Departure

[av8rmike]

I guess I can squeeze one more entry in here and not look like it's completely fake.  We got up early, packed the rest of our crap, had our last breakfast at the hotel, and headed out.  Fortunately, it's not a long ride, because Ben-Gurion Airport isn't the whole way to Tel Aviv.  Since we'd checked our bags last night, it was a breeze getting through security and everything.  We said our good-byes to Sarit and Natan, and then waited in the departure lounge for the flight to board.  Most people killed time buying chocolates or booze in the duty-free shops, but I just bought a little bit of candy.  I had some cookies that I'd bought at the mall yesterday, so I decided I was good for the flight, which, speaking of, would be 10 1/2 hours.

I don't sleep much on planes, so I spent most of the time finishing up my written journal and reading.  Once we landed, most of us scattered, so I hardly got to say good-bye to the people I really wanted to see.  Some people said they were sharing a cab to the west side, but I lost track of them and just decided to take the subway and meet my brother.  I called him and we met in Penn Station, finding a diner nearby.  He had his laptop and memory-card reader, so we downloaded my pictures for him and my sister-in-law, Liz, to see.  We didn't have much time for dinner because I had to catch my train back to Baltimore.  Oh, in case I hadn't mentioned it before, I was really starting to feel like I was coming down with a cold.

I got on the train, and the next thing I remember after sitting down was njg00 calling me on my phone, when we were near Philadelphia.  I called Mom next, and the next thing I remember after that was them calling the Baltimore station.  That's one way to make the ride go faster, I guess.