Pyramids, Now South...

I arrive in Eilat by bus early Tuesday morning. Here I met up with Catharina, the girl that was also planning on going to Cairo. Its always better to travel with someone else. Just as long as they are not a crazy person. Luckily Catharina is far from that. We arrived in Cairo early afternoon yesterday and booked a tour with one of the local travel agencies. We stayed in a great hostel in downtown Cairo and woke up early this morning to tour the Great Pyramids. We rode camels through a traffic jam that was half camel half car. Not something you see everyday. After the chaotic mess we broke away from the tour buses and people trying to sell you mini pyramids. I have to say it was pretty amazing. Still has not really set in that I saw them this morning. Almost like a dream. You read about something and see pictures of it your whole life and then your actually there.....It was pretty surreal. After that we visited some more of Egypts 97 pyramids. Next, we toured the Cairo Museum and got to see the beautiful artifacts from King Tuts tomb along with many, many others. Now we are about to go catch a 12 hour train to Aswan close to the border of Sudan. Here we will tour the temples of Abu Simbel on a Nile cruise. I got to go...I'll be sure to post pics ASAP. Probably won't write for the next 6 days b/c of the cruise....Bye!!! : )

Things Don't Always Go As Planned

Well, I'm leaving to go to Egypt in a couple of hours. However, a few things have changed. Bill is not going to be in Cairo because of something that came up with one of the tennis tournaments. This is not a big deal as I can just stay in a hostel. So today I pretty much spent all day researching the different accomidations and tours available for Egypt. After a day I feel like I got nothing done. There are about a million choices!! I think I will just end up booking a tour when I arrive in Cairo. I don't know if you have ever heard of the burden of choice, but I'm feeling it right now! Sometimes it is easier when there are fewer options. My kite will not be repaired on time so I will not be kiting in Egypt. Kind of sucks, but I could have far worse problems then a broken kite : )....Trying to be optimistic!!!....But sometimes....I mean I brought all 30+ pounds of kiting gear halfway around the world then bought another kite in Isreal for $500 (which broke after using it twice) and have not really kited more than 5 days. More hassle than it is worth!!! But sometimes we do things out of love or passion that we cannot explain. I love kiteboarding, and this time she broke my heart! Oh well, ancient Egypt will be amazing and instead of riding the wind on the water I will get to spend more time exporing whats underneath it.

To The Pyramids!!!

Just got back from the Kinneret where I was kiteboarding for the last three days. It is a beautiful place to ride. Any place that the wind blows everyday is good! My kite has been giving me problems so hopefully I will have it fixed before I leave for Egypt Monday night. I am going to take the midnight bus from Tel-Aviv to Eilat Monday night. I will arrive around 6 AM and then take a taxi to the Taba border crossing. At the border I am planning on meeting up with a friend of a friend who is also traveling to Cairo. It is not the safest place for girls to travel by themselves so she will tag along for the ride. The bus from the border leaves at 10 and is supposed to arrive in Cairo around 5. Wednesday I am planning on touring the pyramids and Thursday the Cairo Museum. I will be staying with my friend Bill in Cairo. Bill is a professional tennis coach who recently took a job there running a tennis academy. He is coaching a player in the olympics this year. Pretty cool....I know Bill from St. Pete where we kiteboarded together. Friday morning we are driving 3 hours to Ras Sadr Egypt to do some riding. After that it is pretty much up in the air. I might stay and kiteboarder in Ras Sadr for a couple of days or go back to Cairo and tour around some more. No set plans. Also, I am planning on relaxing in Sinai again before my trip is over. The picture above is of Ras Sadr where I will be riding....Looks nice!!!

