2:15pm Thursday and 1:15am Friday

Those are the current times in our respective locations, Hawaii and Germany.  Here's what my lucky pacific run pilot sends me in an email:

That's short final at Wake Island, a small basically all US military/contractor inhabited island in the North Pacific.

Meanwhile, I will likely end up at Al Udeid, Qatar tomorrow.  As awesome as it may sound to civilians, it ain't grand.

Cheers.

Wilkommen nach Hotel Rosenhof!

Like most hotels here in Germany, the rooms are small, cramped, and usually refrigerator-less (unless your the lucky few in the crew who get the giant suite on the top floor, for example).  A real estate agent would describe the rooms as cozy, which they really are, especially if you are exhausted from a 9 hr flight overseas and about 6 hours worth of pre/post flight duties.   I write this post as I still sit in my hotel room... I should be enroute to the airplane by now, but we have, guess what?  Been delayed.

Last night I probably slept for about 11 hours!!!  I think I was catching up on all the sleep I missed while at McGuire, hehe.  I did have the craziest dream involving my brother, sister, and I evading from a giant 'smart tornado' in what my mind told me was Long Island, NY.  The tornado was gigantic and hit after going shopping in an outdoor mall.  It had huge tornado arms that would extend out and swing at people... ugh.  What a dream.

...And right after learning about the earthquake that hit Haiti, too.  This is the second trip I've been on when a major disaster hit (Tsunami in Samoa/Philippines):  (photos courtesy of CNN)

My thoughts and prayers go out to them all.

Hello East Coast!

Well, I did manage to get out of New Jersey (McGuire) but ended up only a 40 min flight south in North Carolina (Pope).  Why we didn't just stay at McGuire one more day and then truck it all the way to Germany, we will not know.  Nonetheless, we did deadhead (carry another USAF aircrew) a Travis reserve crew, and will deadhead them all the way to Germany.  So now there were 14 aircrew at the mercy of TACC (tanker airlift command and control) and beyond.

On a completely different spin, I would like to break from the shop talk and express my newfound love for Crate and Barrel style!  My absolute favs:

Their eco friendly bamboo kitchen collection is just beautiful, simple, and me.

I also loveeee this bedding!  Perhaps for our guest bed?  Perhaps as our summer bedding?  Let's save up, Mr. Speedbird!

I am in love with these fresh and clean looks, so remember that for my birthday, folks ;-)


Until next time, ladies and gents...  (maybe then I'll be off the east coast!)

Bye Bye East Coast?

Yesterday was just awesome... getting to spend a day in NYC again just brought back so many memories.  Thank you so much, Monica, for spending time with me and going out of your way to do so!  Walking countless blocks from Penn Station to Time Square to Central Park to FAO to a sweet Irish Pub and ending the night going to see Avenue Q was just the remedy for some good ol' homesickness!  As of right now, Mr. Speedbird is probably on his way to dreamland in his swanky hotel room in Waikiki, while I am about to hit up lunch with some friends from pilot training for lunch before I leave McGuire continuing my 7th mission.   Wow! As I was tying this last sentence I received a call from my AC (aircraft commander) saying that we are staying possibly until Monday now... thus is the life of an aircrew member!    Our schedules are always erratic and unpredictable in nature.  Welp, hopefully I'll get to spend time with a few more friends!


Until lata, peoples.

This is what I was afraid of!

Man,  the Mr. gets back from survival and we leave for our honeymoon and I completely drop the blog!  That was what I was afraid of... lets hope that I will post more often!

Anywho, what you've been waiting for... Maui was PERFECT!  Here's a quick summary:

Day 1:  Arrive at Kahului... 2 hours later than planned!  I was pretty bummed about already starting off slow.  However, once we landed, we received all of ours bags (thank goodness), received our convertible (no problems), and checked in easily at the Hyatt and got lei'd! We ended our night with a complimentary bottle of champagne at the hotel's Cascades Grill and Sushi Bar Restaurant.
Day 2:  Sleep in and enjoy our first included breakfast buffet at Sonz at Swan Court followed by splurging at the spa, jet skiing before the whale's arrived, a dip in the pool, and a Cheeseburger in Paradise at the end.
Day 3:  Wake up early to a self guided downhill bike down the dormant volcano, Haleakala thanks to the Haleakala Bike Co.  Enjoyed Leilani's Mai Tai's and Hula Pie and then went to eat at the Lahaina
Day 4:  Wake up early again but this time to explore West Maui and Moloka'i via a 4 passenger doors-off helicopter ride.  Ending the day with the Old Lahaina Luau.
Day 5:  Another early awakening to drive the Road to Hana and see loads of waterfalls, red and black sand beaches, and a heavenly winding highway.  Dinner was at the hotel's Umalu bar and restaurant.
Day 6:  Sleeping in on our last full day was a must.  We enjoyed the beach and did a bit of pretty good snorkeling at Black Rock.  Sansei was our dinner option that evening, and the last dinner we'd have on the island this trip.  Our very last splurge included a decadent chocolate cake ala mode and enjoying some Napa Valley sparkling wine to wrap up the night.
Day 7:  We woke up at a decent time in order to check out and make it the Mama's Fish House in Paia for an amazing last meal in Maui.  Depart Maui (on time, go figure) and sadly return home :-/   But the memories are forever!

Since the honeymoon, I had been home a while taking care of currency items (to ensure I am up to date on items such as night vision goggle assault landings) and the hubby has FINALLY completed FTU.... YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!  He will be heading on his first trip tomorrow afternoon.. and is stressing about what to pack just like I did (and still do to an extent now).  I am currently at McGuire AFB enjoying the fact that I am so close to great friends and am so close to what I've always known to be HOME!  Tomorrow I am planning on heading up to Manhattan (I was seriously considering stopping by my high school too - but probably won't have the time) and enjoying home again.

Until we meet again...