I'm grateful for: a wonderful trip to matzadah; being able to walk at all; becoming more authentically me.

Yesterday - yay! Yesterday I was woken up at about 5:30am, after maybe three hours of sleep in the last batch, but I slept intermittently all evening/night so I may actually have had enough, somehow.

We all managed, tired, dragging our weary selves around the house, to dress, eat, pack, and get out to the cars within a few minutes of our hoped-for 7am leaving time.

Do I need to write that LD whined the whole time, and the whole day? Okay, it's been written, and I am not going to mention it again.

We decided not to try to follow each other, and TH driving, our car left first with N.'s following after. TH missed the turn we wanted, but N. took it, so we were on a different (and longer) route, which was annoying but no crisis. We managed to miss another turn - it was entirely unmarked - and had to turn around and double-back, and, what with one thing and another it was a rather annoying drive, although we only were about fifteen minutes behind N. and D2 at the end of it.

The descent to the dead sea was awesome and amazing as usual. Matzada (Masada) is just one mountain out of a chain of (relatively) small mountains that run along the western side of the Dead Sea, all a rather uniform yellow colour and most with angular sides and flat tops, and teeny bits of scrub (REALLY teeny) sticking up here and there in the sand and rock. I have some photos of the area on my fotolog, and if I have the energy/brain/time for it, I'll go look them up and put a link in here.

There is really nothing to distinguish Matzada from any of the other mountains, except for the sign telling where to turn. Also, the entrance isn't exactly intuitive, so we circled once around the bus unloading area before turning in to the parking garage. Thank goodness there is an underground parking garage. Unless you've been there, you can't imagine the heat/air pressure heaviness of being by the Dead Sea.

We were fortunate, the very first crip parking space was free. The only way to get closer to the elevator(lift) was to be the emergency vehicle (ambulance) they keep there. The new loaner wheelchair was fine. It is really huge, I think Havva must have describe me to the woman at Yad Sarah as hugely obese or something. I actually can slide around on the seat. Better than being too cramped, but still not terribly comfortable.

The lift was the slowest one I've waited for for a while, while we were waiting for the lift, D2 came downstairs to make sure we were waiting for the 'right' lift - apparently there are others. Finally arriving, TH and I and LD and S3 got on the lift. D3 went upstairs with D2 and S1 had elected to stay home, so that was the entirely complement of our crowd.

Getting tickets was a bit of a challenge, as the woman behind the counter seemed to be somewhat challenged. D2 blamed it on TH's poor communication skills (eye rolls and all), but after N. took over trying to explain to the woman (three able-bodied adults climbing the mountain on foot, and coming down the same way; three children riding the cable-car up and walking down, and one crip riding the cable-car both ways), it became apparent that this time TH wasn't the problem. We did finally get the correct tickets, and we went off to find the lift to the cable-cars.

Once there I decided to go up without the wheelchair. I had brought with me a walking stick that S1 carved for me a few years ago, which was perfect for getting around the mountain-top although less wonderful on the tiled floors. Must get a rubber stopper is all. And TH brought the wheelchair back to the car. The four of us (S3, D3, LD and I) waited for the cable-car and the others set off to climb the mountain. Whee!

The cable-car ride was a lot of fun, although shorter than I'd expected. It's fast! LD was quite scared, and D3 spent the ride comforting him, reassuring him, telling him to hide his eyes and so forth, which turned out to be a blessing for D3. She'd been frightened of being afraid of the heights, and having to focus on LD meant she didn't really have any time to fret on her own account. LD was fine, really, and when we got off the cable-car at the top, we just sat for a few and gave LD some water and a granola bar before heading to the top of the mountain.

I am lousy at description, so bear with me. It's rather a flat-topped mountain, as so many of them are. The ruins are almost exactly the same colour as the dirt and sand and dust on the mountain-top. Not surprizing as the rock to build them was originally quarried on the mountain-top. My fingers aren't really up to giving the history of matzada, so if anyone is interested you can google it under 'masada.' I don't know how correct or biased the information you find may be, but the basic facts are pretty simple.

