Manni's Shvil: Day 17: Rocket from Gaza, hike from Tel Aviv to Petach Tikvah

I got up at about 6:30 am in Arik's apartment in northern Tel Aviv. Just minutes after getting up, I reat about the rocket from Gaza hitting the house in Mishmeret in the Sharon valley.
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5483854,00.html
Mishmeret is just 30 km north of where I was and it is also very close to the place were our other friends from our home exchange live. I can tell you that this is a very strange feeling. A rocket is flying over your head and you can do nothing to protect yourself. Israel's Defense Force could localize the rocket when it was shot and could also calculate were it would go down (after some minutes) and started the alarm system in the Mishmeret area, but people like this family were still asleep and could't react quick enough. Today I talked to many people about this situation which is so surreal and this is unfortunately part of the life in Israel. Nevertheless, like all the Israelis I had to get started, life has to go on and so I walked from Arik's place to the Yarkon river and park which is the green lung of Tel Aviv. The Shvil runs along the Yarkon river for approximately 10 km. As soon as I reached the Yarkon, heavy rain started and I took shelter under a roof. It was not the last shower today. So I decided to change plans and went to the Palmach Museum in Ramat Aviv close to where I was. It's an experiential museum dedicated to the Palmach, the strike-force of the Haganah defense organization, which was later integrated into the IDF. Its history between 1941 and 1948 is told through a multi-media experience in 12 different rooms. There are no displays or documents, but rather an account of a fascinating personal story.
http://palmach.millenium.org.il/Web/English/Default.aspx
After the rain had stopped I kept hiking for another 1,5 hour along the Yarkon. I saw an interesting mixture of green spring nature and the urban surroundings. When another heavy shower was pouring down I took shelter under a tree and met two hikers from the Netherlands. They told me that the part of the hike which was ahead of me was very muddy and difficult. Looking at their shoes and trousers I could see what they meant. We stayed under the tree for about 30 minutes and then I decided to quit for today. Esra, my friend from Petach Tikvah, picked me up and I stayed with them for this evening.