The Day We Left For Australia but Landed in Korea, Part II

Picture of us from years of 1979-1981 

After retiring from the Navy many years ago, pastoring a local church for 20 years, teaching school, and rearing three awesome children, we once again find ourselves in the military.  For the past five years, my husband has served as an Army Chaplain, and I, not wanting to be left behind, retired from "the best job I ever had" (stole that idea from The Fury) of teaching high school English and got behind the wheel of one vehicle while Roy got in the driver's seat of the moving van pulling our second vehicle, and we moved across country!

Having been away from "home" for a year, we decided to try Space A once again.  My husband watched patterns of when planes went out, how many seats were offered, and how many seats were actually used.  This went on for weeks, and every night he would read me a list of flights and the pertinent information!  He became quite familiar as he is pretty detail oriented. Realizing that Travis AFB is a hub for the West Coast just as Dover is for the East Coast, we debated whether to commercially fly to Travis or compete for a flight from our base.  Finally, we decided to fly to Travis (we probably will not do that the next time, however).

The process is a bit different now as there are no charges for Space A (although, if a Patriot Flight is your choice, there are minimal charges of tax revenues).  Boxed meals are served on some flights, but when this occurs, they are offered for purchase--less than $5.   Otherwise, one must bring his own food from machines or restaurants from within the terminals.  Dependents can now fly anywhere flights are made available, and there are basically six categories that I will not explain at this time.  Suffice it to say the closer you are to the first category, the more likely that you will make the flight.

Flying into Oakland, we had arranged for shuttle service to Travis (about an hour away), but when we landed, we received an email saying that the shuttle we had confirmed the day before had been cancelled as they had double booked.  What to do?  Duke with Aloha Airporter had been suggested over and over, but upon calling Duke--and later meeting him, he confirmed in person--he informed us that he no longer picks up at Oakland.  New fees, really application fees, have forced him at this time to choose to not service Oakland Airport.  So, if you choose to fly into the Travis area, the San Francisco airport is the better choice as relates to shuttles.  So, what were we to do?  I'm so glad that God always "has our back."  As I flipped through several pages of possibilities, on about the 3rd or 4th page the name "Lucky Shuttle" leaped out at me.  My husband, in the meantime, had called several companies, and those who would even come out since it was now 7:00P.M. or so--too late to even use BART--quoted him prices of $110 to $175.  Good grief!  That was almost as much as our commercial flight to Travis from Seattle for both of us!!  We called Lucky Shuttle, and the owner checked to see if any of his children who drive in the business with him were already at Oakland, and since they were not, he left his home where he had already settled in for the evening, picked us up and delivered us to Travis for the price of $75!  Yes, he got a tip!  Roy and I would highly recommend this company if you find yourself in a similar position.  We had awesome conversation for the hour ride;  he is a gentle, compassionate person who cares about people and has a very interesting life story.

Since I am writing this not only for posterity but for the value of what we learned for future travelers, I would suggest that it is best to stay on base in Air Force Inns or whatever is available to military as it is both convenient and inexpensive.  However, DON'T PLAN ON STAYING AT THE INN NOR RENTING A CAR AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE BASE AT TRAVIS ON DRILL WEEKEND!  So, we had reservations for Thursday evening, thought that we would perhaps be on the plane on Friday for Australia or, worse case scenario, take a flight to Hickam on Friday.  Well, the Australian flight was all cargo with no passengers, but we were manifested for Hickam.  No problem!  Let the adventure begin!  Our flight was a C5, but, unfortunately, C5's have their problems, so while the retirees and those in categories V and VI were getting on smaller planes and arriving in Hawaii throughout the weekend, our plane did not take off until Monday morning.  In fact, one of those days, we even were seated on the plane waiting for takeoff when they decided to cancel the flight. Talk about disappointment!  Due to it being drill weekend, we had to find a hotel in Vacaville and rent a car from the Enterprise in the same little town, maybe 8 miles away.  Yay!  guess who took us there?   Duke!  I referred to Duke of Aloha Airporter in Part I of this post, so remember that name if you need a shuttle service in and around Travis.  During our time of waiting, we met numerous retired military couples who fly Space A often and were fun and oh so encouraging!  We also became friends with a C5 pilot (I only add his occupation because he was helpful to talk with about our plight) and wife who were a terrific couple with whom we shared stories and laughs!  It is amazing how adversity bonds strangers!

