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Ducky and Pembleton are living in a mysterious and amazing place called Haifa, Israel. Every weekend they explore new places in the city. Last weekend, they explored the Haifa zoo and met lots of new friends. Today, Pembleton woke everyone up early and announced that he found an amazing place called the Bahai gardens, right here in Haifa. So they packed their backpacks with snacks and juice and took the bus downtown.
When they first got off the bus, Pembleton said, “that doesn’t look right. We were supposed to be in a different place.” Pembleton checked the map and couldn’t recognize any of the street names. He turned to the others and said, “I’m sorry guys. I think we are lost.”
Ducky turned to him and said, “Don’t worry Pembleton. I’ll ask someone for directions.” Once Ducky got directions from a local puppy, they discovered they were only one street over from the entrance to the Bahai gardens.
The gang spent all day exploring the incredible Bahai gardens, and when they were done, they finished the afternoon with lunch and an ice cream cone. Before heading home, they stopped back at the base of the gardens for a group photo. It was a pretty awesome day.
“Whoa! That’s quite a view!”
Ducky and the gang are currently living in Israel. As such they are learning about and celebrating many Jewish holidays. Tonight starts Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Jewish New Year! As part of the celebrations they ate apples with honey and pieces of a special round challah bread, and then they blew rams horns (which was kinda gross).
Chag Sameach! Happy Holiday! Shana Tova! Good Year!
Blizzard’s Midnight Snack.
Lately, Pembleton has been having a lot of trouble in his Hebrew class. He just can’t remember the sounds made by all of the funny looking letters. But Pembleton has also been too embarrassed to ask for help.
Pembleton usually excels at everything academic, but learning a new language is so strange. You have to make noises that you’ve never heard before, and read letters that you’ve never seen before. To make things worse, Ducky, who usually has lots of trouble in school, is learning Hebrew so quickly. Ducky, Ted, Blizzard, and all the other animals read everything perfectly, but when it was Pembleton’s turn he felt like he was just speaking jibberish.
Pembleton felt ashamed, until he finally worked up the courage to ask his teacher what he should do. His teacher said, “How about you study with my star student?” Pembleton wondered who the teacher’s “star” student was. He hoped it wasn’t Ducky, but he needed help so much he was willing to do whatever the teacher thought would help. To Pembleton’s surprise the teacher walked over to Blizzard’s desk and asked him if he would be willing to study with Pembleton.
Pembleton felt so relieved because he felt comfortable studying with Blizzard. But just to be sure, Pembleton asked Blizzard if they could study after Ducky went to bed so that no one would laugh at his mistakes.
After only a few study sessions, Pembleton and Blizzard have both improved a lot, and Pembleton is feeling much more confident about the Hebrew class.
Shalom! Shmi Blizzard!
Yesterday morning Ducky went on a walk. As he walked by the local Jewish community center, he saw a group of humans standing around a bonfire. He was curious so he waddled over to see what was going on. As he peeked through the crowd, he was shocked by what he saw! They were burning bread and crackers! “WHY?” Ducky thought. Then Ducky noticed a wise old owl near by. He walked over and asked what was going on.
The owl replied “It’s the burning of the Chametz.”
“What is that?” Ducky asked even more confused.
“During Pesach, or Passover as you know it, the Jewish people burn anything leaven and do not eat bread or other leaven foods for a whole week in remembrance of their escape from Egypt.” said the owl.
“What? No bread? No pita? Not cake? No cookies? No nothing?” Ducky asked. “When does this start?”
“Tonight.”
Before the owl could say “Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday)”, Ducky ran past the bonfire, grabbed a bag of pita and headed home. He had some eating to do before Pesach started!
“Yummy… Hummus…Pita…Pita…Hummus…”
New blog posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!
(Pretend today is Monday!)
Their boat was stuck in a sandbar and Pembleton felt like something fishy was going on because every attempt to radio for help was being jammed. The only thing they could do is take their life raft to the nearby island and search for help.
Once Ducky, Pembleton, Ted, and Blizzard made it to shore, they decided to explore the island. But Ducky insisted that they all stick together and Pembleton reminded them to walk quietly.
It didn’t take long for them to discover what was going on. Ducky and Pembleton heard rough voices through the dense jungle foliage. They carefully peeked through the bushes only to find CAT PIRATES!
“That explains it”, said Pembleton. “The pirates must be jamming our radio and they probably put that sandbar near the island to trap boats like ours.”
Ducky said, “Why does it have to be CATS? I hate CATS!”
“Except for kittens”, Ted reminded him.
As they listened to the cat pirates, they found out that their leader, Captain One Mitten, was aware of their boat. He had sent his first mate to check on the boat, but he returned saying that no one was on the ship and there was no treasure – only a few sandwiches. Both pirates agreed that they were hungry and went down to the boat to eat Ducky, Pembleton, and the little guys’ sandwiches.
Meanwhile, Ducky said, “Now’s our chance to find out what they are doing here.” Pembleton added, “Maybe we can disable their radio jammer.”
To be continued…
“Arrr… what kinda sandwiches, thee be?” -Captain One Mitten exclaimed.
Part 1 Ducky’s Mediterranean Cruise
Part 2 Water Skiing on Ducky’s Mediterranean Cruise
Part 3 Sand Bar! Full Steam Ahead! Ducky’s Mediterranean Cruise
Pembleton, the Captain of the USS DtPb, searched his maps high and low for the best island or beach to have a picnic on. He was very careful to check his nautical maps and equipment to make sure he was sailing the proper channels.
