Scott and Tiffany in Israel

Mount Hermon

It has been over a year since we visited the Golan Heights so we decided to go again. One of Scott's co-workers told us about a guided hike on the top of Mount Hermon, so we packed up the kids, snacks and sunscreen and headed off. Mount Hermon is one of the possible sites of the Mount of Transfiguration. It is also mentioned often in the Old Testament.

We drove up to the only ski resort in Israel in the northern most corner of the country. We bought tickets to ride the ski lift to the top of the mountain. We were a little nervous about Brooke on the chair lift, so we had brought the Baby Bjorn in order to strap her to us. It was a good thing too because she was wiggly and kept asking to sit next to us on the lift. We also brought along the backpack carrier so that we could carry Brooke on the hike. Scott wore Brooke on the way up while Tiffany held Tyler. Brooke loved the ride up; she giggled and pointed to everything. Tyler was a little nervous about the ride. He wasn't sure he wanted to ride on it until we told him it was like a cable car. Later he told us he was scared because he thought there would be wild animals at the top.

At the top of the lift

We got up to the top just in time for the last tour of the day at 1 pm. It was just the guide, another family and us. The other family could get by in English, so the guide did the tour in English. At the top of the chair lift we got to go onto an Israeli military base on the top of one of the peaks. It wasn't a hard hike although we took it slow due to the elevation. The top is about 2,800 meters (9,200 feet) above sea level. We figure that the base of our apartment building is about 150 meters and our apartment is about 200 meters above sea level.

The hike was really interesting. The guide talked about geology, geography, wildlife, plant life, politics and military history. She pointed out rock formations that looked like things and gave Tyler an assignment to look for ladybugs.

A view from the top

From the top, we could see Lebanon in the distance and Syria and Israel right below us. The border meanders through the mountains, so Syria was directly below us to the east and the northernmost villages of Israel were to the south of us.

Looking into Syria and Israel

After about an hour we went back to the chair lift and rode it down. This time Tiffany wore Brooke in the Baby Bjorn and Scott held Tyler. Tyler enjoyed the ride down much more than the ride up because he wasn't as scared. Brooke was mad the whole time because she couldn't sit next to Tiffany on the chair lift seat.

On the way down

The other family on the hike took pictures of us descending on the chair lift and emailed them to us.

Almost down

We wanted to eat lunch at the ski resort cafe. However, we discovered that in the summer they only have ice cream and other treats. So, we ate ice cream for lunch; it was the only thing we could do.

Yummy ice cream

Next to the ski lift was an alpine slide. Brooke was too little to ride, so Scott and Tyler got to ride it together. It is almost like a roller coaster. A chain pulls the little car to the top and then there are bumps and curves on the way down.

Alpine slide

Tyler loved the alpine slide. When Scott and Tyler got to the bottom Tyler told Tiffany that he had gone really, really fast. Scott however said they went fairly slow. Tyler loved it and wanted to go again, but it was closing for the day so he didn't get to go.

Happy sliders

We had a fun day at the ski resort, even in the middle of summer. However, it was about this point that we realized we were turning red. It was so cool at the top of the mountain and we were so happy to get out of the car when we arrived that we forgot to put on sunscreen. At church the next day everyone commented on our pink tans.

That was fun

Here is one of the mountainside villages we passed on the way back home. A little later we stopped in Rosh Pina for dinner, where we ate at a restaurant called Macaroni and Grill. We just couldn't resist trying it. It was a fabulous meal. Scott had olive oil and garlic shrimps and Tiffany had spring chicken in a sweet pepper sauce. The chocolate-vanilla souffle we had for dessert was delicious.

Mountainside village

Tyler-isms:

"I'm a boy and boys tease girls." - Ah, that explains it.
"Going up a hill makes us lean back in our seats." - Another profound realization from our driving in the mountains.
"The cool air makes us cool from the hot." - describing air conditioning

Brooke-isms:

"Boby" - body. She says this when she wants to get dressed.
"Too/Two" - We are not sure she knows the difference. She says this when she wants more than one and also when she wants the same thing Tyler has.
"Pooh" - pool. She loves to go swimming. If we say, "pool," she will strip out of her clothes and demand to swim.
"Cersal" - breakfast cereal

Posted by sjbowden at September 12, 2005 8:48 PM