Introduction

As most of my fellow travelers know, I kept a journal throughout our trip focusing on things we did, places we saw and funny incidents that occurred. My hope is that others on the trip will contribute content to this blog since there were many instances when portions of our group were doing things separately. I would like this blog to focus on things we did rather than on the extensive history of the region. I will try to insert as many Wikipedia links as possible for people to understand the historical aspects of the places we visited.

A few thank-yous are certainly in order. Thank you to Rabbi Mark for his leadership and spiritual guidance on our shared adventure. Thank you to Dr. Meryl for her organizational ability in putting this trip together and also on this journey. Thank you to Aviatours http://www.aviatours.net/ I can't imagine a better travel experience when going to Israel than the tour that Aviatours provided. Ronit, the group leader, was the most knowledgeable tour guide I've ever encountered. Her historical perspectives, her biblical knowledge and her political explanations provided the framework for one of the most educational, spiritual and emotional experiences of my life. Thank you to the bus drivers who took us down roads it is unimaginable for buses to traverse and keeping us safe throughout the trip. I would also like to thank all of our traveling companions for providing Andrea and me one of the most enjoyable trips of our lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I don't know that we can ever give a sense of how much we accomplished on this trip and I'm certainly no wordsmith but for better or worse, here goes.