We fly home in 24 days, and so the last two weeks have been intense. I have been trying to wrap up some work items and we have been moving down the list of remaining things we would like to do/see/experience in the north of the country. Two Sundays ago Adena and I dropped the kids off at school and daycare and drove thirty minutes south to the Tishbi winery located in Binyamina. Their website is not great, but we had a very nice time. Maya led us on a short tour of the facility, but since the harvest season (there are two each year) was over, there wasn’t a lot to see other than the barrel room.
There were several other small groups there for the tasting, which consisted of six red wines paired with dark chocolate squares. The host explained that dark chocolate opens your tastebuds and so you take a sip, eat the chocolate, then drink the wine. We liked the Cabernet Franc best, but at 130 shekels per bottle, we didn’t bring any home. We picked up some of the chocolate and a few bottles of red wine to give to folks at the Technion as parting gifts. We sat next to a group of sisters (maybe between 50 and 60 years old) originally from Scotland and they were delightful. One of the sisters made aliyah decades ago and now lives outside Tel Aviv and the others were visiting from Aberdeen, Scotland and Florida. We ended up talking about scotch and I learned that in Scotland, you drink it with water added—never with ice because it compromises the flavor and never neat. After the tasting, Adena and I had a lovely lunch at the restaurant on site to recover from the tasting. The food was good and the bread that came with meal was fantastic. I had the second best shakshuka of the whole trip there (Greg Kitchen in Jerusalem is still #1!) and sitting under the vine-covered pergola was pleasant. We bought a loaf of the bread from the onsite bakery on the way out and headed home.
That week, a few kids in Millie’s class had birthdays and so their parents pooled resources and took everyone to the Elite chocolate factory. In addition to birthday cake, each kid came home with a bag of mini Pesek Zman and Mekupelet bars.
On Friday, Aviva had her Chanukah celebration at daycare. We arrived a few minutes late and she was in tears because she thought we weren’t coming. Eventually she warmed up and we all had a great time. I even participated in the “dance of the dads” where we paraded in wearing paper short order cook hats and dancing with trays of sufganiot.
That afternoon we drove down to Jerusalem and had a belated Thanksgiving dinner with Uncle Paul, Aunt Laura, and all their kids. It was really nice to see everyone and the girls had fun making hand turkeys, but three-month old Amalia was the undisputed star.
Last Sunday, Adena and I took a lunch break and visited the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art here in Haifa. It is basically next door to Aviva’s gan and we had been wanting to see it. We enjoyed the paintings and woodcuts more than the ceramics and even picked up a few gifts at the museum shop.
That night we all took the bus across town to Millie’s class Chanukah party. The kids lit candles for the first night, played games, and ate lots of candy (and pizza). It was interesting to see another part of Haifa and surprisingly fun to be out at night with the girls. Schools close for Chanukah and so on Tuesday morning, Millie and I took the Carmelit down to the Hadar neighborhood and took in some of the street art on Masada Street.
We wandered over to HaZikaron Garden near city hall and there was a street protest happening. I’m not sure what the protest was about though. We picked up Aviva from daycare and after lunch we drove up to Merom Golan resort in the Golan Heights. This area is less than 40 miles from Damascus, but in order to get there one would have to backtrack 4.5 hours and enter through Jordan. Politics.
The drive up was easy, except for the sharp turns and switchbacks once you start the ascent (around where Route 90 becomes 91). I drove up and Adena drove home on Friday (more later). The scenery is amazing, but we were worried that the weather would be a problem given that rain was in the forecast each of the three days we would be there. The room was fine, with a separate sleeping area for the girls and forced-air heat! We were so happy to be warm and dry that we barely noticed that the room didn’t have cable TV (considering how much they charge, this is a definite oversight). Each evening there was a communal Chanukah candle lighting in the lobby with all-you-care-to-eat traditional (red jelly filling) sufganiot. The girls made friends with some kids their age (Noa and Tamar) who happen to live in Haifa.
I drove us up to Mount Bental, which is a dormant volcano with a military bunker on top. We spent a lot of time exploring the bunker and taking in the view.
We rested a bit in the room, then toured the Beresheet apple factory down the road from the hotel. It was a lot of fun to see the operation and we even got to eat one of the apples from the cryogenic refrigeration room.
The next day, we drove down to the Hula Valley and toured one of the nature reserves. The 3D video at the beginning was crazy, with moving seats and jets of air that shoot into your face. The self-guided tour was just what the girls needed, even though it was a little rainy.
The girls got their faces painted at the Agamon Market down the road and we had a late lunch before heading back up the escarpment.
Friday morning it was super foggy and rainy. We had the hotel breakfast one last time, packed the car, and headed out. The plan was to make a quick stop by the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). Adena drove and we had to proceed very slowly, given the weather conditions and the fact that we were in a Kia Picanto (negative horsepower). Luckily, swinging by the Kinneret allowed us to bypass the steepest parts of the descent and we were able to at least see the water. It was raining when we got there with huge waves. We got gas and were about to get on the freeway to Haifa, when the rain stopped and the sun came out. I made a U-Turn to go back and take a quick drive by Mount Arbel when we heard the unmistakable sound.
We had a flat tire, but I was able to put on the doughnut pretty easily. I could hear the call to prayer from the mosque down the road and an older Arab man and his wife stopped to ask if we needed help. Of course it started raining again as soon as I got the leaky tire off, but soon we were on our way. Here are a few photos of the fog on Mount Arbel.
If we ever get back here, I would want to spend some time in this region. We had a quiet Shabbat dinner last night and drove down to the beach this morning to give the rocks and shells the girls collected that won’t fit in the suitcase back to the sea. We each made a wish out loud as we threw them into the water, which was kind of nice.
Right now we are preparing to host Aviva’s friend Itamar and his family for latkes and candle lighting this evening. Here’s a photo of them at the Louis Promenade overlook.
It is going to be hard for them to say goodbye. I think it will be hard for the whole family to leave Haifa in two weeks. You can bet that we will not go quietly though.
Keeping It Israel 