The Journey Begins

July 18, 2012

Our trip began how it always does...staying up half the night, getting all the laundry done.  Sweet Brenda not only got us to the airport in plenty of time, she agreed to take my birthday packages for Troy to the Post Office, since it was closed yesterday and I forgot.  

{And as if she didn't have enough to worry about, I came out to her van from the house after locking it up, said, "Here's the keys," and instead of placing Cliff's keys between the front seats of her van, like I intended, I slid them into the front pocket of my purse, where I keep my keys.  Only I had no idea what I had done, until we arrived at the hotel and I saw Brenda's email asking about the keys.  It's a good thing we overfilled the cat's food and left her two dishes of water.  It's also a good thing that Brenda has the patience of a saint.  Spending the afternoon at the housing office, jumping through hoops to get a duplicate key is not anyone's idea of a good time, I'm certain.}

Anyway, back to the airport...we got there with lots of time to spare, so in addition to grabbing breakfast at Starbucks, we decided to take advantage of the sticky-pic booth, conveniently located at our gate.  

What are sticky pics, you ask?  Well...it's like those photo booths outside of KMart that give you a strip of silly, black and white photo poses.  Only on steroids.  Because in Japan, you go BIG or go home.  We managed to squeeze the five of us into the booth, take some wild guesses at what buttons we should push (not being able to read Japanese), and hoped for the best. 

Funny, our pics didn't come out looking quite like this.  I wonder what's up?

After you are done with your photo shoot, you step out into the next booth to do your post-editing.  Again, taking wild guesses, unless you know your Kanji.  Then, while the machine speaks to you in (what else?) Japanese, you cross your fingers and pray she's not trying to tell you anything essential to obtaining your finished product, and that you didn't just waste 400 yen and 15 minutes you'll never get back.



About a minute later...this is what the machine spit out. 
(Click to enlarge.)
I'm thinking Christmas card pics, no?

Once we got on the plane, Patrick didn't take long to zonk out at all.

Neither did Jake.

 

Cliff chose to use the time to bone up on his leadership skills.

And I slept until it was time for refreshments.  And then I slept some more.  You know...just like at home.

Is it just me, or is it crazy that all airlines don't do their trays this way?  Like that little dent in the seat-back tray is going to do anything to save your beverage if you hit significant turbulence.  THIS is a cupholder, people!  But yet, I only see these on domestic, Japanese flights.  Hmmm.

In no time at all, we were in Tokyo, with very little time to make our connecting flight to LA.  But JUST enough time to slurp some Udon noodles.  Well, those of us with taste buds slurped Udon.  The rest ate McDonald's.  *Shudder*

We were all thrilled that Cliff took the time to upgrade all of us to Economy Plus the night before, for our longer flight.  Six inches may not seem like a big deal, but when it means the difference between having your knees jammed into the seat in front of you for ten hours, vs. being able to extend your legs, it's HUGE!

Patrick Far East Music

So many "Far Easts" were canceled this year due to the nuclear crisis. (Equivalent to State or Regionals back in the USA.) Remember that exchange trip to Yoron Island that Jake participated in last year? That was canceled this year as well. It was all very sad for so many kids...most of them Japanese kids from the mainland.

Patrick was so relieved when they ended up rescheduling Far East Music after it had been canceled. We were thrilled he had the opportunity to go. It was in Korea...which is turning out to be the go-to destination for Far Easts lately. Something to do with the facilities at the Olympic Village being perfect for it.

Patrick didn't take many photos because "it gets tiring remembering to take them" (like this is even ABOUT what he wants or feels).



Which is just one more example of why I am grateful for Facebook's tagging feature. Thank you, Patrick's friends!

I am also grateful for YouTube. I know this is kind of long, but if you like voices that stir the soul, I recommend you watch it. They did a fabulous job. I think I can pick out Patrick's voice, but that's probably just a mom thing. You can see him toward the middle of the pack.



Now this is one that Patrick did manage to capture on his camera. It is hilarious! Not the girls rehearsing...they were adorable and talented. I'm talking about when Patrick pans the room and you see the row of guys with their cameras out and mouths hanging open. Not to mention his commentary. Ahhh, teenagers.



