Look how hard we flapped our wings!

When we arrived at the airport
We heard the dreary re-port
That the plane was not there
It was somewhere in the air
And we had seven hours to burn.

So sit we did,
(and sit and sit and sit, I do not kid)
Until finally we were able to board,
And we took off as the plane roared,
For a land I had not seen.

In London, we ran into town
Forty minutes to hop around
We had to run and take the tube
Slide around on the icey goob
And finally get to meet Big Ben.

We arrived in the "holy land"
Needing for sleep, our eyes heavy like bags of sand
And headed up North to see the fam
(see all our pictures from the cam!)
And to relax with Safta Miri, Ya, and the clan.

Three nights of rest and play
Chocolate as abundant as hay
A trip to the sea
Naps dail-y
And finally a big meal complete with the whole fam.

Now we're in Rishon Letzion,
For a wedding, and to see one
Little sister of Daphna, before we head to the east
For an entirely new beast
And a new adventure ahead.

Ahem. Thank you, thank you. Signed copies will available starting in August for the paltry price of visiting us in DC.

Well, we are here. The trek itself was an adventure. We checked the plane the night before, but upon arriving at DIA, a woman apologetically handed us a piece of paper (she couldn't bring herself to say it) showing that the plane had been delayed a mere six and a half hours. But let me tell you how much there is to do in DIA! We became like the little kids that live in the Met and solve mysteries, but we were too big to hide for too long, and security has improved so much since then that, really, we weren't necessary. But we were definitely that cool. Let's just say, thank god for Wi-Fi and meal vouchers.

Anyway, our plans for a casual day of seeing the sights in London were ruined, since what had been a thirteen hour layover loomed as another casual six hour romp in an airport. The flight from Denver to London was low-key, full of nothing but sleeping through the endless entertainment options. But then brilliance struck, and we went against the advice of every person we asked and decided to rough it into the the jungle of. . . The Tube. Now, I wouldn't recommend taking the tube for two and a half hours for forty minutes of bouncing around Westminster Abbey to everyone, but it was beautiful. Big Ben was slightly, well, smaller, than I would have guessed, but the sights were great, the city lit up against the dark early evening skies, and it was fun to be an ever-so-brief part of the London bustle. We didn't have time to find any vegan food, but never fear -- we had the same meal we'd gotten on the way from Denver to London on the way to Tel Aviv, so at least we didn't have to face the insecurity of something new.

The rest of the voyage, really, was easy, and Daph's Safta Miri set us up with Yael in a cute, sparse hostel a ten minute walk from her apartment. The days in Haifa went quickly. We spent a good bit of time with Safta (when leaving she said, "Oh! I'd gotten used to having you here"), eating meals with her, playing rummikub until she relegated me to the bedroom, taking a walk along the crowded Haifa beach on Saturday morning. Saturday night Daph's aunt and cousins joined us for dinner in Safta's apartment, which suddenly became loud and full of laughter and the nonsensical commentary of Kfir, our 1 1/2 year old cousin. It was a beautiful sight in the small living room.

Yesterday we left Haifa, our lives hanging over our shoulders, like the Jews of thousands of years ago, but with goretex, lumbar support, and buses. The trip to Yael's home in Rishon Lezion was uneventful yet exhausting, and it has been great to see her in her home environment, the apartment she shares with four other pre-college girls. We walked around the commercial center of Rishon last night, and hung out with a couple of her friends. Today we are taking it easy before we head to the wedding tonight, and before we head into the real unknown, tomorrow.