Although, we had been to Hawaii previously, I was so excited to get there again because I had previously messaged a cousin living there whom I had not seen for 20 years or more, and we had tentatively made plans to have lunch or dinner.  She had graciously offered us a place to stay, but I worked under the assumption that it would be easy to acquire a place in military inns (Hawaii has an awesome military resort opportunity but, of course, requires reservations understandably) and was really hesitant about interrupting their lives completely.

Tips:  (Ignore this section if you are reading for the story only and will never fly Space A) When flying Space A, you need to work on the fly and make reservations on the go.   We have used Skype for a few years now to communicate with family members in other states and that works well out of the country as well, but if you want to be able to call ahead for reservations or speak with family or friends who do not have Skype accounts, I would suggest upgrading your Skype account to include Skype Calling.  It is simple to accomplish, and while it requires placing a deposit into your account, it is well worth it.  We placed $25 in our account, called multiple terminals, hotels, car rental companies, and our son, and we came home with $21.22 in that same account.  Skype    The other suggested tool to place on your ipad is to acquire the app  TakeaHop which allows you to have all of the info that you need at your fingertips to call ahead and so much more.  

 To get back to the story, it was not easy to get a reservation in Hawaii when we were unsure when we were actually going to get there.  We did arrive at a good time, so I called Colene, my first cousin, and what a joy it was to meet her little family, see their remodel that will be awesome when finished, eat wonderful food outside while catching up on lost time, and spending the night in their home.  Colene reminded me of my mother as she would not let me leave her home without giving me snacks and magazines exemplifying that giving spirit that says, "I have thought about your needs before you have, and I will actively seek to meet them because I care about you!"  I found this amount of care in my mother and both of her sisters, so she inherited it honestly, and from her mom as well.  Thanks, Colene, Jason, Jack and Hudson!  You are the best!

Roy and I with Colene and her family

The next morning, we slipped out of the house quietly and made our way to the terminal to catch a flight to Japan.  We had missed our last opportunity to get on a flight to Australia from Hickam.  It left on Sunday (and, of course, we weren't there), and when we checked the facebook page to see how many seats were available, we saw that again zero passengers just cargo.  We agreed that Australia was not to be realized on this trip.  So we began to set our sights on Japan and Korea where we could get flights.  -concluded in Part III

The Day We Left For Australia but Landed in Korea, Part I

Before we travel out of the country, we call our credit card company, our service provider for our phones, our bank and our auto insurance agent just as a matter of alerting them, but also, refreshing our memories of what is offered concerning coverage and benefits!  This time when I called our insurance company, I asked the usual question as to the extent of our coverage, stating that we were flying to Australia or Japan or Korea next week--we weren't sure which--, and the person on the other end of the line laughed!  He later said, "I couldn't figure out how someone could not know exactly where they were traveling when you were about to board a plane!"  Well, it is like this, when you take advantage of flying Space A or military flights and you are open to adventure, you just take what is open and available to you.

