When we got there we stayed with my little sister and her mom! It was so great meeting them and saved us a TON on hotel fare. We were there for about a week before I was able to catch a hop.
They took us to a family BBQ where the boys had a great time playing around with the other kids.
We also went to Pearl Harbor, which was a humbling experience. Just looking at the sunken ships and memorials and knowing it's the reason Im living with my Marine husband in Japan. If the attack on Pearl Harbor hadn't of happened, I probably wouldn't have a clue what Okinawa was or where in the world it was at. There were alot of Japanese tourists there also. It was peaceful, not alot of people were talking when we stepped off the boat at the USS Arizona Memorial. I teared up a little bit when I witnessed a Japanese woman kneel in front of the wall of names of the fallen and offer a wreath and a prayer. We've come so far since that day in 1941. Dec 7th will be the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Hawaii is a strong contender in perfect view against Okinawa. They both have amazing coastlines and breathtaking mountain views.
We finally got on a hop and we ended up on a C-5. The 9hr plane ride to Yakota, Japan wasn't bad at all. You could definitely tell the plane was an old one though. There was a piece hanging off above a couple seats. O.O
We got to see Daddy on the way home. He was still in Mainland, Japan at Mt. Fuji and he was able to borrow a duty van and drive the couple hours down to see us in the hotel we were staying at. I was great having him there. We got to the airport the next morning at 3am (or 4am, I wasn't coherent enough to remember the time) to catch the plane. We were manifested thru to Kadena, so we weren't worried about getting on the plane, but you still have to be there early for the roll call.
We finally say our goodbyes to Daddy and board the plane around 6am. We are first supposed to make a stop in Osan, Korea for a couple hours while they drop off cargo then head straight to Kadena. Did it happen that way? No. Of course not.
Instead, we are rerouted to a TINY (emphasis on TINY) air base somewhere in Korea. I honestly have no clue where. There were a few chairs, a TV, and a vending machine. And we were the ONLY ones there. The reason we were rerouted is because of a Tropical Storm that was edging toward Osan, Korea and they couldn't land in the torrential downpour. That Im glad for. I can just imagine the hell of a landing that would've been. So we waited.....and waited.....and just when we though we'd be boarding, we waited some more. 3 1/2 hrs later, we are finally able to board the plane, but they didn't have the awesome steps up to the top like we did in Yakota.
For those of you that don't know, a C-5 has the cargo space on the 1st level and up on the very top on the 2nd level is where the passenger seating is. How do we get to the 2nd level? Go up the steps into the cargo space, then climb a ladder up to the 2nd floor. Oh, and did I mention before, they made us take our luggage off? So picture me, the boys, a backpack packed full, and a rolling carry-on trying to climb a vertical ladder. Yea. SO not happening. I was very thankful to the couple of guys that were flying with us to carry the boys and my carry-on up for me. I. Hate. Heights. Ladders and I don't mix. That wasn't fun. At all.
SO, we head to Osan and have to deboard (again taking our stuff and again, having to climb down the ladder). We were taken straight past security to the terminal waiting area. There were bathrooms, a TV, and a vending machine. Again. When asked if we could go get food and go back thru security, we were told no. By this time it was the middle of the afternoon and they didn't offer any food on the plane or at our previous destination. The boys and I were hungry. They were really fussy. We even asked if we could order a pizza and have it delivered. Again no. I had spent pretty much all my change at the last vending machine, so I was only able to get a snack for the boys to tide them over. We were expecting to be headed to Kadena soon.
3 hours later we were told to board the plane again. Again, very thankful to the guys that helped me up the ladder. We get settled in the seat and they make us deboard again so they could refuel. Get back on, get back off for some reason they didn't tell us. We boarded and re boarded 3 times.
Finally, we get in the air headed to Kadena. Thank goodness. The boys are playing and Im relaxing, just ready to be home! An hour into the flight, a flight crew member announced that the weather radar broke and since they don't know what the weather is like in between where we were at and Kadena, they needed to turn us around and head back to Osan.
WHAT??!?! &*%$#)(@!
We land back at Osan and are told we're going to be spending the night so the mechanics can get an estimated time for departure and to come back in the morning. We got back to Osan around 6pm.
Head straight for the hotel on base and OF COURSE, it's the Korean Thanksgiving, so not only are all the rooms booked, pretty much everything on base is closed except for one 24hr diner. There were a couple Korean drivers parked out front that worked at hotels out in town, so our little group picked one and headed out. The hotel itself was ok. Checked into our rooms and then took a taxi back to base for food. The diner was horrible, but food is food. Finally got back to our hotel around 11pm and went to bed so we could get to the airport early in the morning.
They did have a breakfast buffet on the the top floor, so we grabbed some food on the way out.
We get to the terminal and they tell us it is going to take until at least Saturday to get the plane fixed. It was Monday. Everyone in our group started buying tickets home. Thanks to Uncle Brad, he was able to loan us the money to get home. $800 plane tickets and a $20 bus ticket later, we were headed towards Seoul, Korea to get on a plane home.
The bus ride was 2 hrs long and we got to see a little bit of the Korean countryside.
We finally get to the airport and had a couple more hours to wait for our plane to leave. At which time, I killed my phone and iPod battery so no more pictures for the rest of the trip. I am happy to say they at least had two good playgrounds inside the airport.
The rest of the trip home was uneventful and absolutely wonderful. I LOVE Japanese airlines. They are so polite and have great customer service and good food. They even have little toys for the kids and actual kids meals for the food. And the meals. Oh, the food is SO good. The stewardesses loved the boys also. They wanted to take a couple pictures with them on their phones. :) Unfortunately, towards the end of our plane ride to Kyle choked on a piece of food and ended up throwing up everywhere. The stewardesses were like swarming bees on honey. (Of course, we were in our "final descent", so Im sure they wanted to hurry.) They got by bag down, got a new shirt out, had hot towels ready for clean up. Took off his clothes and wiped him up with the towels. Redressed him and gave him a peppermint lollipop for his tummy. In less than 5 min. I didn't even get to lift a finger before they were done.
We arrived at Naha International Airport around 9:50pm Monday night. We had left California on Sept 4th and arrived home on the 12th.
Hey, at least I can say I've been to Hawaii and Korea, right?
#sogladtobehome
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