For the last ten years Tom and I have regularly traveled via Space-A. We often say that the ‘A’ stands for adventure as well as availability. Today we had the opportunity to live that adventure once again as we boarded our flight for Kentucky. Yes, I said Kentucky.
We had returned to Ramstein to extend the rental on our car and to begin to position ourselves for a flight back to the United States. We have a conference coming up in Louisville, Kentucky and knew we coud get there fairly easy once we landed on the east coast. Flights are posted every 72 hours and we had some time so we decided to enjoy the activities of our area while we waited for a flight to come up. The Christmas and Fall markets are in full swing along with numerous local beer and wine festivals as the Germans enjoy this beautiful time of year. We were excited to be mingling in the local communities enjoying these events which are not known to most tourist.
An interesting flight came up which was headed to Kentucky. In all of our Space-A travels we have never seen a flight headed to this destination. We looked up the military base in the area and noted it was very close to where our conference was being held. The flight would pop up on the board and then disappear for a day or so and we decided it probably was not going to take passengers. We are able to readily access this information so we would check periodically throughout the day and occasionally during the night if we were up. Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 5:20 AM and saw that the flight to Kentucky was definitely on and taking twenty-three passengers! We had twenty minutes to get ready, pack, return our car AND make it to the terminal. We did it and were accepted on that flight.
It was a beautiful flight on a C-17 and we were invited into the cockpit to fly with the pilots for a while and enjoy their view. We laughed throughout the flight when we thought about how crazy the morning had been and that we had actually made the flight. We also knew it was hard to leave Germany so abruptly, loving our easy and unencumbered life but also recognizing that this flight contributed to that ease we had been experiencing. This kind of travel reminds me that I can not always predict what is ahead but I will be okay no matter how things turn out. If this flight had not worked out another one would have and a different adventure would have awaited. It’s been a hard year for me ensuring that everything that needed to happen did happen and carrying the burden that goes with that responsibility. It was freeing to relinquish that burden and just to stand free in the knowledge that I was going be okay no matter how all this worked out. No need to sweat the small stuff and it’s (almost) all small stuff.
We have decided to head over to Nashville, Tennessee for a few days before our conference. I have never been to Tennessee so this seemed a perfect opportunity to experience life and to enjoy some things I have never experienced before. Looking forward to this part of our journey!
See you soon. You are loved…
Tom and Nancy’s Journeys 