Mr.Hakel flies and flies and flies to Jordan

I sit here typing in Amman, Jordan. At this point I can only describe the city in two general terms. Dark, the airplane landed at 3 in the morning, and bright, after catching up on some sorely needed sleep I stepped outside our hotel for a moment into sunshine that was so bright I really couldn’t see much. I am sure that I’ll be able to report more than that in just a few hours.
The flights all went well and I was quite comfortable on two of the three. As you know, two out of three ain’t bad. On the last flight I was an overstuffed sausage in a very small casing, but I compensated by being asleep for almost all of it.
The travel agency Dr. Kubow (hereafter known as Patty) has been working with has been pretty slick so far. A man met us just as we got out of the jetway. He talked with us a moment, introductions were made and then he guided us through customs. Customs amounted to handing our passports individually to an officer, going to the baggage claim, being given back our passports, visas and entry stamps attached and having our bags xrayed as we left the airport. I’ve always been puzzled by the truth that the most difficult times I have had crossing an international border, and this includes going into Czechoslovakia, crossing the Iron Curtain, have all, all been reentering the United States, also known as home. But, I digress…
The drive in from the airport was interesting, roads were pretty empty, in pretty good shape. One thing I noticed was that office buildings that we passed were frequently completely dark. I’d never thought about it, but at home there are always a number of yahoos who left there office lights on etc. Not so here. To my eyes it gave an “abandoned” look to many of them.
Out hotel, the Al Manar, is quite serviceable, while “nice” might be a bit too strong a word, it isn’t that much of a reach either. Needless to say, the room I saw on the internet photo isn’t the room Josh and I have…but the shower was wet, the bed firm although curiously short, meaning not long. Spirits are up, lunch is being served and our first cultural experience appears to be a world cup soccer match viewing at an as yet undisclosed location.
Dad/Lane/Mr. Hakel