28 Jan 2018 - Church of the Holy Sepulchre (CKB)

After school today, we set out for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City.  I'd forgotten that one of the reasons I love this church is that its hard to find.  But we found it and waited in line to touch 'Calvary', the rock upon which Jesus is said to have been killed.  It was a little odd...here's the scene...

I'm trying to coach the guys on the sensitivity and holiness of the site.  Meanwhile, Noah is discussing the nuances of crucifixion and Nate has assumed his best Caveman/ Monty Python narrating voice and is engaging Noah on the subject of crucifixion.
Mercifully, it was a short line.
You're supposed to duck - kneel, actually - under an altar and put your hand through an ornate hole to touch the rock (that you can't see) underneath.
It was our turn.
Noah thought of some scene in Indiana Jones and decided that he "wanted to keep [his] hand" and skipped out.  Nate put his hand in, but his arm was too short.  "I think I felt some cold rock, but I dunno..."  In the meantime, I'm desperately trying to make sure we offend as few people as possible, so I missed it too.
Note to self - next time just relax, enjoy the scene, and stick your hand in the hole.  (Words to live by.)

We went on to St. Helena's chapel and the crusader graffiti and circumnavigated the Church.  Upon our exit, we found a fabulous antique (not antiquities) store and just oogled the beautiful things inside for a while, before heading out of the Old City.  On our way out, we ducked into a cafe and shared a plate of knaffe, one of my favorite treats.  Its warm cheese, covered in pastry, honey, and nuts, and is usually a day-glo orange color.  It's divine.  And the guys thought so too.

Back at home, Aaron tackled haircuts for the boys in the parking lot of the Albright.  After a couple of quick laps around the parking lot - to shake off the hair - Noah went up to shower and Nate buddied up with the Albright Director and his wife's kids, Atticus (7) and Cyrus (5).  Was a good show.