Scanned in Jan 2002; and then cleaned up a bit. But the format/font is still strange

Today is 6 August which makes it just over 2 months since we headed off to Israel; boy is that hard to believe, but it also is a weekend in which Dawna and the kids are in Salt Lake so if I’m ever going to sit down and do the trip letter it had best be now. I have a feeling this will end up mighty long as they always do so let me start with a less than one page summary and save you from reading the rest if you choose. The excuse for going to Israel was a one-week meeting at which I gave a talk on data analysis from "my" satellite experiment. The meeting was in Tel Aviv. It was actually a 4-day meeting and we were gone 15 days so got in a fair amount of vacationing. The first five days of our time was spent in Tel Aviv since we still like to "live" in one place awhile rather than visit a bunch of places. Our major impressions were that it is certainly a fascinating place in terms of history since things there are mighty, mighty old and of course very biblical and religious; and then on the other side of the coin it is fascinating in terms of its modern history (since it became a nation in 1948) what with the Arab-Jew problems, the Kibbutz concept, etc. I imagine the things that were most fascinating were Jerusalem first; next was the cosmopolitanness of the country as noted by the fact that just about everyone around speaks a half dozen European Languages along with English and Hebrew.... this continually blew our mind; the constant military personnel who were next to you everywhere was another real impression maker especially since they carried guns with the bullet clip close by and super especially because they were all seriousness … not like a typical USmilitary young fellow one would encounter in San Diego, etc. … for obvious reasons; we were also quite impressed (and depressed) by the seemingly hopelessness of getting the area into a peaceful state. Finally we found ourselves as sightseers who were enjoying seeing things but not dedicated Israel lovers who think it's a real great place … these were typically of two sets of people: (1) young people from all sorts of countries who really feel the frontier, Kibbutz atmosphere and love it and (2) American Jews from the East coast who haven't ever been to California, etc. but who have been to Israel several times. At first it was hard for me to see why they we're experiencing it very deeply but I think the answer is they were seeing "what they'd paid for" and feeling very proud of it and their contribution. I am not putting them down if it seems like it. We were often asked "Will you be coming back?" to which we'd reply … probably not at least for a long time. Not because we aren't enjoying and we certainly are glad we came … but simply because there are so many other places we want to go to that we haven't been to.

Saturday, June 4. We left SFO at noon and had a nice United flight to JFK at which time we had to switch to El Al. The first part of the switch was that although our bags were to go directly over to El Al, I wandered up to the baggage rack and watched enough and sure enough one (of two) showed up there. So I gripped a bit and then headed to El Al hoping the other one was there. Got to El Al and was told we had no reservation "because we hadn't confirmed our reservation within the last 72 hours". A debate followed in which I explained we’d just started our trip and in fact just got our tickets within the last 72 hours … finally got a seat. Turns out they were way overbooked or something on the London - Tel Aviv leg and we heard several people trying to decide whether to wait a day in NY or go to London and then try to move on. But we had passed that hurdle. Next was wait and worry for the bag … but it did show. Then go through El Al security...Fairly easy (tho not trivial) for us but another fellow from the Lab (Elmo) really got the treatment …. right down to they squeezed his toothpaste tube, dropped some drops out of his contact lenstbottle, searched him thoroughly in a little stall, etc...but we all made it onto the plane. A lousy, non-jumbo, poorly kept up (the seats were falling apart) plane in which no matter how many times we asked the stewardesses and the people themselves people kept on smoking in the non-smoking section. The stop in London was a pain where we were made to get off the plane and then herded through the airport … via standing up in buses and eventually back to the same lousy plane. Finally arrived Tel Aviv at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. All told we had been in the air 17 hours, on the ground 2 hours in London and when you add in some 9 hours of time change … oh, me. BUT Reception at the T.A. airport was smooth and we got to our hotel fairly quickly. 0h, yes, it was about 100° out and it sorta looked smoggy but it was really a sandstorm. This had started a day before or so, was a "real bad one" , but ended in another day or so. Had a well deserved, good sleep in our hotel … we were staying at a middle grade hotel as found in my $10 a day book and it was very nice and a lot more friendly and Interesting than they Hilton-like hotel that the meeting was in. We found the $10/Day Book to be super not only with respect to hotels and eating but sightseeing descriptions, etc. Better than anything I've ever used and if that's true for all countries that is my travel bible from now on.

