JERUSALEM — It was hour seven of what was supposed to be a two-hour trip, and things were starting to get a little punchy on board the Rand Paul bus tour through Israel.
The luxury coach, which was carrying the Kentucky Senator and his entourage of family, staffers, and evangelical leaders from Jerusalem to a kibbutz in the Sea of Galilee, had been derailed by flash floods and rock slides in the West Bank. The group was hungry, tired, and cold, but everyone was doing their best to make the most of it.
'How about a gospel tune?' the tour guide suggested, trying to keep spirits up.
"Do we have 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door'? The Guns N' Roses version!" Paul called out. "C'mon! 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door'!"
It took a few minutes for anyone to realize Paul was serious. Finally, the tour guide fiddled around with the sound system, and Paul's request came blaring through the speakers.
"There we go!" Paul shouted to the rest of the bus, singing along. A few beats later, he called out again: "We need to change the name of this bus!"
"It's not the David Lane tour anymore!" he laughed, referring to the California-based evangelical activist who organized Paul's trip to Israel. "It's the Plague Tour! We've got hail, we've got darkness — all we need now are the frogs!"
It was a surprisingly laid back, undiva-like attitude for a politician whose star is rapidly rising in the Republican Party. With the retirement of his father Ron Paul, Rand Paul has taken over the mantle of the GOP's libertarian wing, fusing it with his growing coalition of Tea Partiers and social conservatives.
His trip to Israel — which included meetings with top Middle Eastern political leaders and a tour of Christian holy sites with 40 evangelical activists — has fueled growing speculation that the younger Paul is seriously considering a presidential bid of his own in 2016.
To find out more about the potential Republican White House hopeful, I joined Paul in Israel last week. Here are some of the best photos from our trip.
Paul starts his trip with a rainy late-night visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall.
Israeli reporters crowd around Paul as he meets with Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch.
Despite the rain and late hour, pilgrims gather to pray at the Wall, one of the most sacred sites of the Jewish faith.
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