Flashback to 1978-1980
In 1978, my husband was a sailor, and I taught at a private Christian school in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  We had little to no money, but we were already blessed with an oversized bump of a spirit of adventure.  I taught Spanish, but I had never travelled to a Spanish speaking country in my life.  I was, afterall, from the south, an only child and the daughter of  a former Airman father who was part of the Korean Conflict and had travelled all he wanted to by the time I came along.  Traveling would not be part of my future unless I took the "bull by the horns," so to speak.  But then I met and married an Eastern Kentucky "son of the coal mines" who hoped to never see the inside of one but did want to "see the world," so he joined the Navy.  We met in Virginia Beach, Virginia and got married. So, in an effort to meet some of my dreams, Roy (my best friend, dream delivering husband) decided we should go to Spain using "MAC" flights--Military Airlift Command--now known as Space A and controlled by AMC (Air Mobility Command).  In the seventies, the rules that applied to active duty personnel were that travelers paid $10 individually and dependents could not fly within the continental US using MAC flights.  Being in the Norfolk area, we were on the coast, so my husband had to take enough leave to give us flexibility, and we were off.  No glitches.  Just signed up, donned our backpacks, got on the plane, ate our boxed meal (paid for by the $10), and several hours later landed in Rota, Spain.  The flight itself does beg for explanation.  Our carrier across the Atlantic Ocean was a C5, a huge plane capable of transporting tanks, other aircraft, etc. on the lower level and move 73 passengers in seats not unlike commercial airlines in the upper level.  By this point in my life, I had only flown one time, so although I was not a frequent flyer, I noticed right off that there was one little quirk!  The seats faced the back rather than the front of the plane for the protection of troops in the event of a less than stellar landing.  Can you imagine my disorientation as we took off with our bodies leaning forward and upon landing, our backs were pressed to the cushioned seats behind us!

When we landed in Spain, we were on a viable and hopping busy military base.  We had arranged to stay with a friend of a friend in her small, off base apartment.  I was introduced to studio apartments and milk with a shelf life--the shelf in the pantry rather than the fridge--and in a box, not a carton or bottle.  No, it was not powdered.  Taking in my surroundings, I saw beautiful flower gardens being watered every morning by gardeners (I think our water was being rationed in Va. Bch. that year when it came to washing cars or watering grass), and buildings were white with a view of blue water and swaying palms moving to the rhythm of the cadence of the Spanish language in surround sound.

Well, I digress from flying Space A.  The stories of the trip are for another time or post.  We were so thrilled with this week in Spain that included a trek along the Mediterranean with stops in cities like Malaga (encouraged to not drink the water and we experienced bedbugs), Granada (the Alhambra--total uphill climb). Mijas(a little mountain town where only donkeys and carts provided transportation), Madrid (hostel requiring couples to be married and were serenaded from the street under our window), all of the sights between, and culminated back at Rota where we flew out of stateside bound, that we decided to repeat the experience one more year.  We had learned that if we put our final destination down--not our first stop but where we wanted to end up before flying back to the states (called being "manifested through"), then we would only be charged $10 one time and $10 for the return trip.  Who, in their wildest dreams, could fly to Europe for $10? And, I might add, who gets to go into the cockpit of a C130 while flying over Europe?  Answer:  the blessed wife of a military man! 

The second year, we travelled to Spain, flew an inexpensive commercial flight to Torrejon (outside of Madrid),  flew from there to Germany for one night and day (visited the little town of Landstuhl), and then we flew on to England, rode a bus to Scotland (saw the Crown Jewels, etc) and back, then reluctantly left England for home. We paid for the commercial flight from Rota to Madrid, the bus ride to Scotland, and shared the cost of the ride through the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel with a fellow soldier who drove his car from Dover, Delaware (where we had to re-enter the US rather than Norfolk) down the Eastern Seaboard, dropping us off at the terminal in Norfolk.

We left the Navy and Virginia Beach at the end of my husband's contract for the purpose of  his attending college in Nashville, TN.  Although, he remained in the Naval Reserves, the rules did not allow non-Active, other than retirees, to fly Space A.  So, for the next 35 years, we flew economy class on commercial flights or made a cruise ship our home, competing for the best prices my "Silas Marner" husband could scrounge for us to see England over and over, Italy, Rock of Gibraltar, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium and France (one trip to see Normandy and the other Paris and surrounding areas) plus other states in the US and varying islands in and around the United States.  In case you are wondering. . .I LOVE BEING MARRIED TO SILAS MARNER!  Without his miserly ways, we would not have had half of the adventures because they would not have been affordable for us!

