Getting here...
Hi! Thanks for reading this post. If you are here, something brought you. Whether it was a quest for more information regarding upcoming travel, curiosity, or boredom- I hope you find the thing for which you are looking. If there is something in particular you would like for me to discuss, please do not hesitate to ask.
This is the first of a series of blogs. I will publish them here for now until my website is up and running. They will all be transferred there. I’ve tried to keep the sentences short in the interest of time but it was a long journey and therefore it’s a long story-so let’s get started.
We began our journey in my hometown. The first step in the long process of our official “move” was to ship our vehicle. We drove from my hometown in eastern North Carolina to Norfolk, VA. From Bragg, you can ship your car from SC or VA. We chose VA because it was closer to my hometown where we would be staying during his leave. We left around 10 or 11AM and arrived in VA around 1PM. He (my husband, the service member a.k.a babes) dropped me off at the hotel with ALL of our luggage and checked us in. As I literally drug all of our luggage upstairs he took the vehicle to the port. Even though he prepared the vehicle according to the instructions, there were still issues at the port. He had to go re-wash and scrub it clean once more before they would allow him to drop it off.
He caught an Uber back to the hotel and we rested and prepared our things for the flights and bus ride ahead. Our hotel had a shuttle to the airport with just enough space for our luggage. Luckily we were the only passengers.
Each of us had 4 bags total- 2 large checked and 2 small carry-ons. Yes, they were heavy. In total our bags weighted almost 270 lbs (AMC- Air Mobility Control- weighs your bags when you check in). Enough about the bags (packing list available upon request). Our first flight was with American Airlines. We flew from Norfolk to Philadelphia. It was about an hour- nothing special. We went up, got a snack, and came down. End of story.
There was a short lay over until our next flight from Philly to BWI. The plane was teeny tiny. It was scary how small the plane was. It was probably a little bigger than a privet jet. Anywho. This flight was delayed by almost an hour. We were stuck on the tarmac for almost an hour for a 15 minute flight. Yes, 15 minutes. Not even enough time for the attendant to hand out water and soda!
Once we landed at BWI, we had a long lay over until our next flight. Here is where things got a little dicey for us. We landed with American Airlines and our next flight was with AMC. Two completely different airlines. This didn’t register with us so we didn’t think to go get our bags from the luggage claims. Instead, we got some food and lounged a bit before heading towards the AMC check-in area.
Babe- there’s luggage claims. we should go check for our bags.
Me- yea sure.
As we approach the luggage claim area, I think to myself “o those bags look familiar. Those are our bags. Why are they in the- LOST LUGGAGE??” Lo and behold, we were supposed to come and get them after we got off the plane; since we didn’t, they had been marked as lost. Luckily, we were able to claim them but then we had to lug them around the airport. We decided to just go to the AMC counter to see if we could drop them off.
On the way to the AMC counter, a helpful USO volunteer helped us re-tag our bags and told us they may take them, they may not. We got to the counter and checked in. Here we were able to choose our seats. We opted for a two seat row near the back. It was spacious enough for us two long-legged folks (he is just over 6′0 and I’m about 5′10), my overpacked bag, coat/blanket, all the other accouterments I thought I needed to be comfortable. Was it luxury- no, but it was better than some of the other planes I’ve been on. More on the actual plane ride later.
So after we checked-in and chose our seats, the attendant was gracious enough to take our bags so we didn’t have to lug them around. Babe and I made our way to the USO lounge and promptly passed out. We took turns getting up to walk around when one of us was awake but ultimately we slept a lot. I more than him. The USO lounge in the BWI airport was full but seemed spacious enough. There was a sleep room in the back for those who needed uninterrupted shut eye. There was also a play room for kids complete with cribs sleeping areas for children. There were games and toys and computers. At some point, someone brought in pizza but they had a stock of microwavable cheeseburgers and other snacks one could have. Everything was “free to the patrons” but a donation was encouraged. If that didn’t float your boat, you could get food from a limited number of restaurants outside of security. The USO lounge was outside of security also. You could go through security to get to the main food court but honestly who would want to go through that hassle. BWI had a food delivery service that would bring food to wherever you were in the airport. I used it. It’s handy. Not sure how long it will exist though.
We spent about 6 or 7 hours in a dazed coma in the USO lounge- in and out of sleep. The flight was due to take off at around 8:30 PM so we headed up to security at around 6:30. It took awhile to get through because it was a really busy time but we made it. Once we got through security we made our way to our gate. We were pretty far removed from everything and everyone else in the airport- almost secluded but I guess it was for the best. OPSEC and all.
We boarded the plane in an orderly fashion. There were both uniformed and un-uniformed service members both alone and with their families. The plane was absolutely huge. Pets and fur babies were loaded under the plane and you could hear their pitiful whines and barks before the plane took off. Each row had about 9 or 10 seats across. Towards the back of the plane, the rows tapered off to 4-6 across. There was plenty of overhead space and leg room for me and him. The ride was long (about 7 or 8 hours) but smooth. There isn’t much to see out of the window and its best to either focus on some activity or sleep. I would advise you to sleep because once you land, you will need to be able to focus. Meals were served but I was sleep the whole time and didn’t eat anything. Didn’t even need the ZZquil I brought with me. Babes stayed up and watched a few movies and fell asleep right at the end. If I remember correctly, the movies were fairly up to date. For the most part, the plane was quiet. There was one child who screamed the entire flight. THE. ENTIRE. FLIGHT. I felt bad for the parents and child both.
The landing was smooth and uneventful. There was a short briefing over the intercom before we were let off the plane. It didn’t start until everyone was in their seats. If I remember correctly the instructions were only given once so you had to be able to listen carefully so you could remember what you were supposed to do. This is why it is important for you to be able to function once the flight ends- you have to get certain documents out and have them ready immediately upon exiting the plane. You exited the plane according to your flight plan. If Ramstein was your last stop, you were in the last group to get off.
Once we got off the plane, we were at the Ramstein Airforce Base. We were herded into a huge “welcoming facility” for lack of better term. Maybe “processing” facility is a better choice of words. Either way, we went to a place and had to clear 3-4 different stations before we were able to get our bags. The lines were long and the children, cranky. The building was drafty. It was a long process. We landed around 10AM and didn’t get our bags until about 1 or 2 PM. The dogs barked the whole time. THE. ENTIRE. TIME. Here is where our story differs from the rest.
Since we came during the holiday, we didn’t have the luxury of staying in Ramstein for a night which is the norm. Once we got our bags we went to another holding area for another briefing and was then taken to our bus. The ride was 4-5 hours long with one stop about half-way through for food. I slept half of the way here too. We had a choice of McDonalds or local fare. We got to Graf around 7PM. We were taken to the Welcome center at the Soldier for Life building. Babes went to a special briefing while I spoke with USO volunteers and drank coffee. They were spouses also and gave me lots of helpful information.
Once the briefing ended I learned that our sponsor, who had been silent for most of this process, was not here. He left us with a PFC who seemed nice enough but it was obvious he really didn’t know ALL that he was supposed to do and rightly so- this wasn’t his duty. His car couldn’t hold all of our luggage so he called a buddy and together we all went to Vilseck where someone, somehow, managed to get us lodging. If I recall correctly, the PFC lucked up on getting us a room there at the last minute. The check-in here went fairly smoothly and we were then able to go to our room and rest. Got to the room. Drug the bags in. Found PJs and other necessities. Showered. Snacked. Slept.
... and so, we were finally here.
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