Well I finally have a second to sit down and finish the story of our cross-global move. After five weeks of travel we finally got to the highly anticipated trans-pacific flight. Our flight was set to leave at 2:30 AM! We had to arrive at the airport at 11:30 PM! It was a military chartered flight, and if we weren't there at 11:30 they threatened to give our seats away to people on stand-by. (I was wondering who in their right mind would be on stand-by for a 2:30 am flight? someone without children I'm sure)
We had our awesome friends drop us off at the airport, and they stayed and helped juggle the children, who were all asleep, and the 12 pieces of luggage/carry-ons. Each of us had to stand on the luggage scale and be weighed. You've never known humiliation until you've had to stand on a large scale while 100 or so people look on. It was fun. The boys were freaking out, since they had just woken up, and did not want to stand on the scale, so I had to not only stand up and be weighed myself, but then had to continue standing there and hold each of the boys while they were weighed. Only in the military.
We walked around and fed the boys while we waited the 3 hours for our flight to leave. None of us were too excited about boarding another plane. But we did. And it was just our luck that Seattle's long runway was under construction so instead of flying directly to Japan, we flew up to Anchorage, Alaska first. It took about five or so hours to get up there. That leg went well, we mostly slept. Then we waited in Anchorage for two hours. We had to refuel, but that doesn't take two hours. After talking to the flight attendants, we figured out that the Air Force airport didn't open until 6am, so we had to wait two hours so the airport would be open for us to land. The question is: Why didn't we leave at 4:30 am instead? Again with the amazing forsight and planning!
Aside from the ridiculous two hour layover (where we didn't get off the plane, just sat there staring at each other in disbelief), the flight went well. After we landed though, we had to stay on board and fill out paperwork for customs. So annoying after being on the plane for 12 hours! Finally we got off the plane around 7am Japan time.
Robert's boss picked us up, and we drove another couple hours to the Naval base. We lived at the Navy Lodge, the hotel on base, for about 4 weeks. It got old. We finally moved into our apartment on base two weeks ago. We've already painted, put in more comfortable flooring, and changed light fixtures. (I refuse to live like a college student anymore!)
After two+ months of living out of suitcases, it feels so good to have our home again! The boys were ecstatic about getting their toys again. (Beckam asked me, literally every day, if his toys were on their way to Japan) the best part is having our beds back, and having Canon sleep in his own room!
Japan has been amazing, we love the culture, love the people, I will be posting more on Japan soon!
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6 comments:
Gotta love the military! I'm glad you finally made it to Japan, and are getting settled in. Can't wait to hear about some of your experiences there.
You guys are awesome. What a wild, fun adventure! Enjoy! And I can't wait to see more pictures, besides the swanky McDonalds.
We lived out of our suitcases for about 4-5 weeks, and I couldn't take it anymore. I know how you feel. I can't wait(!) to see pictures of Japan!
It is strangely comforting that the military doesn't change :)
I don't know how you're still sane. Parts I, II and III of your journey sound absolutely horrifying. Glad you made it and all is well.
They should have given you those costoms papers early on during the flight to fill out. Good for you on making your place comforatable for your family and not living like a student! :)
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