Day 28: The last day

We woke up at 6:30 AM - packed the bus, ate breakfast, and then left the hostel around 7:30 AM.
We travelled 2 hours to the site of Biblical Lachish - an overgrown, non-developed archaeological site where we walked around for an hour or so.
Then we went to Masena {this is what was written in the journal, I'm not sure what or where this was} - the underground archaeological site with all sorts of caves, an lastly to a Kibbutz Museum about some Tel - by that time, I didn't care. It was way too hot.
The hour bus trip to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv was sad because I had to say goodbye to my friends. I got Nathan's address on a defunct Belgian 50 Franc bill and then said goodbye to Joni, Liza, Nathan, Thaddeus, and all the rest.
We waited about half and hour at Ben Gurion until Jimmy and Jenny showed up with out luggage. 
I got a double room at the Hotel Avia with Doreen - a 23 year-old graduate of Boston College.  After a nice relaxing bath, we ate a nice relaxing meal at the hotel restaurant.  We talked for a while and then both went to sleep at about 9:30PM.

Day 27: Masada

Sunrise over Jordan from Masada.

Wake up came very, very early in the morning as most of us couldn't sleep anyway.  We sleepily loaded the bus for Masada.  The mountain looked a lot taller than I originally thought it was, but I attempted the assent on foot anyway. I got about halfway up before I felt completely nauseated and had to turn around and go back.

Climbing Masada

Masada

Killing time at Masada

Masada

Masada

I waited four tedious hours at the bottom, plagued by flies and the hot sun. At 8:00, the cable car opened and 20 shekels later, I was on the first car up to the top. Most of our crew was ready to come down at that point - but Liza and I looked around for a few minutes before deciding it was a bunch of walls and not really very exciting. {I think the extreme heat in our room the night before probably did a lot to dampen our enthusiasm}  

Winding path up Masada

We returned to the hostel where I opted to take a two hour nap instead of visiting Qumran (the location where they found most of the Dead Sea Scrolls) - not too exciting, I know, but neither is dying in 120F weather. {It wasn't just the heat, it was the humidity as well. The Dead Sea's evaporation makes the air heavy and thick... and then add the extreme temperatures... just awful. What I don't talk about in the journal, because I didn't realize it was happening, is that several of our group had to be taken to the hospital in Jerusalem.  My friend Heather was ill from this experience for a long time. }

Ein Gedi Spring

Floating in the Dead Sea

Waterfall at spring

After a boxed lunch, Joni, Ryan, Heather, and I walked to the beach by the Dead Sea and went swimming.  The water was really neat. Because of the salt content, it is impossible not to float.  I started walking into the water and before I realized it, my feet were not touching ground, but I wasn't treading water and I was standing perfectly straight.  Cool.  We spent about 45 minutes to an hour there, and then walked to Ein Gedi Springs where we found a beautiful little cove with a pool and a water fall. It was incredibly relaxing. It looked a bit like the lobby of a very nice hotel -- but it was all natural.  I stood under the waterfall, which gave me a nice back massage. {Having suffered dehydration sickness the first week, I was very prepared. I carried 3 gallons of water with me when we went walking to the sea and then to Ein Gedi Springs}

Dinner was at seven, and bed time was around 9:00 - much more comfortable than the previous night because the air conditioning had been on all day.

Day 26: Dead Sea

This last day in the field was a short one, as we quit at about 11:00AM.  I hurriedly packed and moved out of the room.

After lunch, I said goodbye to Jason and all the others and loaded onto a very crowded bus for the southern tour.

We drove for 3½ hours through the desert—seeing several Bedouin along the way—until we reached the Ein Gedi Youth Hostel on the Dead Sea (around 5:30PM)

Dinner was standard youth hostel food.  After, (at 8:30) we all decided it would be a good idea to go to bed so we would be ready for Jeff Blakely’s 3:45AM wake-up knock and “GOOD MORNING!!”

We had eight girls in our room: Joni, Heather, Liza, Sarah, Doreen, Deb, Carrie, and me.  It was unbearably hot. I thought I was going to die. Modesty was completely disregarded in the name of comfort.

Day 25: Penultimate digging in the lab.

Another view from the Citadel

I woke up late, this second to last dig day, and opted to go to the lab. Before second breakfast, I played the puzzle game of putting pottery shards together. After, I just cleaned bones.

In the afternoon, I packed and confirmed my flight with Sabena, the world’s least efficient airline. After dinner – which was fancy in honor of the day – was the dig party where much beer was consumed and many a trench (including KK) lampooned.  I got to bed before 11:00 as I was very tired and not feeling well).

