Well . . . . . Israel is almost 2 hours behind me now. I was so sad when the plane took off, I cried!

We spent an hour going through the security check, which was like a police interrogation. They give everybody the third degree. Next, we checked our baggage and got our boarding passes. At that point, we said goodbye to Dr. B; his family will be arriving later this afternoon. We also said goodbye to Aschalew, who is headed for Africa.

Our plane took off at 5:30, and we just had breakfast. Shannon is in the row behind me, next to a dozing rabbi. I took a picture of them.

Later. I’m somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean now, and thank goodness they’re about to show the movie – I’m getting restless. I just read through this entire diary, since “one must have something sensational to read on the plane!” (Oscar Wilde, slightly paraphrased ;-)

Washington is going to be very stressful; we have to claim our baggage, go through customs, and find our gate, and we only have an hour and a half to do it.

It still hasn’t completely sunk in that this trip is over. I really loved Israel, especially the Beth Shean valley / Sea of Galilee area. I don’t want to go home!