San Antonio, TX (USA)

[Detachment to El Centro] Woke up early this morning for our flight out to El Centro (CA). Waited for nearly five hours for the fog to lift - it never did. Our boss was pacing the room for hours trying to get us to leave. However, the rules are written for our students to ensure we don't fly in this kind of weather... Finally, after it was clear we wouldn't get there by tonight (the original plan), he gave us the green light to leave - for any destination that would get us to California by tomorrow night. I decided to go with an exchange pilot (from Venezuela) and we figured out that the weather was nice down in New Orleans (and as far as San Antonio) - we got permission to fly our students down there so they could fly their training missions. Got there around 1600, got gas and left pretty quickly. Arrived in San Antonio just as the sun was setting. We flew into Kelly Air Force Base, a place I figured we could easily get lodging.  Unfortunately, this plan immediately hit a snag: it turned out that they were in the process of closing down and all lodging was restricted to "needs of the Air Force."  Luckily, they were very nice and found some rooms for us at the Kelly Inn (Air Force Inns).  In true "Chair Force" style, they also welcomed us to their bar, "The Kelly Club", which was still open nearby (despite the BRAC process). Had a few drinks (finished by 1900L) and then I called my cousin, Andy. He drove over to pick me up and then he took me over to his place (he also drove me by his work). I'm glad I ended up In San Antonio - an unexpected surprise...