It doesn't matter what I order on an airplane...

By the time I get it, without fail, I wish I had gotten the other option. This was the case for last night's 1:30 a.m. "dinner," and for breakfast as well. I'm not sure if this is a testament to my decision-making abilities, or to airline food in general. Something tells me to lean towards the latter...

That being said, twelve hours on a flight really wasn't so terrible. GETTING on that flight, however, was a nightmare. I had fears that the *blank,* which had given me so much trouble at the bus station, was also going to get me in trouble at the airport...even though I was checking it. And sure enough, when we were in line to check in, the first thing we saw were scanners for checked luggage. "Crap!" I said, turning to Kevin. "What am I going to do? Should I just tell them up front?" We decided this was the best course of action. As I prepared my speech, we were approached by a young man in an airport security uniform who took and scrutinized our passports. "How long have you been in Israel?" he asked. "Three weeks," I responded. 

"Why are you here?" 
"Tourism." 
"What is this visa for?" 
"Egypt...we flew into Cairo, then went to Cyprus, then to Israel."
"Were you with a group? Or just traveling alone?"
"Just the two of us."
"What is your relation?"
"Kevin is my mother's first cousin...but I sometimes refer to him as my uncle."
"I see. Do you know anyone who lives in Egypt?"
"Only the hotel concierge we met there."
"Did he give you anything?"
"....No..."
"Is this your luggage? And who packed it for you? And where has it been"
"Yes, it's ours, we packed it, and it's been with us all along."
"I see. Alright, proceed."


I knew that security in Israel was going to be tight, but this was the PRE security questioning. From here came the bag scanning. I told the person at the scanner about my *blank*. She said it was fine, but that I needed to bring my bag to another counter to have it examined. Everything was taken out, looked over, opened, checked for radiation, and replaced until I was finally cleared from the counter. I took my bag, which by now was very unevenly weighted, and stopped short of the Continental kiosk which only listed "Newark" as a destination. Not good. My flight was to Philadelphia. A quick glance at my itinerary reminded me that even though my flight had been booked through Continental...the flight itself was through U.S. Airways. I ran up to the kiosk and asked if I could still check in there. "No, sorry, you must go to the U.S. Airways counter, which is downstairs." Downstairs!? "As in...I'm going to have to go through security again..." I asked. "It's possible," she said, not looking up from her computer. I hung my head, picked up my bags, and headed for the escalator. 


When I reached the lower level, I immediately found a security guard and explained my situation. The line for the U.S. Airways counters were long and slow and if I wasn't careful, I was going to be late for my flight (counters only open 3 hours before, and Kevin and I already spent 40 min at PRE security). The man took my passport, called a few people, asked what my "cousin/uncle's" name was and where he was traveling, looked at all my "this girl passed security" stickers, and finally pulled me to the front of the line and ran my bags through. The girl helping him looked at me and said, "we're going to try to help make this faster for you," which of course I appreciated. What I didn't know, however, was that leaving security upstairs and trying to pass through security downstairs without being checked, made me a sort of target/security threat. So even though I got special privileges, my stuff had to be analyzed more thoroughly. 


They re-opened my bag, went through all of my belongings (again, the *blank* was  never mentioned because it was in checked luggage) and then escorted me to the VIP counter to make sure I got to the carry-on security check quickly. The man at the VIP counter noticed that I had a middle seat and graciously put me on a list to have my seat changed the moment a window seat opened up on the flight, and scooted me off towards security. From here I had to go through regular carry-on security and then go to ANOTHER special security room with a hand-full of other people, where they separately scanned all of my electronics, took everything out of all of my bags, nearly thew away all my liquids, and then FINALLY gave me the green light to go. 


Next was customs where I had to wait in line to have my passport checked, my intentions questioned, and ultimately set free. I was at my gate 10 minutes before boarding time, putting me at just over 2 hours for security checks


Israel...I applaud your efforts to keep your citizens, visitors, and airlines safe. But I promise, I'm not as menacing as my appearance suggests. Perhaps it was the fact that I looked 17 and like someone who would eagerly accept a package or gift that someone handed me at the airport to do something devious. Regardless, by the time I got to Philadelphia and went through security again, I knew there was absolutely nothing to worry about. 


Now, just 3 more hours of airport food and gloomy skies before I'm on a plane, heading back to Houston to officially end my adventure...and what an adventure it was.