Hey Hall Boys and Friends Everywhere!

Wish you were all here with me. Everyone should take this trip!! My expectations were low for Caesarea. I expected a bunch of rubble with plaques. We were all totally blown away by the beautiful ruins of a glorious city built by Herod Antipas. A fully restored Roman amphitheater, a coliseum complete with a cage for the lions, incredible baths with mosaics still intact. This was the home of Pilate. Paul passed through and was perhaps in prison here. Philip went through after meeting the Ethiopian eunuch. We wanted to stay for hours but our guide kept us moving…on to beautiful Haifa, a peaceful modern port city. Then to Mt. Carmel, where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal. Lunch at a falafel stand and then we pushed on to Magiddo, the 4,000-year-old ruins of an ancient city that has been destroyed and rebuilt 17 times. Solomon stayed here. We saw the clever water system (braving 186 steps down, 80 up whew!), grain silo and even the water troughs for the stables. Incredible! We ended our day with a glimpse of the Sea of Galilee. We just had dinner with tons of salads, roasted vegetables, fish and more and now sit in our kibbutz (farm community) hotel room listening to something howling outside, birds nesting in the hallway and scent of cow wafting through our open window. Hoping we’ll get good sleep tonight. Another busy day tomorrow. Miss you all. You will come with me next time.