The Floribama

From Holy Land

Here we have a picture of three beautiful women. On the left is Rev. Catherine Booth; middle is Mrs. Lena Jenkins (wife of Rev. Jamie Jenkins) and left is Rev. Joan Kinrade. They are standing in front of the Mediterranean Sea on the coast of Cesarea Meritime, the ruins of the capital city of Herod where it is said that the first conversion of a Gentile to Christianity took place.

At the grounds we were able to picture chariot races in the hippodrome, Paul standing trial in the theatre, and all sorts of odd things going on in the bathhouses. Unfortunately most of the buildings had been burned during the Crusades and now we have to use our imaginations to visualize what probably happened here.

But as memorable as this first site was for us on the trip, for me the most memorable part was the bus ride over. I’m not sure if I mentioned before but the Bishop and his wife (Margaret) as well as his Executive Assistant and his wife (Lena) were all on the trip with us. It was a great time to get to know the Bishop better.

What I didn’t expect was to get to know Lena and Margaret really well. On the way over to this first stop of our first day, they started chatting about a past trip they took with each other. I think that they were on a beach retreat with a few other clergy spouses and decided to take other women from the trip to check out some of the local venues. They ended up at the Floribama bar.

The fact that these women ended up in bar was humorous enough but the Floribama is another story. I know from personal experience that the Floribama is kind of like the ruins we were visiting that day except that they charge and entry fee (or two drink minimum) to see nothing historical. Just ruins due to lack of upkeep. They do have some local bands and can put on a good party at times so I had to use my imagination to picture Lene and Margaret walking into this dive ready to party.

I guess I’ve just broken the number one rule of trips “What happens on the trip, stays on the trip.” and this is especially true for bus conversations, but I now look at these women with a new appreciation for adventure and I hope that if I’m ever in the Holy Land with them again, I can convince them to venture out to the Cesariusalem Bar with me one night.

Until Everyone Hears,