And I guess turnabout is fair play. Listen to those girls scream! Of course Patrick is the most animated one, in front with the Members Only jacket.

All this travel is getting old...

I know, it's fun to travel...and normally I love it. Looking back at the past couple of months (and the next few to come) makes me tired, though.

I mentioned Cliff had a conference to go to (in San Diego). Even though I've hated having him away (especially after being gone myself) I am so glad he is having some (relative) down time. This is no boondoggle (it's a combat operational stress conference) but he will get to spend time with some good colleagues, and afterward he tacked on a few days of leave to see good friends.

He made sure to eat at Rubio's for me. And of course he hit In N Out Burger. (Not that we are starved for good restaurants here, but there are just certain American favorites you've gotta get while the gettin's good!) He says he misses me and hated being alone in the hotel (yeah, what's he going to say?!) but hopefully he's taking advantage of the serenity.

I shamelessly stole these photos off of his friend Dave's Facebook page:


These guys all graduated high school together. Cliff, Dave and Gerry. Dave's mom kept Cliff fed consistently as a young man (their nickname for him was "Pobrecito"). I impressed Gerry early on with my tongue-cherry-stem-tying trick. They both gave Cliff the "thumbs up" after Cliff's idea for our fourth date was a Steven Seagal film festival with all of his buddies at his place. Hey, at least they let me have the bean bag. (And in all fairness, our second date was a Tupperware party at my place.) They are good guys and I'm glad Cliff got to spend some rare time with them.



They even went back to their alma mater.



Can you believe a high school in Anaheim, California lets a couple of middle-aged men just wander around the campus? Apparently, there was a basketball game going on. I'm sure they just thought they were a couple of dads, hehe.



He also got to see Sterling (no pics, though) and Sterling's parents, Bob and Gretchen. We love them so much...they are just golden people. I'm totally jealous he got to spend time with them, hopefully it will be my turn soon.

OK, honey...enough fun now, COME HOME!

Royal Wedding

I brought home a special treat from Hawaii. (Besides the dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts.) A wheezing, hacking cough. It started subtly on the plane, but has increased to the point that walking from my room to the laundry room leaves me winded. I know. I just did it. My lungs are screaming.

Also, Cliff left town for a conference, which has only compounded the suckage. I think it will be good for him, though. He needs some down time. After the conference, he's going to go spend some time with good, old friends who I am confident will give him the TLC he is in need of. I wish I could go too. I could use some TLC.


Instead, I watched this. (An actual photo of my TV screen.) I don't know if you've had this same experience...but my Facebook newsfeed has been lit-up with people saying things like, "What wedding? Someone is getting married?" or "who cares about a blanking royal wedding" or disparaging comments about marriage in general. It's almost like they think the hating will make them look edgy and cool or something. It doesn't. It's just boring. If you don't want to watch it...Don't. There you go. I happen to think it is romantic. And it's watching a piece of history in the making. Maybe it also has something to do with feeling like I found my prince twenty years ago? I don't know. (Have you seen Cliff in his dress blues? Insert tongue trill here.)

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the diversion. It reminded me of my mom turning on the TV back in 1981 to watch Charles and Diana's wedding. Until that moment, had no idea there were princes and princesses outside the Wonderful World of Disney. My little mind was blown.

I'll take a royal wedding over most of the garbage on TV any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I just wish I could have watched it with my prince. He probably wouldn't want me to cough on him anyway and would go play XBox Madden Football. Come to think of it, I don't think it would take wheezing to drive him out of the room if I turned on the royal wedding. That's OK, he's still my Prince Charming. I wonder if princesses get sick?

He made it there...he can make it anywhere...

We arrived home late last night, and were headed back to the airport this morning to meet Patrick's flight from New York City (with an overnight stop in Korea). We were looking so forward to being back under one roof as a family again. From the sound of Mrs. Deakins' nightly emails, they had the experience of a lifetime and we couldn't wait to hear about it. (I'll share as many details as I can pry out of him in another post.)



