Beach Day, First Time in Decades

Yes, that's me in the water

The other day a couple of friends and I went off for a very short beach day. The last time I may have gotten fully wet in the ocean at a beach was well over forty years ago. I don't remember much about the water, since I was busy taking care of my three daughters who were pretty small at the time. My strongest memory of that day was the awful sunburn I got on my back. It was probably the worst sunburn I've ever suffered. As a child, being the "dark one" in the family, I was never considered sensitive to the sun, so it was a real shock when I found myself burnt.

This week's adventure was different. First of all, it's part of my:

• Why not? Let's do it.
• If not now, when?
• Take advantage of every opportunity.
• Live it up...
• Pleasures of retirement. 
• Etcetera...

We had a full day together starting with our weekly Tanach, Bible studies, then lunch in IKEA, my first visit there. For ages, I've been calling myself: 

"Probably The Only Person Who Has Never Been To IKEA." 

Now my husband is the sole holder of that title. And since he doesn't like shopping, he may hold it even longer than Queen Elizabeth has held hers.

IKEA was chosen as the lunch venue, since not only is it strictly kosher, but it also charges relatively little for a meal. If you're wondering if I bought anything in IKEA, just a little thing to prop up my phone and some paper napkins. I wasn't even tempted by anything else.

Since we had guessed that the beaches would be empty, and we wore modest bathing suits, we went to Palmachim Beach. It was a good choice. The end of summer vacation meant that few people were there. It's also a lovely beach, clean and with all the facilities we needed.

We took turns falling, but I had no problem getting up.

As an extra treat, we had some ice cream. I must admit that I ended up tasting some of the beach water, which was saltier than I had remembered. One thing that surprised me was the oily feel of the water. I don't remember ocean water as oily. Please don't tell me that it's pollution. Since we sat on folding chairs, the same ones we had taken to Shakespeare last week, oops I still have to blog about that, we didn't get full of sand. I must admit that I didn't shower off before leaving. The natural ocean water was a pleasure after three months of pool chlorine.

The trip back to Jerusalem was without delays, and miraculously I made it in time for a Shiloh bus. Again Gd was good to me, since Yermiyahu Street was clear, and the ride home was relatively fast and uneventful.

"Joys of Retirement" for sure. We must do it again.

A Bissel Traveling- Netanya!

Some friends and I met for a late lunch in Netanya. Review of restaurant will be in a different post. It's hard to remember the last time, if there was one, when I walked around that seaside city. I had forgotten completely how pleasant and compact the city is.

waiting for ride in Jerusalem

I checked out travel logistics via Ariel, which is very doable. But since I had a direct ride with a friend straight from Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem at a time, davka, two buses would arrive from Jerusalem, that's how I got there. This is not the season to be standing outside wondering when buses would come and then having to find one's way in an unfamiliar city. The added bonus was being able to spend time with a friend I don't see much.

We could sea the Mediterranean Sea, the gorgeous blue ocean, from our table in the restaurant. I had packed one of my bathingsuits hoping there would be time to go into the water, but that didn't happen... next time, Gd willing.

One of our small group lives in Netanya and another had been nearby for Shabbat. That's why we decided to go there.

After eating, we wandered around the Netanya boardwalk. I was saved from buying ice cream, since there was no mint.

Then the Jerusalemites left, and my friend took me to my neighbor's store. It was a short walk. Yes, I had a ride home straight to Shiloh. It's a good thing, since it was an exhausting day. Remember that I had spent a full morning exercising in the pool before my travel adventure. Netanya is really pretty close to Shiloh. I must go there again and soon.