Hi.......if anyone is still reading this..........we got home safely and all I want to do is sleep !!

Rachel surprised us by coming in from Boston.

please email us at gmail ;-)
marilyn

Well...........today is our last day ;-(
What can we say..........it was GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We will talk to everyone when we get back

We are going to take a walk around Jerusalem and probably go to the Western Wall one more time.
we will pray for PEACE and for the fighting to stop and our soldiers to be returned.........We don't think that is too much to ask for !!!!!!!!!!!!
shalom
Marilyn and Scott

Hi.........do we have story for you!!
We got a late start today because........you know.......sometimes I move a little slowly. ha,ha
Well this time that was a good thing.
We were walking out of the hotel and then I decided I just needed to go back into the hotel for a minute to get something. Then we started walking toward the "old city" and the Western Wall down Jaffa Road. We were walking and we could see up ahead there was a lot of commotion.......police, soldiers, helicopters, etc. They had JUST captured a suicide bomber BEFORE he was able to do anything!!!!!!!!!!!! All the streets were blocked off for blocks! We waited and then the road blocks were lifted and we went to the Wall. What a way to start the day and end our trip.
So we walked all around the Jewish section of the Old City and went to the Western Wall. Then we went to an archeology site dating back 2500 years....the original cities of Jerusalem.........each city was built on the previous one. We felt a deep connection to our past. It was very interesting!!
We did SO much walking today that we are both tired.
Tomorrow is our last day ;-(
We are grateful that we had this amazing opportunity ;-)
It's hard to believe that the month went by so quickly. We met wonderful people and learned a lot.
We really pray that the fighting will end soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marilyn and Scott

Hi.......we are still safe and we are enjoying our last few days in Jerusalem. It really is good that we saw everything in the north when we did.
Friday night dinner was nice and Saturday morning we went back to the conservative shul. The Rabbi and a few other people remembered us.
Shabbat afternoon was a time to rest. I guess I really needed it because I slept ALL afternoon and I still felt sleepy in the vening so we just stayed in. Then around 10:00pm the lights went out in the hotel so we just went to sleep!
I feel better today ;-)
This morning we went to visit a fully interegrated regular-autistic preschool .... "ALUT"
It was a GREAT place!!! Every room has a teacher, special education teacher, 2 assistants and more help as needed. They have autistic kids (5) and regular kids (10-15) in each class.
It was really nice. They even have animal therapy and the kids go the therapeutic horseback riding once a week!!!! That made me happy ;-) They each get individual music therapy once a week too.
So now we are going to go walk around.............
I'm glad you are all following along ;-)
I really hope that the fighting will stop soon. All the places that have been hit in the last few days are the places we visited 2 weeks ago..........Haifa, Karmiel, Tzfat, Rosh Pinna
We are going to call our friends today to make sure they are OK.
Marilyn

Shabbat Shalom
We had a very nice day. We walked around and did some shopping. We went back to the outdoor market here in Jerusalem...........I love it there ;-)
We have been invited to someone's house for shabbat. They used to live on the Carlebach moshav so it should be fun.
I'm not sure if I told you about something interesting in Tel Aviv. I stopped to ask a soldier for directions and we started talking. I told him about our trip and then he told me that his mother is starting an organization for families to adopt children with autism who are in foster care!!
Good for her ;-)
This is our last shabbat in Israel........it feels like our time went so quickly!!
I hope the fighting will stop soon.
Shabbat Shalom
Marilyn and Scott

Today is Thursday.........We went for a nice long walk today and found a nice neighborhood in Jerusalem.........an artist quarter....beautiful houses. The weather was actually chilly! We actually ate a nice dinner today too at that Asian restaurant that we really liked.

I forgot to tell you about how the taxi driver got our luggage back here to the hotel........he just put the suitcase in a rack on top of his car.........he didn't even tie it down!! We kept looking out the window every time he hit a bump. ha, ha

This morning there was a leak in our room but they were able to fix it ;-)
Today was a nice relaxing day for us ;-)
Hopefully.........the fighting will stop soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marilyn and Scott

Wednesday.............
We walked a lot yesterday. We walked down Dizengoff St which is a major shopping street and used to be where everyone hung out when we where in college. Then we walked all the way to the art museum which was pretty far. The art museum was fun.........had had some interesting exhibits. The we went to the carmel shuk.........which is a really cool chaotic but organized outdoor market place. People were singing and shouting about all the things they had for sale. We loved it!!!!!!!! It was very crowded.
Then on our way back to the hotel we stopped at our usual place and got another fruit drink.....They remembered us.....that was our lunch.
We got our luggage and took a taxi to the train station. The taxi stopped right in middle of the drop-off point so no other cars could get by...........Scott was trying to pay and all the cars were honking!!!!!!!!!!
We got our train and even had seats together. We got to our hotel in Jerusalem only to hear what was going on in the country..........not good ;-(
Everyone here is closely following the news.
Marilyn and Scott

