"I'm Uncomfortable 98% Of The Time On This Trip"

Hello from Kefar Szold!

Dad and I are currently sitting outside on a porch while it lightly sprinkles outside.  We've had a nice, relaxing day today (partly because I'm feeling sick and we don't want it to get worse).  We worked hard yesterday and I think it's good that our bodies had a bit of a break today.

Before I begin to talk about yesterday and today, Dad insisted that I include photos from the Roman ruins he saw in Beit Sh'ean.  I didn't go with him to see them because...I didn't want to.  He seems to think they were amazing and deserved to be shown on the blog.  As far as I'm concerned, I've been to Rome three times and didn't come to Israel to see what the Romans had done here.  However, in order for my dad to stop badgering me about it, I've decided to post the pictures...

Truly incredible, Dad.  Can't believe I missed them...Now onto more important things:

Yesterday, we left Beit Sh'ean after eating breakfast with 100 middle school children.  We were staying at a hostel where a lot of school groups stay while they are exploring the town of Beit Sh'ean so when we went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast, we were joined by 100 teenagers.  Fabulous.  You don't realize how loud kids are until you're around them at 7:30 AM in the morning.  It was also interesting because Dad sat down at a table before the kids had come in and this lady just went up to Dad, waved her finger in his face and said "No."  Dad picked up his plate and just stood there waiting for direction, but didn't receive any instructions.  Eventually, we found a place where we were allowed to sit and grabbed some food before the students came in.

While we were leaving, an Israeli girl who was quite friendly (what a change), asked us where we were from, what we were doing etc.  It was a nice change from the people who usually just glare at us and want us to get off the road.  Then, she asked us "Do you have any children?" to which I responded "I am the child".  However, there are moments on this trip where I feel like the parent.

Actual quotes from our trip:

Me: "Dad, you need to close your mouth when you chew.  Nobody wants to eat with a 'Chompy Chuckie'".

Me: "Dad, you can't pick food up off the ground on the side of the highway and eat it!  It's literally covered in dirt.  PUT IT DOWN!" (Sadly, this phrase has been said on more than one occasion).

Me: "You have food all over your face."

Me: (in response to Dad patting himself down, checking in all 17 pockets of his pants to find whatever he has most recently misplaced) "Retrace your steps and think of where you had it last.   You really need to get better at not losing everything." (this conversation happens daily)

Me: "Did you eat two chocolate chip cookies before dinner?  I told you that you could have ONE.  The other one was supposed to be for dessert!!!"

Anyway, we were on our way to Kefar Szold, a small community that is about 100 km north of Beit Sh'ean in the middle of nowhere.  We had a good day of riding, but it was also a tough day.  The first part of the day was really good.  It was mostly flat and we had gone 50 km by 11:30 AM.

Some of the highlights included a nice bike path that we were able to ride on for awhile, a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee (it reminded me of Flathead Lake!), and some cloud coverage making the temperature very comfortable.

First dedicated bike path of the trip!

Crossing the Jordan River (for the first time out of three times that day)

Sea of Galilee in the distance

Viewpoint of the Sea of Galilee

Israel's military is literally the definition of casual

Another view of the Jordan River

We stopped at Bethsaida, the place where Jesus is said to have fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, where He walked on water, and where He called some of His disciples.

After this short break, we started climbing.  The next series of photos, I would like to call "The Uphill Series".  It is a photographic exhibit that features some of the many hills we walked up yesterday.  It was pretty rough and I was getting exhausted and frustrated after a few kilometers.

I will say, it was nice to see some scenery that wasn't desert.  Now that we are in Northern Israel, we are seeing lots of green.  We have seen cows, trees, wheat fields, and fresh flowers.  Spring is certainly in the air here!

