Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Friday, August 26, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Monday, August 22, 2005
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Las Vegas, NV (USA)
[checked out of the Renaissance Las Vegas at 1200 and headed to the airport - flew (with Scott) back to Atlanta]
Friday, August 19, 2005
Las Vegas, NV (USA)
[flew with Scott E. (RON in Las Vegas) - got a room at the Renaissance Las Vegas (checked in at 1340) - after dropping bags in the room, found the Monorail (1415) and used it to explore the Strip - trying to stay cool - got ice cream at Cocolini in The Venetian Resort (1715) - took Monorail back in the direction of the hotel (1800)]
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Marietta, GA (USA)
Arrived (after flying all night and multiple time changes) at NAS Atlanta at around 0800L. Mission completed - whew! [Once all our paperwork was done, I was given permission to return to the BOQ (for another night as a geographic bachelor) and got a much needed nap.]
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Vacaville (USA)
After a relatively easy flight from Hawaii to the US Mainland, we landed in California (Travis AFB) at around midnight. Once refueled, we continued east (still flying at the "new" midnight).
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Oahu, HI (USA)
I had a pretty good sleep last night and would have rested longer - unfortunately, we couldn't get a late check out from the Outrigger Reef. Instead, I left my bags with the Concierge (1125) and went exploring. Ate breakfast (grilled chicken club meal with "Fresh Hawaiian Pineapple Chunks") at a little restaurant (located near 2164 Kalia Rd) and was finished at 1220. I then walked along the beach and investigated a nearby shopping district. Overall, it was another nice day in Hawaii!! After returning to the Outrigger Reef and meeting my crew, we headed back to Hickam AFB. We departed Honolulu in the late afternoon and flew east through the night...
Monday, August 15, 2005
Wake Island (USA)
Checked out of the CBH at 0420 and left NAF Atsugi soon afterwards. The schedulers back home had set us up at the Grand Plaza Hotel (at Tumon Bay) in Guam for the night but everyone decided they'd rather go back to Hawaii for our last RON (I had to file a claim because of the missed reservation). In addition, our hope was that we could get to Wake Island before the sun went down. Everything went as planned and, after a good flight from Japan, we had another good stop on the little sand-bar island. Today I had time to walk around near the waterfront along the tarmac - there were still some World War II remains visible... We departed just before the sun went down and, after crossing the International Date Line, repeated August 15. We arrived in Honolulu around 0700L (felt VERY tired) and checked into the Outrigger Reef. I took a nap for several hours. Later, an old friend from our squadron, Tom B, picked us up at the hotel and drove us around the island. He showed us his new home - located on a hill overlooking Waikiki - and we congratulated him on his good fortune. Met up with the crew again for dinner at Duke's - it's always a nice venue. Flying back to CONUS tomorrow...
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Friday, August 12, 2005
Labuan (Malaysia)
Fortunately, the smoke had cleared somewhat when we woke up this morning. After checking out of the Sheraton Subang and getting a ride back to the Kuala Lampur airport, we flew east to the island of Borneo. Our destination was an airport in Labuan - on the way, we saw the country of Brunei and some beautiful beaches. It looks like a nice place to vacation... After coordinating with our passengers and cargo, we took off again and headed east towards the Philippines. We saw some huge thunderstorms on the way (shudder)... Approaching the Philippines, I was relieved to find that the weather wasn't as bad as yesterday. We still couldn't see the mountains, though... After our busy day in the air, we arrived in Angeles City the late evening. The sun was just setting and it was nice to get a break for a bit between mission legs. We even had a chance to pick up some great lumpia and fried rice before departing - really tasty! Our flight back to NAF Atsugi was relatively uneventful and it felt good to reach my rack in the CBH after getting finished with all the post-flight paperwork. Interesting trip!
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
We checked out of the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa at 0655 and headed to the airport. Our mission today consisted of a flight to the Philippines. Our planned stop there was at an airport in the central area of Luzon. It was hard to see, since the haze was bad - we had an interesting time getting in because there was no radar... Not many people were around when we landed but, fortunately, we still had a quick turn. After departing Angeles City in Luzon, we flew west towards Malaysia. We had a different destination in mind but, with huge forest fires in Indonesia obscuring our landing site, we were emergency diverted by the Vietnamese controllers to Kuala Lumpur. After we were on the ground, I didn't get to see much because we were taken straight to the hotel (Sheraton Subang Hotel and Towers). Our lodging was very nice but the air was extremely smoky - visibility was horrible. We'll have to see what happens with the flight plan tomorrow...
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Guam (USA)
We got our first mission today! Our itinerary took us from NAF Atsugi down to Andersen AFB in Guam and we had a great flight. After landing, we got a ride to the Hilton Guam Resort and Spa - this was my first visit there and it quite a nice place for relaxation! I was the only one of our group that hung around the property for the Luau (started at 1900). The dinner was mostly light fare (they called it "BBW Walk-in Adult") but there was free-flowing beer. As it got dark, the Fire Dancers came out to entertain us. I had a great seat and the show lasted for several hours. Most everyone else in attendance was from China and Japan. I've always wanted to see something this - very glad I hung out here tonight!
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Monday, August 8, 2005
Wake Island (USA)
After a decent sleep, we checked out of the Outrigger Reef (1200L) and headed to the airport so we could continue our journey to the west. Like we often do, our itinerary took us through Wake Island again. The airport had been closed for a long time so they could resurface the runway - it looked good! Our crew got Thai box lunches again - it's nice how things don't change quickly in the "relaxed" Pacific... After another relatively uneventful flight, arrived in Japan in the early evening. We'll be doing some missions in the area for about a week so I got one of the nice rooms at the CBH on NAF Atsugi. Met up with the crew for dinner and then crashed.
Sunday, August 7, 2005
Honolulu, HI (USA)
I found out about a pop up opportunity to go to Japan! This morning, we got an early start on our way west from Atlanta. It was a nice trip to the west coast again - there was great weather near San Francisco. After our fuel stop, we had a good flight to the Hawaiian Islands and arrived in Honolulu late in the afternoon. Our reservations were at the Outrigger Reef again, but they didn't have our rooms set up correctly - this led to some major delays. The other pilots went golfing while I stayed behind to take care of everyone else... Finally got into a room after dinner - thank goodness. After getting changed, I walked down to Duke's for a drink. The weather here never gets me down!
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Friday, August 5, 2005
Greenville, SC (USA)
[(date uncertain) drove from Atlanta to Greenville - worked all day - two flights (FCF) with Will]
Thursday, August 4, 2005
Marietta, GA (USA)
[after spending the night in the Crowne Plaza in Greenville (SC), we headed back to Donaldson Center (airfield) so we could check on our jet - it was ready to go very early and we got in the air immediately (I returned the rental car by 0805) - once back at NAS Atlanta, I spent a normal day at the squadron - since I'm now completely a geographic bachelor, I asked for permission to stay on base until the end of my current orders - this was approved and I checked back into the BOQ at 2145]
Wednesday, August 3, 2005
Greenville, SC (USA)
[I checked out of the NAS BOQ (paid for last three days at 0715) and flew one of our jets up to Greenville (Donaldson Center), SC - it was a short flight and we were one deck before 0830 - the trip was intended to allow some modifications to be made to our avionics - fortunately, we were given a rental car (from Enterprise) and this allowed us to drive back and forth to our hotel (Crowne Plaza on Congaree Road)]
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Monday, August 1, 2005
Marietta, GA (USA)
[after saying goodbye to the Nicky and the kids (they were driving to Hampton Roads), I drove to work at NAS Atlanta - spent the day in the office - in the evening, checked into the the NAS BOQ]
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