Tuesday.....................
Tuesday was our anniversary........30 years!!!!!!!!!
We took a bus to Tel Aviv University.........where we first met ;-) The university was beautiful and has really grown. The whole area around it has grown......we went to a huge mall too.
We walked all around the university and even went to the dorms where my room was. That all looked the same ;-) It was FUN ;-) Scott took a picture of where he used to sit on the stairs and wait for me.
We also went to the Diaspora Museum which was very interesting.
We had dinner in the mall..........humous and a big salad. We like when we are somewhere and everything is in Hebrew.......even the entire menu.........it makes us work really hard.
Later on the night we had our new favorite drink.........just fruit blended together. We had banana, pineapple and melon. It's really good.
marilyn

hi....you have probably been watching the news and i just want to tell you that we are in jerusalem now and we are fine.

so let me tell you about monday..........
We met my friend Susan in the morning in Tel Aviv. Susan and I were roommates at Tel Aviv \university so we have been friends for a Long time. She lives near Tel Aviv. We had so much fun. We walked all over Tel Aviv and went to a mall that has an observation deck on top. You could see the whole city........very beautiful!! It is so nice when you see old friends........time doesn't matter.......it is like it was yesterday that we saw each other. The funny thing is that she is originally from Chicago and she is coming to see her mother in 3 weeks ;-)
Then we delivered some pictures to a friend's cousin and they invited us to join them for dinner. It was a wonderful evening.........They had great stories and experiences to share. Here is another Jewish geography story..........This person we just met knew our friend from the moshav!!

They even drove us back to our hotel because it was so late.

marilyn

on sunday, we were going to leave early but we were having SO much fun we decided to stay all day. Scott relaxed and read the paper and I hung out with my friend. We went to the Rabbi's wife"s house to learn some new stuff and i found out that the Rabbi was orginally from Wilmette.
Then our friend called and asked if we want to plant some trees and we said yes!! So he came to get us and we planted 2 cypress trees and 2 carob trees. It was VERY hot but fun.
Then we went shopping for food and then we had some dinner. Scott went to learn with our friend. After all of that, we then dropped one son at a bus stop and then he dropped us off at our hotel in tel aviv...........at midnight!!
After all the excitement...........it seemed VERY quiet at our hotel. It seemed like the air was let out of a balloon. we slept well that night............but we really missed them ;-(
marilyn and scott

So........On Friday, our friend came to get after he went to the beach ( 2 blocks from our hotel) and picked us up to take us back to his moshav. (the Carlebach moshav). We met 4 of his 9 children. It was wonderful. We got ready for shabbat and went to services that were full of unbelievable energy....a lot of singing and dancing. Then we had a delicious dinner and more singing. We have been friends with this couple for 33 years and we are very close. In fact, I introduced them to each other on a street corner in jerusalem 34 years ago!! That was the topic of conversation on the moshav whenever I was introduced.
We slept in a caravan ( mobile house) right behind their house.
On Saturday, we went to services which again were full of energy and Carlebach melodies. After services, we went bach to the house for lunch. Then I talked to my friend ALL afternoon and scott took a nap. Then we went back to servies in the afternoon and then took a long walk. Then we ate another meal ;-) and hung out together. After shabbat, we had havdalah outside and they sang some more ;-) The guy who was leading the singing was from the original diaspora yeshiva band....he used to sing with shlomo.
Then one son left for the army and another son came home. They were always very busy.
At 11:00pm, they ate another light meal.............a lot of food!!!!
that's it for now..........we had a WONDERFUL time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
marilyn and scott

So now we are up to today............Friday July 7........yeah;-)
Before i forget to mention this.........we turned on the tv and Days of Our Lives was on.......the only thing was that it was from 2002!!!!!!!!!!! very funny to watch because I know what happens!
So today we were able to sleep until we woke up naturally and we didn't have to rush to get anywhere. We had a nice breakfast and then took a walk around Tel Aviv. Scott's favorite movie theater on Allenby St was gone ;-(
We had fun walking down all the VERY busy streets full of interesting stores and people. There are SO many shoe stores here and you know what the most popular shoe in the country is??????? "crocs" People say they are so comfortable.
We stopped and had a fresh fruit drink made from bananas, mint, melon and pineapple which was really good.
Now we are waiting for our friend to come pick us up to take us to the Carlebach moshav for shabbat. CAN'T WAIT ;-)
Shabbat Shalom
Marilyn and Scott

