Moving on up …

I decided not to practice this morning. We’d been getting back to Kfar Maccabiah later and later each night and while it wasn’t adversely affecting me yet, I didn’t want to reach that point. So I gladly sat out (along with Meryl) and instead watched my teammates take to the lanes, offering some coaching and words of encouragement. We forget sometimes how important that role is: we can all use another set (or two) of eyes watching out for us and giving us helpful advice to make us better.

As I said, each day we’ve been getting back later than the night before and the trend would continue as we drove up to the Golan Heights (about two hours from our base) to learn about this strategic area in Israel’s north, to enjoy some outdoor fun and games (like biking and rappelling), and swim in the fresh, warm water of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). The biking was a challenge (I don’t profess to be Lance Armstrong, but those ascents on uneven terrain will kill anyone’s knees) and the long walks in the hot sun were draining, but to come to Tzemach Beach and just watch the sun set over the Sea of Galilee as we relax and enjoy the time in Israel was our just dessert.

During our time here, I’ve introduced my teammates to some of Israel’s finer things in life. One of those is the Magnum Ice Cream bar. The name aside, this is one of the best treats you can enjoy. Yes, ice cream in Israel just tastes better (my mother will attest to that … ice cream shops in Netanya are awaiting her arrival). And Magnum bars are just little pieces of heaven on a stick. So anywhere we stop, someone is buying a Magnum.



If only we had them in the United States, we’d probably have many more smiling faces. I guess the only way to taste it for yourself is to come to Israel and grab yourself a Magnum (ok, stop with the silly jokes, we’ve been making them all the past few days).