Palmach Museum (and the Beach)

Today, we ventured into Tel Aviv to visit the Palmach Museum, a museum dedicated to the Palmach, the strike-force of the pre-state underground Haganah defense organization, which was later integrated into the Israel Defense Forces helping in the creation of the state of Israel. It is an interactive museum that you walk through that takes you into the action to explain it with all of your senses.

Nira joined us for the day and was able to give us different pieces of family history as we walked through the museum. We learned that our Uncle Yuno Reisner was part of the later forces of the Palmach in the North and lit the fuse to blow up a bridge and police station. We also learned that in 1946, Nira's parents (Doda Vali, Dod Zoli and Yuno) boarded an immigrant ship, the "Rondine", a small Italian ship as refugees escaping Nazi Hungary to immigrate to British Mandate Palestine. The kids were intrigued by the family stories and gained a greater appreciation into how Israel become an independent country.

From there, we decided to head to the beach for lunch and a quick cooldown. After a delicious lunch of humus v pita and schnitzel, we were melting and headed straight into the Mediterranean Sea to cool down. Now, I don't know what I was thinking, but I guess I was hoping for a refreshing dip to cool down. The sea was in fact 30°C (86°F), just a few degrees colder than the air of 96°F that day. It felt as though you were stepping into a very warm bath with huge waves. After we figured out what the different colored flags meant and where to swim, we jumped a few waves and then realized it felt much better to be wet and out of the warm bath, than in it. For reference, the ocean we usually swim in in Maine/Massachusetts is around 60s°F. We spent some time finding shells and then went in search of our car with AC.

On our way back, we stopped at my cousin Neta's house for the kids to play and I to take a nap. Evan and I were heading out that night with Efrat and Neta on a couples date so we decided to indulge in the kid's request and Evan and Nira ran out to get them Israeli McDonalds. Kids went with their usual orders, although upset that the fries did not have enough salt on them. There were other interesting things on the menu as well like sweet potato fries and carrots. Theo and Coby played a quick game of Ticket to Ride (Theo won - or so he says) and Nira took the kids back home.

The rest of us drove to Efrats' mom's house in Hod HaSharon and then walked to a local bar. Efrat brought her date, Marco (her 6 mo old.) We ordered some fancy drinks and the most delicious food I have ever had and reminisced for hours. Efrat and Neta are both the granddaughters of my Savta's sisters. We have been in eachother's lives since childhood and have a special bond. We stayed up late laughing and taking photos to remember the moment and said a tearful goodbye.

On the way home, we took a quick stop nearby at Rehov Ansilevitch (my maiden name for those who don't know) to say hello. Yes my dad's family owned an orchard/farm here and the street was named after them.