Family Time Touring, Yes, Suitable for the 9 Days

My cousin and his wife have actually come to Israel for the first time. After lots of indecision and discussion they got on the plane and came. I spent two days with them.

In Jerusalem we went to the Old City, including the Kotel.

And then, after lunch, we went to Yad Veshem.

I'm not the greatest of tour guides. So the next day my daughter joined us, and we trekked up to Haifa to meet my uncle's officer from the time he had been one of the American volunteers on the illegal immigrant ships. Uncle Izzy was the "Pharmacist Mate," aka "the doctor" for ships filled with thousands of Holocaust survivors on their way to the Land of Israel.

Then we went to the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum where we walked around and got a more complete idea of his contribution to the State of Israel.

By car it was a short (just two hours) ride from Ofra, plus picking me up in Shiloh to Haifa, but with traffic and all it took me almost double to get back home by bus via Jerusalem. At least I had time to eat some soup before the Tisha b'Av fast and brush my teeth.