Israel

I was very lucky to spend two weeks in Israel during the month of June. While it wasn't the easiest taking two international trips back to back (New Zealand then Israel), I couldn't be happier visiting new countries. Plus, the warm, dry weather in Israel was much more to my liking (compared to the super cold of New Zealand). My trip started with one night in Tel Aviv, which could not have worked out any better. My flight arrived around 9:30am so I had the entire day to spend on the beach. We (myself and three coworkers from Portland) then made our way to Jerusalem where we spent the remainder of our time. Our hotel was very close to the Old City and was a great area for wandering around. On the weekend we took a tour to Masada, the Dead Sea, Jericho, Mount of Olives and Bethlehem. Those that we were working with also arranged a nice tour of the Old City on our last night.

View from my hotel room in Tel Aviv
(the beach was packed with people on saturday)

Sunset in Tel Aviv

Western Wall with view of the Dome of the Rock

Old City Light Show
The light show started the night we took the tour
with our group. It was really neat, they setup all
sorts of neat light fixtures in and around the Old City

View of the Old City from the Mount of Olives

View of the Dead Sea from the Masada ruins

We didn't enter the Dead Sea from En Gedi
but we stopped to take a picture of the sign

Floating in the Dead Sea

Enjoying the mud
(btw, I have no idea who that woman is... and I had
no idea she was there till I saw the picture. awkward.)

Greek monastery on the Mount of Temptation in Jericho
(this view is from the cable car...)

Mahane Yehuda
This is an amazing outdoor market in Jerusalem

Spices at the market

More spices at the market

Anti-Obama protest outside the American Consulate
(the day before Obama spoke in Egypt)

Security wall in Bethlehem

Security wall leaving Bethlehem

The wonderful people that I work with in Israel.

Rain fountain at the Ben Gurion airport.
It was really nice to sit by but you risk falling asleep :)

In Memory Of Foxy

I have some sad news to report. Tenley's kitten Foxy passed away over the weekend. He was found by my sister curled up in his little bed. They are unsure of the reason but suspect it may have been a vaccination he received on friday. I wanted to post a few more pictures in memory of him. I am happy I was able to meet him while in New Zealand. He truly was a lovable kitten.

New Zealand (post 2)

Now pictures from the three day visit to the west coast. We stopped in Greymouth the first night then drove north up the coast to Westport where we stayed the night in this wonderful hotel in Cape Fowlwind and ate at a really nice restaurant called Yellowhouse (owned by a woman from the US who makes everything from scratch... very refreshing). We then made our way back to Christchurch and unfortunately, while stopping to admire a nice suspension bridge, the starter for the car stopped working. Once we get the car running, we didn't stop again on the drive back to Christchurch (so no more scenic mountain pictures). Overall the trip was wonderful and I definitely look forward to going back (hopefully in warmer weather)!

Pancake rocks at Punakiki

Punakiki

Sister photo (me, susie, tenley... looks cold huh??)

Coast looking south

View from a resort in Punakiki

Seal colony just south of Westport

Pups at the seal colony (they are hard to see... but they are in there)

Coastline at seal colony

Sunset at seal colony

The cat at yellow house also knew where the warmest place was

Suspension bridge

New Zealand (post 1)

My sister Susie and I went to visit our sister Tenley in New Zealand. It was the middle of May which is the end of their fall season, and the weather was very cold (which was a major shock for me since it was so hot in Arizona when I left). We spent most of our time in Christchurch (where my sister lives) but also took a day trip to Akaroa and a three day trip out to the west coast. The pictures below are from Christchurch and Akaroa.

Our first stop: the sign of the kiwi in Christchurch

The port of Christchurch

Beach on the one sunny day in Christchurch

View of Akaroa on the drive down

Akaroa (there is a really good fish & chips place there)

Castle Rock

The sheep at Castle Rock (they kept walking back
and forth then stopping to pose for pictures)

Tenley's little kitty Foxy

Foxy sure knows where the warmest spot in the house is!

President Obama

I was lucky enough to attend the ASU commencement ceremony since Bruce completed his second masters. It was wonderful to hear President Obama speak. While our seats were good, my little camera was not able to take a picture that far. So I took one of the jumbotron. And of course, there is a picture of the secret service.

Chihuly at the Desert Botanical Garden

Once again I am slow to post... but over mother's day weekend my parents and I went to see the Chihuly glass exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden. It was really neat to see how he incorporated his glass pieces amongst all the cacti. Plus it was my first time at the garden (I know, I know... how long have I been in Chandler?) and I really enjoyed the blooming cacti.