North to Alaska

    Greetings from the Land of the Midnight Sun! Here is the quick recap of our moving day, Tuesday:

    0600: Wake up (well really I need to back up to . . .)

    Monday evening 2200 (10 p.m for you non-mil types): drop off rental vehicle at PAX terminal, check out of TLF, final pack through of every suitcase we own - - -> crawl into bed after midnight.

   0600: Wake up, turn on coffee pot, shower.

   0620: Finish the download of the GPS update started at 2000 yesterday evening.

   0645: Wake up big kids, get them dressed and pack bathroom bags into large duffel bag, kids pajamas into last suitcase.

    0700: Haul 8 suitcases/duffel bags, 1 car seat, 1 stroller, 1 dog crate, 1 dog, three backpacks, 1 medicine cooler, 1 camera bag, 2 big kids to sidewalk to await arrival of shuttle to airport.

   0715: Wake baby, dress her, haul her, Mrs. P and myself out to sidewalk. Send big kids and self back to room for a pre-car ride pee.

   0730: Shuttle supposed to be at curbside to pick up 8 suitcases/duffel bags, 1 car seat, 1 baby, 1 dog crate, 1 dog, three backpacks, 2 larger children, 1 medicine bag, 1 camera bag and 2 adults for trip to Sacramento airport for 1015 departure.

   0735:  Call shuttle service, leave message asking, "Where are you?"

   0745: See 0735.

   0750: See 0735, 0745. Worry is on the horizon.

   0755: See 0735, 0745, 0750. No message left this time. Just keep hitting send every time the message comes on and we hang up. Worry looms larger.

   0757: Mini van with 2 gentlemen in front seats and baggage area full of first passenger's luggage pulls into parking lot, bearing the markings of the shuttle service. Driver steps out and says, "We're going to need the bigger van." I refer you to the list: 8 suitcases/duffel bags, 1 car seat, 1 baby, 1 dog crate, 1 dog, three backpacks, 2 larger children, 1 medicine bag, 1 camera bag and 2 adults.
    Worry has now been replaced by a small dose of panic, accompanied by a large dose of frustration. You see, Mrs. P told the gentleman on the phone when she made the reservation for the shuttle that, "We are moving to Alaska, we have 2 adults, three kids including a baby, and a dog." Clearly a minivan wasn't going to hack it to begin with, let alone one that already had another passenger with his three bags in it.
    Driver makes a phone call, reassures us, "He'll be here in about 10 minutes."

   0815ish: Small black pickup dating from the mid 1980's pulls into parking lot. Driver of mini van, driver of pickup truck and myself begin feverishly loading luggage into the back of the truck. All kids pile into mini van, Mrs. P and myself crowd in, and we are off, sort of. The Base Housing folks are giving away free "breakfast on the go" to everyone who drives by. Of course they aren't expecting a mini van with 7 people in it, so it takes them a couple of trips to get enough juices and breakfast pastries for everyone.
    Guess what the juice is? Strawberry! 100% Real Juice! Mrs. P just happens to be allergic to strawberries, so no drink for her this morning. Meanwhile, I am trying to figure out how to secure Pretty Girl since her seat belt has no tab portion, simply a strap and a receptacle. I finally tie the end of the seatbelt strap around the receptacle and pray we don't get in an accident.

   0830: Mr. Mini Van driver takes off and we race up to Sacramento, doing 10 miles or more over the speed limit the whole way, which gets us to the airport around 0910.

   0916: Haul all our luggage into the airport, discover a giant line. Mrs. Penguin takes Buck out for a quick potty break, I have the kids pile all the luggage together outside the line.

   0920: Having made no progress in line, Mrs. Penguin having returned from pottying Buck, I move over to the first class line to check in. The lady at the airline counter was extremely helpful, but the airline had us sitting in three different rows, with only 2 of us together on our first flight. The only way to get us even somewhat close together was to stick us in first class. By the time we got all our bags checked, TSA had inspected the dog, and we were headed up to security checkpoint it was after 0930.

    0945: Pre-boarding is already in progress when we arrive at the gate. Up we march and on we go. Phew! We made it! The flight attendant hands us a sticker saying, "Don't worry. I'm on board too!" Buck is on his way as well.


   1015: Plane takes off on time, and we arrive in Seattle on time. The highlight of the flight is Baby Bop consuming Mrs. P's entire cheese and fruit tray, after Mrs. P declined getting one for her.


   1230: Lunch in the Sea-Tac Airport is Wendy's, eaten at the gate of the plane we arrived on, which is also the plane we take to Anchorage, but since we changed seats, we had to unload everyone in between flights. Petunia has a chance to run around and stretch her legs, the first time since we got into the van around 0815.



   1310: Board the plane again, this time the last two rows on the co-pilots side of the aircraft, conveniently close to the bathrooms for those of us with bladders the size of pecans.


