From the Inside Out

We flew out of DFW on Saturday afternoon and arrived in Frankfurt, Germany around 8 am local time on Sunday. After a short layover, we boarded another plane to continue our journey to the amazing country of Israel. A few hours later, we walked off the plane and into a country that I’ve heard about my entire life. It’s surreal. I still find it hard to believe that I’m really here!

By the time we got out of the airport and onto the tour bus, it was early evening, but that didn’t deter us from seeing a few sights. We drove through the city of Tel Aviv, a modern city where more than 3 million live.

Adjacent to Tel Aviv is Jaffa (or Joppa in the Bible times). Jaffa is one of the most ancient cities in the world. The Jaffa port is where Jonah sailed before being swallowed by the whale. It’s also the place where Paul had his vision about clean/unclean food.

Old city of Jaffa

Looking down the steps back towards the Mediterranean Sea

Narrow, old city streets

The port of Jaffa

Catholic Church in Jaffa

After visiting Jaffa, we traveled to Netanya where we would be spending the night. Our hotel is right on the Meditterranean Sea, and we have a great view of the Sea from our room. It was dark when we arrived tonight, but I’ll have some great pictures to share tomorrow.

For this trip, we are traveling with a group from our church. It’s an organized tour. The benefit is that it’s safer, and we’re here with our friends, but the downside is that we don’t have control over our schedule — or more importantly, our food. Dinner tonight was a buffet at the hotel. And like most hotel buffets, it was awful.

I thought I was going to bed hungry tonight, but instead Gary and I decided to venture out and explore the area around our hotel. We didn’t know where we were going, but we followed the pedestrian traffic and discovered a great pedestrian mall with shops and restaurants. It was perfect. We found a little pizza joint, ate outside, and enjoyed the pleasant evening. Then, we walked over to a gelato shop for dessert…yum! Finally, we strolled back to our hotel by walking along the Mediterranean Sea. It was a great ending to a lovely day, and a nice break from the scheduled madness of the big tour group.

Marketplace in Netanya

Restaurants and shops

Gelato!!!

Tomorrow, we head to Cesarea and Tiberius.

For more pictures from day one, visit the Israel Album.

Back in July, Gary set a goal to ride his bicycle 1,000 miles before Halloween. This weekend, he achieved that goal. We set out on Sunday afternoon to ride the remaining miles together. Gary had about 15 miles to go before reaching his goal. It was the perfect day to ride. The weather was warm (but not too warm), and the sun was shining brightly in the sky.

We rode through the neighborhoods and took a few trails until we arrived at our turn-around spot for the day, Paciugo. Since it was such a gorgeous day, we grabbed some gelato and ate outside before continuing the journey back home.

Just a few miles from home, Gary attained his 1,000 mile goal. We stopped and had a quick celebration. In less than four months, he rode the equivalent of biking from our house to the east coast! Wow, what a big accomplishment. Congrats Gary!

I have a long way to go until I reach 1,000 miles on my bicycle, but I’ve put 75 miles on the new bike since I got in in late September–not too shabby considering how hectic my life has been lately. One thing is certain, I love the new bike! It’s awesome, and I hope to get many more miles on it in the coming months.

“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” ~John F. Kennedy

Gary and I have a Halloween tradition. Every October we get together with our friends and check out the local haunted houses. I’m not sure why, but it’s something I’ve never grown tired of doing. It’s fun to go to some dark, spooky place in the middle of nowhere and have people jump out and try to scare you. I love it!

Some of the haunted houses we visit are lame, but others are quite scary. We’ve been to so many over the years that we now know the best ones to frequent. Our favorites are in Ft. Worth. Hangman’s House of Horrors and the Cutting Edge (voted one of the best haunted houses in America and Guinness World Record holder for the world’s largest walk through haunted house) are the best. Verdun Manor in Terrell and Screams in Waxahachie are not too far behind.

We didn’t visit any of our favorites this weekend, though. By the time we left on Saturday, it was late, so we decided to visit a couple of haunted houses closer to home. First up was The Parker House in Lewisville. The Parker House does a good job of creating an eery environment while you are waiting in line. And that’s a good thing because you will be waiting a long time, even with the fast pass. Once you finally get into the house, it’s worth the wait. There are some good scares, and the attraction offers a nice mix of inside and outside haunts, complete with the chainsaw wielding maniac at the end.

Our “scary” picture while waiting in line

The next attraction we visited was Phantoms Ghost Ranch in McKinney. Phantoms consists of 15 old western buildings that are haunted. You walk through the town and go into the various building to get scared. The environment is pretty cool, and it was well staffed when we went through last night. It was fun, and I’d recommend it, but I wish it lasted just a little bit longer.

Even though we didn’t make it to Fort Worth, we had a great night. Two haunted houses + friends + a few screams = another priceless Halloween memory.

I never thought I would write about this topic, but I am making an exception tonight. Baseball is one of my least favorite sports. To me, watching a professional baseball game is just a tad more interesting than watching paint dry. But the events of tonight have forced me to post a baseball blog. I justify it by reminding myself that this is a historic event, and I should document it.

I haven’t watched a single game. I can’t really say that it matters to me, so I don’t want to be hypocritical and act like it does. However, I am happy for the team and the fans who have waited 50 years to see them win the AL championship. I’m also happy that Dallas actually has a winning team again. The Cowboys are a huge disappointment this year, but I digress.

Yes, the Rangers are going to the Word Series for the first time in franchise history! The team is one of only three that have never played in the World Series and the oldest franchise that has never appeared. It’s about time, and fans are ecstatic.

The Rangers will face either the San Francisco Giants or Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Those two teams are still battling it out. The Giants are up 3-2 in the series, so it’s still up for grabs.

Regardless of which team the Rangers will face in the World Series one thing is certain, fans in Texas will be celebrating tonight. Congratulations, Rangers! You deserve it.

Now if only the Cowboys could follow suit…nah, what I am thinking?

Tonight we met with the producers of our last play, Leaving Iowa. They would like to take the show on the road, so they met with the cast members this evening discuss the details and gauge interest.

If everything goes well, we would be traveling to theatres across the country and performing the show on weekends. Initially, performances would be limited to towns in Texas and Louisiana, but it could expand beyond if they are able to book shows in other locations.

The cast would arrive at the theatre on Friday afternoon and perform later that evening. We’d stay overnight, perform again on Saturday, and then return home late on Saturday night. It would make for some crazy busy weekends, but it sounds like a ton of fun!

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be part of a traveling show, and now I may get the opportunity to find out. I’ll have to schedule it around my day job, but they will give us plenty of advance notice so I should be able to take vacation on the days I need to travel.

The good news is that most of the hard work has already been done. We’ve already performed the play. We know the characters. We know the director. We just have to dust off the script, freshen things up a bit, and remember our lines.

It should be a breeze!

But first things first…where did I put that script?