Charleston > BFB > Charleston (A piec...

Author Message   Ron Glancy Intermediate Member Username: Ron_glancy Post Number: 139 Registered: 09-2007 Posted From: 98.25.205.162 Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 10:50 am:    Jack, I am glad you posted this trip report. We were wondering how you made it from Charleston to McChord in time to make that flight from McChord to Hickam. We were in Charleston the same time you were trying to make the Charleston/McChord/Hicham connection but the McChord flights kept slipping off the schedule. We stayed in a hotel off base. Your being at the terminal when the flight was changed made all the difference. It actually worked out for the best for us not ro have gotten on that flight. Ron came down with the shingles the day your flight left and he is still recuperating from that. It would not have been a pleasant trip for either of us with him in that condition. I am glad that you made it so easily this year. We hope to be at the BFB next year. Angie   Jack Wanless Senior Member Username: Jack646 Post Number: 1665 Registered: 02-2007 Posted From: 99.194.219.133 Posted on Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 08:02 pm:    Didn't make it last year.... Being as everyone seems to be doing a BFB trip report now, I might as well do mine.... It reads the same as Phil's in the beginning.... 55 days on the list when I would show up anywhere on the going over trip, the same for when leaving HI... Drove from home in Hinesville Ga up to Charleston on 27 Jan.... As usual with most every trip I've done from there, the flight I went up there for had vaporized just prior to or during my journey up there.... Got there around noon and after running around base for a bit, a trip out onto the economy to eat and buy something I had forgotten to bring along, I decided to settle down in the terminal until the early morning of the 28th when there was a mission scheduled to McChord. There were no rooms at the Inn and I probably would have hung out in the terminal anyway with the early showtime. Just as I was getting into the snooze mode shortly after midnite they made a call for 'Anyone desiring transportation to McChord......" I was the only one in the terminal and the only taker... My own C-17 to McChord... There were about 10 additonal crew members on the flight, possibly excess flight crews returning from Haiti missions. Nice smooth flight to McChord, got there in the wee hours of the morning, but terminal at that time was still 24 hours.... It reverted back to old hours of 0500-2100 on 01 Feb... Hung out in terminal of course, hit their nice little USO and had all sorts of scrumptious donuts and other goodies while waiting for a C-17 showing 20F to Hickam in mid afternoon. Sometime along the way the 20 went down to 10F. I was worried that the terminal would fill with higher Cats as the showtime drew near, but another guy I was chumming with was convinced that with our sign-up dates that we'd make the cut. I missed the roll call for an alternate flight down to Travis which I had been considering so that sealed my fate.... Amazingly no higher Cats showed at all... Nothing but Cat VIs and I made it in 7th place. I can't believe that the others ahead of us must have been at 58 or more days on the list. Another couple, a Donna & Merlin were heading to the BFB too, but were the next two that would have been called. Nice trip to Hickam, arrived around midnite the 28th.... Just hung at the terminal, word was billeting was full and a phone call verified the same. Spent time at terminal checking online car rentals and making a reservation for Friday at 1300.... Price thru Hertz for Fri - Tue was $123 but dropped to $118 when I picked it up.... Over my stay in Hawaii I made the BFB 3 nites and got to meet so many people whose names I have seen on the board for so long... Activities that I did on my own were hitting a restaurant that I had been to before in 2004 and trying some new ones. Trips to Ewa Beach, China Town, the Punchbowl and the Lt Dan Band also were accomplished. Shopping for stuff for daughters also took up some time. I stayed in Hickam Billeting one nite,($39 - the shared bath rooms down by the O Club), and two non-consecutive nites in Navy billeting, the 2nd of which was in the BOQ, bldg 1315. Both of these were $50/nite. The other nite was spent in the rental... Turned car in at 1300 on Tuesday the 2nd and spent the nite in the terminal awaiting three possible flights to the mainland on Wed the 3rd. All three subsequently were delayed or vaporized. Hung around terminal and watched as others of the BFB came and went checking on flights. Thursday's first chance was a C-17 with 14T bound for Travis around 0115. The 14T became a 15F and my sign-up date did me good.... I was number 15 and heading home! Another uneventful flight which went quickly as I slept most of the way. Got to Travis late in the morning and made a connecting C-17 to Andrews within about 2 hrs of landing. Am not sure what seat release was but there were only 4 higher Cats and 5 Cat VIs, of whom I again was first called. Once again a smooth flight with landing in the middle of a cold night at Andrews.. As you all should know Andrews terminal has been doing renovations for about 2 months now... For being the president's airport, they sure are running primitive... The pax desk is actually a regular one person desk, setting in the hallway on the incoming side. Two personnel man it with two computers, and there is a portable baggage scale setting next to the desk, one corner of which is held up by a stack of typing paper... Quite a sight... Only after I got to Andrews did I find out about the upcoming blizzard. John D had advised me of that in an email but too late after I had been manifested to Andrews.. My only option to escape was a 1040 show to MacDill.... and that was three hours after the snow was to hit. Luckily the crew apparently also wanted to get out of Dodge so moved showtime up to 0530.... I was available and the only pax on my own C-21 to MacDill... Two and a quarter hours later I was in Florida. Met two retiree volunteers that work the MacDill pax desk, Gary & Bob.. Both very helpful and knowledgable on everything, and a fine way to pass the time until the reserve shuttle later in the afternoon. Also thanks and a hat tip to SrA Crayton who bought myself and another traveler lunch when she went on her lunch break. Plenty of seats on the C-17 shuttle to Homestead, Jacksonville and ending in Charleston. All very short flights and quick open rear doors and drop the ramp exchange of personnel stops for that trip... Into Charleston again around midnite, no rooms at the Inn becuz of reserve weekend so spent night in terminal watching a few flights go and getting some sleep before journey home in the morning.... total mileage covered in the air for the trip, 11506 miles.