Shalom, My Friends

Believe it or not, we managed to escape the snow!  There was some worry on our part when we heard the impending weather forecast that was predicting yet another tremendous snowfall Sunday through Monday.  Since our flights were scheduled for Monday afternoon, we decided to change our plans a bit and reserve a hotel room near the airport so that we did not have the worry of driving to the airport.

As it happened, not a flake of snow fell in Newark, and we had no problems boarding our flight to Israel.

And here is proof that a little sunshine can hide the fact that one has only had a few hours of sleep.

Not too bad, I suppose.  It was great to feel the warmth of the sunshine after leaving such frigid temperatures behind!

For those of you who do not know, Marty's job has changed venues.  He said good-bye to Scotland in October and was assigned to Nazareth, Israel, making his first visit in November, and a second in January.  He asked me to accompany him on this trip, and after some serious thought on my part, I agreed to come along.

My touring strategy will be far different than my Scotland adventures, and I just may lay low in our hotel on some days.  It certainly offers a beautiful view of the sea from our room.

Our hotel is in Haifa, but we decided to stop in Caesarea on the way from the airport since that opportunity will not avail itself to us anytime for the rest of the trip.

We weren't sure what to expect, because when we landed, there was a condition referred to as a "dust storm" throughout the area, and all of the buildings looked like they were hidden in a fog.

Luckily, by the time we reached Caesarea, the skies had cleared.

Our first stop was the Byzantine Street, which is actually part of a forum.  The street is lined with marble, and the statues are from the 2nd and 3rd centuries, brought here from the Roman forum when the street was built.

We headed over to Caesarea National Park.  This features the City of Herod the Great who set out to construct a port to rival Alexandria.  He built the town as well as a harbor, naming it after his benefactor, Augustus Caesar.  It was once one of the grandest port cities on the eastern Mediterranean.  

Beautiful, don't you think?

Stone walls and Palm trees stand stately in this historic town.

Walking through the gate transforms you back in time to the time of Herod the Great.  And, although this city was claimed by different groups over time, the ruins continue to give us a glimpse of time in that era. 

Near the entrance stands the foundation of the Crusader Church of St. Paul from the 1100's.

This Citadel is from the original Crusader City

Sarcophagi were easily spotted on the grounds, and here is an example of an unusual one.

A Hippodrome with a field for Chariot Races still stands

One can almost envision the chariots rounding that bend.

Roman villas once stood among the Mediterranean seaside, and many features are still standing. 

Here you can see some  mosaic floors.

And remnants of a Roman Bath.

 Here stands the palace where St. Paul was brought from Jerusalem, in chains, to stand trial for heresy.

And there is a Roman Theater which was constructed in the time of Jesus and Pointius Pilate.   This is an entirely separate structure from the Hippodrome.

And a larger than life Chariot Statue stood near the Hippodrome. 

One can almost imagine Ben Hur behind the reins!

I actually have a lot more to share with you, including many lovely photos of Haifa,  but with only a few hours of sleep on the plane, I'm going to call it a night.

I'm fairly certain that I'll have more tales to share in the days to come.

But for tonight, I bid you…..Shalom.!

Just Call Us Alligator Hunters

How lucky were we to wake to bright blue skies this morning?  That called for an outdoor adventure.

We hopped in the car and drove a few miles to the Fort Clinch National Monument, located on the very tip of the island.

Construction of this fort began in 1847 to guard the mouth of St. Mary's river.

Notice that this fort is built entirely of brick.

It served as a military post during the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War II and 

the exterior is shaped in the form of a pentagon

jutting out onto the water's edge.

Across the way, you can see the State of Georgia.

The Cannons were huge and different from any type that I've ever seen. (That's me in front of the cannon).

And I found the angle markings with the wheels to be quite a clever idea.

I'd never seen anything like that on such a grand scale, either.

We walked through the entire fort where we saw barracks

dining halls

Officer's quarters

the pharmacy, where the man in charge apparently guarded the whiskey

and I was quite surprised to see this original storage box, dated Sept. 1863.  

That  room was brimming with similar items.

It was such a beautiful day, and we took full advantage of it by climbing up on the exterior walls to take in the view.

When we were leaving the Fort, the woman in the visitor's center mentioned that there was a very nice walk around Willows Pond, and that, if we looked carefully, we might even see an alligator.

Now, how could we resist that opportunity?

We found the pond easily enough, and began tiptoeing down the walk, attempting to be as quiet as possible in the hope of finding an alligator.

I had spotted something that looked suspiciously like one and had motioned for Marty to come and take a peek.   He told me that he was sure that I was mistaken. 