Mrs. Deakins is a saint or a super hero, or some of both. I can't believe she pulled this off. I love this video...how she tries to convince us she left them all there...and that Patrick just wants to see Jake (who was so tired after his ordeal yesterday, he wasn't eager to make another trip back to the airport...not to mention, we won't be able to track down a wheelchair for him until Monday).



There were lots of smiles...



Lots of hugs...



It was a great thing to be part of.



This might even be enough incentive to get Coree to take drama next year. NYC is her dream trip. I guess time will tell if Mrs. Deakins is up for a repeat.



I know it's blurry, but had to include this shot of Mrs. Deakins hugging Patrick. Mostly because it shows she still likes him after ten straight days of having him in her care.

It will be so nice to get our family back to some sort of normalcy. As normal as we can be in this kind of crazy life we lead.

The Journey Home

Considering all we had to accomplish this morning, including returning the wheelchair, returning the rental car at an off-site location, and getting a non-ambulatory kid from the rental car shuttle to the counter where we could request a wheelchair (which, in the Honolulu airport, looks more like a stroller...I so should have taken a picture) with 4 bags to check...we did pretty well.

I forgot to mention all the drama with our return flight yesterday. When I called to turn our tickets back on, the only flight they had available at our previously-booked, government rate would include THREE international flights. Threeee! Hawaii to Tokyo, Tokyo to Taipei, and Taipei to Okinawa. (Seriously?!) That is heinous under any circumstances...but juggling luggage, customs, a wheelchair? Insanity! Luckily, after much being transferred from dept. to dept., I was able to trade in my triple-transcontinental tour for a seven hour layover in Tokyo instead. What could I do but take it and be grateful? ("Thank you Sir, may I have another?")

The flight took off on time, and thank goodness for pre-boarding. It was so nice not to have to do what we had to do while working around other passengers. Jake has fallen twice now with the crutches and makes me SO nervous. The plane was not even close to full (which was another sad reminder of the tragic earthquake and tsunami back "home" keeping people from traveling). Jake had plenty of room to prop up his leg.



Within a couple of hours, we were served lunch. I don't know why I take pictures of airplane food. But I do, every time. It makes me giggle. Since the first time I made a cross-country flight as a young teen, I've been fascinated with how they try to make airplane food look appetizing, while still making it stackable.



Shrimp cocktail in a box, anyone? Heehee.



Shortly before we landed, we were served another meal, which was called a snack. It's kind of hard to name meals when you are crossing the international dateline. It's dinner...yet by the time you land, it will be breakfast. Sort of. Anyway, I had to take a picture of the lettuce on this sandwich. At first I thought mine was a fluke, but looking around at my fellow passengers' trays...I discovered this was intentional. (Lettuce: Check!)



Yea! We are back in Japan! Narita is not my favorite airport, I much prefer Haneda...but I will take it. Whatever gets us home. We had an enormous layover (as I mentioned previously) so I wanted to spend it in the best terminal possible. Usually, the flight to Okinawa originates in their worst terminal. It's more like a triple-wide trailer, really. There are some uncomfortable chairs to sit in, a little counter where you can order a bowl of noodles (they're really great noodles, though) and you have to ride a bus from the terminal out to your plane. I did NOT want to spend seven hours out there! (Lucky for me, we got another terminal with WAY better accommodations. Whew!)

I was a little nervous, because I DEFINITELY wanted to hold onto that wheelchair! Since we were switching from an international to a domestic terminal AND switching airlines entirely, I wasn't sure how to pull that off. After several minutes of pantomime/interpretive dance coupled with speaking slowly and loudly, the two attendants went from looking confused, to nodding reassuringly. I thought, "either they understand me, or it is worth the price of a wheelchair to be rid of me." Turned out, I didn't need to worry at all...they rode the bus with us to the next terminal, helped with our luggage, pushed Jake's chair, up and down elevators, all the way to the next airline counter and waited patiently while the new airline brought a wheelchair with a new crew to make the switch. I should have know. (I love you, Japan!) I showed them we had a very long layover, pantomimed that I'd be fine pushing the chair on my own, and they somehow conveyed that I should call when we were ready to go to the gate and they'd assist us.