   1340: Another on time takeoff. This flight is much longer and Little Bit is done sitting in her seat. I am sitting next to her, and quickly exhaust her books and toys trying to keep her entertained. I let her out of her seat, and she wallers around on me. Back to her seat. Back to my lap. Repeat for 3 hours, with her fussiness getting worse.


   1615: Touch down just a little late, but it takes nearly half an hour to get off the plane since we are the last rows. Grumpy and Nonna are waiting for us as we head towards the luggage carousel. Petunia isn't sure about Grumpy, since she's never met him before. Fortunately, all our luggage is already there since it took us so long to get off the plane.


   1645: Load luggage into Grumpy's truck, wrapping everything in garbage bags, since it is raining. The kids are divided between vehicles, as are the adults, and we are off to Lithia Chevrolet of South Anchorage, where we sign some papers and take possession of Mrs. Penguin's brand spankin' new Chevrolet Traverse 7 seater, complete with back-up camera, ultrasonic back-up assist, heated front seats, all-wheel drive, etc. Carl Decker has us in and out in less than 45 minutes. In the meantime, Nonna takes Buck and the two girls to Grandma and Grandpa's house where she leaves Buck.


   1730: Head over to Lone Star Steakhouse for dinner with all 5 of the Penguins, Grumpy and Nonna, Uncle Caleb and Aunt Betty, and Cousin Erin.


   1745: Seated at the restaurant, thanks to Nonna's heading over early after dropping off Buck.


   1800: Call Uncle Caleb to ask where he's at. They are across the Street at Cattle Company. Apparently Erin had sent Mrs. P a message on Facebook about the different restaurant, but Mrs. P never got it because we didn't pay to get internet access in flight or at Sea-Tac. Since we are already seated at Lone Star, the Eagle River Austin clan head over to join us.


  1830ish: These times are approximate, as we are all tired and not really paying attention to time anymore. We order dinner. Pretty girl falls asleep, head on the table.


   1900ish: Appetizer arrives. Pretty Girl continues to snooze.


   1945 or so: Dinner is finally served. Pretty Girl takes 3 bites and pukes. Yay! Mrs. Penguin and myself spring into action. Mrs. P literally drags her chair backwards away from the table. I grab a large collection of napkins off the table, throw them at Mrs. P and Pretty Girl and head out to the brand new car to grab a change of clothes. Fortunately, her suitcase was the first one at the back, so it was easy access. As I head back in, I see Pretty Girl on her way to the bathroom. I give the clothes to Mrs. P, who has grabbed a 1 gallon ziploc bag out of Petunia's diaper bag, and she takes them in to Petunia. Petunia changes, the icky clothes go into the ziploc baggie, and we all get back to dinner.


   ~2130: Dinner is over, the bill is paid, and we head off to base to check into TLF for the night.


   2200: Check in, drive back across base to the TLF that we passed on the way in, and unload the vehicle. Pretty Girl crashes into her bed, clothes still on, meds not taken. Petunia is quickly changed and laid down as well by Mrs. Penguin while I haul all the luggage in. It is still broad daylight! I keep thinking it is earlier in the day.


   2330: Mrs. Penguin has already sacked out, and I decide that maybe that would be a good idea. What a busy day!

Anchor Point Serves

    This is an article I wrote about some of the guys and myself from my hometown. This will be the first of three articles I wrote about my deployment. Enjoy!

    Anchor Point is a town of only about 1900 people, but it is extremely well represented in the Armed Forces. This point was amply illustrated earlier this month at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
    Three sons of Anchor Point, all Air Force, were briefly reunited thousands of miles from home. Davin Chesser, a Reserves C-130 maintainer deployed from Elmendorf AFB has nearly 10 years in. Dan Byrne, a first term Imagery Analyst, is deployed from Beale AFB, CA and will re-enlist while deployed. Robert (B.J.) Austin, Nurse Anesthetist, recently returned from his deployment to his home station at Travis AFB, CA. He has seven years in the service. The three attempted to meet for dinner, but due to schedule conflicts were unable to get all together. Instead, Chesser and Austin chatted for a few minutes, and later that evening, Austin and Byrne shared a meal.
    Austin and Chesser were neighbors on David Lee Street growing up, while Byrne and Austin both attended church together at the Anchor Point church of Christ, where Byrne’s dad preached. All three are graduates of Chapman Elementary and Homer High.
    While it is not uncommon for those from larger cities to run into someone from their hometown, reunions such as this must be extremely rare. “I’ve never heard of three people from the same small town all being deployed together since I joined the Air Force. I’m sure it’s happened before, but it was a real surprise to see these guys” said Austin.
    Mike Koch, U.S. Army and another former Anchor Pointer, just returned from Iraq. That is more than 2% of the entire population of Anchor Point serving overseas at the same time. The number in the service is even higher. Says Austin, “I know of at least 2 others from Anchor Point who are in the Navy, Gloria Velsko and Morgan Tracy. There are probably others on Active Duty I don’t know of, and many more who have served at least one term in a branch of the Armed Forces. VFW Post 10221 should take pride, knowing that their tradition of service to country is being continued, and strongly.”