Zac Cooper

Alex and Carlson

Angus (diver) and Mike (KK)

Heather Covey

Julie Demo and Joni

Field KK. Z, Bill, Kristy, Alex, Jennifer, and Deb

Lampooning KK

Center is Clayton Lehmann from USD

Divers Lyon Ewell and Angus

My gang: Ryan Heilman, Jason
McFarland, & Joni Jefferson

Thad, Deb, Tom, & Angus

Me at the dinner

Day 24: Summer Solstice

Citadel with field KK in foreground,

It was hot. Too darn hot!  Before second breakfast, it was hotter than usual with no wind, so the bugs were unbearable. After second breakfast, it was hotter, and the wind picked up from the east, so we had a sand blasting all day. I got sand in my eyelashes, up my nose, on my teeth, and in my ears. It was awful.  At 11:00Am, we had a tour of the Mithraeum.  It was VERY cool! {But I forgot my camera, so the photo here is more random dig shots.  The cool thing is that at noon on the Summer Solstice, the sun came through the roof and shone on the altar. Only it didn't quite do that, because of the subtle shifting of earth's orbit, it was about 2 ft off center.}

Immediately following lunch, I jumped in the ocean to cook and wash off.  After sufficiently soaking, I did laundry (about half of it).

I went to Jeff Blakely’s preview of the southern tour after dinner and decided that I must be absolutely certifiable. Afterwards I went to the club to partake of some of Lyon and Angus’s salsa and chips. Bed at 11:30.

Day 23: Taking it easy.

Another view from the Citadel. KK is center.

Joni, Jules, and I missed work as we overslept. I tried to get up, but felt awful, so I didn’t worry about it.

Afternoon was nice except for pottery reading. I relaxed most of the day.

After dinner, I went to another lecture on stratigraphy. 

I then went to the club in hopes of partaking in one last evening of Israeli dancing, unfortunately this week they didn't do it for the Americans.  I went to bed around 10:30.

Day 22: Fire.

View from Citadel where we ate 2nd breakfast

I went home sick after 2^nd breakfast and slept until everyone got in and then afterward as well.  After dinner, Jeff Blakely gave a lecture on Palestinian Archeology. I went to bed early as I wasn’t feeling well.

Joni woke me up at about 2:00AM asking if I smelled smoke. She thought the building was on fire.  It smelled like a bonfire to me, but it had a sickly sweet smell to it that upset further my already uneasy stomach.

{I know it sounds like I was sick a lot. I guess I was, but I was healthy and working my butt off more than not. The work was hard, and the weather harder. The last week of the dig, the heat picked WAY up. average daily temperature was somewhere around 110F.}
{A note about the picture: Caesarea is both a land and undersea archaeological dig. The divers started at sun-up (we  land-laborers started about a half hour before sunrise, because of the heat).  Most of the underwater exploration was happening about the middle of the picture.}

Day 21: The last day in Jerusalem

Outside Israel Museum

I woke up first at about 9:00AM.  After breakfast, we checked out, but checked our bags until the bus was supposed to leave.  Joni stayed at the hotel as she was going to meet a friend of hers later on.

Jason, Ryan, and I took a cab to the Israel Museum which was very interesting. We then took a cab to the old city and walked to the Dome of the Rock. I stopped Jason from taking a picture of the 

Dome of the Rock

Western Wall as it is Shabbat and he would have had his film ripped out.  We went into a mosque around the Dome of the Rock, and then into the Dome itself.  It was absolutely beautiful, unfortunately, no pictures allowed.

We left Jerusalem at 4:00PM and got back to Caesarea at 6:00PM. After dinner, I got a letter from Johanna, then called Christopher and tried to call Anita. I went to the club and then to bed around 10:30.

Mosque outside Dome of the Rock

Area around Dome

Dome of the Rock

Area around Dome of the Rock

Mosque outside Dome of the Rock

Day 20: And did those feet in ancient time...

Joni and Zanna at the Western Wall

We all woke up at around 9:00AM, and after showers went to continental breakfast in the dining room.

Damascus Gate

We set out around 11:00AM for the old city. We entered the old city through the Damascus Gate and were immediately engulfed in a stereotypical Arab street market scene. As we walked through the very tiny streets—trying not to lose each other—we got quite turned around and presumed ourselves hopelessly lost until we found ourselves accidentally and happily in the Jewish Quarter, which is much less crowded and cramped. After about 45 minutes of completely random wandering, we (again accidentally) found the Western Wall {aka Wailing Wall}. The Wall is segregated into male and female sides for praying. Joni and I went to the women’s side and Joni prayed. After being accosted several times, I gave 5 shekels to an elderly woman for charity. She seemed the most legit because she gave receipts.

WesternWall

We couldn’t get into the Arab controlled Dome of the Rock area because it was a holy day.

Wall of David

Wandering aimlessly again found us at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Christ was allegedly buried. We went in – a very disorganized church- but interesting none-the-less. I had to find a bathroom, and we were all getting hungry, so we stopped at the “Select Restaurant” in the Christian Arab Quarter across from David’s Fortress. The waiter was extremely rude, and the food was adequate at best.

Outside David's Tower.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

After lunch, we went back to American Colony and rested for a while.
At 7:00, Erin knocked on the door and asked us if we wanted to go to an Arab restaurant with her and a few others. We ate dinner at the {name missing} with Carlson, Alex(andra), Erin, Nick, Christina, and J.R. {and our crew of Joni, Jason, Ryan, and me... I don't remember much about this dinner, but I do remember our group was a little uncomfortable being asked to dine with the "popular" [read: pretty and a little snobby] people... which was totally ridiculous, but that's adolescence for you} Dinner was excellent, but on the whole, the company could have been better. {Wow... talk about snobby}
At 11:00PM, we took a cab to a dance club… THE dance club in Jerusalem {At least that's what we were told in 1993}… “The Underground”. It was a lot of fun and we ran into quite a few Caesarea volunteers there. We left around 2:30 and were asleep by 3:00AM.

