Jetlagged in Japan
Hope you guys don't mind I'm just gonna paste an email I sent my fam to let them know we got here safe. I've got to get some provisions and entertain Ainsley for a while. When I get a minute, I'll post more. Hugs!
Well, Ainsley and I slept until 4 am. That's pretty good I guess. So, she's watching popeye and I'll fill you in on our eventful trip.
We got to Houston and were sure we would miss our connecting flight. Our plane landed while the other flight was boarding. Thankfully the staff at Houston is far more helpful than DFW. The bus driver called ahead for a cart to drive us. We just missed that because Ainsley couldn't walk up the escalator, but there was a desk worker on the bus with us and she just went ahead and drove us. Of course, that meant Cheyenne had to run behind us because we didn't have enough room, but he did fine and we made it just as they were calling for final boarding.
Ainsley did fine. She was just really tired and wouldn't go to sleep. But she watched movies most of that flight and the battery in her dvd player held out til the last minute. We got to Seattle to find that first the we lost a suitcase. Our zebra print one (not sure how they could lose that) was left in San Angelo. The baggage people had us come down around 2 am so we could check to see if it came off the last flight from Houston, but it didn't.
The USO was not surprisingly packed. Ainsley and I slept in a recliner loveseat with some other dude, until that guy got up around 3, so I nudged the semi sleeping Cheyenne on the floor and he got up to sleep a few hours next to us. The thing that sucked is that it turned out 3/4 of the people sleeping in the USO were waiting for space A on our flight. That made me mad in the morning when I found out. Rude! I actually have a seat and I want to sleep!
We got up around 5 since check in was between 5 and 8. Cheyenne went to check for the zebra suitcase one more time. They were going to try to get it by 10 to seattle, but our AMC flight left at 11:20 so they were making no promises. Since it didn't make the flight they would put it on a plane going to Narita at 2:45 so it's probably in Japan with us now, we just have to get someone to pick it up for us. It's got all Cheyenne's uniform shoes plus my laptop and the potty seat in it. Cheyenne's chief said it was a common occurence and he'll check in in civies.
So, we ended up waiting until about 6 to get in the check in line. We let ainsley sleep a little and then we ate. Got in the massive line right before they came out and made an announcement about Space A. They pulled all the Space A folks outta line, which made our line more managable. Turns out there were only two empty seats and like 300 people vying for them. We stood in line for about 10 minutes and some lady came around pulling people to the front of the line for Yokota. Since we were not going on to Kadena, we got to be first in line. It was great. We got finished checking in around 7 so we went ahead and ran back to the USO so Cheyenne could send a quick email about the suitcase and then we went through security. We got WAY lost looking for our terminal. I kept looking for the tram, we finally found it, but in the mean time Ainsley got plenty of wiggles out. So, we found our gate and had plenty of time to kill.
Once we got on, it seemed smooth sailing from there. It was okay. It was a 747. Biggest plane Cheyenne has ever been on. We had a row by the window, not in the middle. Ainsley and Cheyenne were awed as the plane took off. Ainsley did well for a while, until she spilled juice all over her shirt. I had another shirt for her so it was okay. Then she had constant panic attacks about her wet pull up. Except it was like the Vegas trip where it wasn't really wet. I thought we'd run out of pullups until we found the secret mother load I'd hidden in Cheyenne's little suitcase carryon. She peed on me at one point because I didn't believe her and well, her pull up really was wet. Good thing we had extra clothes. She never went close to the bathroom. Scared the crap outta her. We got dinner and breakfast on the flight and there were three movies, but I didn't watch them. I was too busy trying to sleep or wrangle Ainsley. The flight turned out to be just 9 and a half hours and Ainsley slept for about 2 in the middle. So it wasn't too bad. Her DVD player did die, but right as Cheyenne got the MAC out to let her watch a movie, they came on about landing. Once we landed there was a lot of "what, huh?" because the customs people were not together on their message. But once we got into the terminal, it was a cinch. Then we waited forever! for our luggage. Might I add it was insanely humid and it seemed the AC was not working at optimal efficiecny.