Wanted: Travel Partner

Kyle left two nights ago to return to Florida. Funds were running low so it was time for him to go back to reality. I don't speak for Kyle, sometimes Kyle doesn't speak period, but if I had to guess I would say he had a great time. It was nice to share some amazing experiences with my brother. He returned in one piece and niether of us gave each other black eyes. Based on these facts I would say it was a success traveling together. Now he is going to serve tables so he can save up beer money for when school starts. Just kidding Mom. The money is for textbooks and study guides ; ) Now I am staying at a friends house outside of Tel-Aviv. Thursday I am going with my kiteboarder friend Dan to the Kinneret for some riding over the weekend. Friday I turn 22 so it should be fun celebrating it with some time on the water. It's all downhill from here. 21 was my last significant birthday. Yeah, I'm 21, now I can get into bars! 22 doesn't have much significance besides that it is the first time I've had an age with two of the same numbers in it since I was 11. Thats pretty cool.....I guess. Once I turn 111, now that will be a milestone. Triple 1's ! Anyway, today I got my visa for Egypt. Next week I am going to Cairo to see what those large triangles in the desert are all about. I have a friend who is a pro tennis coach working in Cairo . I will go stay with him and tour around and then head torwards the Red Sea for some kiteboarding. After that I think I will go around the Sinai Peninsula sightseeing. The southern end is home to some of the best coral reefs in the world so I definitely can't pass that up. I have 4 weeks left and I'm going to do my best to see as much as I can.

Serenity in Sinai : )

Kyle and I just crossed the border from back into Israel from Sinai. I don't think I have ever had a more relaxing 3 days in my life. After entering Sinai throught the Taba border crossing we grabbed a cab and headed down the coast. That would be the last time we were aware of the time and day. After an hour drive south we arrived at our Beduine camp. Kum Kum 3 was the name of our camp. It was located on an empty stretch of beach with mountains behind it and a coral reef in front. 10 miles across the Gulf of Aquaba is Saudi Arabia. The Sinai region is amazingly beautiful. I will let the pictures do the talking. We basically woke up whenever the sun poured through our hut and went to bed when the moon was setting behind the mountains. I can't tell you any times. Time was left at the border. So we would wake up, take about 4 steps and go swimming out to the coral reef. After exploring around the reef we would eat a nice breakfast at the kitchen in our camp. Egyptain pancakes were our favorite. Sweeter than pancakes at home, covered in chocalate and fruit. Then we would sit and read in a hammock or on some of the many large pillows under the tent. Usually I would fall back asleep and wake sometime in the afternoon. Now it was time for another swim and then maybe some paddle ball with Kyle. By now the sun is getting close to the mountain peaks, so I know its time to shower. After a refreshing outdoor shower its time to read and take another nap. Dinner comes as the moon begins to rise over the mountains on the Saudi side. After dinner we play some cards and listen to the beduines play traditional music under the glow of the moon. Its a hard life! : ) It was like we were in a time warp. Everything goes by at a pace that you don't get anywhere else. Complete silence surrounds you like the mountains and the reef. I think I am going to go back before I leave in August. I almost forgot the best part. We paid 15 Egyptain pounds per night. Thats roughly $3.....Enough said.....

Going South!!!!!

Kyle and I have just been relaxing in our apartment the last couple of days. Going to the beach and chilling out. We went up to Haifa for Shabbat dinner with the Israeli soldier that we know. Her and her family really made us feel welcomed. Her dad is an amazing guy. He is 78 years old and a retired Israeli army commander. He looks like he is 60 and acts like he is 20. He fought for Israel's independence in the Independence War of 1948. Founded and commanded Israels first elite diving division, kind of like the Navy Seals. Now he is retired after over 40 years served and operates a dive company as head dive master. Saturday he took us out on his dive boat and we swam around a wrecked ship just off the shore. Really a great man...Right now we are heading down to the Red Sea and then Sinai. Sinai is a region that is part of Egypt that is also on the Red Sea. Just going to be relaxing and doing some snorkling. I got to go before we miss our train...Will post when we get back towards the end of next week..

Up North....

