It nseems like just yesterday

I can't bellieve that we are on our way to Davis for Samantha's graduation... it seems like it was just a few weeks ago that we were going up for her orientation, and now she is a graduate.

So we have 3 cars going up (Kathy and Ash, Celia and Morgan and the Barry, Bubbie and me in the last one) to help her celebrate this moment.

So many lasts, the last time we will drive up the 5 and think we are one third of the way there becase we see and smell the cows.... the last time looking for Patterson as a stoping point the las time we sill be wondering where all these truck come from ...but then next week we will start a whole new set of firsts...as we take Ashleigh for orientation at Sonoma State.

May 24, 2011

So many moments and so little blogging..... so what has happened since Sept 2007 I know that was not a date you were expecting, but that was when we left Samantha at U.C. Davis.

Our little Sammie who first started school in 1990 managed to make it all the way to graduation from Calabasas High School in 2006. And now we are waiting just a few more days until we

get to go back up to Davis one more time for another graduation.

Where does the time go

I am sitting here looking at the calendar and just like 4 years ago I am wondering where the time went?

So here I am with 56 days to go until Nativ 30 will be history and Ash will be home.

I know how is it that 7 months have already passed since she left? but it true. and I know what she has been doing but what worries me now is what I have been doing or what I have been doing with her room.,..

So what has happened since she left... well I have managed to fill her room up with stuff... now some of this is stuff that I have been mailing to her since she has left but the rest is well.... storage. So it's time to move it out and make room for Ash to move back into her room. But that will only be for a short while becasue she might come back in 56 days . She leaves again for Camp Ramah in 72 days

and then just 142 days from today she is off again to Sonoma State everything seems to be moving so fast.

10 days later

So here we are 10 days later almost back were we started .... sitting in an airport waiting to get on a plane, only this time we are heading home Tel Aviv to Philly- Philly to LA. 26 hours from now LA time we will be home.

We has some change of schedule and a few wet days but on the whole it was

a great trip. From a sleeping standpoint I am looking forward to getting home. From a so many exciting things to see standpoint I have run out of time to see things long before I have run out of things to see.

Ash you were a great tour guide.... we had a wonderful time and you left us wanting to come back.

צְפַת‎‎ Tzfat part 1 The Citadel

There are so many words that look so wierd when they are translated from hebrew to english, Tzfat is one of them. But that only adds to the mystical history of the the city. So our first stop in Safed (yes that is another spelling) was The Citadel the drive up here was an experience (not an easy or comforting one) but once we got to the top we were able to get out of the car and walk around.


There are seating areas there were built in the early 1200's.













At the very top is the memorial to The Independence fighters who started their battle to regain control of Tzfat on the evening of May 5, 1948 and their battle was successful and they regained control on May 9th. On a clear day (which Tuesday wasn't) you can see Tiberius so we just listened to the recording and read the plaques.

צְפַת‎‎ Tzfat part 2 The Religious side

As I said earlier Tzfat also called the mystical city is famous for many things military battles, candles, artists and Religion.










So as we were walking amongst all the different artist we found all these different religous sites The Sanz Congrgation which was founded in 1869.




But I think the most amazing site that we found was" The Yosef Caro Synagogue" the synagogu that Rabbi Joseph Caro, scholar and Kabbalist, author of the "Shulchan Aruch" actually practiced and developed Kabbah Judaism.















one of the more amazing things that we saw but they wouldn't let me take a picture of was the Genizah where they have books and other religious items dating back to the 14th century.

Amirim

Amirim ...there are even some Isralies that don't know about Amirim but I can tell you after staying there we will be back.


What a wonderful moshav, only 150 families and they are all vegitarians but that just adds to the quaintness of the experience.

So our arrival at this hidden little moshav came completely by accident . I mean we did have reservations but no one I asked had ever heard about Amirim. Thankfully the GPS did. Amirim has everything you need, a beautiful view, a synagogue, artists galore a sculpture garden two restaurants (we only ate at Stubs and it was good), a few spas (didn't get to try any of them this time) and probably 60 Bed and Breakfasts.

One other thing that they have is a Jet? yes a fighter jet, and no I
don't know why.... there is this little park with this jet on display. We didn't even find this for the first 2 days becsue everytime we drove by it it was either at night or in crazy rain and we didn't see it. I guess we will just have to go back and find out about it.