Monday … the meeting doesn't start till Tuesday. Had our first Israel breakfast, which means fruit juice, coffee, some rolls, tomato, various green peppers and salad stuff, and fish. Various parts were good (like one of the two fish) and others weren’t …for me … oh, yes, various cheeses also. Then Elmo and D and I took a bus to Jaffa. This is a super old town on the Med. That is just a few miles from Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is a new city and Ben Burion simply build it on the sand just outside of shooting range from the Arab city of Jaffa. Jaffa is nowadays the place Tel Aviv tourists go because there are Bazaars, eating places, and neat museum, a portion of the really old town that has been rebuilt to be like Ghiradelli Square, etc. Spent most of the day there and had a good time. Still hot and sandy but less so a bit. Wondered back to the motel, shopping along the way, and rested a bit. Then dinner at Sauls (from my book). Quite good and our first go at what became a fairly standard dinner menu … Arab pocket bread and various 'dips' which you dunk it in and eat it as hordervers. Dawna had lamb chops; I had Shiskllck, which is lamb on skewers… like shish kabob in the states but only meat; and Elmo had kabob, which is ground meat in balls on a skewer (with lots of seasoning). Oh, yes, the skewers of stuff are charcoal grilled. Walked home up a major night-time street. To bed mighty tired

Tuesday.... My meeting has started so I spend all day every day at the meeting. The only day-time non-meeting activity was lunch which a couple days was at a fun sidewalk place and one day I picniced in a beach chair on the Mediterranean.. During these days Dawna looked at every shop in Tel Aviv, rode a lot of busses, did some sightseeing of Museums and other things. In retrospect her major feelings on the shopping were that jewelry was high style and a very good price and that there were a lot of Persian Rug stores and quite a few fur stores. Now back to Tuesday after the meeting. Dawna and I (can’t remember why Elmo wasn't with us) headed to a spot in Jaffa that was in our Book. Took the bus to Jaffa and then stopped in police station for directions since our map wasn't good enough. A fellow, not one of the policemen, who was there told us the directions beginning with a bus trip. We decided to walk instead. Got part way and fellow who had been at police station pulled up next to us and gave us a ride. It would have been hard to find. Dawna had lamb. I had fish. The fish was just so. The place was a real local place just as the book described it. Way off in the residential area. We walked back to bus world and rode home.

Wednesday … more meeting and this time lunch was fun for ate with about 4 nationalities and got to watch the owner of the café (about 10 tables in his cafe) talk to each Nationality in their own language. Elmo and I went to lunch with Raffe who is a fellow who grew up in Israel, spent some time in Colorado which is why Elmo knew him well and is now teaching in Israel, and who became our in country guide so you'll hear more of him later. That night we went with him and Elmo and a couple more fellows by then (one was Dick Catura also from our group at Lockheed) to dinner. Was sorta like Sauls but a bit fancier and we got the fancy (and paid for it … the only expensive meal of our trip...) service. Was quite good, tho even if we did feel pretty touristy. Main meals that night were that Dawna had brains and I had chicken livers prepared very nicely. Others had more regular things and I think Dawna and I did the best really. Walked home along the Med. By now our impression was gee, it’s too bad that a city so new looks so run down. Problem is that it was built quick and cheap and out of cement and is crumbling and unpainted. Points out the lack of money I recon a bit and lack of security also. Oh, yes, that afternoon Dawna met "the Persian Rug Dealer". This was a fellow from Tehran who she bumped into while she was window shopping at Jewelry and Rugs and who seemed both nice and on the level and she went into some Rug stores with him. He buys rugs and sells rugs and is mighty rich and I actually believe all this. He was buying rugs from Jewish immigrants in various stores and often was buying rugs that they had "in the back room" because to have them out would mean they'd be taxed for them. More on the Persian Rug dealer later.

Thurs. Meetings continue. Actually two different symposiums were going on and the one I was Involved in was different from the other Lockheed folks so I hardly ever saw them. A sign of how much the Hilton-like hotel that was hosting the meeting was ripping people off was that the coffee during the break was $1.30 and we simply didn't drink it … That night Dawna had told the Persian rug dealer where we were staying and we agreed to invite him to go to dinner with us … and he accepted and came to the room for a drink and we all went to dinner. Considered several places … fancy French and fancy Sea Food and ended up, much to his dislike, eating at an outdoor place in Jaffa where you could select various meats to be on skewers to be charcoaled, etc. And we ate everything imaginable like liver, kidney, hearts, etc. along with regular meat also. Really quite good and fun. The evening revolved around talking to the Rug dealer and even going in a few stores with him. We (I should say I) wasn't really up to deciding to buy one so we didn't and I suppose in retrospect it was a mistake but that's me … not interesting in buying something we don't need or even have a plan for. But anyway, we exchanged addresses, etc. and I bet some day we'll go to Tehran and really buy one right from him. Quite an adventure in all.

