Return to Lafayette - January 6 (and 7)

There was no touring today, other than getting from the hotel to the airport in Tel Aviv.  We started with breakfast for a final time at the Olive Tree, and had one last chance to be with some of our new friends who shared life with us over the last 10 days.  We had our bags packed, weighed, and ready to go.  There were 8 of us, plus Kamal, who needed to go to Tel Aviv.  We started by trying to pack into a van, but it was clear that we wouldn't all fit, so we made do long enough to get to where Kamal's bus was parked, about 5 to 10 minutes away, and transferred our stuff there.  It was a pleasant, comfortable trip to the airport.

We made our way through customs without much fanfare, though the agents didn't have much of an emotive side to them at all.  We flew Air Canada back to the States, traveling through Toronto.  Peter and Gail were on the same flight, though we were crammed into the very middle seats on the plane in separate rows, so Joyce and I didn't get out and about much.  We saw Peter and Gail for a few minutes in Toronto before we went through customs to the States, and them for Canada.

We made our way to an extreme end of the airport for our flight to Indianapolis.  We were tired, it was drafty, and our departure was delayed several times, eventually leaving about an hour after the scheduled time.  Again, the flight to Indianapolis was without incident, with both of us sleeping for a good part of the flight.

Alan's brother picked us up and drove us the 15 minutes or so to his house, where we got to meet our newest great-niece, who had decided that in spite of the late hour, that meeting us was more important than sleep!  Of course, her big sister had to keep her company!  After a few minutes of holding a baby, we were on our way to Lafayette, and were quickly and finally to bed by about 2 AM after having last seen a bed about 27 hours earlier!

We will continue to work on updating this blog over the next week or so, filling in the blanks on various days, and adding pictures and information as needed.  If you've been following along at home, thanks for your attention!