First stop...breakfast (dinner?...whatever time it is)! Udon noodles with tempura shrimp...yum!



Next, we did a little shopping in the gift shops. Oh how I've missed the Engrish! These are super-dark Kit-Kats. I have had them before and they are delicious...but I have never heard them described quite like this. Kit-Kats are huge in Japan. I don't know if I've mentioned that before. They come in many flavors, delicious and bizarre. I haven't tried a lot of them, but the grossest ones I've been served so far were plain yogurt flavor. I want to try the wasabi flavor, just to say I did.



We still had a few hours to kill even though we had covered the whole terminal. What else was there to do? We had to wait our turn for some time in the massage chair.



Jake wanted the massage so bad, he was willing to put up with the tickle.



The next flight was even more empty. We each got our own row, again.



After over three weeks of craziness, this was the most glorious sight to behold. I don't want to leave again for a very, very long time. (Oh...that's right...we want to do this again in June. Ugh!)

Patrick on the Today Show!

Oh my goodness, they really DID make it on the Today Show!


That's my baby's tongue on National TV!



And I see he purchased an "I heart NY" t-shirt to replace the "I only like NY as a friend" t-shirt I gave him for Christmas.



Here's a clip of the gang chatting with Al. I have watched it over.and.over.

Mrs. Deakins has been sending nightly emails to all the parents, recapping the adventures of the day. In all the other school trips my kids have taken, this has never happened before and I appreciate it so much. It helps me to still feel in the loop, even though I'm not at home, either. Just one more example of why Mrs. Deakins is da bomb! I can't wait to hear all about it from Patrick! I wonder which one of us will get home, first?

Patrick is Headed to Broadway!

After much work, wait and fund raising, the day has finally arrived. Patrick's awesome drama teacher, Mrs. Deakins...has gone above and beyond in planning, coordinating, championing and working miracles to pull off the adventure of a lifetime.

Patrick and fellow drama-geeks will be leaving for NYC (via Korea and SFO) today. I am a bit sad not to be there to see him off at the airport...but the excitement I feel for him makes up for it. The kids will be participating in workshops during the day, seeing Broadway shows at night...and fitting in the sights, too...such as Lady Liberty, FAO Schwartz, etc. They are also going to try to get on the Today Show. Good luck, everyone!



Oh...and I never did get a chance to post this video from Patrick's Far East Drama experience in Korea. One of his talented classmates put it together, and I just can't get enough of it. Lots of good footage of Patrick in it, so I hope you'll check it out.

Do they allow beach camping here?

Beach view from Koko Cafe at the Hale Koa


Because the Stuart family motto is "Nothing is Ever Easy" (seriously...it's in Latin, right under our family crest), Cliff forwarded me an email from his command yesterday (not directed at us, just FYI for the entire, major command), including a new order regarding the aerovac program from Okinawa. It explained how people were "abusing" the program, that medical escorts weren't authorized just because someone wanted a family member present (they were only to be authorized for legitimate medical need) and then went on to explain the accepted procedure for securing lodging.

As I read it, my heart sank. Obviously, under the circumstances, Jake needed a medical escort...so I wasn't worried about that. But their explanation of the lodging process made me very nervous. The lodging options they listed were very similar to the packet of information the aerovac office at the hospital gave us. We were supposed to try all of the on-base lodging options first, before trying to find something out in town...but said we should shoot for finding accommodations priced at practically HALF of the allowable rate. Then they listed a bunch of "suggested" options for hotels in Honolulu that had rates within the per diem lodging allowance. The options were almost identical in both the order from Cliff's command and the packet of info from aerovac. With one exception...they said that the Hale Koa* is not considered government lodging for aerovac purposes and should only be considered as a last resort of the off-base options...and that travel reimbursement could be denied otherwise. (And while aerovac secures the medical appointments and the airline tickets, the command provides the orders and pays for the travel.)

