One week till Israel

As I write this, I am exactly one week away from ending my three hour layover and boarding a flight from New York JFK to Tel Aviv. I am going to be visiting Israel for the first time. Of all the vacations I have taken during my adult life, this is the trip I am most excited about. I say ‘my adult life’ because I am sure as a five year old I was jumping around the house the day before my first Walt Disney World experience. I am staying at a hotel on Herbert Samuel in Tel Aviv, right along the water. I am excited to spend the first couple days exploring Tel Aviv/Jaffa before my wife and I concentrate on Jerusalem during the latter part of our trip. The thought of experiencing a Shabbat in Israel is blowing my mind as well. We have a tour booked to head to the Dead Sea for an hour or two. I just couldn’t go to Israel without that experience happening on the first trip. I also have an Old City tour booked to help us get our bearings before doing solo exploration. I know that it is going to be an amazing trip that I will remember for the rest of my life. I am already planning what to do the 2nd time around and I haven’t even left on my first trip to Israel yet!