Mitzpe Ramon and the Best Birthday Ever!

When we travel, whether it be a short weekend trip or an extended getaway, the one thing we tend to always cheap out on is the hotel room.  (Oh, yeah, and the flight, too.  No economy seat is too good for us, no sir.)  Our philosophy is that the room is just for sleeping, so why spend unnecessary amounts of money on something you're barely going to look at?

My last birthday was the exception that has made us see the light.

When we lived in Guadalajara, we always spent TJ's birthday weekend in Puerto Vallarta, while my cumpleaños always seemed to be represented by a peaceful weekend at home.  TJ decided that, this time around, my birthday would receive the getaway treatment.  But where to go?

Several of our coworkers had already taken weekend trips to, and raved about, the Beresheet Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon.  And that's just where we spent the weekend of March 21st-23rd.

The Beresheet Hotel is part of the Isrotel Exclusive Collection, which basically means it's one of the chain's more exquisite offerings (and future weekend trips would sadly prove that hotels not in the Exclusive Colleciton were…not so exquisite…).  

The amazing accommodations featured a comfy queen bed and a full living room...

and a private infinity pool!!!

The hotel featured two delicious Kosher restaurants; The Lobby Bar offers a selection light dairy meals, while the Rosemary Restaurant offers a gourmet meat buffet. 

Beautiful, right?  Now, I'm not sure why I know anything about this town beyond what was to be found at the hotel, but we somehow managed to drag ourselves away for a bit of sightseeing and exploring.

The hotel is located on the edge of the towering cliffs that slope down into Makhtesh Ramon, a crater running 24 miles long, 5 miles wide, and 1600 feet deep. which was the next stop after Moa on the old Nabatean Spice Route.  The term "crater" is a bit of a misnomer, as such language would indicate that this land formation was the result of a meteor impact.  Instead, this makhtesh (the world's largest) was created by erosion.  A geological landform unique to Israel's Negev desert, a makhtesh has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a deep closed valley.   

We awoke bright and early on Saturday morning and took in the breathtaking sight of sunrise over the makhtesh.  The world transformed before our eyes, rapidly changing from black, to purple, to blue, yellow, and orange.  

Following the sunrise and some serious caffeine infusion, we headed over ot the Mitzpe Ramon Desert Sculpture Park, located conveniently right beside the hotel.  Just like it sounds, this is basically a park, located in the desert, that has the occasional sculpture thrown about for good measure.  I don't believe we managed to navigate the entirety of the park, but we got the gist.  And now, so have you!

Making our way back toward the hotel, nature provide a perfect segue into our next activity.  Standing next to a sculpture was an Ibex mother and her kids.  

Now, being wild, aggressive animals with pointy horns, we opted not to pet them.  

But we DID pet the animals at the Mitzpe Ramon Alpaca Farm!  Would you just look at that segue!  BAM!  This seemed like a good use of time, as we love petting fluffy animals, and TJ had been a fan of alpacas since his trip to Ecuador.  I'm not sure what I expected, but it should have been a rundown family operated farm filled with filthy alpacas, llamas, and camels that wanted nothing more than to spit on me.  Don't take that as a criticism, as it was a lot of fun and an excellent use of time.  

I was happy to, after six months living in the Middle East, finally interact with a camel...

while TJ was overjoyed to have met Carol Channing.

  

We concluded our day with some exploration of the makhtesh itself before heading back to the hotel for more swimming, eating, and living in temporary luxury.  The crater and surrounding area forms Israel's largest national park, the Ramon Nature Reserve.

Ha-Minsara (The Caprentry Shop)

The next morning was filled with even more swimming, eating (I'm telling you, this hotel has the most amazing food), and living in temporary luxury.  I was treated to a birthday massage at the hotel's spa right before checkout.  Afterward, TJ met me in the lobby with a gift basket filled with massage oils, a tea light/aromatic oil burner, and enough oils to last until my next birthday.  

It was the best birthday of my entire life and is still my favorite weekend in Israel.  I could honestly gush about it enough to fill another post.  Maybe I will…if a certain someone would like to take me for a repeat visit next year...  

R&R, Part 3: Life in the Big Easy

Back in my college days, back when I barely had two pennies to call my own that I didn't have to account for with my parents, I somehow managed to sneak away not once, but twice to New Orleans. One of those trips involved a stuck bathroom door, a miscommunication on both sides, and a trip to the emergency room that I will never forget. Ah, college.