In making our reservations, I followed the outlined procedures to the letter. I checked all of the on-base options first, and none of them had availability (which was no surprise...if you're going to Hawaii...you want a combination of the cheapest and safest option available, so all those rooms get snatched up far in advance). Then I went down the list of options for off-base lodging, which were not ranked in order of preference...and the Hale Koa was included. I had no way of knowing what any of the other accommodations were like...if they were in a safe area, if they were roach-infested or smelled like ashtrays. I went with what I knew...the Hale Koa. Unfortunately, they charge the maximum allowed government rate when you are there on orders (which is why the command is wanting us to avoid staying there). The thing is, once you add all the various taxes and double the parking rate...most of those other options are brought within 10 or 20 dollars of the Hale Koa rate, anyway. Making the known entity even more appealing.

I went from feeling safe and secure...to now having to worry if we were even going to be paid for this medical trip if we stayed in our current hotel reservation. We have a terrible history with {the broken system that is} government travel, anyway. We are still waiting for the last payment of over $1000 for reimbursement for a trip on orders six months ago. We've experienced first hand that "Murphy" works for the government and his law is more of an order, really...so I'm not willing to take any chances. So, in addition to checking every single on-base option AGAIN (at the rate of 50¢ a call, charged to ME, thank you very much) with no luck, I started looking at the off-base recommendations. The first one listed was a Best Western by the airport. I have driven by it. There is no way we're staying there. I learn my hunch is correct while talking to a friend who stayed there when her family first arrived here. They had several items stolen, including having their car broken into. It's no secret Honolulu has high crime...and it was not making me feel very good to think that more consideration was being given to saving the government a buck than the safety and security of my family. I mean, I know we're not here for a vacation...but the military SENT us here for medical care they couldn't provide at our duty station, for crying out loud!

So, I started looking up online reviews of some of the other hotels, and the outlook didn't get any better. Street noise, wild parties, theft, lack of secure parking, roaches. This is what our command had in mind for us. Nice. I was pretty sick over it at this point...feeling like we were sent over here alone to fend for ourselves (under already stressful circumstances), without any regard to whether we found a safe place to stay, knowing we are going into this blind. It was bad enough we were having to front all of the expenses ourselves and wait to be reimbursed, but now this? It just seemed like there should be some sort of "sure-thing" lodging close to the hospital for families who are aerovac'd here. They do have a Fisher House (like a Ronald McDonald house, but for military hospitals) but it is reserved for families of long-term, critical patients. We needed a safe, handicapped-accessible room for almost a month, for about HALF of the local, government allowed rate in order to both meet our needs and make Cliff's command happy. Pssshh...no problem, right? I prayed and racked my brain for solutions.

This morning, I started to go through the routine with all the on-base options again , in case there were any cancellations. When I called the Army lodge behind the hospital, initially I was told they didn't have availability for as long as we needed, but in talking to her and explaining our situation (including our need for a wheelchair accessible room) she asked me to hold on. When she came back, she told me she was able to get us in. I don't know how...and she assured me no one else was going to be bumped out on the street...but suddenly, we had a room as soon as we wanted to check in! We're checking in tomorrow, and it is such a relief. I can't even tell you what a weight off my mind this is. The more I think about it and the stories I've heard, it really is nothing short of a miracle.



Since we had this problem solved, we decided to grab some lunch and hit the beach.



Jake had the Sleepy-head Special (basically breakfast with a side of fries)...



And I had to most glorious club sandwich I can remember. Look at those chips...all of them almost burnt. Like a dream come true.



Jake had a great time playing in the surf. He tried snorkeling with the equipment he brought...but quickly learned the beaches here are not like Okinawa's. Too wavy. He did spot a sea turtle, though. That was cool.



He decided to build a wall of sand to stop the waves, instead.



Then buried himself, since I wouldn't.

{Trivia: Did I mention I hate sand? I do. It's dirty. I am also sun-paranoid. I firmly believe pasty-white with freckles is the new tan. So I sat, trying not to make contact with the sand, arms covered by my windbreaker, and read The Hunger Games (certain I could feel the sun burning through my SPF-50) while Jake played blissfully.}



It's a good thing I love him.