Friday … last day of meeting and day of my talk. Dawna was a bit bored this day but prepared for leaving. By now the plan was as follows: Saturday was to be a "tour" of areas bordering on the Sinai Desert led by Rafee and there were three car full of we scientists, etc. We, Elmo, Dawna and I rented a tiny little car (with a luggage rack that held our suitcases) and right after the meeting drove to Be’er Sheva' which is on the edge of the Sinai and is where Rafee teaches in a newish University. Fun to be on the move and seeing small towns. The roads were fine. Drivers OK except they honk all the time for any reason. Twas dark when we got to Beersheva and we got a bit lost but eventually found the hotel (which was trying to be a Las Vegas place for tour busses and not very interesting but O.K. for sleeping). Dawna went to bed.... tired and knowing tomorrow would be busy; while Elmo and I went to Rafee's apartment and met the family and sat around and talked till midnight. Neat to get the feel of the people. Beersheva is an old Biblical town but has had a lot of new gov't money put into to it as a frontier town so is quite modern in many areas.

Saturday … very early AM our three car loads got together at Rafee's (Raffe and his wife and Elmo, Dawna, and I in our small car) and we headed out across the desert. Immediately saw all the things you should …. camels wandering all around like range cattle; Bedouin tents and shepherds and goat keepers; really barren (tho not sandy) desert area and hot and dry and rocky. Got over to Massada which is famous because it is atop the dead sea and was Herod's get away from the Jerusalem palace and then the Jews took it over and then shortly there after when the Romans were taking over all of Israel it was the last hold out spot and the Romans spent 2-3 years conquering it and just before they got to the top of this very high protected hill the Jews committed suicide rather than be captured. Anyway the Romans got up by building a long ramp up the backside and that's how we walked up. Then on top it is very hot, very dry, very spectacular in terms of ruins and in terms of view. Lots of sun on the body tho. It was a highlight of the trip. Walked back down and had a picnic (we had all brought stuff) that was well needed. Rest of the afternoon drove through more countryside a bit more into the desert and was neat to see it. Geology was neat. Drove by a very remote spot, which is the Israel Atomic Research Station … very well guarded and brought us back to the 20th century. Drove down to a kibbutz that was Ben Gurions prime one and the spot he went to after getting out of office and he stayed there till he died. Very impressive hunk of greenery out in the middle of the desert (at the southern frontier to them so how the Egyptian arms came up. It fit my picture of a kibbutz but because it was Saturday we didn't get to really visit the inside much. Back to Beer Sheva to leave Rafee and wife and split from other cars. Then drove to Jerusalem. Mighty tired. Showed in at our hotel there … The Jordon House...picked out of my book and quite near the Old City … an Arab run place.

We had chosen it because it was middle grade and sounded neat for was full of real artifacts and Persian rugs and museum pieces, etc. Turned out to be true and very charming, interesting and the people were super friendly and it was just a great experience. Went to dinner and then to bed. Oh, yes, Dick Catura had gone directly to there on Friday afternoon and Roger Bonnet (French scientists we'd know for a long time) had checked in there also … all prearranged.

Sunday.....breakfast was now not "Israeli" rather toast and eggs (good scrambled eggs) and coffee. Went to the Old City of Jerusalem. The Walled City, and walked the streets. Saw the principle things you are supposed to see like the Moslem Mosques and Dome, the Wailing Wall and the Jewish areas, the walk the Christ carried the cross on, and many, many streets of real, real bazaar type small stores selling anything and everything. Also watched some excavations of yet more history, walked along the top of the wall for about \1/4 of the way around. Ate lunch and had a nice roasted chicken. Dick had to leave to catch a plane to go to England. The old City is simply a fascinating place and really makes you think you are living a mighty long (maybe 2000 years and maybe much older) time ago. Rested a bit and decided to celebrate so took our second and last bottle of Calif, wine … we usually take one or two when traveling to give to any hosts but turned out Rafee didn't drink.....meanwhile had given one to the Persian Rug dealer back in Tel Aviv. Anyway sat down in the sitting room of the hotel amongst all the museum pieces and had our wine feeling pretty elegant and also got talking to the owner and he showed us several rugs that he had in the back that were unbelievable detailed and in excellent shape plus many artifacts we hadn't seen earlier. Off to dinner at a nice/fairly fancy place and had a fine meal. Dawna ate some super hot Turkish salad that no one else could handle. I had lamb chops and Dawna had roasted chicken on Arab pocket bread. Took Roger to the Taxi Stand for he had to go back to Tel Aviv. To bed.