As for TJ, he had his own pre-Aaron adventures there. He performed with his high school band at the Superdome. He celebrated his 21st birthday there during Mardi Gras following a break-up with his first boyfriend. Good place and time to do it, eh?

In March 2004, for my 24th birthday, TJ and I chose New Orleans for one of our first vacations together. We saw Ryan Cabrera and the Wallflowers at the House of Blues. We ate at, what was for us at the time, a fancy restaurant (which basically meant that they had white tablecloths). We walked along the riverfront. We enjoyed beignets at Café du Monde. And we partied on Bourbon Street.

When deciding upon a travel itinerary for R&R, New Orleans was the first and only true consideration for our post-cruise enjoyment. It's a city we love, and one that we had not visited in over eight years. It was high time for a return visit.

All memories of our 2004 trip are kept in our heads. If there are pictures, they are likely contained on an as-yet undeveloped roll of film that has travelled cross-country and internationally without fulfilling its destiny. But we're all digital now, baby.

We spent April 14th-21st roaming the streets of The Big Easy, and there are plenty of pictures to help tell the tale.

St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square

There were no concerts at the House of Blues this time around (believe me, we checked), but we did find ourselves visiting the city during the French Quarter Festival. Festival workers took over Jackson Square and the area surrounding St. Louis Cathedral and set up booths selling foods from participating restaurants. We sat on the lawn and listened to live music while gorging on a feast of crawfish.

Hmm, now that's a good ol' Southern time.

We returned to that fancy restaurant of yore, where we enjoyed Oysters on the Half Shell. The food was still good, the ambiance nice. But one look at the reasonable menu prices helped us appreciate just how far we've come since our days of working at Target and Universal Studios. That restaurant isDickie Brennan's Bourbon House, by the way, and I'd still recommend it for dinner seating to anyone visiting the city. Acme Oyster House is also a must. Lunch lines can be 10-20 minutes long, but oh so worth it. Don't even try going after sunset, when lines will stretch down the block. Their Fried Peacemaker Po-Boy and Craw Puppies might just be worth the wait, though.

We once again walked along the riverfront. Only this time, we were in town for Navy Fleet Week, commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Ships from various countries were available for public tours, and merchandise, beer, and native foods were available for purchase.

This ship had a line. We visited the Ecuadorians instead.

As always, we visited the famous Café du Monde (now celebrating 150 years of business!), where we breakfasted on chicory coffee and beignets. We brought some of each back, and shared this special treat with our co-workers this past Friday.

And, of course, we did plenty of partying on Bourbon Street. I won't bore you (or embarrass myself) with those details.

Taken on our last night in NOLA.

Seven nights on Bourbon Street, and alive to tell the tale.

Our second trip definitely contained aspects of our first trip together, but we managed to squeeze in a bunch of new experiences, too.

Like our visit to the Audubon Nature Institute, which includes the Aquarium, Zoo, and Insectarium. It was quite an adventure.

I met a nice penguin...

..the experience of which was quite ruined

once I was attacked by these savage birds.

...and then we both got eaten by a ghost shark while posing for a picture!

I'll spare you the details of our escape. But it involved a goat.

...and a wardrobe change.

While driving around in the beautiful and historic Garden District and creepily taking pictures of other people's houses, we happened upon a Reform Synagogue and decided to attend their Friday night Shabbat service. Despite having recently found a Reform congregation here in Guadalajara, we both hungered for a normal, American experience. Kinda like how we had been chowing down on Popeyes chicken, Krystal burgers, and Sonic cherry limeades for the past week. Anyway, the synagogue was beautiful, the members were friendly, and the service was downright peculiar.

The cantor sounded like an opera singer and was accompanied by a choir. The whole thing had a "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" vibe to it that just shouldn't be found in a synagogue. There was a guest speaker that night, and I take it a lot of outsiders were invited to attend, because as we hastened for the exit, a sweet old woman stopped us and asked if we were from the church. She had not seen us before, but noticed that we were singing along to most of the songs. It took immense willpower not to say "No, but I think everyone else is." Let's just spare everyone the embarrassment of name-dropping the place, and instead look at a pretty picture from the aforementioned Garden District.