After visiting the Ba'hai Gardens and Haifa Kyle and I headed to our next stop, the old city of Akko. Akko is about 30 north of Haifa. The city was first mentioned in Egyptian texts from the 19th century BC. Alexander the Great established a mint there in 333 BC and operated for 600 years. In 636 Akko fell to the Arabs until the time of the crusades. The Crusaders established it as thier principle lifeline and port. In 1291 the Mamluks pounded the city to rubble where it remained that way for 450 years. After that an Ottoman by the name of Al-Jazzar, a.k.a. the butcher, brought the city back to life. He was not called the butcher because he was good at cutting meat. Al-Jazzar had 37 wives. After returning from a trip he was told that one of his wives had cheated on him. He could not tell who had done it, so he killed them all. Not someone you would want to play a practical joke on. By 1799 the city was important enough for Napolean to have interests in conquering it. He was denied and Akko remained in Turkish hands until the British captured Palistine in 1917. This is just a brief outline of the Akko's turmulous history. This is one of the coolest parts about being in Israel. There is so much history everywhere you turn. Over 3,000 years since its beginning, the city still houses many families and a large market. After Akko we headed north to the border of Israel and Lebanon where there are a series of grottos (caves), carved into the cliffs by the ocean. It was pretty crazy seing the border and all of the Israeli soldiers stationed there. It brought to life the harsh reality of living in this confined country with enemies on all sides. After the caves we headed south back towards are apartment in Herzliya. I stopped in another old city called Cesarea, while Kyle was tired and headed home. Cesarea was built by the Phoenicians in 332 BC and in 6 BC it became the headquarters of the Roman government in Palestine (Israel). However, much of the ruins that I saw where from the crusader period. These old cities have been conquered and re-conquered so many times that it makes it really hard to keep the facts in order. It is really amazing being in these old places. There are definitely opportunities to use my degree as a student of anthropology. Many of the sites are continuing to be excavated. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the history lesson for today. As for the pics.....From top left working down...Cesarea looking across the main part of the city. Ruins in the central part of Cesarea. Underground tunnel used by crusader knights in Akko. Akko city streets at night. The west fortification wall of Akko. Cave in the north. Cliffs that the caves are carved out of.

Haifa and The Ba'hai Gardens

Yesterday Kyle and I arrived in the port city of Haifa in the north. The public transportation is great here in Israel. We just took about an hour long train ride along the coast. Pretty much from our doorstep in Herzliya to the hostel in Haifa. Haifa is a decent size city set on Mt. Carmel facing Haifa Bay. It's main attraction are the Ba'hai Gardens located along the side of Mt. Carmel. The gardens belong to the Ba'hai faith. Ba'hai is the worlds newest religion and was started around 1830 and today has over 7 million followers. They believe in one god and preach world peace and unity. Not a bad concept. The gardens are part of a memorial for the faiths founder. He is buried in the large golden dome pictured above. The gardens are over 1 km long, have 120 full time gardeners, 1400 steps, cost 250 million to build, and are semetrical to promote unity and equality. We took a tour this morning. Many of the Ba'hai faith make pilgramage here every year. However, there is a 10 year waiting list to get in for those who practice the religion. The reason for this is because of an agreement with Israel. The Ba'hai said they would only allow 400 faithful a month to visit. Everything was cut and cleaned to perfection. The gardens are a truly remarkable landmark. We literally saw people cleaning the marble with toothbrush size brushes. A small stream runs along the steps all the way down through various fountains and to the bottom. In the picture on the right you can see part of the city of Haifa in the background. If anyone is interested in learning more about it you can check out www.bahai.us On a different note....Kyle and I ran into a soldier that was with us on the Birthrite part of our trip at the beach yesterday. I know like a total of 8 Israelis and I already ran into one! This truly is a tiny country. So today she is going to take us around and then we will probably go to the next city to the north, Akko. This city has what are said to be the most amazing Roman ruins from the time of the Roman occupation. Until next time, bye! With emphasis on the aye. That is hebrew for goodbye : ) So now you know some easy hebrew....

Happy 4th of July!!!

