We are here!

Just a short post to say we've arrived with all our luggage, have driven up the Mediterranean coast to Akko and are in our hotel on the beach. Tomorrow we will visit Caesarea Maritima and Mount Carmel. It's good to be out of the airports and off the planes, good to sleep horizontally tonight.

Birds in the Airport

After the excitement of leaving Louisville this morning, we have had an eight-hour layover in Newark. Fortunately, the airport has provided us with some "special guests" to keep us company - tiny birds! I'm reminded of the lyric "God's Eye is on the Sparrow" - but I didn't realize that it meant also that the Sparrow's eye was on me!

One of the birds paid me a visit while I was reading - it hopped onto the seat across from me and posed, as though wanting its picture taken. So... I obliged.

There are often moments when travelling that we don't have the downtime to appreciate the little things around us. I'm grateful that I was able to witness the bird's flight - and that it appreciated the notice. What "moments of zen" have you had in your travels?

Here we go ...

One of the things that I find most amazing about travel is that one morning you can step out the familiar door of your home, and travel the same roads you use daily ... but today, we will reach the familiar ends of those roads and travel thousands of miles to places heretofore only imagined ... and we make this journey even when it snows  ;)

Travel

I cant believe the time is already here. I am so excited for my new adventure. I just now need to find the energy to pack lol. But truthfully I am just lucky that I have been blessed with this chance to enjoy, learn, and see the places I have been imagining, learning, and dreaming about all my life.

Daily Devotion

While one of the professors on the trip I have never been to the Middle East, so I go as a student as well, eager to see and learn.

Some of you--especially families and friends of travelers--may want to share in our devotions long distance. We will be using a psalm every morning and a gospel/acts text every evening, texts often connected to our daily travels.

The texts and locations are listed on the right side of the blog site. We hope you join us.

Packing and Jet Lag

It never fails to confound even the most seasoned traveler - the sense of dread at looking at an empty suitcase and realizing it needs to be full of clothing for your next trip. Here it is, just four days before we leave, and my suitcases are sitting open as I gather my thoughts.

Oh: I'm Lucus, by the way. Middler (2nd Year) M.Div student at Louisville Seminary, with a background in radio. Mutual communication is very important to me - I challenge you not to just read this blog, but interact with us - post comments, thoughts, answer questions, and so on. With sixteen of us going to Israel (and posting about it), you're sure to read a thing or two on this blog that hits your heart. We'd love to hear about it!

We'll be in Israel for 17 days, meaning I need at least two weeks of clothing. Or one week of clothing and laundry supplies... but liquids can't be brought onto a plane, and I'm going to do my best to have only carry-on luggage. The horrors of losing luggage are never overstated, and with the recent bag fees, I've taken to only bringing what I can carry.

Most airlines now allow a "purse" plus a carry-on bag, plus your clothing - so I intentionally load down my clothing and use a backpack as a "purse". In my pockets, I make sure to have an e-reader and a small paperback book, since the e-reader is not permitted during takeoff and landing.

An additional consideration: We'll be flying for nearly 11 hours on the leg from Newark to Israel, and so a neck-pillow will be a big help. Jet lag on this trip will be fairly awful at first: We leave Louisville in the morning, and arrive in Israel in the afternoon of the next day, for a total of 13 hours in flight. The 7 hour time difference is just enough to shift my circadian rhythms, but not enough to be able to start planning for it early. I actually prefer 4-hour or 12-hour shifts to a 7- to 8-hour time shift...

What helpful tricks and tips do you have for dealing with packing woes and jet lag? Do you have an ingenious solution to doing laundry on long trips? Please post your thoughts below!

Leaving in a week!

Lots to do this week in preparation for our trip to Israel. This has been on my "bucket list" of trips for a long time, so I'm really excited to actually be going! As a former French teacher, I've been to Europe many times, but this will be a totally new experience for me, I'm sure.