Part One
To the readers:
What follows is one of my more involved writing efforts. Back in March of 2023, Geogal and I joined many others on what is more than a trip. More than a journey to the other side of the globe. This was a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
How did this come about? Granted, prior to this, a visit to Israel/Palestine was one of the furthest things from my mind. To be sure, I was interested in such a journey dating back to 1996, when my mother and father joined a group from Family Life Radio making a Holy Land sojourn. Since FLR is headquartered in Tucson (and that is where yours truly resided at the time), the parents visited to engage in an in-person presentation combined with a question and answer session. I tagged along that evening and recall watching a brief video detailing what the group would be doing and the various sites on the itinerary. I left that gathering thinking, “Now I want to go.” Very much so.
Back to the present. How did such a trip come about?
Geogal enjoys listening to The Catholic Guy (a.k.a. Lino Rulli) on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel. Even though we are not Catholic (a theme that will emerge a few times throughout this narrative), she appreciates his combination of humor and insight into issues of spirituality and the ups and downs of everyday life.
Rulli also hosts pilgrimages to the Holy Land on a regular basis. During the fall of 2022 the group put out a call indicating that his next Holy Land trip would take place in March 2023, thus will fall during Lent. Geogal approached me and said, “They’re doing this pilgrimage…should we put our names in?” I pondered for what was probably just a few moments and then said, “Yes, definitely yes.” We talked about the cost if our names in fact were drawn and decided that, indeed, we could certainly swing the journey. Therefore we put our names in and then just waited for the drawing.
The day comes and Geogal is keeping an eye on the email. Unfortunately…we got an email saying “while we appreciate your interest,” indicating our names were not drawn. I was disappointed yet also thought, “Well, if it’s not meant to be it’s not meant to be.” Therefore we began to make plans to visit Europe, as our daughter would be doing study abroad in January. Geogal and I agreed the idea of visiting Germany, Denmark and eventually Norway would be quite the consolation prize.
But…..
Less than a week after getting the aforementioned email the powers that be put out an announcement saying they were adding a third tour coach to this pilgrimage. As such, additional names were going to be drawn.
On a Saturday morning I’m enjoying the weekend fresh-brewed coffee and minding my own business when I hear Geogal exclaim: “Oh my, oh my.” It didn’t sound negative to me but as I didn’t know the context I asked what was happening.
We were drawn.
Therefore our plans changed to travel to the Holy Land. From then on it was a matter of answering “yes” to the Catholic Guy’s minions staff and then preparing. We told certain family members and people in our church and everyone was happy for us. Good friends of ours loaned us electrical adapters and my father let me borrow several of his Holy Land maps.
We received the itinerary. Most notable would be that for starting out, our flight over the pond would be leaving from Newark, New Jersey, with takeoff scheduled for late in the evening. Very quickly we looked into flights from Minneapolis to Newark. We found one that was nonstop and would work well for us, affording us several hours of layover at Newark (known to the aviation set as EWR).
So, before I would even leave the surly bonds of Earth to head for Asia, I would finally have an opportunity to partake of radio and TV stations in the number one media market for the United States. (This reflects one of my other interests: broadcasting and radio DX-ing.)
I figure it didn’t matter how much space these things took up, I would definitely be taking both my MacBook Air with DTV stick and my Sangean radio.
December turns into January, then becomes February, which evolved into March. The time for departure is getting closer and both of us are getting more excited.
Finally the big day comes. Thankfully, there are no issues whatsoever driving to Minneapolis, parking the vehicle, catching the shuttle to the terminal, and getting ready for our flight to Newark.
Take off is smooth and the flight is uneventful. After two and half hours we start descending and I’m looking out the windows seeing if I can identify where we are (one of my usual behaviors when flying—geography is another of my interests/hobbies).
I have some difficulty given I’m not familiar with the roads, towns, and topography of this area. The jet then makes its approach and as such, we get lower and lower. Thankfully I’m seated on the left side of the plane and I was blessed with a great view of first the Bronx and then Manhattan. I immediately go into nerd mode, motioning to Geogal to “look out there, you can see Central Park, the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty and way off in the distance…the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.”
Arriving in Newark was just the first of so many many positive experiences we’ve have on this trip. Part of what we received in our preparation material was luggage tags that were color specific. These colors referred to the bus to which we were assigned and therefore the group of people with whom we would be interacting most often. Geogal and I both had green luggage tags on our carry-ons. It didn’t take too long at Newark before we begin to encounter other people with similar luggage tags. And it didn’t matter if they were green or one of the other colors, we would see each other and just say something such as, “Catholic Guy Holy Land trip!” The response was always positive. Immediate connection.
After eating lunch we scout out the airport a little bit more and it didn’t take long for us to figure out where our flight to Tel Aviv would be boarding. It’s now time to settle down and relax just a bit.
Finally, it’s time to engage in something I’ve been looking forward to for months! First I got out my radio, plugged in the earbuds and began listening to the radio stations in the NYC market. FM and AM.
I peruse the dial and while I don’t say on any one station for very long, I still bask in the pleasure of listening to stations that could well be described as heritage. WABC. WINS. WCBS. WFAN. WOR. And many others.
I decide it is now time to put away the radio (for the time being) and crack open my laptop to plug in my digital TV stick. It wasn’t too long before I begin watching some of the TV stations in the number one media market in the USA. Overall my in-the-airport-terminal reception was adequate, although my antenna was not designed to pick up VHF stations. Still, I had quite the selection of full-power stations.
Needless to say I was happier than a pig in slop.