However, he was SHOCKED when they pulled into what he thought was a safe bay, but turned out to have a hidden sandbar that was not on his maps! Their ship was stuck in the sand, just below the waterline. He tried to reverse the engine, but it was no use! In fact the engine started smoking!
Pembleton tried to call for help using his radio, but the signal was jammed. The only thing left to do was to take their life raft to shore and try to find help or at least eat their lunch.
To be continued…
“Oh No!!! We’re stuck!” Ducky cried, “SOS! SOS!”
Pembleton finally agreed to let Ducky strap on his skis and hop out into the water. Ducky is a very good swimmer. For some reason floating comes naturally to his round body. Ted and Blizzard hooked up the cord so that Ducky could hold on as the boat cruised through the water.
Shortly after Pembleton pushed the throttle forward a pod of dolphins joined Ducky as he road the waves. Ted and Blizzard were bouncing up and down waving to the dolphins. Then the dolphins started jumping out of the water and waving their flippers back at the little guys. One dolphin even did a flip out of the water.
When Ducky road over an especially large wave he sailed clear out of the water. The next time a wave came he headed straight for it on purpose. Ducky kept trying to go higher and higher until at one point a splashed out of control losing the cord attached to the boat. When Pembleton turned the boat around to check on him, Ducky came up spitting out water and laughing. The dolphins even helped Ducky get back on to the boat.
Next on their agenda, Ducky, Pembleton, and the little guys needed to find a small island to have a picnic on.
To be continued…
Whaa Whoo! Faster! Faster!
Ducky and the gang recently went on a Mediterranean Cruise off the coast of Haifa, Israel. They took Pembleton’s new boat, the “USS DtPb,” for a short cruise around Haifa bay.
There was a slight breeze and the sun kept them nice and warm. The weather was perfect for a day out at sea.
Ted and Blizzard had heard that a pod of dolphins often liked to play nearby. They hoped they would be able to see them and maybe even see them do a trick or two.
Ducky was excited, when Pembleton told him the water would be calm today, with the occasional wave. It was perfect for some tubing or water skiing. Shortly after leaving the harbor, Ducky asked, “Is it time to get out my water skis?”
To be continued…
“Full Steam Ahead!”
Even though Ducky has been having lots of fun and trying lots of new things, he has been having a hard time since moving to Israel. He hasn’t made many new friends yet. So it was really hard for him today, because today is Ducky’s birthday.
All day Ducky kept telling Pembleton about how he wished his friends were here to celebrate his birthday and that his birthday just wouldn’t be the same without his friends. Ducky was so sad to think that no one here even knew it was his birthday.
Just when Ducky thought he was going to cry, Pembleton told Ducky that he needed him to go down to the bakery to pick up some bread for dinner. When Ducky stepped inside the bakery, a group of familiar faces shouted, “SURPRISE!”. It was Ducky’s friends. Amanda Panda, Penelope Penguin, Edgar Elephant, and even the Lambs were there. Ted and Blizzard sang and danced. There were presents, a giant orange cake, and a sign that said “Happy Birthday Ducky”.
Ducky’s got to wear his sheriffs outfit and everyone sang him Happy Birthday. It was Ducky’s best birthday ever.
SURPRISE!
Did you know you can ski in Israel? When Pembleton found out Mt. Hermon had snow and a ski resort, he couldn’t wait to take Ted and Blizzard on their first skiing adventure. Who would have known it would be in Israel?
Even though it was Ted and Blizzard’s first time skiing, they caught on very quickly. Pembleton instructed them on some basic techniques: to go forward keep your skis straight like french fries, to slow down and stop wedge your skis like a slice of pizza and to turn move your hips slightly in the direction you want to go. By the end of the end of the day, the little guys had skiing the bunny slope mastered. Ducky on the other hand, had some problems.
“How do I stop?”-Ducky
“Pizza! Pizza!”- Ted & Blizzard
Ducky has been enjoying the food in Israel. He has been trying new things every day, but Pembleton has been a little less adventurous. Today, Pembleton bumped into Ducky during lunchtime. Ducky was holding a huge stuff sandwich with little balls, cabbage, tomatoes, and onions inside.
“What’s that Ducky? It looks tasty.”
“Yumm, Yumm, It’s falafel! Do you want some?”
“Umm, I don’t know, what’s falafel?”
“Fried goodness. It’s made of chickpeas that are mashed, seasoned and fried. Then it is stuffed into a yummy pita with hummas and veggies.”
“What’s hummas?”
“Stop asking questions, just eat!” Ducky shouted as he passed Pembleton his enormous sandwich.
After taking a small bite, Pembleton, took another, and another. “Wow, that’s pretty tasty. I like it.”
“Good, now get your own!”
“Ducky, what’s that? It looks tasty.”
Ducky and Pembleton have been very busy lately. After staying in New York for almost one month, it was time for them to complete the final stage of their move.
They packed up their clothes and toys into Pembleton’s plane and headed east. They flew over the Atlantic Ocean, the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum of Rome, Athens, and finally to Haifa, Israel.
It was a long trip. When they arrived, Ducky and Ted went to get some felafel for lunch, while Pembleton and Blizzard decided to have a salad with cucumbers and tomato.
So far, Ducky and the gang are enjoying their new home. The weather is nice and the food is great, but they are looking forward to meeting new friends and having many more exciting adventures.
(Sorry for the lack of posting, we are trying to be better! 2013 has been crazy so far. We should be settled in about a week!)
Shalom! We made it!
Ducky's Adventures 