Almost Packed

My wife and I are almost packed for our trip to Israel on Monday. Our son settled there in 1980, married five years later and his family now consists of three married daughters, three unmarried daughters and two sons. The oldest girl has two daughters, 2 years old and 10 months old and the next oldest has a 4-month-old son.

So to spare you the math we have eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren to see during our 10-day stay. And, oh yes, we will spend some time with our son and daughter-in-law.

This will be about the 17th time we've gone to Israel and before each trip we ask what we can bring. You know what happens when you ask a question like that? They tell you.

So we've traveled with a microwave oven, an iron, sheets, pillow cases, towels, cameras, Ipods, a hair iron, a remote control racing car and assorted baby clothes, games, toys and books for the younger ones. And a healthy supply of assorted batteries to make the electronics work.

Packing is always a challenge when you have potentially breakable items to cushion but so far we've been fortunate and the loot has usually arrived in one piece.

It's just over 10 hours non-stop from Newark Liberty Airport to Israel and more than 12 hours on the return. We can handle the outbound flight but it takes almost a week to recover from the return. In the end it's worth it.

Tomorrow's blog will be my last until mid-February when I'll do my best to catch you all up on our trip.