They lost our stroller, but I don't care that much. It was 2 years old and $10. We found the guy that was picking us up. Turned out he just rode the shuttle up and rode it back with us. He was kind enough to help get the suitcases on the bus and grab us some refreshments since all the vending machines in the AMC terminal took yen not dollars. Shoulda changed money in Seattle. Oh well. I already feel outta sorts because I can't just thank the bus driver. I mean, I could, but ya know, it's not the same. After a twoish hour bus ride we got to Atsugi. Ainsley of course, was sooo tired, but wouldn't sleep. We got here to find out that the squadron took care of our room. Booked it, put it on a government travel card, and even were here to meet us. The chief that cheyenne has been corresponding with was here with his wife (who is also the ombudsman) and they even brought us grocerys to stock our kitchenette: sandwich supplies, pudding, milk, bread, sunny D. It was so nice of them!
It was about 6:30 when they left and we went ahead and walked over to the food court to get dinner. They've got McD's, Taco Bell, Popeyes, Subway, Anthony's, and a dunkin Donuts. Also a Parcheezi's pizza place in the bowling alley, and a club all within the block. It really is a small base. Ainsley and I are gonna go exporing some so Cheyenne can go check in.
Couple of Ainsley things for you: Ainsley asked if the plane was flyng yet, we said no, she asked if it was "car-ing."
She also said we needed to find a handicap spot to park the plane.
Many times she asked to go home. She wanted to go to bed and see everybody. That made me sappy.
She instantly made friends with everyone. When we were waiting at the gate in Seattle, she made friends with the little kids around her and even a couple of tweeners who were bored. She entertained them by singing weezer.
She keeps asking if we are in "Capan" yet. I tell her we are, but I don't think she gets it.
I'll send more later, but it's light out and Ainsley wants to go outside. Nothing like finding a playground at 5am. Hugs! Love you! MIss you! I asked Ainsley if there's anything she wants to tell you and she says, "help me and I love those guys." I'm not sure what she needs help with. :)
crys
Well, Ainsley and I slept until 4 am. That's pretty good I guess. So, she's watching popeye and I'll fill you in on our eventful trip.
We got to Houston and were sure we would miss our connecting flight. Our plane landed while the other flight was boarding. Thankfully the staff at Houston is far more helpful than DFW. The bus driver called ahead for a cart to drive us. We just missed that because Ainsley couldn't walk up the escalator, but there was a desk worker on the bus with us and she just went ahead and drove us. Of course, that meant Cheyenne had to run behind us because we didn't have enough room, but he did fine and we made it just as they were calling for final boarding.
Ainsley did fine. She was just really tired and wouldn't go to sleep. But she watched movies most of that flight and the battery in her dvd player held out til the last minute. We got to Seattle to find that first the we lost a suitcase. Our zebra print one (not sure how they could lose that) was left in San Angelo. The baggage people had us come down around 2 am so we could check to see if it came off the last flight from Houston, but it didn't.
The USO was not surprisingly packed. Ainsley and I slept in a recliner loveseat with some other dude, until that guy got up around 3, so I nudged the semi sleeping Cheyenne on the floor and he got up to sleep a few hours next to us. The thing that sucked is that it turned out 3/4 of the people sleeping in the USO were waiting for space A on our flight. That made me mad in the morning when I found out. Rude! I actually have a seat and I want to sleep!
We got up around 5 since check in was between 5 and 8. Cheyenne went to check for the zebra suitcase one more time. They were going to try to get it by 10 to seattle, but our AMC flight left at 11:20 so they were making no promises. Since it didn't make the flight they would put it on a plane going to Narita at 2:45 so it's probably in Japan with us now, we just have to get someone to pick it up for us. It's got all Cheyenne's uniform shoes plus my laptop and the potty seat in it. Cheyenne's chief said it was a common occurence and he'll check in in civies.
