So we are now back to being 5 /7 of the Becker Bunch and we are missing the girls (sigh). The weeks following a visit are kinda tough. For a couple months we get use to them being here and having them with us really changes the rhythm of our family. The same is true when they return to Arizona. It has been rainy and dreary which adds to the somber mood. Living in Alaska, we know quick trips to AZ are out of the question. We use to make the trip at least 3 to 4 times a year plus them coming to see us.
Temps have cooled some to about the high 60s. The days are beginning to get darker so now it starts to get dark around 10ish. I have no idea when the sun rises as we are still sound asleep. You’ll have to ask Brad because he is up and gone to work early in the morning.
We are still hosting at the FamCamp here. We are preparing for the winter to stay in the RV. House hunting is not looking too hopeful at this time. Strangely enough there are other crazy people like us that brave the Alaska winter in a house on wheels. And not those fancy mobile homes either! We have tossed base housing around and have also thought about staying in TLF (temporary living facility) if the weather gets really bad. Our house hold goods were released and dropped off at a storage unit we rented. The boxes all look ok but we won’t know about the contents until we get a house. Brad found a shelf and one of his speakers that did not make it here in one piece, but he needed new speakers and the shelf is a Wal-Mart cheapy.
My family holds an annual family reunion which we have attended the past few years. Well, this year I decided to attend while Brad was at the NCO Academy. Turns out after I made plans to attend the reunion Brad’s Academy dates changed and Brad will be attending the Academy in Sept-Oct.
So I began working on going outside (term Alaskans use for heading to the lower 48) towards MI. Brad has told me, in no certain terms, that he has no intentions of letting me drive through Canada by myself, so I looked into hopping down. Hopping is flying on a military aircraft to the lower forty-eight somewhere and catching a flight back from a base flying directly to Elmendorf. If Brad were coming we could fly in and out of any base with enough seating available.
I began looking at flying into Travis, near Sacramento, CA. Because of security after September 11th, they will only give the flight schedule 72 hours prior to departure and all flights are subject to change without notice. This is really fun when trying to plan a trip. Hey, the flight is free so I will definitely play their game. The plan was to fly into CA, rent a car, and head towards MI visiting everyone I could along the way and return to CA 2 weeks later to fly home. Well, the storms and evacuations in HI diverted all planes I would’ve taken. I walked into the terminal on Aug. 14th around 7pm to sign up for a flight to Travis. That flight had been canceled because of the storms in the HI area. But they did have a flight heading to Springfield, MO that night. Roll call was at 1am and the plane was leaving around 4am. OK, I was not planning on flying into MO but quickly started making calls about a car rental and a return trip. I went home to work out the details. At about 10pm I got the car booked and the bags were packed. My dad offered a ride from MO as far as AZ if needed.
I had known for about 2 weeks that I would be trying to fly outside in the middle of the month so I made an appointment to get a prescription for “happy” pills to fly on the plane. Since Brad works in the pharmacy he said he would just bring them home after the prescription was filled. So the night of the flight is at hand and I ask Brad for my “happy” pills he picked up from the pharmacy. He began to search through the medicine cabinet looking for the pills. They were not there. He keeps looking all around to no avail. I am beginning to panic (the last flight I took had a similar story). He is asking if I knew where they were. Excuse me??? He had told me not to worry. Once someone filled the script he would bring them home. The week earlier I asked if he had picked them up and he said yes. Well he decided to run up to work to verify they were filled and picked up. He forgot his badge in the race against the clock and the call person had left for the day (2 hours before suppose too). Luckily the security officer knows him well and let him in. Guess what… he never picked them up. They were there waiting for me.
So he rushes home we load the truck and head towards the terminal. Military hops are stand-by. Depending on whom you are and the reason for travel will determine what category you fly in. Being an unaccompanied spouse going on vacation I am at the bottom of the food chain so to speak. The flight we decided to hop on had 7 seats available with no one else inquiring about them. We got to the terminal and found the roll call time had been bumped up and they were boarding the plane in 45 minutes. Great! We were the only ones there and ready to go. Within the minute we got into the building and began the process a woman and 4 kids came looking for the same flight. Then came a family with 3 kids… and a single guy…and so on. The daggers were flung in our direction but the staff was able to fit us all in on the flight. Guess there were other seats available after all.
I pop ½ of a pill to knock out the nerves but remain conscious for the kids. This will be their first flight EVER! They had stepped foot on a plane in TX for cub scouts, but that was pre 9-11 and lasted maybe 10 minutes.
We boarded a C5 cargo plane. WOW! These things are huge. It was dark and kind of raining out so as we approached the plane the light is reflecting off this ginormous beast, like a super sized beached whale would look under the full moon. We climbed off the bus and up the stairs to the upper deck.
Well it is now 12:30am August 15th, Zac’s official 13th birthday. What could be a better gift than an 8 hour flight in a kewl military plane? He had wanted to fly for years but his paranoid mother refused to let him. Living in Alaska has changed my thought process a lot.
We got situated and ear plugs in place. Take off surprised the kids. “Better than a roller coaster ride,” Mikaela said. I was so skeered I clinched the kids to hold them in place. The ride is pretty bumpy and everything rattled but it was free. The seats were able to recline and the arm rest came off so we were able to sleep some. The only complaint from the kids is there were no windows to look out. Kenzie found a small emergency exit that the window covering had fallen some so she could peek out but no real views.
Another flight under my belt. Did I mention I HATE flying!!!!!
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