Greetings from somewhere South of Tel Aviv.  I'm writing this on Monday the 23rd after my first day of work on an Israeli Air Force base.  I'll try to recap the events of my trip so far.



I left home in Fort Myers at noon on Friday October 20th anddrove to Hollywood, Florida where I left my car with my good friend Rick Lucci.  Until my return on the 15th of November, my car is garaged next to Rick's beautifully restored 1969 Corvette convertable.  Rick drove me to the nearby Tri-rail station and I took the very comfortable train 

to the Miami airport which is just as crowded and crazy as I remembered it.  Long lines to check baggage and go through security.

My flights to Israel from Miami were okay except the first flight from Miami to Istanbul, Turkey left an hour and a half late so I had a bit of anxiety that I might miss my connecting flight to Israel.  In Istanbul they were boarding the flight to Israel when I got to the gate so I could relax a bit.  The following pictures are from the flight to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines.  

I have no explanation for the changing colors of the cabin lights but thankfully it only went on for a few minutes.  Turkish Airlines must think its cool.  I thought it was pretty strange at 33,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean.

I arrived in Israel on time just after 8PM and got through the visa line quickly and grabbed my checked luggage in time to catch the 9PM bus to Jerusalem.  The bus ride to Jerusalem included traffic jams which might be unusual on Saturday night in the States.  In Israel all buses and trains are not running from Friday sundown to Saturday and most stores and all entertainment places are closed as well.  When the sun sets on Saturday evening it seems like all of Israel is in the streets.  In Jerusalem I caught the light rail train and in ten minutes I was at my hotel.  I dropped my luggage and went on foot a few blocks to what I think is the best falafel stand in the world. 

After dining at a table on the street I went back to my room to get some sleep before the early train and bus back to the airport to assemble with all the other Volunteers for Israel and be assigned to a military base.