We cleared security and boarded Continental flight 90 to Israel right on time. Again, thanks to the kindness of Ronny and Pat, JoyAnna and I got to sit together. 
These two people are going way out of their way to look after us! Many thanks. It was about a 10 hour trip. We flew 5,889 miles up the eastern sea coast, crossed
the ocean near one of those icy land areas, speed over France, Greece, and landed in Israel at 8:04 AM (Alabama time) on Wednesday morning. (That is 4:04 PM
Israel time.)
Ronny had told me this would be an emotional trip for me. I had a Jewish business man sitting next to me who pointed out Ashkelon and the Gaza Strip as we
landed. Tears ran down my face as I considered where I was.
Things have changed a lot since Ronny was last here in 2004, including a new airport terminal. My foot first hit Israel ground in the picture below. It may not look
like dirt but there must be some somewhere under all that carpet and concrete.
These two people are going way out of their way to look after us! Many thanks. It was about a 10 hour trip. We flew 5,889 miles up the eastern sea coast, crossed
the ocean near one of those icy land areas, speed over France, Greece, and landed in Israel at 8:04 AM (Alabama time) on Wednesday morning. (That is 4:04 PM
Israel time.)
Ronny had told me this would be an emotional trip for me. I had a Jewish business man sitting next to me who pointed out Ashkelon and the Gaza Strip as we
landed. Tears ran down my face as I considered where I was.
Things have changed a lot since Ronny was last here in 2004, including a new airport terminal. My foot first hit Israel ground in the picture below. It may not look
like dirt but there must be some somewhere under all that carpet and concrete.
Up the ramp, I knew we were finally in Israel!
If you look closely, you can see above the
worker's head, written in English, WELCOME
TO ISRAEL.
If you look closely, you can see above the
worker's head, written in English, WELCOME
TO ISRAEL.
Here we are after only 31 hours of travel!
The airport is beautiful and modern...
The flight was on a mid-sized jet, holding around 75 people. The entire crew was
female. The pilot told us at take-off that the first half of the trip was going to be
rough, then she added the second half was going to be rough too! Apparently,
the upper altitudes were still experiencing strong wind sheers from the storms the
night before. I don't know how rough it was compared to other flights, but it was
rough enough that Joy got sick. Not wanting my daughter to feel embarrassed, I
decided the loving thing to do would be to join her--twice. The good news, there
were no pictures.
The flight was two hours. As we were landing (12PM EST) and in between times
of using that little blue bag, I did see the Statue of Liberty. On the ground, the
travel agent had to figure a way to get us to Israel. There was a 10:50 PM flight
but it was full. The next flight was 4PM the next day. By late afternoon, they had
us all booked for the 10:50 flight. We just sat and waited. JoyAnna and I finally
got up enough nerve to try food at the A&W.
female. The pilot told us at take-off that the first half of the trip was going to be
rough, then she added the second half was going to be rough too! Apparently,
the upper altitudes were still experiencing strong wind sheers from the storms the
night before. I don't know how rough it was compared to other flights, but it was
rough enough that Joy got sick. Not wanting my daughter to feel embarrassed, I
decided the loving thing to do would be to join her--twice. The good news, there
were no pictures.
The flight was two hours. As we were landing (12PM EST) and in between times
of using that little blue bag, I did see the Statue of Liberty. On the ground, the
travel agent had to figure a way to get us to Israel. There was a 10:50 PM flight
but it was full. The next flight was 4PM the next day. By late afternoon, they had
us all booked for the 10:50 flight. We just sat and waited. JoyAnna and I finally
got up enough nerve to try food at the A&W.
Israel March 6, 2008
Greetings and welcome to our online blog for our trip to Israel. Please don't expect too much as I plan to concentrate more on living this trip right now
instead of writing about it, but I do want all of you to experience some of the joys we are sharing. WISH YOU WERE HERE! The first couple of days
were pretty boring picture-wise, but don't despair, I will start clicking as soon as the sun comes up!
We left Green Pond heading to Birmingham Airport at 4AM. Our flight was supposed to leave around 6:30AM. When we arrived, we found that
JoyAnna, Pat, and my tickets had all been changed to a later flight. Only Ronny's ticket was as it was supposed to be. Bro. Ronny figured he was the
blessed of the bunch--and you talk about getting a swelled head. I would have taken his picture but it would not fit into the frame! Even with a swelled
head, Ronny was the hero. He refused his flight to stay with us. After many twists and turns, we ended up flying to Newark, New Jersey, together
around 8:49 AM.
instead of writing about it, but I do want all of you to experience some of the joys we are sharing. WISH YOU WERE HERE! The first couple of days
were pretty boring picture-wise, but don't despair, I will start clicking as soon as the sun comes up!
We left Green Pond heading to Birmingham Airport at 4AM. Our flight was supposed to leave around 6:30AM. When we arrived, we found that
JoyAnna, Pat, and my tickets had all been changed to a later flight. Only Ronny's ticket was as it was supposed to be. Bro. Ronny figured he was the
blessed of the bunch--and you talk about getting a swelled head. I would have taken his picture but it would not fit into the frame! Even with a swelled
head, Ronny was the hero. He refused his flight to stay with us. After many twists and turns, we ended up flying to Newark, New Jersey, together
around 8:49 AM.
It was a two hour bus ride to the hotel. The sun was setting when we left the airport and the bus bounced too much for any pictures.
We are in Tiberias, directly across from the Sea of Galilee. As soon as the sun comes up, we are heading out. I slept three hours and have been waiting to go
ever since! We are eight hours ahead of you so I was able to pray through church for you all. God bless, Keep praying for us.
ever since! We are eight hours ahead of you so I was able to pray through church for you all. God bless, Keep praying for us.
...but we aren't in America anymore!