Ceaserea/Haifa, Israel – Ruins & Prophets

We took a taxi to get our car rental around 10a.  The first thing I noticed is Israeli drivers are as fearless as they are fast.  There is no such thing as defensive driving here as everyone is on offense.  Kendall became such an amazing map reader that we pretty much stayed on course most of the day.  If you are using only a paper map with no electronics you are sure to set yourself up for more God encounters as you stop for directions each time you get lost!  Once we made it out of Tel-Aviv driving became much more manageable.  Our first stop, Ceasarea National Park.  It was here Paul was held prisoner before being sent to Rome (Acts 25).  Kendall and I were both enthralled with how everything was built.  We saw several sarcophagi, which are stone boxes called flesh eaters.  It is a special stone that quickens the decay process leaving only the bones.  We also saw the Hippodrome for Benhur style chariot racing and a still functioning Roman theater.  After leaving Ceasarea, we made our way up to Haifa.  We saw Mt. Carmel and stopped to see what some believe to be the place Elijah stayed prior to his mountain top experience against the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 17-18).  Later I found out Mt Carmel is also where David met Abigail.  I helped a Jewish grandma (after first asking permission) carry her cart up a flight of stairs to the cave and once there she insisted that Kendall and I enjoy her juice, dried fruit, and crackers.  On the way to our next apartment we met Orin who was incredibly helpful getting us on the right course.  Then we met Iris checking in.  She also was wonderfully helpful, giving us a great place to finish our day with yummy Italian.

Kendall’s take:
April 3rd: – A Good Drive
We slept in till 8:00.  When I finally got up daddy was dressing after his shower.  The lady who checked us in had said to heat the water before using it.  Well, we couldn’t find the heater; so we took a very changeable (from hot to cold) shower.  Then we took the taxi to the car rental.  Daddy went and got the keys from the lady and we hopped in.  It was a big car (five seats and a trunk).  As we started driving down (or rather up) to Ceasarea, daddy found out he could not put the car in reverse.  He improvised and pushed the car backward with his foot (a Flintstone mobile).  We accidentally passed Ceasera without knowing it and decided to go back.  So, we went back, found it, and explored everything.  It was awesome!  On the way there, we passed a bunch of cool trucks (dump trucks, tractors etc).  It reminded me of my brother Elijah who is five and loves tractors and cool machinery.  In Ceasarea, we saw tombs above ground and a statue of a shepherd holding a lamb (reminding me of Jesus).  We had a little trouble with the maps finding our hotel in Haifa.  A kind man named Oren helped us.  Our hotel is so very nice (better than the other hotel).  I ate a delicious delicious I say, meat lasagna at an Italian restaurant our hostess recommended.  I was so full.  I have not had the need to eat since.