Now on to 2014. . .
I suppose everyone over 50, thanks to Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholas,  surely has a bucket list.  One of the items on our bucket list is to see Australia--specifically, Darwin (inspired by the movie Australia which my husband loves) and the Great Barrier Reef, and, of course, Sydney.  We were excited to see that Australia is now a possibility, though a difficult one, flying with AMC.  So October, 2014, in commemoration of our 1979-1981 trips on MAC, we donned our backpacks with three outfits only, 5 days of undies, and 3.4 liquid oz per container of sundries all properly stored in a ziplock plastic bag, and we flew to Travis to begin our journey to AUSTRALIA!  --con't next post

"Jesus Is the Sweetest Name I Know"

Yes, I have sung that old song many times with my mom and dad and congregations across the U.S., but never has it had greater meaning than today as we visited a chapel on Osan AFB, Korea.  As the offering was taken, a group of four females--two Korean and two American gals--sang the song so sweetly, blending their individual accents around the name of "Jesus."  Preview of the voices of Heaven praising the name of Jesus?

The Blessings of Christmas 2013

Rather than beat myself up for not keeping my goal of blogging often, let me just concisely excuse myself by the following:  Life Happens!  We have spent our first Thanksgiving away from at least some of our biological family and friends and have adopted or been adopted by another couple of families.  We meshed our holiday traditions together--including those from Boston, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Germany-- and the end result was quite nice.  Since then, my husband surprised me by having our daughter and son-in-law to secretly fly across country from Orlando, Florida, and after giving me a fake reason for going out, drove to our airport, picked them up, re-entered the house to go upstairs and three minutes later had them to knock wildly at our front door!  Have you ever been so surprised that you can't get coherent thoughts to come to the front and usher sensible words out of your mouth?  That was exactly what I felt when I opened that door to see my daughter's sweet, laughing face and Philip's "Grizzly Adams'" look beside her as we swept each other into bear hugs.  We spent from Friday evening to almost a half day of Monday reconnecting and engaging in new adventures!  The Christmas season began with this visit!

Since that weekend, buying and mailing presents for family and friends have been the main focus.  (My tip for myself, in the event we do not get to be at home again next year, is to again start early and bypass any shipping companies other than the postal service, specifically parcel post, unless I am mailing an elephant!)  Roy and I finished it all in time to entertain a military group for lunch, attend a military ball, and fly to Phoenix for 7 days of relaxation and adventure.  The Christmas spirit still pervades our diminished family--Roy, myself and our two furry babies Huck and Finn--as we are currently at this point in our Christmas blessings.

Christmas Day arrives in five days;  we will open a few gifts and turn our sights to the week after the new year when our sweet boy arrives for a week of visiting and major playing with Huck and Finn.  We do and will consider ourselves blessed beyond measure as the 2013 Christmas season ends, and I will turn my eyes to March/April when I once more see my babies in person (hopefully, this time Thanh, Phal and the grandbabies also)!  Life continues to move on, and we are very aware of being in the center of God's Will as we enjoy peace that can only come from the Lord and trust Him to take care of us all.

"There Shall Be Showers of Blessings.  This is the Promise of God!"

So why am I always so surprised by all of the blessings that come down?  Take Saturday, for instance. . . Roy and I had the entire day planned for an "us day."  We got up and went to our favorite restaurant for breakfast--IHOP!  We had decided to take advantage of the Blue Star Museum recognition of military families, so we headed to Indianapolis.  The evening before, the weatherman from RTV 6 had been live at the City Center and had shared that at 10:30 on Saturday morning, a walking tour would commence in front of the Chocolate Shop and traverse the monuments with a knowledgeable guide sharing facts and trivia.  So, Roy and I pulled into Market Street around 10:22 (I'm driving).  Finding that we could not park on the circle, we looked for a parking place.  Found one with a meter!  Nope, Roy checked it out and it would cost $1.50 per hour!  LOL  We continued to a parking lot, but nope!  It was $4.00 an hour.  By this time, it is 10:35, and I'm getting a bit frustrated!  I'm thinking, "I've saved all of this money by researching the museum sites, and Roy will not even pay $1.50 to park!!!"  We both are getting a bit tense and terse.  We drive back to the original parking meter place, pull in and blessing #1 arrives.  A nice lady pecks on our window and sweetly informs us that she has paid for an hour parking and that she is leaving after only a few minutes of shopping and that we are welcome to her parking place with minutes to go!  Sweet!  We park, visit the monument in the center, go to the observation deck, and descend to  take pictures of the various sights.  We meander over to the walking tour, the guide is speaking for a moment or two, and the tour is finishing up!  The awesome man, a volunteer mind you, upon hearing that we had wanted to join the group at the onset repeated many of the stories and interesting facts about Indianapolis (we learned so much), and directed us to the Columbia Club!  Did you know that during Presidential campaigns, the constituents would come to the candidate rather than the reverse?  The Columbia Club was "the place" or hub where the Republican candidate met with his voters.  Every Republican President since the election of Harrison? has visited the Columbia Club.  Wow!  Beautiful and stately inside. 

