But his favorite place is Israel, more specifically in and around Yavne.
I'm told he's a taciturn, not one for chit-chat.
When he and his wife come to visit his son, daughter-in-law, and first grandchild, after about 15 minutes he's looking at his watch and signaling that he's ready to leave. During the visit he maybe said 20 words. Taciturn.
BUT, he comes alive when he plays tour guide, which he does whenever I visit.
My Hebrew vocabulary is worse than Dudu's English vocab so you would think that when he and I go touring - he's the guide and its on his turf - silence would dominate. Not so; as a tour guide, he is down right loquacious.
We traveled to Mini-Israel, a park with the major areas of Israel in miniature. (The link should open up a Web page with an abundance of photographs.) According to the folks at the Information desk it takes 60 to 90 minutes to "tour" Israel. (Click on images to enlarge.)
A gigantic undertaking that, according to Wikipedia cost about US$20 million, Mini-Israel covers nearly 15 acres. A small portion of the $20 million came from the Israel Tourism Office, but as we walked around the exhibits we saw signs for commercial enterprise on buildings, on miniature trucks, and on sign boards, all to scale.
We traveled a little way down a major highway until he found the turn-off he wanted. The Suzuki's 1800 cc engine is not made to climb gentle highway grades at speed, much to Dudu's frustration.
The short-wheelbase vehicle is, however, nimble at climbing hills on rutted roads, often no more than a path.
Dudu dreams of having a home with a view - high on a hill and at least 600 meters to the nearest neighbor. Searching for such a site, even though it is an impossible dream, is for Dudu like a dose of a serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - a/k/a Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. Despite the narrowness of the "road," its twists and turns, and Bedu sheep lazing in the right-of-way, the search is calming for the driver as he navigates boulders and pot holes.
The Suzuki proved its "Jeep-worthiness" by scaling a height that left us with an unobstructed view far exceeding Dudu's 600 meter requirement.
While high on the hill - I used to live in the Intermountain West and anything less than 6,000 feet elevation is little more than a "hill" - Dudu pointed out what allegedly is the grave of the hero Shimshon (Samson) and his father. We also saw a cave that might have been used as a hiding spot by an early Israeli.
It was obvious the area was often visited, but interestingly there was very few signs of tourists - no litter, no cigarette butts, just a well policed area.
All-in-all, the two fathers spent the better part of the day, unbeknown to the wives, not in silence.
Dudu is a good tour guide and we are patient with each others language handicap. We also both have spouses that would avoid at all costs exploring the hills via a narrow, twisting road. (My wife made one trip to the top of Lookout Mountain; going up was OK, coming down with the drop off on her side of the car was most definitely not OK.)
Exploring with Dudu is one of the high points of my visits to Israel.
All photos except Mini-Israel taken by author with Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS
