The drive takes about 4 hours non-stop. Which in Israel is considered a massive drive. We loaded up the car and set out. the diversity of landscape in Israel is unreal. From the northern forests to the barren deserts of the Negev. If you have ever driven from Reno to Las Vegas, that is the drive to Eilat. We seriously felt as if we were going through Nevada, as well as parts of Arizona and New Mexico. We kept our eyes out for camels and other wild life, and finally saw some on the drive home. Why does the drive home always seem to take twice as long as the drive out?
We stopped at this place I deemed the Grand Canyon of Israel. The light was a little hazy so it is hard to see the different depths of the canyon. But it was great in person!
We passed through an area that really was breathtaking. I was busy being a co-driver and pressing the brakes on my side of the car for Jay as we wound our way down.
We set down our bags, changed into our swimsuits and headed to the beach. I had a moment of oh-crap when I put on my swimsuit. I didn't even THINK about my 35lbs weight loss when packing and just tossed everything in. Last summer things fit ok, but I was only down 15lbs, well 20 more made a big difference. Fortunately I brought 2 and the second fit just fine. WHEW! The beach was TOTALLY not what I was expecting! The sand is more pebbles and rocks and you sink down with each step. The water is much colder than we expected, so it took us (except for Zane) all a few minutes to wade in. Zane is part fish and dove right in.
In the evening we went next door to the Ice Mall. They have an indoor ice skating rink and kids amusement center with rides and games. Both kids roller skate, so ice skating was fairly easy. Lena used to ice skate in Canada, so this brought back many memories.
In the morning Zane insisted we visit the pool, so we spent a little time in there after breakfast and decided to go to the Underwater Observatory. We arrived at 1:30 and they close at 4, so if you ever have the chance to go, plan a little extra time.
SEA TURTLES!!!! I LOVE Sea Turtles!
After we watched the movie, we walked out to the underwater observatory. These fish are not caged. This is what it really looks like out there!
Back inside there is Shark World. Massive take and an entire wall is glass.
We watched a guy feed the fish.
We were all getting hungry by this time, as usual, so we stopped in a center and found Paddy's Irish Pub. WOW! We both ordered the salmon, and it was to die for! We cleared our plates! VH1 was playing on the tv and throughout the restaurant and the outside eating area. We headed back to the hotel to refresh our waters, changed into suits and headed to the beach. Jay decided to rent a boat and take the kids out. I do not do boats. I get major anxiety on boats, especially in open water. Fortunately Jay totally understands this and didn't pressure me into going. The boat guys tried, which gave me even more anxiety. So while they were out, I sat on the beach and people watched. They had an awesome time and the kids both drove the boat. It was the highlight if their trip.
*While I am sad I did not get to experience this, I did not want to make others miserable by having to deal with my anxiety and the repercussions afterwards. Jay found this out when I went onto the huge enclosed Ferris wheel in Niagara Falls when I was pregnant with Zane. I was sure I could manage my anxiety and have fun for Lena's sake. I ended up crying the entire time, and they ended up more worried about me than having fun. Then being depressed and angry after for being that way. Forget it.
We hung out on the beach, watched the sunset and went back to shower. That evening Lena and I went shopping and Jay took Zane back to the other mall where he could play in the game room.
This is what the beach looks like. Water shoes/ Aqua socks helped a lot!
The next day we woke up to heavy winds. I was honestly ready to head home that day, so we said we would play it by ear and see if the wind really bothered us or not. We decided to go for a drive around Eilat. We ended up stopping right around the Coral Reef and watched people scuba diving, found some cool dead coral on the beach, and went back to the hotel to swim.
The pool at the hotel is at the center surrounded by buildings so the wind didn't bother us too much there.
We showered and headed out to eat, back to Paddy's! Then across the street to do a little shopping, walked through the promenade once more.
The drive home always takes twice as long. As we were driving we notice a bazillion cars heading towards Eilat. Boy was I glad we had booked Monday-Thursday. It wasn't crowded and we missed the worst of the traffic. Unfortunately people get off work early on Thursday, so we did hit some getting home. So the drive took a little longer, but we made it home and all slept like the dead.
Until our next adventure.....
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