Tomorrow is the 18 hour travel day, SEA to TLV. Usually I travel alone. Less frequently I go someplace with Robin. To be responsible for travel arrangements for a party of four is unprecedented.
Elly let me go through her suitcase, as she could barely close it. If we allowed it, she would conclude a two week trip without washing a single garment. I looked askance at her eight turtlenecks, and at another equally large collection of short sleeved blouses. The discard pile grew. "I used to love you, but now I hate you," she said. I bought her the Annie Proulx short story collection to compensate, and to get back in the will.
I am a bit of a minimalist in the other extreme (two extra underwear briefs, instead of one, is my splurge), but I am careful to not demand compliance. It is not my job. "You could entirely rethink how you travel, but I think it’s a bit late for that," I told Elly. Robin travels with enough food and pharmaceuticals to stock a small third world grocery and clinic, while I have to hunt for an open Walgreens in whatever city I’m in when I need a Tylenol. With four people, though, I may need to rent a trailer for the hired car.
Stay tuned to the Daily Photo and the Dispatches for our Israel travels over the next two weeks.
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