So now we will tell you about the conference on developmental disabilities we attended on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
It was an inspiring and informative conference. It also reinforced many things we already know and do...........like early intervention REALLY works. We met a lot of interesting people from around the world. We became good friends with a group from Canada and South Africa and Israel. We saw and spoke to all the people (professionals) we met in the past 2 weeks. That was really neat because they came up to us as friends and colleagues which was nice.
We were treated very well during the entire conference..........so much food;-) Lunches were great;-) It was a huge buffet in a 5 star hotel !!!!!!!
During one of the sessions on autism, there was a person presenting and I know her last name from where I grew up in New Jersey. After the session, I asked her if she had relatives in Collingswood, NJ and she said YES!! She was the grand-daughter of the people I knew who I was growing up !!!!!!!! I will say it again..........I LOVE Jewish geography.
We were very tired at the end of the conference..........but really enjoyed it. I loved looking at all the materials. I might stop at an educational store and pick something up before i come home. There was one company in particular that I really liked.........it was a great matching activity for early childhood.
So that's it for the conference days
marilyn and scott

Now we are talking about Monday July 3.
First we had a really good breakfast at our hotel.........Israeli breakfasts come standard in Israel as part of the cost of your room and the are great.........salads, fruit, rolls, hot food......the oatmeal was really good ;-)
Then we went to visit the Beit Issie Shapiro center in Ra'anana. It is a special education center serving child with cognitive disabilities and autism. The woman we met with is THE EXPERT in Snoezelen in Israel. Everyone else we have met trained under her. She was so nice!!! We sat in the Snoezelen room and she explained everything to us and demonstrated everything. To get the money to set up the room is one thing..........but you also need training to use it properly. Then she gave us a tour of the whole place........it is very impressive. She would like to come to Chicago to give a course in Snoezelen. I hope I will be able to help her set that up.
Then we left there and took a taxi to a therapeutic horseback riding facility. It was interesting to see how they do things here. They also have a kennel for additional therapy with dogs. they have a beautiful large room for physical therapy. They have over 1900 rides a month!!!!!!!!
Then he asked how we are getting back to Beit issie Shapiro and we said we didn't know. So he went around asking parents if someone was going that way, just like in the old days when people used to ask for rides all the time. Some nice doctor said she was going that way and offered to take us.
When she dropped us off at the front door........the bus was just pulling up with people from the hotel to take the tour and we were having dinner there. it worked out perfectly!!
After dinner, we went to visit a fully accessible park...........it is actually the first one of its kind in the world!! It was great ;-) it had 12 different stations in the shape of a circle and color coded. It also had a music section and a maze with tactile stuff. They had a PECS board sokids could make a choice. They made it so any child regardless of disability could have access to it. This is a park for all kids..........so they can play together.........just our kind of place!!!!!!

Then we went to a concert in the park..........there were 7000 people there. The overseas guests for the conference were invited and we had VIP seats!!! We don't know who the performers were exactly but the kids loved them! We got back to the hotel at midnight. We fell asleep in 1 second.

scott and marilyn

On Sunday we went all around Tzfat ( it's not that big) and we walked through the old city and artist's quarter. We looked in all the shops but it wasn't until the very last place we stopped in that we saw something we liked.........a painting for birkat habiyit or "blessing for the house" When we were in the store they told us a price........we left to think about it..............we came back to ask a question and then the price went down alot............so we got our 30th anniversary present ;-)
We rested awhile and packed and we walked to the central bus station.........with scott dragging our luggage. It was easier than trying to get on the bus. As we were waiting for the bus, we heard 2 guys speaking English. One was from New York and one was from Chicago. He knew some friends of ours. We love playing "Jewish geography". The bus ride was very nice to Acco and then we got the train to Tel Aviv. We watched the sunset over the Mediterranean...it was beautiful. this time we had seats on the train. We took a taxi to the hotel. We didn't recognize Tel Aviv!!! Now there are so many skyscrappers especially along the beach.
we are sleeping great every night ;-)
marilyn and scott

Hi....now we will tell you about shabbat in Tzfat. We slept late. The owner was not home for the weekend (she went camping) so we had the place to ourselves. We ate breakfast in our private courtyard under the lemon tree (very pretty). Scott did services all by himself...very peaceful. Josh would be very proud ;-)
At 11:30 we walked 30 feet down the alley to our new friends for shabbat lunch. We had a wonderful time with them. They are just like us. I think we will be friends with them forever now ;-) they also invited us for dinner but we were going to meet Scott's cousins at their hotel.
We walked all around Tzfat and let me tell you........it is not easy.........steep hills! We found a childrens zoo which was a little run down but nice. There was a horse that scott whistled for from across the enclosure and he came right over. As we continued to walk around the city, we bumped into scott's cousin's brother.....so we walked around together for awhile. We didn't really know where we were but when we turned the corner........we were in front of the Carlebach Shul ;-)
Then we had dinner with his cousins and enjoyed ourselves.
Then we went back to the Carlebach Shul for havdalah. It was GREAT. So much energy in the room. singing....singing and more singing and dancing;-)
Then we went back to our friends house to take their picture and visit some more.
It was a nice day
Marilyn and Scott