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th of July in Tel-Aviv. There is an American bar called Mikes Place on the beach in the city. Definitely not as lively as I would have expected, but still a fun time. During the day we went to the beach. Unlike in Florida on the 4th, we were not dodging fireworks being set off by un-supervised 8 year-olds. Tomorrow we are taking the train up to the port of Haifa in northern Israel. From there we will visit the surrounding coastal cities of Akko and Cesarea. Both contain Roman ruins from thier occupation in what was then called Palestine. Should be interesting.......I'll be sure to post some picks ASAP...The picture above is from the 4th. The guy in the black hat behind Kyle is Dan, the pro kiteboarder who I was in touch with before coming to Israel. He has been showing us all the local spots. Next to him is Tomer, a DJ in Tel-Aviv. Shy is the guy next to Kyle. All of the guys are really cool and have helped to make Kyle and I feel at home here in Israel.

Living Israeli style

Nothing new really going on....We are still chilling at our apartment and going to the beach pretty much everyday. Tomorrow we are going to the Kinneret to do some kiting and then going to see the movie, Don't Mess With The Zohan. Should be cool to see it here as it is about an ex-Israeli Masad agent. Just thought I'd talk about some everyday things that we do and see here that are a bit different from the states. Pretty much everywhere we go we see Israeli soldiers. This is because everyone is required to serve 3 years in the army when they turn 18. So while we are graduating and getting ready for college they are beginning thier service. Most times you will see them on the bus or at a resturaunt, never without a semi-automatic rifle by thier side. When you go to malls or other crowded places there are always metal detectors and security guards. When you go to a parking garage guards check your trunk for anything (explosives). But it is not as if I ever feel this is really out of the ordinary. It is just a part of Israeli life. A friend that we met served in the intelligence department during her term. She is not allowed to go to or fly over any Arab nations for the next 3 years due to security reasons. She is "not allowed to tell us anything." Believe me, we tried : ) Most showers don't have a curtain and are small enough that we just put soap on the walls and spin around to get clean. You have to use a squeegee* ? to push the water that has gone all over the bathroom floor down the drain. Toilets have two flushes #1 and #2 . The weekend starts Friday afternoon and going through Saturday, as Saturday is the Sabbath (day of rest) for the Jewish religion. Sunday is like a work day here. Cities pretty much shut down and everyone flocks to the beaches or country-side. Hummus is eaten with many meals. Not a bad thing. Israeli citizens are not allowed to travel to 2 bordering states (Syria and Lebanon), as they do not recognize Israel as a state. Egypt, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai region are all pretty much off limits. Pretty crazy....could you imagine living in Georgia and not being able to go to Alabama, well who really cares about Bama? But South Carolina, Florida, or Tennessee? No road trips to Panama City for Spring Break 09'!!!!! There are 32 political parties in Israel. The government is one area that most Israelis do not even understand. In its 60 year history one party has never had a majority vote. You thought our political system was messed up! Jerusalem has been conquered more than any other city in the world. The Dead Sea is not so dead after all....there are over 300 types of micro-organisms living in and around it...O.K., thats enough Israel facts....lol. Hope you enjoyed and I'll be sure to post some more if I think of any.

Wind!!!!

Kyle and I just got back from the Kinneret where we were doing some kiting for the last 3 days. The scenery is beautiful and the wind is strong! It is not the friendliest beach to kite at however. There is no sand, just rocks. We also got our first taste of the get-to-the-point Israeli way. I had heard that Israeli people could sometimes come across as impolite, but never really encountered it. Some of the kiters where real a-holes! The first day we were there was on Shabbat (Saturday, the day everyone goes to the beach!) and it was packed. There were about 60 kiters and 20 people on jet-skis. Not to mention about another 50 people in the water. This is all on a rocky beach about the size of one football field. It was like a weekend war zone! People yelling and getting mad at each other for crossing lines. Not exactly a relaxing day of kiteboarding. Sunday and today proved to be much better. The wind is really strong and the fresh water is a nice break for my eyes and mouth, as the Gulf of Mexico does not taste very nice. As of now we are going to try to plan the next couple of weeks. Later this week we are probably going to rent a car and travel through the northern parts of Israel. I will be sure to post what we are doing as soon as I can. On a side note, gas is over 7 shekls per liter. With some rough math that is over $7 a gallon. So don't get so mad next time you have to pay $4 per gallon, it could be worse : )

To the Sea or the City???