Monday....Elmo went to his plane at 4:00 AM, so by breakfast we were on our own and tho we had fun doing things with the others we also liked not having to coordinate everything, etc. so set out at our pace. We still had the rent a car so drove it out to the Holocaust exhibit which depicts the World War II with respect to the Jews and we thought it was well done and not overly gory. Returned the car to the car dealer and walked a whole bunch sorta around part of the old city but a half mile away from it. Bumped into some neat ruins. Also bumped into a fellow who showed us his picture in some 15-year old National Geographic and we bought a pre-Christ oil lamp from him. I had been going to get one in a "certified by the museum" place for 25 dollars but this uncertified one was 5. It is amazing to me that there are so many real artifacts for sale, since I only think of replicas from museums but every where they dig they find them so they are simply too many for all the museums in the world to take care of. Part of our walking took us up the Mt. of Olives (above Getheseme) and we saw a fellow ridding a camel so Dawna yelled at him that she'd like to ride it. Well, we both rode a bit and then Dawna a bunch and the story isn't quite as neat because he really was a fellow who lets tourists sit on the camel for their picture but it is still neat because he really liked Dawna’s knowledge of animals and let her try to gallop and also showed us the camels feet, how it kneels, and lots of that kind of stuff. Walked home and this was the first day we had sore feet. Went up to the newer part of Jerusalem, and selected a place and had schnitzel and goulash. To bed.

Tuesday...took a very, very local bus the 15-20 miles or so to Bethlehem (20 cents each). Got off at the edge of town and walked the last mile or two stopping in a few shops and seeing things like Rachel's tomb. Got to Church of Nativity (supposed to be above the Manager) and the central part of Bethlehem and a couple grottos. Fairly impressive churches etc. Also saw the Olive wood "factories" .....i.e. one worker and lots of wood and the mother-of-pearl "factories" where many of the items we had seen in the bazaars are made and; twas more fun … and better stuff … to buy a few things here. Bus back to J. Went to Rockerfeller's Museum... right next to the old city and nice artifacts … Went down in Solomon’s caves … sorta a huge cavern under the old city where stones for the Temples and lots of building were quarried. Oh, yes, nearly all Jerusalem is build with really good looking rock or at least rock facings so does not look run down like Tel Aviv and in fact looks real nice and similar architecture and just a super place … can’t think of a better visiting city tho Kyoto Japan probably beats it except for the historicalness of J. Went to a Hungarian restaurant and had some very good Goulash. Walked out to the Israel Museum which is open on Tues. evening and this is also where wild building houses the Dead Sea scrolls. These were breathtaking and the museum itself was really super and we were too beat to really take in more than an hour or two of it. Bus back to main Jer. than walked to our spot and did it through a rather spooky area which is super strict Jewishness where the men all wear black look alike suits, the women aren't out on the streets, and every thing is really medieval in feeling.

Wednesday....breakfast and then to a theater for a "Walk around Jerusalem tour" we had signed up for which was about 20 people and the fellow was an ex-professor at Hebrew U. in archeology and he lectured for an hour and then we walked and he lectured at various sights and showed us things that were really old and told us about the different stages J. had gone through and pointed out many things …. .educational , off beat a bit, and very, very good Much of the walking was outside the old city and some was inside and during the Inside we went down below street level and saw pavement that was really there when Christ was being tried at that spot, etc. Back to hotel and checked out....because they had had previous bookings for the entire hotel … an archeological group … and checked in at a YMCA a few blocks away. Basically the Arab YMCA … both it and the main YMCA are actually quite nice hotels. Don't remember dinner.

