Our trip to Israel got off to an inauspicious start even before we left Kansas City.  Our cell phones started ringing within seconds of each other first thing Thursday morning with disappointing news. Delta airlines automated messaging service was informing us our flight out of New York to Tel Aviv was going to be a couple of hours late.  As we headed to Atlanta we received more dueling calls letting us know that it was now 4 hours late.  Realizing there was not much we could do about it we took the news in stride and laughed it off… it got worse!  After deplaning in New York we learned it was now going to be 9 hours late!  Now that was frustrating as it meant we had to leave the airport and head to a hotel for a few hours without our bags and fresh clothes.  Note - women do not like this!   [Editor’s note:  He’s talking about himself!] The upside was at least we got to shower, lay down and try to get some sleep.  Having to stay caged up in a transit lounge for 9 hours would have driven me nutty.  It was very cold and rainy outside the airport and of course we had no coats therefore stood and shivered while waiting for the hotel shuttle to arrive.  That warm hotel room and hot shower was sounding really good standing there as the cold wind went right through us.

Note: This entry was edited by Elizabeth as the author’s brain is still a bit foggy!