them actually, are just stunning and could easily be on the cover of Maxim. For people who are interested in that, I’d suggest spending a few extra dollars and coming to Amsterdam rather than blowing your money in the states. You can sleep with a dream girl for 50 euros for 50 minutes (can't imagine most guys need more than 2 minutes with some of the girls), and maybe you can negotiate that even lower. That's like the cost of admission, a cocktail, and a 4 minute lapdance at a strip club back home. I can’t imagine anyone who ever comes to Amsterdam wants to take a trip to Vegas ever again.

Today my body is pissed at me for pushing it really hard last night, but my mind is thanking me for the experience.


Oh yea, forgot to mention that i went to the "sex museum" yesterday when i got here. Figured i'd at least go to one museum since everyone is so caught up in telling you great they all are and why they are worth 20 euro. The sex museum was only 4 euro, it was alright. I'd much rather go hang out with people and walk around outside than look in the museums to be honest.

Time to get out of the coffee shop and out into the beautiful weather we got today after a cloudy day yesterday.

Late night thoughts

I wrote this last night when i got home but couldn't upload it til this morning because i didn't' have internet.....

That was one of the top 5 most amazing days/nights of my life. Time just kind of blended all together and for most of the night i couldn't tell you what time it was within a 6 hour time frame. I guessed once, and i was 7.5 hours off i found out later..

I just got back to my hostel and its about 3 AM Amsterdam time. I have had so many crazy adventures tonight it is unreal. I wanted to type some down on the computer before I forget them.
I did the whole Amsterdam experience tonight and it was awesome, minus the whole 50 euro for the girl in the window thing. Met so many interesting people and had a great time. My battery died in the camera but I cant wait to see some of the crazy videos and pics tomorrow.

One pervasive thought that I can remember tonight was the constant battle of living in the moment vs. trying to remember or hold on to the energy at the peak times of the night. Sometimes I would think of friends/family back home and how I couldn’t wait to share experiences and ideas with certain people and I would try to hold on to a thought in order to remember it later. Then there were times when I felt that energies and thoughts were passing though and I wasn’t holding on to anything…..wasn’t spending more than a split second on any one individual thought. Even though I could only do that for brief spurts at a time during a narrow window of time, it was an amazing feeling. It was for very brief moments of time living completely in the present. If I could figure out how to incorporate that idea into my daily everyday life, that would be something special. It would be a huge step in the path of achieving bliss, keeping all negative thoughts and energies away by letting them almost instantly pass on before they have any time to resonate, dwell on, or react to.

Here in the Dam

Well, I guess I was destined to make it Amsterdam after all. Everything turned out to be perfect timing, and the departure went off without delay.

I got to talk for about 90 minutes with a guy from England while waiting for the departure flight. He came over for a 4 day business trip and he’s been here for 11 days. His wife has 3 little kids at home by herself and is 8 months pregnant with their 4th child. He was a cool dude, and had some amazing stories, including how his British accent got him laid 5 out of 5 nights in his first trip to the states as a 24 year old at Mardi Gras.

I got to my hostel about an hour ago, and finally got to lock one of my new bags in a locker. I've walked a lot today already so now I'm at the "dolphins" coffee shop getting some free wi-fi and partaking in the Amsterdam activities that would make a lot of people back home wish they were here too. It's pretty amazing what you can order here legally.

Below is the link to the photo album of my Amsterdam trip so far and i'll keep updating it. I think Picassa allows you to sign up for email updates when new pics are added if you're feeling ambitious. I don't find myself that interesting that i'd even want to read my blog if i was you, so i can't imagine anyone wanted to get updates of my photos, but if you do, knock yourself out. Already made some friends at the coffee shop, so i should probably stop being rude and typing (its hard to concentrate anyway) and get back to hanging out with them.


Click here for the Amsterdam photo album

Shadow adopted

I forgot to mention that after 5 months of fostering her, Shadow finally got adopted this past weekend by her new mom. I think that she is going to a really good home, and it turned out to be pretty good timing since I'm leaving for the trip tomorrow. Of all the dogs we've had, i've never loved one or been more attached to one than Shadow. She had an amazing amount of love to share, and i hope she enjoyed her time at our house because we certainly will miss her.

A lot of people ask how we can foster dogs and then give them up for adoption after becoming attached to them. Usually it goes something like, "i love dogs too much, i could never do that." I have no doubt that one day i won't be able to control myself when someone makes that stupid comment, and they are going to get a quick right to their jaw (i don't apologize in advance). It is extremely difficult to give the dogs up, but it allows us to save more dogs from being put to sleep, so it isn't really about us, its about the animals and doing what's best for them.

Over 4 million dogs are euthanized in the U.S. alone every year because of over-breeding puppy mills, not spaying and neutering them, and neglectful ownership. I hope everyone encourages their friends to adopt and save lives and hopefully someday end the ridiculous of puppy mill breeding and careless dog ownership.

Getting excited for the trip

I'm getting pretty excited for the trip now that its only a few days away. This afternoon i partook in some "activities" in order to get me ready for Amsterdam....you know, looking at tulips and reading history books on Van Gogh :)

Hopefully the volcano gods stop throwing ash into the air for a couple of days so teh flight isn't canceled on Tuesday afternoon.

Later people...

A few days in....

Well, 2 full days into retirement. So far its been amazing, mainly because its been the 4 most perfect days of weather anyone could ask for. I'm not sure if that's a sign or not that I made the right choice, but it can't be a bad omen, right?

I already feel the creative juices flowing again, which i think is in part due to the weather, and in part due the fact that i will have no choice soon but to start to be creative in order to make this little plan work a little longer.

I'm really fascinated right now with learning some new things. Today when i was sitting in the hot tub, i couldn't stop thinking about electricity. It something we take for granted, but is obviously so important. I don't know the first thing about it, but I'm gonna read up on it a little, and maybe even sign up for a class if my interest is still perked afterward. I'd really like to learn how to make sushi too (vegetarian rolls of course)...i only eat it like 5 times a week, so i mine as well learn.

What I'm really intrigued by is learning how to grow crops. I think its so amazing how we can plant things, watch them grow, and harvest them in order to sustain ourselves. Just planing a few tomatoes and herbs in my small garden gives me great satisfaction, and I'd like to really learn more in the coming months on it. Food is such a major part of our lives, yet most of us including myself no so little about it, especially compared to past generations. As the Yellin family would attest to, I've been half-jokingly been talking about selling everything and going to work on an organic farm for a long time now. I still think that would be awesome, and something I'd love to do.

Anyway, im rambling now, i guess that's what happens after a day of hot tub, 2 hour drive, jiu jitsu class, bike ride to Georgetown and back in the sun. I can barely keep my eyes open.

Thanks for all of the comments after the first post...i appreciate it!