So, we ended up waiting until about 6 to get in the check in line. We let ainsley sleep a little and then we ate. Got in the massive line right before they came out and made an announcement about Space A. They pulled all the Space A folks outta line, which made our line more managable. Turns out there were only two empty seats and like 300 people vying for them. We stood in line for about 10 minutes and some lady came around pulling people to the front of the line for Yokota. Since we were not going on to Kadena, we got to be first in line. It was great. We got finished checking in around 7 so we went ahead and ran back to the USO so Cheyenne could send a quick email about the suitcase and then we went through security. We got WAY lost looking for our terminal. I kept looking for the tram, we finally found it, but in the mean time Ainsley got plenty of wiggles out. So, we found our gate and had plenty of time to kill.
Once we got on, it seemed smooth sailing from there. It was okay. It was a 747. Biggest plane Cheyenne has ever been on. We had a row by the window, not in the middle. Ainsley and Cheyenne were awed as the plane took off. Ainsley did well for a while, until she spilled juice all over her shirt. I had another shirt for her so it was okay. Then she had constant panic attacks about her wet pull up. Except it was like the Vegas trip where it wasn't really wet. I thought we'd run out of pullups until we found the secret mother load I'd hidden in Cheyenne's little suitcase carryon. She peed on me at one point because I didn't believe her and well, her pull up really was wet. Good thing we had extra clothes. She never went close to the bathroom. Scared the crap outta her. We got dinner and breakfast on the flight and there were three movies, but I didn't watch them. I was too busy trying to sleep or wrangle Ainsley. The flight turned out to be just 9 and a half hours and Ainsley slept for about 2 in the middle. So it wasn't too bad. Her DVD player did die, but right as Cheyenne got the MAC out to let her watch a movie, they came on about landing. Once we landed there was a lot of "what, huh?" because the customs people were not together on their message. But once we got into the terminal, it was a cinch. Then we waited forever! for our luggage. Might I add it was insanely humid and it seemed the AC was not working at optimal efficiecny.
They lost our stroller, but I don't care that much. It was 2 years old and $10. We found the guy that was picking us up. Turned out he just rode the shuttle up and rode it back with us. He was kind enough to help get the suitcases on the bus and grab us some refreshments since all the vending machines in the AMC terminal took yen not dollars. Shoulda changed money in Seattle. Oh well. I already feel outta sorts because I can't just thank the bus driver. I mean, I could, but ya know, it's not the same. After a twoish hour bus ride we got to Atsugi. Ainsley of course, was sooo tired, but wouldn't sleep. We got here to find out that the squadron took care of our room. Booked it, put it on a government travel card, and even were here to meet us. The chief that cheyenne has been corresponding with was here with his wife (who is also the ombudsman) and they even brought us grocerys to stock our kitchenette: sandwich supplies, pudding, milk, bread, sunny D. It was so nice of them!
It was about 6:30 when they left and we went ahead and walked over to the food court to get dinner. They've got McD's, Taco Bell, Popeyes, Subway, Anthony's, and a dunkin Donuts. Also a Parcheezi's pizza place in the bowling alley, and a club all within the block. It really is a small base. Ainsley and I are gonna go exporing some so Cheyenne can go check in.
Couple of Ainsley things for you: Ainsley asked if the plane was flyng yet, we said no, she asked if it was "car-ing."
She also said we needed to find a handicap spot to park the plane.
Many times she asked to go home. She wanted to go to bed and see everybody. That made me sappy.
She instantly made friends with everyone. When we were waiting at the gate in Seattle, she made friends with the little kids around her and even a couple of tweeners who were bored. She entertained them by singing weezer.
She keeps asking if we are in "Capan" yet. I tell her we are, but I don't think she gets it.
I'll send more later, but it's light out and Ainsley wants to go outside. Nothing like finding a playground at 5am. Hugs! Love you! MIss you! I asked Ainsley if there's anything she wants to tell you and she says, "help me and I love those guys." I'm not sure what she needs help with. :)
crys