I really like Shavuot. While it's not as heavily celebrated in the US, it is in fact a major holiday, one of the three in which Jews were expected to make pilgrimages to the Holy Temple. It marks the giving of the Ten Commandments. It's also the holiday for the first harvest, so its a dairy and fruit holiday. My host family had a huge gathering of all branches of the family and we ate stuffed grapes leaves and fruits and a zillion kinds of cheeses, all of it vegetarian. It was great. I definitely enjoyed Shavuot.
Several kids in the group went on a modified version of Yam L'Yam (Sea to Sea), a hike going from the Mediterranean to the Knerret. I really wanted to do it, but I've pulled something in my back, so no dice. I'm incredibly proud of them for successfully crossing the North of the country.
During the Shavuot holiday I also went to Palmachim beach for the first time. I like Palmachim a lot. It's a shell and rock shore, not just the beige sands like in Tel Aviv or Rishon beaches, and is undeveloped (excluding one small restaurant). So it feels very cool and removed from the busy crowds of the rest of central Israel, minus the fact that the beach is crazy crowded with 'shanti' (hippie/laid back young adults). The waves there are great as well, and there are some beautiful pieces of old sea wall dotting the shoreline.
