    
Nstig8or
Member
Username: Nstig8or
Post Number: 19
Registered: 07-2009
Posted From: 96.19.43.111
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 01:10 am: | |
I actually started my trip at Jackson, MS, since it is closest to my family which also double as my dogsitters... It is always a pleasure traveling with the 172nd and usually easy to get manifested to Andrews (and/or Germany). 3 of us had the C-17 to ourselves.
I spent 3 days with a friend who works at the Pentagon and hopped on local transportation to see the new Air Force memorial, the National Zoo, Arlington Cemetery and Eastern Market, where I met a WWII vet named Milton who had been at the Battle of the Bulge. He had a wonderful sense of humor and made my lunch so much more enjoyable. You just never know who you'll meet day to day!
The first flight I signed up for was a C-17 to Travis (via Scott and McChord) and it took all but maybe 6-8 Cat VIs. When it parked at McChord, we had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier out the back of the load door. Have great pictures from that!
At Travis, we had a few hours to wait for a flight to Yokota via Elmendorf that took all who wanted to go. It was a 5 hour flight and then a 6-1/2 hour layover in Alaska which was rough - it was overnight and there was nowhere to go for food. There seems to be a lack of communication between aircrews and terminal reps. Our time on the ground fluctuated a lot. With a little more solid intel, we could've hoofed it somewhere for food and back.
The 7 hour flight to Yokota was uneventful. When we arrived at Yokota, the mp took us to the customs office to get our passports stamped. They don't always drive people over, but it is nice when they do. There was some confusion over my stamp, and we would've been there for a long time if there hadn't been a Japanese-American woman with us able to translate. It was comical though when the customs agent told her to tell me something, she promptly looked at me and started rattling it off in Japanese. I'm sure my dumbfounded look finally registered with her that if I didn't understand him in Japanese, I surely wasn't going to understand her in it, either!
There were 6 of us wagon-training it to the Kanto lodge which 2 of us already had rooms for when we were sure we were manifested in Travis for the trip. It is a long walk with luggage, highly recommend traveling light!
I only had a couple of weekdays and all the tours offered on base are on weekends, so I rented a bike ($9/day). The people at the Outdoor Rec were very helpful with information, maps and recommendations. I explored the river and found a cemetery tucked away in town. I ate at a cook-it-yourself place called Dohntonbori. The waitress didn't speak English, but I determined she wanted me to take my shoes off. The menu and directions were in English (thankfully!). I ordered the okonomi-yaki with shrimp and avocado. It comes out in a bowl that you stir and then pour onto the hibachi. It comes out like a pancake or quiche and is really good. I tried to tip the waitress, but found out they don't do that in Japan.
I met a lady at the commissary who was very helpful in finding something to do that was not too far from base. She explained the train system gave me some ideas. The next day I took the train to Showa Kinen Park which used to be a military base. You'd never know it. The trains are neat but it would've helped if I had learned some Kanji before I arrived! Some places have destinations in English, some don't. It helps to have some experience with metros like the ones in DC. Works the same way.
The park has a fantastic bonsai garden. I didn't realize there were so many types. An Herbal Fest was going on and I love plants, so I headed there after a while. My only real interaction with a local on this trip was with a one of the ladies working at the Fest. She offered me (in English) tea made from herbs. We then walked around naming the herbs in both English and Japanese. Her English didn't cover conversational things, but I had a 4 page translation sheet of everyday things that I had picked up at the community center and it had English, the pronunciation and the Kanji. She got so excited to be able to read and translate, but it didn't have what she wanted to tell me. I love these kind of interactions and trying to communicate. I had greeted many people on my trip, but not many responded. She made my day!
When I got back to town, I went to a grocery store and picked up some snacks (bring your own bag) and then went to another restaurant that is known as Mats, but I forgot to write down the rest of the name. I wasn't sure what to do there so I watched a couple of people order. It turns out you have to put money in a machine, press the button that corresponds to the meal you want, get a ticket and hand it to the waitstaff to pass to the cook. It was really good and cheap and I've learned that I am the slowest eater on the planet. Everywhere I ate, people around me were done in minutes...I'd still be enjoying my meal well after others had come and gone.
That evening I had to hoof it to the customs office (which is a LONG ways away from lodging!) to get my passport stamped out (and it is good for 24 hours - if you don't make your flight, you have to go back!). Luckily, I made the first flight out to Elmendorf on a KC-135. It offered only 10 seats and there were initially 9 of us processed and waiting...at the last possible minute, they informed a Cat IV family of 3 and the one Cat VI that a family being kicked out of the country would be taking their seats. It was really a bad situation for all involved - the 4 originally manifested were from Elmendorf and the family being ousted weren't, had no warm clothes and had been planning on getting on the PatEx flight later in the morning anyway. It is the one thing about Space-A I hate to see happen. |
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