August 2nd--Ashkelon Beach, Kibbutz Ein Tzurim

This morning we woke up early, ate breakfast and headed out of Mitzpeh Ramon. While the trip was wonderful, enjoyable and full of new experiences, it was way too HOT!
On the way back we tried to stop in Beersheva at the Avraham's Well Museum (on the exact spot of Avraham's well), but it was closed for renovations. What would Avaraham have thought if he could see that his well is surrounded by restaurants now!!
Next we headed west to Ashkelon to give the kids a fun day at the beach. After stopping at the National Park for a picnic lunch, we headed over to the Delila Beach where we rented chairs and an umbrella and made camp. The water was bathtub warm and the boys had an absolutely amazing time literally diving into the waves head first with their masks on. They were both fearless and even I got in to my neck. The water was crystal clear and we were able to walk all the way out to a breaker on a gigantic sandbar. We had such a great time. It was literally hours of fun and at 5:00 we had to drag the boys into the showers and into the car.
Next we headed to Kibbutz Ein Tzurim where Morah Edut lives. We went to visit her and her family, tour the refet (where the cows are kept) and listen to how Edut's dad was able to communicate with the thousands of turkeys and get them to talk back to him. It was pretty amazing. When we got to the Kibbutz we also noticed that it is a whole complex of caravans. Edut explained that these were all families that were displaced from Gush Katif (including her own) but that the end to the caravans was finally in sight as they would be all moving to a new settlement together over the next few months. We got to meet Bnot Sherut, Orly's mom and see Orly's room all ready and waiting for her return next week.
We couldn't not believe how fresh the pain still seemed as Edut and her father showed us pictures of their beautiful house and land in Gush Katif. Their story was amazing and to see the living conditions made their story even more real to us. May their new settlement be the source of a new beginning and much mazal and bracha. The kids played together for hours and we ate delicious malawach thanks to Edut's mom. It was a really great evening.
The kids fell sound asleep in the car and we carried them back to their Jerusalem beds. Can't wait to collapse!