Anna

On Sunday we returned from our long weekend at Ein Gedi, and it was a great time. In a lot of ways it was our do-over honeymoon, as the Boston trip - which did have its nice moments - was rather soured by the numerous travel hiccups on the way home, the delay in getting our luggage back, and my severe illness upon return. Whereas a trip consisting of only a 115 km (72 mi) drive will automatically have a lot fewer potential travel hiccups.

We set out on Thursday in the early afternoon. Alex the catsitter had the spare key already, so we simply ate lunch and packed our suitcase with a few changes of clothes and our swimsuits. I also packed my bathrobe (I knew damn well the spa and hotel didn't make any in my size), my coverups, sunscreen, and flip-flops. And we were off.

The drive was pleasant. Once you get past the town of Omer on Highway 31 to Arad, there's not a whole lot. There were, however, horses (Horsey!), camels (Camel!), and goats (Goats!). Yes, if I see an animal, I announce it to all and sundry. We reached Arad and then took a sharp turn into the Judean hills on the Arad-Sodom road, one of the more tricky highways in Israel. See, as you head from 600 m above sea level to 300 m below sea level, the road gets twisty with switchbacks as it would in any hilly area. Add to this the hazards of fallen and falling rock, ibex, and camels. However, we managed without any trouble, and at the junction with Highway 90 turned due north, hugging the Dead Sea shore, to Ein Gedi.

We checked into the hotel around 5 PM. After that we relaxed in our room, watching a movie. About halfway through we got hungry and headed up to the restaurant, which was a made-over kibbutz dining hall. The plain decor aside, the dinner buffet was generous, varied, and delicious. We then returned to our room and finished the movie. Unfortunately we had trouble sleeping that night. Two reasons: I forgot to bring our melatonin, and we missed our furry weighted blankets.

The next morning was rather leisurely. We slept in. Around noon we ventured off the kibbutz grounds (yes, the hotel, spa, etc are all part of a kibbutz - this is how they generate their income). We wanted to eat something different, so we ate a hearty brunch at the Ein Bokek Restaurant. Like many Israeli restaurants, be they Jewish or Arab owned, it was no frills in decor but top tier in food and service. The owner was friendly, the portions were generous and delicious, and everything was reasonably priced. After that we stopped at a nearby grocery store to get drinks and snacks for our room, then headed back to the hotel.

After a stop off at our room to attend to needs of nature and shower off, we changed into swimsuits and robes and headed to the spa. Our appointment for treatment was the next day, but since we had free access, we decided to take advantage. Why not? Free soft drinks, coffee, tea, and snacks - plus use of both pools, sauna, and hammam.

We alternated between cold and warm pools for a bit, then relaxed outside. At six, the spa closed and they kicked everyone out, so we arranged a ride back to our room. While we waited, I read the poem on the wall outside the doors to the spa. It was in Hebrew, but I translated out loud to Eyal, who was proud of me for getting it correct. Poetry isn't the easiest thing to translate in any language.

We showered once again when we got back to our room, changed into warmer clothes because of the nightly chill, and headed up to the cafe - part and parcel of the lobby. There we snacked on excellent pita with dips. We also enjoyed just talking and being together. By ten we were tired out, so we got a lift back to our room. We didn't have as much trouble sleeping that night.

Saturday we had our treatment at the spa, and came out feeling twenty years younger. After that we lounged by the pool outside, enjoying the gorgeous view. Eventually we headed back to the room, and Eyal had an idea. He had really enjoyed a particular restaurant on our last trip to the Dead Sea almost three and a half years ago, but it was in Arad. Would I be up for going? Of course! We showered, dressed, and headed out.

Muza is in Arad, and it's a great pub. It's decorated in football scarves from all over the world, but lots of Israeli scarves especially. The food is solid pub grub and doesn't pretend to be anything else, but the prices are good, the food is good, and the portions are generous. What's not to like?

We headed back and watched another movie before retiring.

In the morning we packed up, checked out, and headed home. On the way home we stopped at MegaPet to get some canned food in the hopes that it would entice Cheddar and Nacho to forgive us sooner.

It worked. They did.

The trip was a great one.

I am now ensconced in our hotel room in Boston. And therein, my lovelies, lies a tale. You see, we left our house in Beersheva at 18.00 local time. That's 11.00 Boston time. From there we drove to Eyal's workplace to park, because it's about a 10 minute drive to the airport from there - much cheaper than long-term parking at TLV. We cabbed it to the airport and - since we both have disability cards - we got assistance to go through security and passport control. We sailed through (we both know the drill pretty well) and were sitting pretty in duty-free with a couple of hours to kill.

Eventually we made it to the gate and boarded. After take off we both took melatonin and...well. The in-flight entertainment was subpar. We each managed about four hours sleep during the flight. Eyal made the best of an uncomfortable situation by pillowing his head on my bosom for his nap. I contorted myself into an approximation of comfort - legs stretched out, head forward, chin resting on the airline-issued pillow I clutched like a teddy bear - and managed for mine. I am glad I remembered to wear compression socks. Protip: these will save your life on long haul flights.

We finally landed at JFK just before 05.00 and hustled through passport control and customs ("Nothing to declare") before being hauled to another terminal for our connecting flight to Logan. Which lasted 30 minutes, no joke. It took longer to get through passports and customs and transfer terminals than it did to fly to Boston.

I hate JFK airport with a passion.

Finally, after landing at Logan and collecting our luggage, we got a cab to the hotel. By then it was 10.00. Oh, but check-in time isn't until 14.00.

Well, fuck. Anna (the other co-worker traveling with Eyal) and Eyal didn't even get to go to rooms to freshen up for the convention. They made do in the public restrooms. I told Eyal I'd wait up to get us checked in and we'd go from there.

Luckily I had Uber Eats on my phone. Even better, I was able to charge my phone. I ordered lunch and felt somewhat more fortified and played with my phone until check in time. Eyal called then and reported that they were now coming back to the hotel. I told him I'd check in and get our keys but wait in the lobby until he got back.

We finally got everything settled by about 16.00 and were in the room. By then Eyal was hungry and so was I, considering I'd had an early lunch. We ate and then took turns taking showers to get the travel grime off. The quality of the soap and shampoo in the hotel room left a lot to be desired, so when Eyal wanted to take a walk (he'd noted that there was a CVS kitty-corner to the hotel) I gave him a list of stuff to get. I included imodium. I didn't need to tell him to get ibuprofen.

I stepped out myself a bit later, noting that I'd gone native after almost five years in Israel and that sweats and a jean jacket were no longer proof against the chill for me.

I managed to stay up to about 20.00 before taking my evening meds and a melatonin and conking out.

Today is my day to be worthless. I did help Eyal get dressed in his suit for the convention (he looks amazing) and finally managed to get up, take meds, etc. I called my mom (she's in Germany, and right now my nephew is sick with some coldy-fluey thing that's got him miserable, so I wanted to make sure everyone was okay) and she told me my nephew is on the mend, but has a bad case of cabin fever. Oh, HaShem give her strength. An antsy four year old with cabin fever.

I have had lunch. I am now going to spend the day being completely useless, and spend the evening holed up at the hotel because there's a Bruins game and we're a stone's throw from the Garden. Eyal will probably be going out to dinner with clients. I am very happy to be excluded from this because such restaurants are wasted on my four-year-old palate and also too many people.

So far no one has commented on my headscarf (festively striped), or on Eyal's accent. I did get a compliment on today's t-shirt, which is a fun one (How To Get An Engineer's Attention: Free Coffee, Break Something, Say "There's Got To Be A Better Way To Do This") so that was nice.

So far so good.