Yeah, so it wasn't a crazy night because of me, I want you to know that. Mike had been showing signs of teenage angst deprivation, so I dropped him off at the bus stop in Kailua, near Kaneohe Marine Base on the north side of Oahu. We did a bit of training on he he would get to Honolulu and Waikiki and find some fun 18 year old stuff to do. He got there fine and called as requested. I decided to go swimming at the beach on base and had fun. Then went for dinner in Kailua. I knew that I would probably be picking him up from Honolulu around midnight, but I had decided that was OK. So, I napped and woke up at midnight. Since I hadn't hear from him, I called--well, the voicemail automatically picked up. Right away, I knew there was a problem, not that Mike was in trouble, but that the cell phone had probably died. Problem was that it was our only line of communication. It had the number to the room WHICH DIDN'T CORRESPOND TO ANY KIND OF ROOM NUMBERING SYSTEM! Thus, since everything was closed, including the front desk, we were in a conundrum. After an hour of fretting, I called the base cops, thinking that they would be the only ones someone could call. I just didn't know what Mike's abilities were in coping with a crisis. Anyway, we go back and forth for a few minutes, and it seems obvious to me that it's going to be a bad night. Just then, I hear a car pull up, and a second later Mike enter his room. He had a look on his face that said disgust, but it was disgust with the $50 taxi fare. I paid the guy and assured Mike that he saved the night with the good decision to use a taxi. Believe me it was money well spent.
ANYHOO This morning, quite dead I might add, we got up and drove to Hickam to make a 610 showing for a plane to Yokota. Smooth as silk, and it really needed to be. It was a huge C-17 transport with no cargo. They threw out blankets and pillows, everybody stretched out full length, I slipped a full ambien pill, and off we went. I woke up, had a bite of the box lunch they provided, and went up to ask the loadmaster how much time left, thinking we were probably only 3-4 hours into the 9 hour flight. He said we would land in 45 minutes. Whew! Fastest, bestest flight I ever took.
Yokota is absolutely, miserably hot right now. Easily the hottest place we've been in, including the 100 degrees in Cali. We're in the Rec Center, passing a little time, and waiting to get into billeting in just over an hour. Being Ted, I've collected a huge amount of material to review so that I can start planning our time here. Went and got about 60,000 yen ($525), so we're golden. I'm thinking we will go acclimate with the "Japanese way" tomorrow and just take a short trip to Tachikawa, a place where we lived when I was a kid. Most of it is a park now, but my whole family's always wondered what it looks like now--so lots of pics. If we feel brave, then we will go into Tokyo tomorrow. I'm thinking that we will take a few day trip, sponsored by the base, to Kyota, Kamakura and perhaps even Hiroshima. Remember, TODAY 62 years ago, it was a lot hotter,than it is now in Yokota, down in Hiroshima.
Well, I've yak yaked enough for today. I've been pretty good at getting my logs in, so will make sure to provide an update in a day or two.
Ted
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