What a gorgeous beach, huh? I can't wait to come back here for an actual vacation. Right now, however, I'm thrilled to be moving to a less scenic spot, without the 30-40 minute drive each way to the hospital...and hefty price tag (that we might have been forced to eat).

I'll miss this view of the grounds, though...



Even if I won't miss the scheduled, 11:30 PM, glass-recycling dump right outside my window each night.


*Hale Koa is a military hotel and recreation facility run by Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation. There are several such facilities around the world, designed to provide nice, affordable accommodations for military families at popular vacation destinations. Rates are on a sliding scale, depending on status and pay grade. Unless you are traveling on military orders (even medical ones)...then they sock it to you. Dumpster-view rooms...ocean-view prices.

Pearl Harbor Sights

Since we didn't know how long we'd have here, we had Jake pick his "must do" activities before we left on our trip. There was only one. Pearl Harbor.


Things have really changed in the 23 years since I visited the USS Arizona monument on my high school graduation trip. When we were here 20 years ago on our honeymoon, it was closed for the upcoming 50 year anniversary re-dedication. When I shipped off the older two boys to meet Cliff here for the tiger cruise 9 years ago, it was closed for more renovations. It was so obvious that much thought and work has gone into this complex. There is so much to see.



We started out at the USS Bowfin. I think almost anyone would be interested in touring a real live submarine...but this was especially special to us, because this submarine was like my grandpa's submarine, the USS Sailfish. We were super excited to check it out.



This is the view looking back at the shore from the deck. Isn't it a beautiful park?



It must have been so fun to be a submariner and get to play with all this stuff every day.



Even if you did have to sleep stacked three high.



In this passageway, some of the racks were pulled up during the day to make room to pass.



Space was at a real premium, so every bit of it had to be used. Racks were stashed wherever there was room.



I loved the little utilitarian details. No room for a watercooler...and no such thing as disposable cups.



This looks like my mixer on steroids. I love this little galley kitchen. It reminds me of my own. I remember my grandpa talking about how good the food was aboard the submarines. He said that generally, the smaller the boat, the better the food. Hopefully that applies to home kitchens, too.



Galley area. Notice the lip around the table in case things get a little bumpy.



I loved all this retro stuff. This typewriter is especially awesome.



Coming back topside after our tour below.











As we were leaving, we had to pass a table containing souvenir newspapers featuring the pics they take as you enter the exhibit. They said this is a replica of the real newspaper from the day of the attack. Ten bucks, that goes toward the foundation in charge of all this wonderful preservation. I would have bought it if the lady was spending the money at Target on her way home, because as I've mentioned before, I am a complete sucker for all these tourist photo traps.










Look...it's home!



Am I taking a picture of the beautiful mural...or the cute Mennonite couple? You know me...what do you think?



Finally, our time came to ride the boat out to the Arizona memorial.























My sentiments exactly.



There she is.







Do you see the oil sheen on the water? The ship had just been fully refueled before the bombing. It leaks about a quart of oil a day. Survivors of the bombing say it will continue to leak until the last survivor dies.



Looking up. Beautiful sight.



Where else can you command a ship as an E-4? Pretty sweet work.



Next, we boarded the shuttle for the trip over to Ford Island and the USS Missouri museum.



I love Quonset huts. It must be in my blood.



It's amazing to think that the battleship Missouri was in service as late as Operation Desert Storm.



The guns are so impressive.



As are these enormous chains.



The pictures just really don't do the impressiveness justice.



If you haven't noticed a theme, Jake is always drawn to the armament.



He attempts to break this one down. It was rusted shut. Bummer.



I had no idea her deck was wooden. It's quite a contrast with the otherwise modern look.



More Okinawa references. We're famous.



Jake had visibly been in pain for quite some time, but about this point he couldn't hack it anymore. We didn't spend much time exploring below, but we did find the Chaplain's office.

Besides, it was time for us to check into the hotel.



The End