As we left the area, some kind teenagers were standing on Market Street giving bottles of water away to travelers!  Not just any water, but Dasani!  LOL  Blessing #2!  We were parched and thirsty!  This day is just getting better and better as we move to the museums on Washington Street.  This time, Roy (driving) pulls immediately into the underground parking lot where the entrance of each of the Blue Star attractions could be accessed from the parking structure itself.  If you are unaware of what I am referring to concerning the Blue Star, there are hundreds (?) of museums across the country that participate in a program providing free entrance to military families.  Google Blue Star, and you will be able to view the stipulations tied to the program.  Back to my husband, the penny pincher, who, as I said, pulled into the underground parking without a blink of the eye and no questions asked.  He surely had read my unspoken thoughts about the parking meter incident!!  We entered the Indiana State Museum, the Eiteljorn, and then the Hall of Champions at the NCAA building.  Can you guess what blessing #3 could be?  Bha-ha-ha-ha-ha!  God decided to make Roy's day!  Thanks to the Eiteljorn on this day, at least, our parking time card was validated not just to take off a percentage of the fee but to give us FREE parking!  Now, I had read everything there was to read online in planning this trip, and everything I had read only indicated parking to be kept to a lower dollar amount due to validation from the museums!  I love when God plans my life!

And the blessings continued to come down!  We had been given a gift certification for Outback, so as we traveled to the restaurant in Greenwood, suburb south of Indy, my dear, sweet husband called the restaurant to see first if they were open and second if they gave a military discount!  If you are a reader who has traveled with us when we transported youth groups every year to our denomination's National Youth conference all over the USA, you know that if Roy can not save money, he will find another place to eat!!!  No military discount is to be had!  I resigned myself to choose another place to eat, but no!  we pull into Outback!  We are seated, order, and as we are eating our blooming onion, the proprietor ( Lee Blackwell) comes by, greets us and very nicely informs us that our blooming onion is complimentary (my husband is in uniform, so we just think he is being so nice).  Well, well, well. . .he is a Christian, so we continue to talk of ministry and military service and then he moves on to other guests.  A little later, he returns with a huge piece of Outback's new Keylime Pie!  It is another gift!  If you are counting, then this is blessing #4 or maybe #5 if we are separating all of the food groups.  In one hand is the Keylime pie, and in the other hand is an envelope which he  places on the table while saying, "when you return from Egypt, I want you to come back and eat with us here--on the house!"  You can tell that we have spent a significant time talking because he knows what seems (I only say seems because guess what!  the military can change its mind) to be my husband's next adventure in this new ministry and, by this time, we know about his family, wonderful things about Outback and how they work with troops as well as Operation Homefront.  God bless Lee and Outback!  So, you must be asking yourself is this it?  All of the blessings?  Wait for it!  #6, the last one, has to do with gas prices.  In our area, gas on this day was $3.39 and up.  To make a longer story short,  Thanks to God and Kroger, we acquired gas not only for 10 cents off per gallon, but the full price was 6 cents cheaper than any gas that we were able to purchase in our area!  Now, I enjoy the blessings of the Lord daily, both spiritual and otherwise, but the number of great things coming our way in one day was over the top even for this Child of the King!  "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow. . . .Amen."