Today, yesterday, since Thursday morning, what time is it now? It has been a very long stretch since I got out of bed at 4:15am on Thursday morning.

I am hanging on just a bit longer before heading to bed, plus wanted to let people know that I am home.

My day started out with our Last Day in the Square at Lachish. After a quick lunch and shower we took a taxi to pick up a small van at a rental car lot.

Then it was off to the airport at Tel Aviv for Luke to pick up five people who will be touring Israel with him for the next week. I waited for them to arrive and after meeting them headed off to secure a seat on a flight home. I decided to take advantage of Luke going to the airport and changed my flight.

I knew that since I was making last minute changes I would not get the best seat, but was able to get a middle seat in Economy Plus in the middle section of a 3-3-3 configuration. More about the middle seat later.

After getting checked in and going through security I took a leisurely stroll down the ramp toward the gates. Along the wall of the ramp there are displays of Israeli Discoveries and Developments that Influenced the World.

Here is the oldest Hebrew inscription to be found. The inscription was found at Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Elah Valley by a team headed by Yosef Garfinkel. Many of the archaeologists I have been digging with at Tel Lachish also worked with Garfinkel at Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Before heading to the Dan club to relax, I stopped and purchased a Magnum bar. I wanted to have one more pistachio Magnum bar before I left Israel. This is one of my favorite of the many flavors of Magnum bars that can be found in Israel.

Finally it was time to board the plane. I was able to get a seat on the direct flight from Tel Aviv to San Francisco. It definitely has some pluses, but also a minus or two. On the plus side you don’t have to bother with changing planes in Newark. However, it is a very long flight. Sixteen hours! We did arrive a bit early, but that didn’t help as we still had to sit on the plane for a half hour waiting for immigration and customs to open.

I was lucky to get good seat mates, especially since I was in a middle seat. It also helps that the 777 has slightly wider seats than a 747 so did not feel as cramped. I slept a lot and watched a few movies as the time slowly passed.

Finally after the wait for immigration to open and bags to arrive for pickup I was out to the curb waiting for a shuttle to pick up my car. I finally had to call and prompt them to swing by the International terminal. There are not too many early morning International arrivals so they forget to check to see if any one needs to be picked up.

I was finally on the road home, but made a quick stop in Pleasanton to check on the construction progress of the Chick-fil-A. It still looks like it has a long way to go. I also checked on-line later and there is still no opening date. I took a few more pictures and you may see them in a post sometime soon.

One of the first things I did when I got home was to go out and look at my new backyard fence. My neighbor did a very good job building the fence. When I left for my trip I was Fenceless, so it was good to see a nice fence when I got home. Now to do some work in the backyard and get the sprinklers all positioned correctly.

I survived the sixteen hours in the middle seat, now to get some good sleep to help battle the jet lag.

Steven