Day 9
Breakfast this morning  was interesting!  The food was different  and my breakfast  very
Companion didn't  speak English!  After he devoured his food and came back  to  the  table with his coffee,  we did exchange  a smile!  I ate eggs and had cheesecake and coffee.
On to Tel Beersheba via our bus, saw a horned altar (replica) and saw a 300+year old well that was dug by Abraham who made the treaty with Abimelech to share water rights.
On  to Tel Arad.  It was windy and rainy here.  Did get to see a city with no other city built after it.  It was Canaanite  and had a temple  the could be a model for the temple in Jerusalem - complete  with a Holy of Holies.  In years  past  there were two stones erected showing God and Ashera.  Today, Ashera's  stone was put behind Yahweh's stone!  Even Kaliel  was surprised to see the change!
We then had an Israeli truck stop experience as we picked up food to eat on the bus so we could make our next stop of Beit Gustin - a national park that was full of sites to see -including the group of students traveling  from St. Olaf College!  We saw Maresha, an ancient Hellenistic city that included olive presses (3 in one cave alone) dovecotes  called columbaria, and water cisterns.  Then, we went to this beautiful  Sidonian burial cave where there were Lots of niches for people  to  be  buried  and one niche  was decorated  like a Greek temple.
The bell caves were part of this park as well.  They even were dug for chalk which was used for plastering walls.  They were beautiful and we sang Amazing Grace which sounded beautiful!
At the Elah  Valley  we stopped very briefly in the rain  and picked up our stones, just like David did when he battled Saul.  It was  raining and a muddy mess.  I  hope Fausi   (our bus driver) didn't  catch  any  slack from the company for  all  the  mud!
We drove  past Beit Shemesh, the area where the judge, Sampson, was doing his work.
We went to Beit Sahour and shopped in a cooperative of Christians from the earliest days of Christianity.  I bought a new wedding band that is sapphires and  diamonds...Beautiful!
It's  been  such an uncrowded  trip to date.  Jerusalem will NOT be like this!  It's going to  be  interesting  to  see  how  the 24 of us do when people are  jostling and bumping  us all along the way!
The hotel  is  close to the Old City wall and was full of tourist groups like ours.  Dinner was ok.  I had salmon, corn fritter, mushroom stuffed artichoke, salads, ice cream and mini donuts.  Didn't  even go to the hot  food line.
It  is  late.  Good day, and now off for a good night's  sleep, I hope!