Day 0 - Arrive to Tel Aviv, Rent a Car, Find the Hotel

Shalom to the Holy Land

After informing my supervisor that I was not going to be coming to work for the next week, I rushed off to the San Antonio airport, stopping at Subway for my last non-airport meal for the next 24 hours.. My chauffeur was Brandon Pitcher, Esq. The flight went something like San Antonio, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Tel Aviv.

Mediterranean coast, Tel Aviv at sunset.

In Philadelphia, we (meaning me and myself) picked up an old friend, Elizabeth, who would accompany me and my parents through the Holy Land. The gate boarding to Tel Aviv was not difficult to find...just look for the black hats and curly locks of hair boarding the plane.

Poor Elizabeth! Don't let the plane ride get you down. 

After renting a Hyundi at Ben Gurion Airport, we took a scenic route to the Grand Beach Hotel in Tel Aviv. By scenic, we mean driving through Tel Aviv, ending up half way to Haifa, and turning around, only to find that the exit signs don't list roads, but the names of intersections. Thankfully, Elizabeth quickly learned Hebrew and navigated us to our hotel.

We decided to spend some time on the beach before the sun went completely down. Above is me enjoying some Pita bread that we purchased at the corner grocery store.