Chapter 4 the sea is dead

After eating lunch at Burger's bar the gang got into Michael's car and headed for the dead sea. As they approached the area the terrain outside became more desert like.

"Michael is it true that the dead sea is the lowest place on Earth?" Asked Gwen from the back seat

"It is the lowest place in land. 427 meters (or 1,401 ft) below sea level to be exact"

"Wow! That really is so low..." said Gwen

"That's one of the things it's known for" mentioned Michael

"What else can you tell us about the dead sea?"

"It has a high density of sea water in it making swimming in it a little like floating. It is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean which means life cannot flourish there. That's why it's called the dead sea or' Yam hamelach' in Hebrew which means `Sea of salt'. The water in the dead sea is said to have healing abilities which is why some factories extract the water to make different creams and cosmetics out of it"

"When was the dead sea formed?" Asked Ben

" The dead sea was formed several million years ago by a geological event in the area. I'm not an expert in geology so I can't give you an exact answer..." said Michael as they pulled up in a parking lot.

"We're here" he said as he lifted the handbrake and turned off the car.

"Wow..." said Gwen as she looked out the window with her hands on it. They gazed at a crystal blue lake with the Jordan mountains on the other side

"There are bathrooms over there where you can change into your swimsuits" said Michael as he pointed at a nearby building.

"Race you to the beach Ben!" Yelled Gwen as she ran out of the car

"No fair! You had a dead start" Ben raced after her as Max and Michael chuckled at the bickering kids

"They're a spirited bunch.. " said Michael

"Yeah... they don't show it much but they really care about each other despite the bickering..."

"Yeah that happens sometimes..." said Michael in understanding as Max nodded with agreement

"You got kids?" He asked and turned to look at him

"I have a little girl and another one on the way" said Michael as he faced his white haired companion

"Nice" said Max

"Yeah" said Michael as they watched the kids run out of the dressing rooms in their bathing suits.

"Lets go" said Max as the two exited the car and followed the two kids

"I win!" Yelled Gwen as she got into the water a second before Ben did

"Luck..." muttered Ben as Gwen laughed

"Come in Ben. Ease up a little..." she said and gave him a peck on the cheek which made him redder than Jordanian mountains behind them. Gwen leaned backwards and tried to float

"Hey you gotta try this! You can actually float here..." beamed Gwen is Ben tried his luck

"Ahh... this is so relaxing..." he said as they floated next to each other. Without noticing Ben's hand found its way to Gwen's and intertwined with it. They looked at each other and smiled as they started blush. They released each other's hands and returned their gaze to the sky...

"Hey Gwen?" Ben called out

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for the kiss..." he smiled at her as their faces turned red again...

To be continued...

The doc boy is back! I hope you like it. Even though this is mainly an historic and cultural story I'm thinking of still putting a little bwen here and there...

Don't forget to review!