Today, our whole family begins our long-awaited trip to Israel. I love visiting this country and am looking forward to sharing this journey with Olivia, Kate, and Sara. This time, I’m one of the co-leaders of the group, along with Bruce Zupa, who has been to Israel six previous times. With us are 24 other pilgrims, many of whom are making their first trip to the Holy Lands.
A few of us met at the Bellevue Church of Christ parking lot at 2pm on Friday to travel together to the airport. Just like my last trip to Israel, this one started off with air-travel issues. Our initial flight to Miami was delayed by over two hours and we only had a 1.5-hour layover before our flight to Tel Aviv. After waiting almost 2 hours trying to find alternate arrangements, American Airlines could find no other options, so they agreed to hold the flight to Tel Aviv until we arrived in Miami. The local manager said this is the first time he’s ever seen them agree to hold a flight for a group.
After all of us made it through security at BNA, American Airlines then told us that the final call on whether the flight to Tel Aviv would wait for us was up to the captain of the flight, so we were at their mercy.
Our flight to Miami took off just before 8pm, and when we landed, we found out that they didn’t wait for us. American put us up in a hotel and rebooked us out of JFK the next evening.
So far, this is beginning very much like my last trip to Israel. A little frustrating, but we’re all safe, and I’m with my family. That’s all that matters. Will post another update tomorrow.