Well we officially have two apartments in Israel. Thats two more than we have in the U.S.! We have one in Herziliya and one on the Sea of Galilee. The one in Herziliya is by the Mediterranean and the other one is at the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a lake about 2 hours away. The kiteboarding is really good on the lake so we will be heading up there when it is windy and chilling in Herziliya during our down time. We met up with some of the kiteboarders I have been talking with on the internet and they have helped us out a lot. Its not what you know..... As for some other plans. We are considering going for a long weekend to some of the Greek Isles and also a road trip down to the Red Sea in southern Israel. Nothing really planned, just following the wind! Above right we have the view from on top of Masada during sunrise. To the right of the mountians is the lowest place on earth, The Dead Sea. That was crazy swimming in there! On the right is the Sea of Galilee....actually a lake......where Jesus is said to have walked on water......where Kyle and I will be flying over the water!! The one of me floating is in The Dead Sea, the waterfall is in another desert oasis that was by The Dead Sea. In the middle is one of Masada before sunrise and to the right is Kyle and I at the Western or Wailing Wall. Hope you enjoy and give me some feedback. Until next time, stay Sababa ( Slang for Cool) .

Phone ###

Just got a phone. I didn't want to because it kind of felt wrong having one while traveling, but it wasn't much more expensive than a phone card. Anyway, if anyone want to contact me my # is 054-9029116.

Getting Organized

Now the real fun begins! The birthrite part of the trip was absolutely amazing. We saw as much as one could possibly see in the ten days that we toured Israel. Each day we were up by 7 and visiting sites until sunset. It was very tiring, but an amazing experience. Last night we took the train from the airport to Tel-Aviv where we stayed with one of my friends roomates from college. His apartment is really small, but its two blocks from the beach so its all good. Today we are just relaxing and planning our next move. I am talking with one of the Israeli kiteboarders about getting an apartment on the Sea of Galilee for the next month. That will be our homebase and we will just take it from there. I have not been able to find a computer that has a connection for my sim card, so I can't upload any pics. However, some of the kids that returned to the states yesterday have a lot of pictures that they are going to send me. I will be sure to put them up as soon as I recieve them. I havn't really talked about the food that we are eating. You see, I love hummus. Israelis have hummus at breakfast, lunch and dinner. So I am pretty much in hummus heaven! The other foods are really good also. Shwarma is much like a gyro that can be found pretty much everywhere. Many different types of salads are also eaten with all of the meals. As for the language.....it is hard! We can kind of read hebrew, but that doesnt do us much good. Almost everyone speaks english, but it's always nice to try to learn the native tongue. I know some of the basics, toda (thank-you), Sababa (cool/its all good/no worries...). Hopefully we will be able to expand my vocabulary by more than a few words by the time we leave. Kyle doesnt want to write anything because he is short on words. So I will say for him, he is also having a great time!