Day 19: Bones.

Coming into Jerusalem.

I worked in the lab cleaning glass and bones because my back hurt pretty bad Wednesday. Mostly bones, because the other two students in the lab were creeped out by it.

After lunch, we loaded a bus going to Jerusalem. Joni, Jason, Ryan (I’ve renamed him “Rijuhn”) and I shared a 2 person room at the American Colony – a 5 star hotel in the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem. We mostly relaxed Thursday evening with an excellent dinner at the American Colony restaurant, and after dinner drinks at the Cellar Bar in the hotel.  After pulling the beds apart to make four beds out of two, we went to sleep around midnight.

Jerusalem

Day 18: Letters from home!

I was dressed and ready at 5:00 am, which I was not happy about. Damn newbies. I threw my back out after second breakfast and sat in pain for the remainder of the work day.

After lunch I sat in the ocean for about an hour and a half and then took a nap.  After dinner, I got three letters: one from Grandma and Grandpa, one from Loretta, and a package from Christopher (a mix tape!)

I listened to the tape, and then called William.  I went to the club for about 20 minutes before it closed, and then I sat outside with Lyon, Tom, and Dallas… then to bed!

Day 17: Newbies hit the field.

Getting some help in KK

The newbies were out in the trench today. KK got 3 new vict…er… volunteers: Pamela, Rebecca, and George (adding to Christy, Debbie, Alex, Mike, Bill, Bob, Jennifer, and Zanna)

Mike with the help

The back hoe showed up and did in one day what would take us 3 weeks to do. Most interestingly, it uncovered a hole that never seemed to end. Jennifer was going to just leave it, but I was curious, so I first attempted to take a flashlight to it – I still couldn’t see where the bottom was. Then I got the plumb-bob and dropped it down, holding onto the string. My arm was all the way in the hole before it reached the bottom. We then measured it—it was 4 meters down.  Yossi {one of the dig leaders} thinks it’s a sewer. {2011 - I've been curious about the 4 meter hole for years, and I finally looked up what they found. Turns out it wasn't a sewer, but the opening to an underground grain storage room. Neat find as it was a fully walled and ceilinged room! The link takes you to a drawing of how it worked back in the day.}

Sunset at Caesarea Maritima.

After lunch Julie {Demo}, Joni, Jason, and I went swimming, and then we went to pottery reading.  I took a nap until dinner and then after dinner watched the sunset and took a picture. I went to the club and then to bed at 12:00.

Day 16: Pottery Props

Israeli diggers, near KK.

We drew the top plan and cleaned for photographs in the trench. After lunch, at about 3:00, we went to pottery reading. I got compliments from Marian (an Irish woman) and Clayton Lehmann {the USD lead on the site} for my sharp eye for spotting pieces.

After a very long  pottery reading, I took a nap.
Dinner was good, and then I went ot the club and watched the dancing, but only stayed a short time. Bed about 11:15

Day 15: Back to work.

Dig site with Citadel in background

We were back at work bright and early. Same-ole, same-ole. After lunch I did laundry (which I was in dire need of doing) and then took a nap.

The newbies came in at about 7:15PM and Joni and I got a new roommate—Jules from Oklahoma. She seems obnoxious, but I don’t know yet. {Oh my, she was obnoxious. Joni, who is Jewish, introduced me to the term J.A.P. or Jewish American Princess, in reference to Jules. Her primary objective seemed to be to find an Israeli husband. [If I recall correctly, and I may not, it's not documented and it has been 18 years!] She spent most of her evenings chatting up the hot navy commandos that were training at the Kibbutz at the club, and her days in the lab cleaning pottery and glass.  She may have been in a field, but not much. She whined a lot.}

We went to the club and Jason, Joni, Zac, and I played cards.

{Back to the commandos.  I can't believe I forgot about them until I started kvetching about Jules, but one night I was sitting on the beach and watching the waves in the moon light, when guys in wet suits started coming out of the ocean. As quickly as I spotted them, I lost sight. I chalked it up to imagination until I met them in the club the next night.}

Day 14: Returning from Galilee

Not sure. Capernaum?

We moved out of the Youth Hostel at about 7:45 and were back in the tour at 8:00AM. We visited some Christian sites – Capernaum and the Church of Loaves and Fishes (where I bought postcards). At 12:00 we caught the boat at Tiberias to Ein Gev on the other side of the Sea of Galilee where we had lunch and relaxed by the water. I bought a purse and film before we loaded the bus to go home. We arrived back at the Sport Centre at about 5:00. I took a nap until dinner.

Jet skier, not a miracle, on Galilee. Tiberias in background.

Zanna Crossing Galilee

After dinner, Liza, Sarah, Nathan, Jason, Joni, and I attempted to make plans to go to Jerusalem, with very little success. We went to the club briefly, then to bed.