I have been reading some of my friends Xmass blogs and really liked the right background of the common issue on all of them –THE WHITE SNOW….That is how it should be…
So let me share with you our Xmass that also happened to be our Anniversary in Eilat ,the city on the Red Sea.
I will let the pictures speak for themselves and leave you all with a blessing for a BETTER year to come.
While Europe,Canada,parts of the US and even Australia (where it is summer now) are covered with snow we are experiencing this lovely weather in late December,although we would like to have some more rain if it is not to much to ask for..it is sad to see the “poor” brook almost dry.
Any how we decided to take advantage of this weather and took of to the Northern part of the country called Galil and as expected not to many people where out there in the middle of the week and that is what we like.
We hiked along the Zalmon brook and although the water level was really low still we could enjoy the hike,the surroundings and the small water pools traps along the way.
After taking it easy for about 3 miles we decided to head to the old city of Akko situated on the Mediterranean Sea and has a long history ,ancient structures and I would like to share it with you.
As we spend summers traveling with our 5W in North America we try to catch up with our local travels during the winters.
Usually the winters are quite mild in this part of the world so clear skies and crispy days are very common here that makes the outdoors activities very attractive.
All you have to do is be dressed as an “ONION” meaning layers of clothes that can be taken of or added accordingly to the weather changes,the trail has to dry and not muddy after a heavy rain ,add to it good company , good mood and you are set to go.
Our tour bus picked us up at 6AM and others on the route to South Golan Heights to Gamla and ancient Synagogues.
If you are interested to read about one of the most heroic battles (even more than Masada) go to http://www.jewishmag.com/40mag/gamla/gamla.htm and read all about it.
The trip ended at 8PM but till then we hiked around 7 miles on a beautiful day (a little hazy) and visited 3 ancient synagogues ,Gamla and had a surprise birthday party to one of our friends during the lunch break.
The tour guide was very informative and gave us the feeling that we are experiencing the old times and the events as they happened.
Till we meet again…
We live in Israel and RV every summer for 4-5 months since 2002 ,each trip to different States/Provinces, winters (that are very milled) we spend at home with family and friends.
So as you can see we are now at home while the RIG is stored in Ontario waiting for us to pick it up in the spring.
I have posted our next RV plan on the blog and will be happy if you can send you remarks/suggestions on it.
Yesterday I read some of your blogs and found myself missing the the travels and the RV life although we just got back from a 4 months trip in November,so we decided to take advantage of the great weather today and drove to the OLD part of Tel-Aviv .
The city is going through a lot of changes,the old section is getting an uplift while around it skyscrapers are blocking the sun and changing the atmosphere for the worst,doesn’t it happen everywhere?
We parked the car in a central location and wondered around by foot trying to go through old alleys,markets and old fashion restaurants.
I wish I could bring you the smells and the sounds of the market and the restaurants,but till this high-tech will kick in you will have do with the pictures as they here (try to imagine…).
As you can see it is impossible to escape the Modern buildings,they are everywhere,one person that lives still in one of the small old houses told us that the skyscraper built next to him blocks the sun completely and he can not even use the solar panels to heat the water…
The alleys and the small renovated houses that kept the “old flavour” are very nostalgic and inviting,just strolling down the alley,stopping at a coffee shop for a drink or an Ice-cream is very enjoyable,you can find old book shops,second hand stuff,old praying places from all religious and PEOPLE speaking different languages .
The next stop was the market that has it all,fruits,vegetables,flowers,food stands, a lot of GREAT smells and colors.
Then we hit our favourite small restaurant that specializes in meat soups that are prepared on small flame above an old small stove for hours ,the smell and the taste is just fantastic,the owner goes around and adds soup to your plate (not the meat) whenever she sees the level is reaching the bottom of the soup plate…so you will never leave hungry.
The soups come with a special pita that is usually dipped into mixture made from herbs,lemon and garlic,so after that you need a good glass of herb tea to “clean” the air.
I hope you enjoyed traveling with us in the OLD town although you must leave your RV behind…(But I envy you that can do it year round..)
Till we will be back on the road again…
My wife and I are doing this since 2002, each summer we visit new States/Provinces storing the rig at the end of each trip and picking it up in the following spring, never retracing, next year will be the 10th RV trip….hard to believe.
What started as a long lasting dream many years ago became reality –and there is nothing like living the DREAM.
It did not come easy as it sounds lot of adjusting had be done especially mentally and financially but here we are after 9 fantastic RV summer trips and hopefully many still to come.
If you like to see some of the adventure please go to our website http://danyshula.blogspot.com/ it is always updated as we go.
We ended our 2010 (Bruce Peninsula Ontario/Pennsylvania/Maryland/Virginia/Ontario) trip in Toronto and the rig is stored for the winter just an hour North of the city, so our 2011 trip starts from there.
We just came back from the trip a month ago brought the house and the garden back to normal and I am on the net planning our 2011 summer trip, I must admit that I enjoy this part quite a bit.