Tel-Aviv

We have done a ton of things the last couple of days. We toured Jerusalem and the old city two days ago. Jerusalem is an amazing city with so much history. Inside the Old City we saw the Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall, the place where Jesus is said to have been crucified and the room that the last supper was in. There are winding roads and hidden alleys ways throughout the interior walls of the Old City. One could easily get lost in the maze of buildings and underground walkways. The Old City is divided into 4 quarters, Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Armenian. We were required to stay in the Jewish quarter. Not by law, but for safety reasons. After Jerusalem we drove to the desert where Masada is located. We woke up the next day at 3:30 A.M. and hiked the mountain to watch the sunrise. Masada is a beautiful mountain that overlooks The Dead Sea. It was here that the Jews made their last stand against the Romans about 2,000 years ago. Remains of the buildings are still there today. After the sunrise we hiked down and went to another awesome desert oasis. It was amazing that there was so much dry land and then this beautiful stream with a series of 5 large waterfalls. I was sure to get some pics of the famous pose in front of all of them!! : ) After that we swam, or rather floated, in The Dead Sea. It was the craziest feeling! It feels like zero gravity in the water. If you ever go make sure you have no cuts and don't get it in your eyes! I found that I had cuts I did not even know were there. It was so cool. You could go deep and put your hands above your head and float almost half-way out of the water without tredding. After that we headed deep into the desert to sleep in a bedouin camp. We rode some camels around the camp when we first got there. Next time I need to make sure I wear my Wranglers for the bumpy ride! The desert was super hot during the day, but cooled down nicely at night. Yesterday we arrived in Tel-Aviv and got our first taste of the Mediterranean. A rather large jelly fish welcomed me with his tenticles as soon as I got in. Kyle pissed on my back and made it all better. Just kidding, I peed on my own back. No, actually I rubbed some vinegar on it and it was all good. Well, got to go. We are heading back towards Jerusalem now. Tomorrow everyone else goes home and Kyle and I start off on our own adventure!!

Day 3?

Not sure what day it is. Spending all that time at the airports got me all messed up. Anyway here is a little update. We arrived in Jerusalem earlier today and it is a beautiful city from what we have seen. We arrived just before sunset so we did not tour around too much. Right now we are in the new city and tomorrow we will be going to the old city where all of the history is. Jerusalem is the one of the holiest cities for the worlds 3 largest religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. I am not the most observant Jew, but there is definitely a certain spiritual feeling from being in this city. Today we talked with an Arab-Israeli woman who gave a unique insight into her situation as a Muslim in a Jewish state. For those of you who do not know, Israel was created as a Jewish State in 1948. Since then it has been a pretty crazy history. It is really cool to learn about this history from first hand accounts. Arab-Israelis are people of Arab decent who where in what was known as Palistine before Israel was created in 1948. When Israel was given its independence in 1948 the Arabs that stayed were granted Israeli citizenship. Today, they live in separate "Arab" villages scattered throughout the country. Discrimination and un-equal treatment exists even now. Talking with this woman about her feelings on the issue was great. I will not go into too much detail about things like this as they are very complicated even for those who are involved. If you would like to find out more you can do some research on some of the things and places that I will mention. Each place we visit we are meeting and talking with Israeli people about different subjects. Obviously Israel and the Middle-East are in the news almost everyday. It has been really educational to learn about these situations first hand. Israel is actually at war with Gaza at the moment . I bet some of you did not know that......I didn't. They are also bordered by two countries that do not even recognize their statehood (Syria and Lebanon) and two in which they are in a "cold peace" (Egypt and Jordan). The situation here is unique in that Israel is in the middle-east and religions and cultures have clashed here for thousands of years. Talking with people and thinking about ways to solve these problems has made me realize just how complicated it is. On a different note, today we also visited some natural springs in the northern area of Israel. Israel is a small country. Only about a 6 hour drive top to bottom and 2 across. I find this is the easiest way to get a feel for just how tiny it is as we all drive everyday. The springs were beautiful. It was like a desert oasis. Mountains were on both sides and palm trees lined the banks of several large pools for about the span of 1/2 a mile. The pace of the trip has been fast so that we can see and do as much as possible in the short amount of time we are here. Tomorrow we will go to the old city and tour the many historical places there. Will update you as soon as I can. Internet is like 10 shekls per minute which is like 3 dollars. So this was like a $30. I put a lot thought into these writings!! Just kidding, not too much! The pics on here are of the spring we went to and the other one is of one of our guard/guides named Galid, which means eternal happiness in hebrew. He was in the Israeli military, as all citizens are required to serve 3 years for guys and 2 for girls when they turn 18. He carries the gun everywhere, including the bars! Not something your would see in the states. However, Israel is safe despite what you may see on the news. At no time have I felt even the slightest bit threatened. Enjoy and Happy Fathers Day!!

We Made It!!!!

