Underground fighters, Underground wonders

Another "must do" but book ahead activity is the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv.  http://telemedia.co.il/en/page-46 You have to show ID to get past the guard station, but it isn't just some summer job teen checking you out, they KNOW who has an appointment and how many are in your group and greet you with your name. Talk about security check! Children must be 6 years old to enter and they aren't kidding. No babies, no toddlers. This museum isn't the kind that you look at exhibits behind glass and read the description or even listen to a brief audio explanation as you roam around. Instead it is more like a play about the history of the Palmach and the battles it fought. For English you still get a phone like wand to listen from, but you don't have to press anything.

The group goes from room to room but it is set up more like a movie set or stage as the story is told before you with real footage movies and modern re-enactments. It takes a little while to get used to listening through the handheld and tuning out the sounds around you, but it is so well done that you get absorbed into the story. There is no time to hang around between scenes and the guide keeps you moving (and didn't really like when we tried to take some group pictures) Some of the younger kids were still a little confused so I made sure to walk with them and give my own very brief commentary as we went along so they weren't lost. I know it made an impression on them when a day or two later they were still asking questions referring back to what they had seen/experienced.

Even though it was Friday and we had to do some preparations for Shabbos, we were eating at my sister's so we still had time to spare. Nearby is Sorek National Park, or the Stalactite Caves. http://www.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~15~~739243154~Card12~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=268824546  Given that I have my Matmon card, we may as well pop by. I have done this cave EVERY time I have been to Israel. I remembered the steps going down to the cave well, but I had never driven to it before. It is one of those white-knuckle, steering wheel gripping drives with hairpin turns that give you beautiful scenery if you dare take your eyes off the narrow two way road.
There are English tours, but not when we were there. They show you a movie (no play acting in this one) that can have English sub-titles, but some one requested Russian, so my kids were out of luck. Fortunately I spoke to the guide explaining that my kids don't speak Hebrew so staying with the group would be pointless for them. She let us go ahead of the group. It is a very cool (in both sense of the word) Stalactite and Stalagmite cave. It is enormous and interesting. They have a very safe path with good enough lighting so you can navigate the cave without a problem. You cannot however bring a stroller into the cave. Bailey walked around in there just fine and really seemed to like it. We weren't sure what the deal was with flash photography. We took a few pictures and decided that if anyone were to challenge us we would play dumb American tourist.

You need to take the stairs back up to the top. If you can understand some of the signs posted along the path, they are actually entertaining (like how many steps you have taken, how many calories you have burned....) We made sure to buy some Popsicles at the little store before heading back up. Bailey came down just fine, but Dovie and I took turns carrying the princess back up the steps. I think my calorie count was better than the sign posted or at least justified the Popsicle I ate along the way.