We first bought post cards - I'll be sending a couple out, if you want one please let me know - then went to rest in an area arranged for shade with a water tap. I was all in after that much, and LD was refusing to move. We rested for a bit, but I thought it would be unbearable to just sit there and wait while the others climbed the mountain, so we made a plan to find a rest/shade area near the bathrooms, which were far enough away to allow us to site-see for a bit. First up the quarry, which was just a plain hole in the ground now, not looking like any quarry you'd see elsewhere. We passed the barracks and rebels quarters (not sure if the rebels referred to rebellion against the Romans or rebels amongst the Jews on the mountain-top). Then came to the Byzantine church, which was really quite interesting. There's not much left, of course, and I'm not really sure what a Byzantine church is doing on top of Matzada, I'll have to do some research on that myself, but it is quite small, not having room to hold many people at all, with a fair bit of mosaic tile-work still on one floor that was lovely to see.

There was a tour-guide saying a prayer in Arabic when we arrived (Arab-Xtian I assume) and then he launched into an explanation of the site in German. I amazed myself by understand most of it, and was also somewhat surprized to find I was utterly repelled to be hearing German there. I don't know what that was about. It just felt really 'wrong' somehow. I have nothing against the German language necessarily, or German tourists, but - it bothered me.

Moving away from the tour group, we trudge on to the lessee, I think it was the Western palace. Not much to see there, stone room. Getting a sense of the scale of the place was interesting again - I think of 'palace' and I think large rooms and halls, high ceilings, maybe arrow slits or crenellated roof-tops. Most of the rooms were smaller than a modern small-ish bedroom, though, and the entered into and out of each other in odd ways that may have made sense given a floor plan, but just moving through it was challenging. There were many parts that were closed, being rebuilt or still studied, so we really only saw the least part of it I think. I should say that the distance between, say, the Byzantine church and the palace or the barracks and the Byzantine church, was negligeable. Also there were places like the mikveh (ritual bath) between, so that you were never more than a dozen yards from some structure or another. Not a lot of free space, really.

These were very long walks for me the cripple, but even very small children had no problem walking about the whole mountain-top.

Leaving the palace we found our way to the beit-midrash (study house) which was the best find of the day. It had a roof (wood) put over it which provided shade, and there were the benches for people learning and it was just the right size for a party the size of our group to sit down and rest. TH and D2 and N. met us there, and we all had a bit of lunch (TH had brought it up in his backpack). It was relatively cool, and had cooling breezes blowing through it. The bima (stage, study table) was perfect as a place to put sandwiches together and slice pears. We rested and ate and drank.

TH had brought up a bottle of Pepsi, and it was still cold. Unfortunately he presented it to me already open, since drinking cola was a *really* bad idea (it dehydrates a body). Still, it was a nice thought, and I was mostly aggravated that he'd opened it without saying anything so I could have asked him to save it for later. Instead, I drank just a little and shared it with everyone, thus spreading the dehydration out amonsgst the seven of us.

After another bit of a rest we went to the bathrooms, and hiked to the southern edge and an observation platform, where we all had fun feeding a blackbird (? I think) from thawed frozen cherries and tapuchips (potato chips/crisps).

The views were extraordinary, at least to me, as I've never seen the like before, although I'm sure I will again. I had gotten quite wobbly, so all that was left for me was to hike back to a shade area by the entrance and hang out while the older ones visited the rest of the mountain. I understand I missed quite a bit, some of it very lovely, but I will go back. Having made it once I know I can do it again, and I am already looking forward to it.

The two younger boys stayed with me, and we'd been prepared for this so we all had books. Also, S3 discovered a terribly cute little rodent among the rocks outside the shaded area, and LD and I spent a fun few minutes watching for it and being delighted at finally seeing it for ourselves.

