December 23: Masada, Dead Sea, Ein Gev and Dead Sea Scrolls

Yes! Can you believe it? This is what we crammed into one day last week:

First, we took a cable car up to this flat Mesa where Masada is. For anyone that doesn't know, Masada is your typical death camp back in the days of Herod. King Herod built this impenetrable fortress against the Romans. 80 years after Christ's death, a group of religious Jews came to protect themselves against the onslaught of the Roman's. It worked pretty well because NO ONE could get up to the top without being knocked down. But the Romans figured if they used Jewish slaves to build a ramp up to the top, the Jews on top wouldn't kill the slaves. So instead, the up-top Jewish clan drew lots and one by one murdered each other rather than have the Romans get their way. Lovely little story that seems to be every Hebrew child's early-on education.

King Herod's Palace Room.

Kimberly, you absolutely would have died. The railings were treacherous and painfully easy for little bodies to slip through the bottoms and down the drop to their death. Definitely not crib safe.

Next, we cooled off by floating in the nearby Dead Sea:There is so much salt that no one can sink. Its 30% salt as opposed to the ocean which is 7%.

With all of that salt, you can imagine what little bodies think when their heads accidentally end up in the water. Needless to say, Sam was done with the Dead Sea before I even had a chance to get in.

Swimming in the Dead Sea doesn't feel too great when you get out. So Kent took us to Ein Gedi -- a desert oasis in a canyon -- where King David is said to have fled from King Saul. There was wildlife everywhere and a nice, muddy, freezing, natural spring (complete with crabs) that we were desperate enough to all jump into and rinse off.

Las but not least, we stopped at the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found:In this cave, scrolls were found that are linked to Moses in the Pearl of Great Price.

and that was our day!