Floating Away

Beautiful green gives way to the browns of the desert. Today we headed into the Judean Desert, however we did NOT wonder for 40 years. Just the day. :) After a quick visit to the Good Samaritian Inn to see some of the awesome mosiacs that have been preserved we were on our way to the desert.

Next stop Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. While Galilee sported beautiful flowering hills of green (Spring is one of the best times to go)Qumran was stark with it's tall stone mountains. Which don't get me wrong, to me both were breathtaking but the contrast between the two is amazing. I had to take my picture in front of where the first scrolls were found. Any time the Dead Sea Scrolls are mentioned I fondly remember Danielle's enthusaism from our Journey Group about seeing them when they toured the US for Scroll-a-palooza. (okay so we might have made up the name but they were on tour)

One of my favorite spots while visiting Israel is Masada. It's stunning. I have a picture in my office ready to be hung of Masada (maybe when I get in on Friday, I'll find the fairies have come and hung it), the picture is absolutely stunning. It's at Masada where a group of Zealots held off a Roman Seige for over 6 months. Rather than fall to the Romans to be enslaved the Zealots made the decision to kill themselves. Today, Israeli soliders who have finished their basic training are sworn in here. The ceremony ends with the declaration: "Masada shall not fall again."

After a quick stop to see the waterfalls of Ein Gedi, I know waterfalls in the desert, we headed to the Dead Sea. It was so much fun! You haven't bounded with someone until you have helped them smear mud all over themselves. We were like something out of the black lagoon. It was hysterical! After the mud we floated, it's the weirdest feeling, you just sit down and pop right up. (Pictures to come later)

Awesome day!