Ascension: Big sigh. Really big sigh.

I don't know how to begint to explain the last two or so hours of my life. You know those lessons or group activities when you have to write down a strength of yours - and it's hard to do because we are so accustomed to talking about our weaknesses rather than our strengths? Well, one of the ones that I usually feel comfortable writing down is my patience - with myself, other people, etc. Or maybe it's better described as unflappability. And I have been grateful for this strength over the last few days. But tonight that strength was stretched to its utmost limits. (And I take another sigh.)

But I'll start at the beginning of the day and work my way chronologically to the moment where I'm sitting here comfortably on my bed in a beautiful, 200-year-old Ottoman mansion, letting the breeze from the window next to me cool my sunburned forehead.

Last night I was so utterly exhausted that I delegated some of my self-appointed responsibilities, grateful for the help. Sylvia worked on laundry, which took longer than expected since two of the washers were in use. Amy looked into finding a rental car for us (apparently they're dirt cheap! We decided to drive up to Galilee instead of waiting for that bus in the late afternoon), and I made sure of our plans. (Chuckling. Plans? Our plans have not worked even ONE day this trip. Not that I'm complaining - too much - we've had amazing experiences.) Then I crawled up to my bed to read my scriptures for a few minutes. Next thing I knew, it was about 3 in the morning and all was still. Apparently Sylvia had brought in all the clean laundry, everyone had talked for a couple more hours, even some bum-smacking took place (Christy, your legacy lives on!), and I was none the wiser.

We left around 9:30 to go pick up our car. We were so sure of ourselves! Sylvia drove out of Jerusalem like a champ, and we headed up north. We made our way to Caesaria on the coast. A good detour, I'm told - both Anny and Sylvia (Amy stayed in Jerusalem - she flies out tomorrow) said it might just be their favorite part so far. It has a lot of Roman and other ruins, with plenty of explanation (something lacking in so many places - and my knowledge just isn't up to snuff regarding the history of the tourist sites - get me talking about Israeli society and modern history, I'm all ready to go).

Then we headed up to Zippori - an ancient city near Nazareth. It has great excavations and mosaics - Anny was in heaven. She loves the ancient sites. Sylvia and I were tired.

From Zippori we went to Tiberias. The drive is lovely - all rolling hills/mountains and agricultural areas. Tiberias is lovely as well - but the roads are crazy! We had an adventure getting there (anywhere, actually - the GPS is very nearly worthless!), as well as getting gas! The pump wouldn't work; pumping gas and all things related are beyond my Hebrew ability, and the station manager spoke Hebrew so fast I could barely understand a thing anyway.

We were so pleased to find the place to drop off the car - and so displeased to find out it was closed. Our only real option was to go back to Nazareth and I will come and drop it off tomorrow morning. AHHH!

We made it to Nazareth - only to realize that it's HUGE and dizzyingly compact - and we didn't have the exact address to the Fauzi Azar Inn. We drove around a bit (an adventure in and of itself), and then came up with a brilliant scheme for finding it on the GPS. It took us down in - and then the adventure began. Soon we found ourselves on narrow (and I mean really tiny) streets, many of which were at a sharp (and I mean crazy steep) incline. They got more and more narrow, until, with both side mirrors tilted in, and perhaps a couple of inches on either side, we came to a point I could no longer pass - and it came to a dead end further down anyway. It was at this point I began to lose my cool, and Sylvia stepped in. That is, until a man who had been watching from the balcony came down to help. He took over the driving, we moved some things around, and after some amazing finagling (and several minutes), our car was turned the other direction, and we could commence the attempt to leave this insanity.

All the while, the GPS kept telling us to "turn left" where there was no left, or vice versa, and our nerves were so tense that we all in unison yelled at it to shut up (actually, Sylvia shouted "Eff you!" at it; we are all very fortunate that she used the substitution "eff"), and Anny turned it off. We made it to another dead end (trying to avoid the horrid hill we had come down), where some very nice young men both showed us where we could park and parked the car for us (Sylvia had driven it, slowly and carefully, into a tight spot--and the young man who took over driving just whizzed right through the tiny curved street like it was nothing), and where the Fauzi Azar Inn was. They spoke broken Hebrew (and so did I - they spoke Arabic natively) and we communicated. I didn't know how to thank them enough - how do you thank someone who has saved you in an impossible situation? And expecting nothing in return - just go on about their business.

We arrived at the Fauzi Azar - they were expecting us, got us some cold water and cake to eat, and here we are. The three of us said a quick prayer of gratitude for how God has placed the right people in our way tonight, and I just couldn't help crying a bit - from gratitude and the release of emotion.

A couple of fun things - crazy drivers who pull out right in front of you or honk at you just to let you know they're coming up around you. And randomly explosions will go off (both in Nazareth here and in Silwan back in Jerusalem). Not to worry - they're fireworks in celebration of a Palestinian wedding.

I'm exhausted - again. But grateful and happy.

Anny and Sylvia walking through ruins in Caesaria.

View of the Mediterranean Sea at Caesaria - and some of the ancient port. This really was quite a place in its day. And like him or hate him, Herod the Great was quite a visionary leader.

Walking the ancient Roman road in Zippori - a town near Nazareth, in which Joseph and Jesus may have worked as builders.

A cactus hedge in Zippori - I can't imagine a better defense of a city! Look at that! No one without a machete could get through that!

Known as "The Mona Lisa of the Galilee" this is one of the many mosaics in Zippori. They are enchanting, but I think this one takes the cake. I once saw it on as the image for a lecture entitled, "Women in the Bible." The irony here is that this is part of a large mosaic telling the story of Dionysis the Greek God - nothing to do with the Bible.