September 21, 2011 Bastogne, Belgium

C17

We rented a car this morning and headed to France. We stopped in Bastogne, Belgium for lunch. While in Bastogne, we received bad news from home. One of our dearest friends had a heart attack and was in grave condition. Linda and I knew there was only one decision ...go home. We turned around, drove back to Germany. Turned in the rental. Called the Air Force, checked on a flight back to US. They put us on a C-17, leaving the next morning. We had an uneventful flight to Dover AFB. Picked up our car and headed for Alabama.

This will be the last blog entry on this trip.

Sept. 20, 2011 Enroute to Germany

C5 Airplane

There were 46 passengers available for 73 seats. We had the opportunity to meet and talk with a number of interesting people. There was a group of Army Aviators and Crew Chiefs from an aviation unit headed for Afghanistan. I introduced myself to them and told them I was an Army Aviator and a Vietnam Helicopter Pilot. You would have thought I told them I flew in WW1.

There was another couple there from California. They were in their 80's and traveled the world in the military space A program. In the spring they flew to Asia and in the fall they traveled in Europe. They never made reservations, just took the first flight headed across the Atlantic. He said he wanted this chapter of his life to be as interesting as everything else.

We had a great trip over, about 8 hours. We landed in at Spangdahlen AFB, near Bitburg, Germany. We took quarters on the base and made plans to head for France the next day.

September 19, 2011 Annapolis

Our trip was altered and the post were delayed. I will finish up the "blog" now.

When we arrived in Dover, Our seats had been taken away, no Space A available. We checked into the on base quarters at Dover AFB. We had very nice accommodations. Our interest in European travel, as much as anything, is history. There is quite a bit of history in the Maryland, Delaware area. We took advantage of the next day and toured Annapolis, Maryland. We have a great time, having lunch at a circa 1750 Tavern and saw the US Naval Academy, est. 1845. Annapolis is a very nice town in a historical setting.

After spending the day in Annapolis, we returned to Dover AFB and checked in with operations. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that a C5 was scheduled to leave at 10:00pm and had 73 seats available.

Leaving on a jet plane...don't know when we'll be back again

Linda and I left Wetumpka for Clemson, S.C. on Friday and met up with the Hankins. Understand, our role as being "all in" with the Auburn Family, is to support our team. Part of our duties is to live well, dine well and drink well. We are on the job. We support our team and looked forward to our meeting with the Clemson Tigers on Saturday. Unfortunately for us, the Clemson Tigers had other plans. Just so there is no misunderstanding, we are "all in". Hankins did accuse me of fleeing the country and not being in Montgomery this week.

We are in Dover, DE now awaiting our seat assignment on a C17 for Europe. If the "space A" gods are smiling on us..then this time tomorrow, we will be in Germany, land of beer, sausage and cheese, reflecting on this past Saturday, looking forward to the future with great optimism.

Space A Adventure Part II 09/15/2011

Part II begins tomorrow. We will be travelling to Clemson with the Hankin's for the Auburn-Clemson Football game. The Hankin's will return to Alabama and prepare for the Auburn-Florida Atlantic game next week end and Linda and I will continue on to Dover AFB or McGuire AFB and take the first space available seat to Europe.

If we are successful in our endeavors, the plan is to go to France for wine and cheese tasting. Then we shall try and get back to the US the next week, get the car and travel to South Carolina for the Auburn game, then home. I will keep you posted.

To be continued.........03/07/2011

Linda and I had lunch at "Toasts" in Old Town. After lunch we explored the James Island and went to the location of Fort Johnson. This is the site where the first mortar shell was fired on Fort Sumter. Y'all know how that ended.

We came back to Charleston AFB to get our luggage ready for our trip. In my mind, I was already drinking wine, having assorted cheeses and bread in a small French restaurant in Normandy. Alas, this was not to be. When we checked in to the terminal for boarding, the customer service representative said "Did I not mention to you this aircraft was carrying hazardous cargo? They are not allowed to carry passengers on this flight".
So we are now headed for Alabama and will try this trip again in September.

A side note, If I was as interested in history when I was in school as I am now, I suspect my grades would have been better.


Until September then.......

Charleston, Day 4, 03/06/2011

Sunday night in Charleston. Great day being a tourist. Brunch at Magnolias, dinner at Shem Creek Grill. You would not like it, unless you liked seafood. Crab Cakes, She(?) Crab Soup, Grilled Tilapia...you get the picture. Toured the Fort Sumter Museum, Fort Moultrie and a walking tour of historic Charleston.

There was one more baseball game in the College of Charleston tournament...between CC and New York Tech. New York Tech is located on Broadway in Manhattan. We stopped by in the 6Th inning. CC 24 and NYT 03. ouch!!

Those Yankee ball players will be glad to get back to NYC. They are 0-3 playing the southern teams.

Still no news on the next leg of our adventure. Check in tomorrow. By the way, the pictures are of a C17. Our ride to Europe.