Time passes into the later part of the afternoon and we began meeting more and more people with, yes, the luggage tags. It was certainly easy to start conversations and obviously everyone was excited for this trip. Most of the people we talked to mentioned it was their first trip to the Holy Land as well.
The sun sets. Geogal and I seek out an eating establishment and purchase supper. After that it’s back to the gate where there is now even more people. The excitement is mounting.
Finally it’s time to board the plane.
(Aviation-smart folks now ask: What’s the equipment? Answer: A Boeing 787 Dreamliner.)
We walk on the plane, find our seats and we begin to settle down for the long, long flight taking us to the other side of the world.
Takeoff happens in the 11 o’clock hour. That’s 11 o’clock at night. I do catch a view out of one of the windows and fortunately get a glimpse of downtown Manhattan at night. (Pretty sight.) The plane picks up speed and we’re airborne. It’s a clear night however there is not much to look at that point because we are quickly over water. I get even more settled in my seat and start looking through the different movie and TV offerings that that United Airlines has for us.
As the flight continues both Geogal and I are settling into our media offerings. Since I’m not engrossed in a movie or TV show, I start looking across the aisle and see the screens of several people around me. It looks like a few of them have decided to watch a movie called “Ticket to Paradise.” Keep in mind I’m I’m not hearing the sound from this movie, but no matter. This movie looks so predictable I can figure out the plot just from watching it several seats away. (Hey, my entertainment can take all sorts of forms.)
Now for me the day is definitely getting late but I always have had difficulty sleeping on planes. I’ve flown at night before but the only time I’ve ever snoozed on a plane was on a return trip from Washington DC to Omaha. I was with Geoana and a cadre of her eighth grade classmates plus an assortment of parents. We all were wrapping up the eighth grade trip to our nation’s capital. The connecting flight to Omaha took off from DFW late in the night and I conked out not even 30 minutes in. That marked the one and only time I’ve ever slept on a plane. But I always have hope. I try to get myself as comfortable as I can, which in this coach section isn’t ideal but I make do. I look around the cabin and most of the other passengers already appear to be snoozing.
The first day
I managed to get some snatches of sleep but nothing that was truly restful. The screen on the back of the chair has the ability to tell you where you are over planet Earth. After some episodes of light dozing interrupted by not-so-light waking, I noticed that we were over Europe.
Pretty cool. I drop off again for a short while.
I wake up, only slightly rested but quite excited. We’re getting closer. The flight indicator shows that we are now over Turkey. I also noticed the flight crew is preparing for breakfast service.
Yet something seems odd. According to not just my watch but also the time on the screen, it is well after dawn but I look at the windows and it still is dark outside. Wonder what that’s about? Shouldn’t the sun be shining through the left side of the plane?
About an hour or two later I finally get an answer to my question. Breakfast service is well underway and the captain has addressed the passengers. Right after that he throws a switch and the windows go from dim to regular.
So that’s it! Older planes have the manual shades that passengers can pull down or keep up. Evidently on these newer planes the flight crew does that for you. I look out the window and sure enough it’s the blue sky I expected and I saw a nice view of the Mediterranean Sea.
In less than two hours we are approaching Tel Aviv, the ground is getting closer, and I hear the hydraulics of the plane doing their stuff.
We are getting so close to the Holy Land!
We land, we taxi, and then we’re at our gate. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I am in a foreign country on the other side of the world.
And here we are. Ben Gurion Airport. A place I’ve heard about and read about and…we are here.
I’d like to say that the deplaning, then going through Israeli customs, followed by getting to our shuttle buses was a quick and easy task but it wasn’t. There was some waiting followed by a lot of standing. Eventually we get to meet the radio guys from Sirius XM: Lino; Father Dave; Tyler; and Brett. Finally it’s time for us to go out to our shuttle buses. (Look for the green bus!)
Everyone aboard, we head out of the city, making our way northward to the Galilee region.
I’m tired, but hoo boy I’m excited! As we leave Tel Aviv and get onto the superhighway I’m amazed at just how modern Israel looks and that it looked really nothing like the way I pictured from the Bible stories.
We start heading north and the urban transitions to rural. To me it looks like it can pass for just about any kind of typical coastal green area in North America. Maybe not much different from Southern California, although it lacks the traffic congestion. Or the smog.
As we go further north and then head in an easterly direction I see exit signs for familiar sounding places. Nazareth. Cana. Finally we arrive at Magdala. Our first official stop on this Holy Land tour!
First order of business is Mass. We are ushered into a church which, behind the altar, features a large replica of a fishing boat. We are told this is a tribute to the fishing industry from Biblical times. Father Dave changes into his vestments while us pilgrims fill the pews.
Since Geogal and I are not Catholic, we already know we will not be taking communion, however this doesn’t prevent us from enjoying spiritual fellowship with our fellow Holy Land travelers. I notice that some sections of Mass (more specifically, phrasing) have changed somewhat since the 1980’s when I last practiced the faith.
No matter! I still appreciate the beauty of the Mass, even if I’m not Catholic. Plus, Father Dave gives an excellent homily (the first of many to come) and since this is a Mass that only consists of our traveling brethren, it is shorter than an hour.
The Mass is ended! Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!!
Back on the bus. Only this time the ride is brief (maybe 15 minutes at the most) and we arrive at our hotel near the Sea of Galilee. Disembark, get oriented to the hotel, and receive instructions about the evening meal.
And what a meal it was! Probably more apt to call it a feast. To add another positive, we became acquainted with several individuals with whom we banter, fellowship, imbibe, and celebrate.
Finally, it’s time to head to the room and retire for the night. Unlike on the airplane, I sleep one of the most restful slumbers I can remember.
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