As our week in New Orleans wound down, we found ourselves very sad. Not because vacation was over. Not because we would be returning to Mexico. Not even because we were leaving New Orleans. Simply because we were leaving the US. On our prior trip, we found ourselves trapped in the Disney and Universal cocoon. Plus, we were with a friend.

My trip to San Diego saw me visiting friends and trapped in a similar bubble. And when I went home for my mom's procedure...well, that was hardly a pleasure trip.

This was the first time we had found ourselves together in the US with nothing to do but relax. And it was nice. It was comforting. It was familiar. The food was great and we spent way too much time shopping at Target.

As much as we love Mexico...as much as we cherish the time we have had here...as much as we will enjoy the time we have left...as much as we adore our friend and will miss them when we leave...well...

...I think we're both somewhat looking forward to nine months of Arabic training.

San Diego Zoo

July 20th, the first full day of my California adventure (no, not that California Adventure. But I did make my way to Disneyland later in the week...), saw me heading to the San Diego Zoo. And, thanks to my friend Evan, who "knows a guy," I was able to walk through the entrance with a complimentary ticket. Which is a good thing. I don't care what zoo you are. You are not worth $40 USD.

Yeah, I said it. I guess I've been spoiled by the cheap-to-free zoos located in Mexico and Washington DC.

But if you can ignore (or avoid) the lofty entry fee, you will definitely find yourself in one of the most impressive zoos you're apt to ever visit.

The absolute most amazing thing about the San Diego Zoo, and the first thing I want to talk about, is actually one of the last things I saw during my visit. It's such a modest, unpresumptuous exhibit that I almost missed it entirely. And Evan, making his third visit to the zoo, was seeing it for the first time. In a small holding area (sounds better than "cage," right?) towards the back of the zoo there's a whole lot of inter-species mingling going on.

Bakka the cheetah and Miley the husky mix are part of the zoo's animal ambassadors program. Basically, this means that baby cheetahs and wolves are thrown into cag--holding areas with puppies of a similar age. They play, eat, and sleep together, which results in a deep bond of friendship that lasts a lifetime. Apparently they are raised so that the dog fills the alpha role in the relationship, and the savage beast follows its lead. Unless it eats the dog, of course.

The rest of the day, was filled with your typical zoo fair. And lets face it, I've already blogged about zoos. So bear with me while I share the highlights.

Speaking of bears...

The SDZ's Polar Bear habitat offered me the closest view I've ever had of a polar bear. There were two of these galoots in there, and I had no idea how ginormous they actually were. They seemed to be playing. Or possibly mating. Or maybe trying to kill each other. Never could tell, but they looked totally adorable while doing it.

Artificial Polar and Panda Bears make a nice segue

between discussions of the real deal...

The SDZ also offered the best view of a Panda Bear that I've ever had. And they should. Lord know they tout the creature's presence here as their biggest selling point. Pandas are an endangered species, and only a dozen or so reside in North American zoos. Of those five zoos, four are located in the United States. The other is located in Mexico City. Of the three remaining North American zoos, I have visited one: The National Zoo in DC. Knowing that I have seen 3/5 of the Panda Zoos on this continent, I am pained at having never blogged about the National Zoo. Must have visited during one of my moody, non-blogging periods. Sigh.

Gao Gao the Panda has, at 19 years old, fathered four cubs by natural mating. Not sure how many he's had by unnatural mating, but I wonder if that's where Koalas come from?

Flamingos are birds. And birds are filthy creatures.

But this is a pretty fabulous shot, I think.

Random photo insertion, as I have nothing else to say about it. Ta-Dah!

What you see here is a tired Mamma Rhino. And an amorous Daddy Rhino. He kissed her booty. He caressed her flank. He nibbled her ear. He pushed and shoved and she just wouldn't yield. Mamma had a long day and she wasn't in the mood. Finally, dejected, he walked away with shoulders slouched. And that's when I learned waaay too much about the anatomy of the male rhino. I won't diminish the wholesome nature of this (generally) family friendly blog by going into detail. But feel free to satiate your blatant curiosity and utilize our good friend, Google.

The zoo is huge, and in the end I wasn't able to see all of it. But it was still a great day at the world's most famous zoo, even if the only elephant (one of my fave zoo animals) I saw was this topiary.

Oddly enough, it wasn't the last artificial elephant I would see on this vacation. But more on that next time...when we head to San Diego Comic Con 2011.