We love nature, hiking, scenic drives, special events, music and meeting people, so the plan is around these issues, I Google, ask for brochures, post on the forum and get advice from people that have done these routes.
Usually we pick a central location campground and do day side trips with the truck till we feel that we covered the area before moving on, the end of the trip has to be a winter storage place next to an International A/P.
Our 2011 trip will start in June:
* Toronto area to Sue St Marie either by ferry or by land, Boarder crossing to Michigan.
* Exploring North Michigan.
*West Michigan coast.
*Crossroads RV manufacturer Indiana.
*Lexington area KE.
*Land between the Lakes KE.
*Memphis area TN
*Nashville area TN
*Chattanooga Area TN
*Smoky Mountains area.
*October -end of the trip in Charlotte NC just to continue from there in 2012 to the Carolinas.
I will be thankful for any suggestions regarding the route, MUST SEE places or any other relevant remarks.
Many Happy Trails, May it last and last …….
Leaving Israel (home) to North America for a period of 4-5 months it is not an easy task,there are many issues that have to be taken care before departing such as:
Banking,bills,gardening,mail,vehicles,medicals and being ready mentally to leave your family and friends behind,BUT what is the alternative? sit put and feel sorry for not doing what you dreamt about for many years ? No way -it is all about balance.
So we decided to divide our time between RVing in North America during the summers and spending time at home in the winters.
We did some RV “test” trips in Italy,Norway and New Zealand with relatively small motorhomes before purchasing a 5W and a truck in North America.
It is not so easy for one that lives out of the US to do what we are doing,at the end of each trip the rig has to be left in storage (each time in different location ),stuff such as clothing has to be arranged so we will have everything in the trailer and ready for different weather conditions,but we have solved all these issues from experience.
We started doing this in 2002 and fell in love with it, each spring we start our trip from where it ended last Autumn never repeating our tracks,always exploring new States/Provinces ,meeting people from the RV world and some of them became our friends.
We love nature,hiking,meeting people and managing our time without any pleasure,we are always curious to discover what is “BEHIND” the next mountain.
So we just ended our 9th RV trip and this time to Ontario-Pennsylvania-Maryland and Virginia, you can read all about it in my previous posts,this time we had our eldest grand daughter (12 years old)with us for a month and only people that did it can understand the joy and pleasure of spending time with a grandchild .
The house and the garden are almost back to normal but the greatest news are that my medical test came back showing that I am clean from cancer cells after having 36 radiation treatments before our RV trip,not that there was another option…I believed in winning this battle and sometimes during the trip even forgot all about it,but it is good to have it “OFFICIAL”.
So back to normal,family ,holidays,friends and planning our next summer trip to Michigan-Indiana (visiting the manufacturer of my 5W)-Kentucky and Tennessee leaving the rig next to Charlotte NC just to continue to the Carolinas on the following year.
As English is not my mothers tongue (thanks God for the spelling automatic corrections) forgive me for any mistakes I do.
See you on the next summer trip and remember that today is the first day of the rest of our lives.
As all good things come to an end so is this 2010 RV summer trip.
It was an exceptional one because Yuval (our eldest grand daughter ) asked to join us for a month,only grandparents that had this experience can fully understand how happy we were to except her wish.
The month with her flew by so quickly but every day ,every minute was a pure joy,she became part of the “crew” helping with trailer and camping activities and in the kitchen as well,the one that benefited from this was ME, 1 Chef and one Su Chef….what else can you ask for?
Scroll down to see pictures related to Yuval in Ontario.
After dropping her off (with regret from both sides) at the airport to catch a direct flight back home, we continued to Pennsylvania,Maryland and Virginia.
Most of the time the weather was good allowing us to hike,swim ,explore and enjoy the outdoors.
We have meet friends from our previous RV trips and a friend from high school that we did not see for a whole decade…it was fun to say the least.
We also made some new friends from the RV family and enjoyed sharing stories ,interesting trip and future plans.
One of them invited us to store the rig for the winter on his property what made the end of the trip more enjoyable and easy – we thank them for all they have done for us.
As the season came to the end we found ourselves almost alone in C.G,morning were chilly and getting warm became an issue we decided to move and cross the boarder back to Canada , this time the crossing was smooth and easy I did not even step out of my truck…..
The last C.G was next to Niagara falls on the Canadian side on a beautiful lake and nice Autumn colors,we used the stay top winterize and prepare the trailer for the winter storage.
From there we drove all the way to our friends and stored the trailer next to their house and got all the help we needed .It was Thanksgiving evening and we were invited to share a dinner with the whole family,what a great evening it was.
Finally we left the trailer and drove with the truck to Toronto to spend time with our son and our Toronto friends,eating,hiking and catching up since our last meeting.
Close to our flight back home we dropped of the truck spending another two days there before returning to Toronto.
Hard to believe that we just ended our 9th RV summer trip ,good things past fast,but have already plans for our 10th trip….till then…bye.