After climbing uphill and shedding a few tears (tears are just a part of every day for me on this trip, it seems), we had a large downhill section where we crossed the Jordan River again. Then, it was flat for quite awhile.  It is difficult to enjoy the flat parts when you don't know what's coming next!  Sure enough, we faced more uphill climbing shortly after I started to think "Ok, only 20 kms left, I can do this".  We stopped at a bus stop and I had to get something to eat because we didn't have a lunch break.  Dad and I began talking about how, in life, it is important to put yourself in situations where you are uncomfortable.  A cycling trip is a perfect way to do that.  Not only do you learn about your own capabilities, but you also learn about your travel companion, their strengths and weaknesses, and, in our case, how to work as a team. As I sat on this bus stop bench, eating my dried fruit (which, sadly, has become the 'treat' I look forward to every day), giving my throbbing legs a break, Dad asked if I was uncomfortable.  I said "Yes, Dad,  I'm uncomfortable 98% of the time on this trip."  He responded with "Really?  I feel great."

Eventually, we made it to our hotel for the night.  Well, I shouldn't say hotel.  We are staying in a Kibbutz, an Israeli commune.  It is a small, but well kept settlement that doesn't see a lot of cyclists...We had to make our own dinner (as there are no restaurants in the area), so we went to the mini-mart and had to make do with what was available.  Our shopping list included: milk, chocolate milk, cookies, frozen pizza, yogurt, oranges, sandwich meat, and ice cream.  We didn't have a stove or a toaster oven so I had to microwave the pizza.  I knew it wouldn't be the greatest, but it was edible.  (Mom!  I'm learning to cook!)  Dad also had me add sandwich meat to it because, of course, everything they sell has to be kosher (you can't have milk and meat cooked in the same kitchen) so cheese pizza was the only option.  Dad is getting tired of this.  Dad and I often find ourselves talking about how great it was when Mom came on our past cycling trips and drove the support vehicle.  Not only was she encouraging and provided us with positive energy when we didn't have any ourselves, but she always took care of the food and we never had to microwave a frozen pizza.  MISS YOU, MOM.

Not feeling too great

That night, Dad and I were both fast asleep by 10 PM.  Although I slept well, I had quite a cough and a sore throat this morning.  I was not feeling good, but we woke up at 8 AM to have breakfast in the dining room (with all the locals) and then came back to go to sleep.  We were planning on staying at the commune for another night anyway, so there was no rush to get up and go cycling.  Eventually, I woke up at 12:00 PM. Obviously I needed the sleep!  It was raining on and off throughout the morning (there is nothing sweeter than the sound of rain on the window while you're laying in a warm bed)!  However, we knew we would have to cycle to the next town if we wanted to eat anything other than another frozen pizza.  We brought our rain gear in case we had to use it, but we were fortunate to make it to the town of Dafna and find a restaurant just as it started pouring.

I was in heaven watching the rain pour down, eating Italian food and drinking a cappuccino thinking about how wonderful it was that we weren't in any rush to cycle off to our next destination.

However, as luck would have it, as soon as we were finished eating, the rain started pouring down like crazy!  We had originally planned on going to the Tel Dan National Park but with the rain and me feeling so sick, Dad decided it would be better to just go home.   We put on our rain gear (nothing looks as cool as matching father/daughter outfits) and, although the rain and wind was bad for a few minutes, it cleared up before we got home.  It was so weird-the sky was covered with clouds on one side and sunny on the other.  The weather changes so quickly here!  I even got a picture of Dad where he didn't move and the sky changes dramatically.

Looking ahead ("Ok Dad, don't move!"I run down to take another picture)

Looking behind (notice the difference in the sky!)

 We spent the rest of the day on the porch (when it wasn't too cold) eating oranges and drinking tea.  I am the tea maker, Dad is the orange peeler.  We've figured out our roles when it comes to that.

Dad said these were some of the best oranges he's ever had.  And if you know Dad well, you know he eats a LOT of oranges.

Tonight we will have whatever food is available for dinner and cycle to Tiberias tomorrow where we will stay for four nights.  I am hoping whatever I've come down with does not get worse, and that this rest day along with another night of sleep will help.  Stay tuned for our adventures in Tiberias!