The trip from Japan to the states.

Many of you are aware of our Space-A woes. Space-A is space available and it basically means if the Air Force has a plane going somewhere and there's room, you can ride along for free. Lots of procedures and red tape, but hey, it's free. All the flights we kept trying to get on got rescheduled and re-routed, etc. One was full. Finally, on Monday there was a flight scheduled to leave the next morning for McChord AFB, WA. There's a TV channel on base in Japan that lists flight times and show times (what time you have to show up at the terminal), but it's usually wrong. I called Monday night to verify times, but they closed early for Memorial Day. As of a previous phone call, the show time was supposed to be 0520, but they said it may not go. So I set my alarm for 0405 with the intent to verify it was going and the show time, and made sure everything I could possibly pack ahead of time was packed since it was going to be an early morning. At 0405 when I called they informed me it was going and the show time had changed to 0415. Yep. Ten minutes. I freaked. But we decided to try to make it. I threw the last few things in the suitcase, threw on clothes, woke up a very sleepy Jackson and we headed to the terminal. We got there at 0417. So from asleep in bed to packed, out the door, and at the terminal (about a 3 minute drive) was 12 minutes. That seriously has to be some kind of record. They ended up letting people on the plane that showed up as late as 0500. Wish I'd have known I had time to pee and put in my contacts!

We got checked in and baggage checked, then let Jackson play in the playroom for awhile while we waited to board the plane. Mike was with us for this whole thing up until boarding at 0510. Saying goodbye was of course hard for both of us. Jackson was pretty clueless, so he wasn't upset at all. They put us through security, then on a bus that took us out to the plane.

Our 9.5 hour flight from Japan to Washington was on a C-17 Globmaster. Sometimes they put on what are called "comfort pallets" that are basically airline seats. But this plane had two pallets (which I should mention are not what you think of when you hear the word pallet, but something similar and about 4-5 times as big), plus a fuel truck on it. Think about how huge the cargo bay has to be to hold a FUEL TRUCK and two pallets. Huge. The seats we sat in were on the side of the plane. Not super comfortable, and definitely not reclining, but not terrible. Jackson rode in his car seat. We bought meals for the flight and the loadmaster that was our "flight attendant" was really nice. It was pretty loud and they gave us foamies (foam ear plugs) which Jackson wouldn't leave in, and I decided were too much of a pain to bother with. It wasn't THAT loud. They handed out juice, nutrigrain bars, meals if you bought one, and airline pillows and blankets (it was also a little chilly). Jackson and I spent most of the flight sitting on the blanket on the floor picnic style. Try doing THAT on a commercial flight! He did manage to take a 3 hour nap, which was good considering the early morning. I couldn't really get comfortable to sleep, though. Even without in-flight entertainment, it was the easiest 9.5 hour flight I can possibly imagine.

Once we landed at McChord, I found a phone and called Mike. He gave me our flight info for getting from Seattle to Dayton. The only problem was that it was midnight in Seattle and the shuttles from the base to the airport didn't start running until 5am. Even if we had been willing to sit in the terminal for that long, it would've been too late to get us to the airport in time for our flight. So we paid almost $100 for a taxi. Luckily Mike had called the lodge on base and gotten the number for a somewhat reputable company.

We got to the Seattle airport about 0200 Seattle time. The only thing that was open was the USO. That place was a total saving grace. It was dinner time in Japan so Jackson and I had sandwiches, brownies, and some cereal. Then we just hung out and played some. Lots of people were trying to sleep, so I was attempting to keep him somewhat quiet. Not very successfully though. I think we may have woken some people up. It totally beat having to sit in the airport lobby for 2 hours until the airlines opened.

At 0400 we went downstairs to the airline and checked in. Through security--always fun with a toddler, a double stroller, a CPAP which requires special testing, a laptop which has to be taken out of the bag, and water for Jackson which also requires special testing. Oh, and no other adult. But we made it through unharmed (except the brand new laptop bag did suffer a broken zipper). Then we wandered around the airport until our 0610 flight. Jackson was sleepy but not really interested in napping. We got quite a few comments and questions about his daddydoll.

The flight from Seattle to Chicago was 3.5 hours and Jackson screamed for the first half-hour then slept the rest of the way. I managed to sleep a little, too. Changed planes in Chicago and headed for Dayton. We landed in Dayton at 1517 local. Mom and Sheila had gotten gate passes so we weren't even out of the terminal area when we met them. Jackson recognized MiMi right away and was excited to see her. After baggage claim and a drive to Tipp City, we were DONE travelling. After 25 straight hours, we were glad to have it over with. Jackson really was a super trooper for the whole process and it went much smoother than I anticipated. Hopefully the way home is the same.

Jackson's had a very hard time adjusting to the time difference. He woke up the first night after sleeping for two hours sobbing uncontrollably and inconsolably. He was up for about seven hours before going back to sleep. Then he took a 5.5 hour nap. The next day was a little better. He stayed up late, but only slept about 4 hours at night and 4 hours during the day. Then 9.5 hours the next night but with a 4 hour awake period in the middle and another 4 hour nap today. He's up now after sleeping 4 hours straight, then another 4 off and on waking up about every 30 minutes. I'm REALLY HOPING he gets his days and nights straightened out soon. I am up with him and since we're sharing a room, I wait until he's been out for at least 30 minutes before I go to bed. Which means when he wakes up every 30 minutes I don't get any sleep. I'll probably crash on the couch if he manages to go back to sleep at all tonight. Some nights I just let him get up and play for an hour. Just what I want to be doing at 2am.

More posts to follow on our time in the states. Glad to be here, but missing Mike already.