Tel Aviv, Israel: Houston to Newark

We made our way over to the gate and boarded without any issues.

CO510 28JAN08 Houston-Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) to Newark-Liberty International, Newark NJ (EWR) 8:50a 1:10p 735 N14628

As I boarded, I said hello to the greeting flight attendant who said hello back. The eight leather seats in First Class were already full. I continued to make my way back through the 3-3 configuration in Economy class.

As I boarded so early at 8:20a or so, I had time to see a lot of people get on. As I had just my one bag, I had no issues storing it at my feet.

I had the window and a lady with a young baby was in the middle and another at the window. All other seat combinations were full, so I could not help her out by moving. The lady at the aisle did give her the aisle though.

We departed ontime and headed for the runway while the flight attendants gave the safety demo.

Take off took a while and we finally left at 9:06a. Takeoff from 15L was really smooth and we climbed out without issues. I could see a Continental Express ERJ-145 that had taken off before us who had turned left off in the distance over the city of Houston. A flock of birds flew by, but were closer than they seemed so they were not a danger.

Breakfast of Corn Flakes with reduced fat milk and a banana was served before 10:00a local. This was quite good, so I ate and continued reading the newspaper as well as some computer stuff.

There is no entertainment, but people were sleeping or were watching their iPods and other devices so they were fine. These morning flights do take a lot out of you.
Will post pic later.

I got a great view of what I think is the Cleveland Hopkins airport, but I am not sure.

We landed in Newark after a bit of circling. We had to wait for a JetBlue A320 to land on th parallel runway. Once we crossed it, we made our way to gate 71.

One could see a Jet Airways B777 at the gate as well as El Al B777, Lufthansa's Private Air's 73G and their A319 Business Jets. British Airways' B777-200 was also at Terminal B.

We were at a tow in gate so we had to wait. The pilot made and announcement to remain seated and everyone complied.

Cell phone conversations

There was this guy who called some company who he had interacted with. Apparently, they overcharged him for the service protection and he did not want it. So he gave out all his details, except the credit card number on the phone. The phone conversation got ugly at one point. H gave his e-mail address at the end as he was able to get them to waive the charge. I think I should e-mail him and tell him to be more discreet the next time; what do you think?

Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV): At the airport in Houston-Intercontinental (IAH)

I decided to check my bag all the way through as it was easier to deal with. I took off my jacket and stuffed it in the bag and it fit!

I went to the bag drop and it asked for my confirmation number, oops, I did not have it. I tried my identification and nothing happened. I checked my phone and I had received a check-in reminder with the number in it; luckily I had not deleted that.

The agent checked my documents and then I entered the security area. This was not too painful, but slow people again.

As I cleared, I went to Presidents Club and had some breakfast and waited for the flight.

Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV): The drive

This will be my first time to Tel Aviv after wanting to go for quite some time now. I had an early flight to make a connection in Newark at 3:50p.

My colleague arrived promptly at 6:26a; four minutes earlier than planned. I told him I'd be there in 2 seconds and four minutes later we were on our way.

I was amazed at how many people were on the road at this time of the morning, I was even more amazed at how many cars were in the parking lot of the 24 hour video store that we passed.

The drive to the airport was smooth and uneventful as the traffic moved properly. There was no waiting for the airport bus as one pulled up the minute we got to the stop.

San Jose, CA: Epilogue

When I got home, I realized that the "E" on my keyboard was missing :-(...This bites, I am sure it is in the sat pocket on that last airplane...I tried to use the "E" from another computer, but it is too big sadly. Yes, I will call to get the computer fixed; it is just that it is quite an inconvenience.

It is amazing how often you use an "e" in a sentence. One thing about this trip is that I did get to see some new computers and I think I may get one as the cost is about $399. Umm...maybe I can get it and then send this on out to fix. I will tell you more later as I am tired now and have to be up in about 2 hours as I am off to Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV).

Oh, I realized that there are no pictures from this trip, at least none I can share with you all anyways :-).