It is hard to believe that we have been away from home for eight days. Part of me thinks it is time to head home and the other part of me wonders if we will ever get to our starting point in Europe.
As of this moment, we are in New Jersey. We started at Travis AFB near Napa. The day after we arrived a perfect flight came onto the board and we were excited that this would get us to where we wanted to be. We often hope for a few days to catch our breath but this flight was stellar so we decided to go for it. It was cancelled and reinstated four times before it was finally removed. Next, a flight to Norfolk became an option. Once we are on the East coast we can usually get to Europe fairly easily. This too went on and off the board several times. When this flight suddenly reappeared on the travel board we literally ran to the terminal as the plane was wheels up in 10 minutes. I took it as a compliment when the PAX crew said they had never seen old people run so fast. We nestled in our seats on the C17 and away we went. When we woke up we were in Norfolk, Virginia. It seemed ideal because there were to be 83 seats heading for Spain approximately 14 hours after we arrived. I have to admit, we felt pretty hopeful.
When they do the roll call they call you by order of your sign up date. I knew we had a pretty good date but this flight is very popular as it is a commercial Boeing 767 and is complete with flight crew and meals. It is a predictable flight that flies ever other Tuesday to this area and can make it easier to plan for your sign up date. It is designed to carry military personnel who are moving over seas. It holds 240 persons which includes families and pets. As we sat in the DV lounge it was easy to see that everyone had a good date. Most people had missed the last flight and this was their second attempt to get on before their request to travel expired. While our number was good, theirs seemed even better.
It is a bit stressful as they call you up. After all the military personnel is checked in they will begin the roll-call for Space-A travelers. It feels as if it takes forever as you watch people skipping up to the counter to board this flight. Finally, they called our named. I’m not gonna lie, I squealed with delight because I knew they were close to completing the final roll-call. When we arrived to the check in counter they informed us they had one remaining seat. Did we want it? Of course we did but only of they could find one more. This was not an option so we relinquished it to a very happy single traveller.
It was time to come up with another plan. We looked at the travel schedule for flights from the East coast and could see that McGuire AFB in New Jersey had flights going to Europe in the next couple of days. We opted to rent a car and drive as this area is beautiful this time of year. Over the Chesapeake Bay through Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and then in to New Jersey. It was stunning and very relaxing.
We are at McGuire AFB in New Jersey waiting for two flight options tomorrow with approximately 89 seats in total. Our date has gotten better so we feel hopeful once more. If not, we will come up with a Plan C. There is so much for us to learn when we travel this way. It’s a bit crazy but we are having fun! Tonight we will enjoy dinner with our friends Linda and Martin Smith whom we met on our first Space A travel adventure.
Will let you know how we are doing when we know!
Buen Camino! You are loved…
Tom and Nancy’s Journeys 