When the rest of the party returned we headed back out in slow stages. Both the boys decided they wanted to ride back down the cable-car, and TH discovered that we could buy tickets there, so all was good. LD had no problems going down in the cable-car, and we'd been all braced so it was a bit anti-climactic. The trip down also seemed to go much quicker than the trip up (it couldn't have, as there are two cars that go together at the same time).

At the bottom we made our way slowly to a patio area to wait once again for the climbers to reach us. It wasn't bad. There were lots of adorable babies around, and the patio area was large enough for a couple of 10yo boys to be able to play whatever games they wanted and not trip over people.

We bought ice creams and sweet drinks (nothing healthy like juice unfortunately), and eventually the rest of our group arrived. They rested and drank and ate, and we arranged the trip home with S3 riding with N. and D2, so as to allow the younger members of the party to sleep. LD rode in the way-back seat in our new (to us) Mazda 5, D3 got the middle seat, and S3 slept in the back of N.'s car.

We got home in relatively no time, taking no wrong turns and enjoying the scenery. One thing I found really a hoot when we were at Matzada, is that the peak is actually at just about 33 meters above sea level. That's because it starts at the Dead Sea, of course, but you just don't think of a mountain top as being only 33 meters (or about 100 feet) above sea level.

Once home we unpacked and I fell into bed. The younger guys ate and watched Hollywood Homicide and some original Star Trek. TH ran all sorts of errands for us and for our next-door neighbour, and I sat down and had a bit of a serious chat with N. It started out light, I want to get to know you better, you and D2 seem to be getting more serious and I think I should have some familiarity with you.

We talked about family background (him, German and Polish, one side by was of the U.S., the other direct to Israel), and what his parent do for a living. We talked about cats (his family is strictly cat people, and he says he doesn't like dogs). We talked a teensy bit about homeschooling and we talked about some of the many ways that Havva is really brilliant and awesome. There were many interruptions by other children, and TH joined us for a while in the middle. Finally I came to the serious point and I told him (I paraphrase here) I am not trying to push you to hurry up, but I want you to think really hard about whether you think you can do better than (D2). I don't know if she can do better than you, I don't know you well enough, but the question really is - do you think (imagine) that you would be settling for 2nd best with D2, because if you do, then you should clear out. Now.

Okay, you hopefully can trust that I didn't say it quite like that. I know that at this point, D2 doesn't believe she can do better than N., but I know there are a lot of fish in the sea, and Hashem can have more devious plans than we can imagine. I don't want D2 marrying anyone who doesn't think he is lucky to have her. VERY lucky to have her. I don't believe that N. sees it that way. So, fine. If they end up ending up because of what I said, I won't be heart-broken. It'll mean I was right when I told D2 afterward that he doesn't value her enough. And just maybe it'll make him think that it isn't just about *Her* being good enough for Him...

N. and D2 had to leave to drive back to their apartments in the centre. Today is N.'s birthday and they are going on a short tiyul (tour/trip/outing) together before he heads even further north to spend some time with his family on the day. TH had to run an errand, taking next-door-neighbour's ex-wife and new children home, and I fell over asleep, almost literally. I woke up to find the lights still on, and a computer game paused. I guess I was tired.

I am hoping to go to the shuk in a few minutes with TH and the two younger boys. S3 needs some new kipot (hats), and we need fruit and veg of every description. Possibly nuts, too. And S3 needs a backpack, as it happens. So, Hashem willing we will come home more poor but set for another few days at least.

I have to check my calendar for what appointments I've forgotten about this time.

I'm listening to S1 playing the piano AND the next-door-neighbour's daughter's extremely loud trance music. Whee!

:: Yesterdays : Tomorrows ::

~~~Last Five Entries~~~
Hi and goodbye - 2010-10-15
I'll be moving on - 2010-10-10
Gold membership and stuff - 2010-10-10
Decisions, decisions - 2010-10-07
Days to go - 2010-10-06