We went to Teveryah! What happened was this: on our way to our friends' house two Shabbatot ago, we drove past the Kinneret. It was gorgeous. (We also drove through the Galil, which was also gorgeous, but rather further away.) We hadn't realized just how close we were to such a pretty vacation destination. And we have a car now. (Have I mentioned that? It's life-changing. In a good way.) So Husbinator called the two families we were friends with in America who now live in Northern Israel and arranged to all meet up for a day of Beach and Barbecue. (Though he would never call it that, since we planned to grill, not barbecue. Goodness.) He also found a hotel so we could make a real mini-vacation out of this. He did this all in about two days. Tops. He is very cool that way.
Anyway, so on Sunday we went to Teveryah and played on the beach with our friends. Good times were had by all.
When our friends left in mid-afternoon to go back home, we checked into our hotel and took turns going to the "mineral springs" just down the road, since admission was free with our hotel stay. Teveryah, by the by, is known for its natural hot springs, which, like all natural hot springs, are touted for their healing properties and general "how awesome is that" effect. The mineral springs we visited were, in fact, swimming pools. Husbinator went first, while I rested in the hotel room with a playful baby. He came back and said it was sooooo relaxing, I absolutely had to go. (I had been ambivalent: I'd played in a beautiful lake for hours, and I was tired. Why go to a hot swimming pool?)
So I went. Cutely, the attendant at the door told me it was mixed swimming before I went in. Fair warning! It's sweet when people (a) care about possible sensitivities AND (b) know what those sensitivities are. Right, so mixed swimming doesn't bother me; I just keep my clothes on. So in I went. The pool was nice; as Husbinator had gushed, the water was indeed incredibly dense, making floating no work at all. After a few minutes in the indoor mineral pool, I popped into the adjacent outdoor (hot) mineral pool. Still just a swimming pool into which someone dumped a bunch of salts. And a hot outdoor pool on a summer day is initially pretty not fun. But Husbinator said it was aaaaaaawwwweeeesome, so I gave it a shot. Soon enough, I began to enjoy the sensation of a hot, floaty bath with cool summer breezes. When my heart rate got too fast for my comfort, I popped back to the indoor pool for a bit longer. Then I got out. And that's when the utter relaxation hit. I don't know what they put in that pool, but something, something is absolutely glorious. Doesn't hit till you get out (I went back in and out later, with similar results), but then, whoa. Just draped myself in a deck chair and whoooooa.
Also on Husbinator's insistence, I tried both the wet and dry saunas. Neither were as terrible as I thought they'd be, but that's about all I can say for 'em. It was still more "ugh" than "cleansing. But those pools! Ah.
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