Thursday...breakfast was about like the other place. Walked to a Russian 0. Church that was more impressive from the outside than the inside. Back Into the Old City and really toured the Jewish Quarter which we had sorta skimmed by previously … they are totally rebuilding but with old city architecture and very impressive and you can guarantee yourself they are not planning to leave.... ever. Many, many schools and svnag. and one is impressed that all the kids there go to school and all the kids on the Arab parts of the old city are selling in the Bazaar so in the future guess who'll come out on top I bet. Then took a walk led by a Father Someone which went over the walk the Jesus carried the cross and at a dozen or so spots something special happened and one Christian religion or another has a chapel there and we went into many of them … You’d never know they were there except Father X would open a wood door on a normal looking wall and went you stepped inside it was a church/chapel. He was a lousy tour guide tho and hard to understand and always in a hurry and nothing compared to our professor of the previous day. Also spent time in one of the major towers of the wall which is sorta a museum and also has much digging going on.

Somehow I forgot that on Wednesday we went to a folk dance performance at a neat theater. Trouble was it wasn't folk dancing like we expected but rather modern dance portraying folk customs … Good, but not what we wanted.

Friday and we're off. Left our two main bags at the Y and took a couple small items and rode a local bus to the major bus station and then a bus to the sea of Galilee....Tiberias to be exact... which is more than a hundred miles north. The bus went right up the West Bank, through the oasis of Jericho (claimed to be the oldest walled city in the world), past lots of recent refugee camps. Amazing to spend several hours at many hundreds of feet below sea level. Hot and dry on the hills but pretty fertile right in the Gordon valley. Lots of soldiers getting on and off the bus. At Tiberias got a local bus to the Kibbutz that was 5 miles away and where we were staying. The kibbutz is on the Sea of G, and runs a "holiday inn" like motel that is quite nice. Swam in the sea. Had a fancily served Sabbath meal in the main dinning room … only tourists and mostly Germans on some type of tour. Sleep. Were disappointed that was no slide show about Kibbutz life, or lecture, or tour or anything.

Saturday...breakfast Israeli again but fancier and good fish and really good cheese....but not what to do on the Sabbath but swim and sun. So we walked to Tiberias. Long and hot but walked slow and neat because all the locals are out on their one day weekend swimming and picnicking along the Sea of G. In T. we did lots of walking, some sitting in the park watching people, ate some Saint Peters fish on the lake front and it was excellent. Walked back to the Kibbutz and had a swim and to bed. Very pretty setting and after dark one can see sets of lights from towns on the hills above the Sea of G. but otherwise the world is dark.

Sunday … breakfast and then began bussing our way back to J and the end of the trip but doing it the long way. Stopped by Safed which is in the mountains and has an artist colony and then went over to the Medit. and bused down in to Tel Aviv and eventually back to Jer. Rode 7 busses, none of which were nice like the first one but always got a seat and sure saw a lot of interesting country and people and even had a good fish meal at a buss stop in Haifa. In Tel Aviv we went to a jewelry store that Dawna had remembered for by now I was all convinced of the great bargain In diamond jewelry and there was a bracelet she really liked … STORE WAS CLOSED. In Jer. we ate dinner very nicely at the spot with the hot Turkish salad.

MONDAY … flew home. This time it was a nice 747, tho still El Al, and no real complaint except it took a long time especially since it went Tel Aviv, London, Montreal, N. Y., but that's the price one pays for a bargain ticket and I'mnot complaining. The plane was fine and the London stop was handled much better. We did miss connection in N.Y. but managed to get different ones. All told It was rather mind blowing since we got up at about 4:00 AM in Jerusalem and while our taxi was going down from the hill top towards the airport we saw the sun rise over the Judean Hills and then we flew west for the day.....with the sun out racing us and when we finally landed in SF the sun was setting over the Pacific and we had watched the sun for almost exactly 24hrs. The fact that it was 21 June made this easier to accomplish. Neighbors, with our kids, met us at the airport and although tired that was nice.

Only footnote is that the next day....Tuesday I went to work and then came home and ate dinner and then caught an all night flight (with changeover in Atlanta) to Washington for a meeting the next day. Yes crazy but was the most convenient way to do things both from the point of view of traveling with Dawna, having some time at work to regroup, and seeing the kids for a meal, etc. Actually didn't feel too bad for my Washington thing. Returned that Friday evening and was pretty lazy all weekend tho I'll surely admit.

And are my fingers tired. Sorry about all the lousy spelling and all the lousy typing but getting through 8 pages in about 2 1/2 hours is moving right along and I did make it though...