I woke up early, went to my now favorite coffee stand around the corner and then headed out for a run along the beach. It was a beautiful morning and there were only a few people out on this Shabbat Saturday before the weather got too hot. I ran on the path towards Jaffa. It felt good to get some exercise after not having any for while preparing for the move.

Saturday’s are family days in Israel, so we planned to spend time together going to a local market called Sarona. It’s an indoor market with lots of shops and restaurants and large playground outside. Shortly after leaving our apartment, we realized we had a problem right away. How to get there! On our previous trips to Israel, it was just Jim and I, not a family of 5. The cabs here only take 4 people maximum. Jim decided to take the electric scooter across town and I jumped in the taxi with the 3 kids and stroller. We all arrived about the same time 20 minutes later.

We each picked what we wanted to eat, shrimp and grilled veggies for me and the older kids got Ramen.

Mika still jet lagged was passed out in her stroller unable to wake her from a coma like sleep.

We had a nice lunch and it was time to wake up sleeping beauty and head to the big playground outside the market. We thought she would be less cranky if a playground was in front of her. We were right!

Mika had a great time playing on the swings and other fun equipment with Summer and Jim. Josh and I checked out the nearby shops.

We came home with some freshly ground coffee, and a new pan since everyone agreed the Ikea pans we bought for the apartment were crap. After that we headed home with Jim on the scooter and me and the kids in a taxi.

We all rested up and waited for the heat to die down before heading to the beach.

After a small meltdown from Mika after she realized we left the beach toys at home, we purchased new beach toys, a beach blanket and found a spot by the water. There is a popular game called Matkot that Israelis play along the shoreline. Summer was dying to try it.

We were all terrible, but it was fun.

Josh wanted me to take a walk along the rocks with him to get a better view of the sunset.

Later, friends joined us with a nice bottle of red hidden in their backpack. We enjoyed the view and great conversation until dark. Josh and Summer headed to a local pizza stand to get slices to bring home while Jim, Mika and I headed to a nearby restaurant with our friends to end our first Saturday evening in Israel before walking home.