We finally made it to Israel! We spent the night in the international terminal at JFK. Kyle and I slept on a bench in the food court. It was not the best night of sleep I have ever had. We were not able to get on the first flight for stand-by but made the second one that night. We arrived in Israel yesterday afternoon. An Israeli girl named Gia picked us up and took us to meet up with the group. We are in northern Israel, by the Sea of Galilee. This is actually a lake, and is where Jesus is said to have walked on water for those of you who read the Bible. The area we are in now is really beautiful. It is pretty hot during the day (about 90), but cools down nicely at night (60's). The Sea of Galilee is one of the places that we plan on coming back to for some kiteboarding. I didn't bring my connector for the camera, but I will try to put up some pics as soon as I can. We are 7 hours ahead of EST so I have changed all of the posts to show the time that it is here. It's good to finally be here and I will be updating as soon as I can.

Hitting the road.......Again........

As of now we are about to go to the Atl. airport to fly to NYC. We will arrive in NYC at 8:30 tonight. Next, we have to go to our Israir gate and fly stand-by to Tel-Aviv. Should be interesting! Wish us luckkl, and hopefully the next time I write it is from Israel : )

Mother @!*#%!*$

Nature that is.....Well, she had different plans for us last night. Storms across the SE and in NYC delayed our flight for 5 hours yesterday. We finally left the gate at 11:30 with time to make our connection in NYC. However, we left the gate and then pulled right back in!! The pilot had apparently worked over the FAA regulated amount of hours allowed. So we needed a new one. He would not arrive until 2 AM, putting us passed our connection flight. Currently our bags are in NYC and I am writing this from my Mom's house. There is a flight to Israel Thursday that they are going to try to get us on, but nothing for sure. I hope the rest of our trip is as exciting as this!!! lol.......

Hitting the road!!

It's time to go! Bags are packed, Lonely Planet:Israel has been purchased and all necessary precautions have been made. We filled up the gas tank and are ready to make the journey in "The Beast" (Pictured above). For those of you who do not know us, I am on the left (Chase) and Kyle on the right. One way to tell us apart is I am the taller one. I am 6'4 and Kyle is 6'3 and 4/5. Israel is 6,447 miles away, so according to my calculations if we get 14 mpg and gas is $4.oo per gallon it will cost us $1,842 one way. Still cheaper than flying both of us out there. We would also save about $250 in extra baggage charges because of our kiteboarding gear (no joke). Unfortunately the Atlanta to Tel-Aviv land bridge has not been completed so we have been forced to fly. The Beast will now be able to get some much needed rest! We fly out of Atlanta tonight at 10 pm and arrive in NYC around 12. Our flight to Israel departs at 4 am from NYC and we arrive in Tel-Aviv after a 13 hour flight at 9:40 T.I.T. (Time in Tel-Aviv)

Getting started

Check me out as I prepare to head to Israel on June 11 with my brother Kyle. We are going on a special trip through the birthrite program. The birthrite program is a scholarship fund set up for young jewish college students to visit Israel. The birthrite part of our trip lasts for 10 days. During that time we will visit Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, the Dead Sea, and a few other places throughout Israel. After the 10 day tour we have deviated our flight to stay for 60 days. We are bringing some kiteboarding gear to kite during our time over there. I'm currently talking with some Israeli guys to network and make contacts for our travels. Nothing is set in stone, just keeping our plans open. I have a friend that is a pro tennis coach in Cairo, so we may go visit him and check out the pyramids. I also plan to go to the Greek Isles for a couple of weeks. Should be exciting! Right now I am teaching as many kiteboarding lessons as possible to save up for our time overseas. Kyle is working the daily grind as a server at an Irish Restaurant. If we run out of money while we are over there we can always serve as messengers in the Gaza strip. No one wants to do it, but if we need a little money then that's what we will have to do. I'm only kidding, my mom would kill me! Don't worry mom we will be nowhere near there. We will be sure to try to only stay at the places with cheap beer and beautiful women : ) So stay tuned for some trip updates and I look forward to sharing my summer with everyone.