Being the expert, he began to tell me what I needed to look for:  two eyes and two noses, at which I asked, "Do you mean nostrils?"  

Did he REALLY think that I couldn't figure that much out on my own?

 I took a photo anyway, and when I uploaded it onto my computer

Surprise!

When I zoomed in….there was an eyeball staring at me.  Looks like I was right on that one after all.

We continued on down the trail, spotted some turtles, who were frozen like statues, 

and I was fairly certain, once again, that I saw an alligator.  In the meantime, while I was quietly spying this creature, a man and woman came walking along the trail, said hello in a very loud voice, and then asked me if I had seen any wildlife.  

I commented, quietly, that I had seen a couple of turtles, and a couple of birds.  She was quiet surprised by my revelation, and she went on to say, in a bolsterous voice,  "I haven't seen a THING ALL DAY!" 

Hmm….. Do you wonder why?

Well, as she passed, Marty came back to see what I was looking at, and I pointed out what looked like a log, but suspiciously like the head of an alligator.

Then….it blinked!!

How exciting was that? 

Marty grabbed the camera and started taking photos, dodging into bushes, and I was just hoping that he didn't end up face to face with the creature.

By now, we'd spotted a total of three, and I found it amusing that they were all in the vicinity of this sign.

Then, a heron that we had been watching, decided to pop into the pond, and wander from spot to spot in search of a meal. 

I watched it get dangerously close to the alligator.

I commented to Marty that I was worried that the bird was going to be lunch.  The next thing I knew, the bird was stepping on the alligator's head.

There was a snap, and a ruffle of feathers,  and as we spotted the heron flying away, the gator had jumped and landed  180 degree  from its original position , AND exposed a second alligator nearby in the process of all this commotion.

This was far better than what we ever would have anticipated!  In the meantime, Marty had fun taking photos of me with a Heron in the background

and an alligator slowly on the move.

When it came down to final count, we had seen 5 alligators,  and who knows how many were lurking unbeknownst to us?

We decided that we'd had enough alligator excitement for one day, so we headed out to the ocean pier to take in the lovely view.

Marty tried his hand at fishing in the ocean, along the pier

but with no luck. We then decided to head back to the hotel, stopping to take a peek at the Amelia Island lighthouse that has the unique feature of a Fresnel Lens.  

If you're wondering why it is so far inland, it is because there once was a causeway where the present day marsh in the photo is today.

It's our last night in Florida,  and we were treated to a lovely sunset

and one last evening shot of Fernandina.

We'll be heading out at 4:00 a.m. for our flight home into frigid weather!

It's been a great week and I hope you've enjoyed our travels.

Until next time…..

Fun in Fernandina

Today's destination:  Fernandina.

But, before we departed from the River Park Inn, Pat, the proprietor, insisted on taking our photo.

Didn't she do a great job?

Once we made it to Amelia Island, the grey clouds and soggy weather were behind us, and we were greeted with lovely sunshine and much warmer temps.

What a relief!

This town is really quite fascinating, brimming with a lot of history.

And then there's the story that Fernandina is actually the oldest city in America, not St. Augustine.  It was discovered by the French a few years prior to St. Augustine, but no plat map was made up to confirm its existence.

Does it really make a difference?  I think not.

Since it was such a lovely day, we used it to our advantage and decided to take the walking tour around this historic town.

There were so many beautiful buildings to admire:

The court house built in 1891

the Episcopal church built in 1891

The Bailey house from 1895

I found the carousel on the porch to be rather interesting

The Hirth house from 1886

the post office built in 1910.

and the Waas house.

There were 40 different places of interest scattered all over the historic town, and it took us a couple of hours to make the walk, stopping to admire some of the interesting details of many of these preserved buildings. 

We popped into St. Michael's Catholic church which was built in 1872.  The interior was quite simple with its only ornateness being the altar

and the strikingly different window above the altar.  Here is a closeup where you can see the brilliant colors and detail.

We're staying at the Florida House Hotel, on the historic tour list, built in 1857

It is certainly a unique place

They have an abundance of mermaids here:  hanging off walls, painted onto mirrors, adorning mantles and shelves.  They are in their "natural" form, so I decided to refrain from photographing them. (Mermaids don't wear clothes…..only tails. You get the point, right?)  I don't need blogger flagging my posts for indecent content!

The place even has its own "famous" drink:  The Mermaid Slap

and an entertaining banner to lure one in:

" I'd rather be slapped by a Mermaid

than punched by a Pirate." 

Now, with that kind of incentive, how could we resist trying one?

They were fabulous!