At the prodding of several friends, and the tongue lashing I took from Carla for failing to capture anything I did in Iraq in 2007-2008, I've decided to keep a blog for this year. Obviously, I borrowed the title from a famous film.
Travels:
In my experience the coming and going to a new assignment is always the worst part--particularly the going. Due to my lack of specificity, the travel folks arranged for me to depart from Dulles Airport rather than BWI. Dulles is about 60 miles from our home in Severna Park and it took us about 2.5 hours to drive from home to the airport around the beltway. BWI on the other hand is about 10-15 minutes away. Fortunately, some worldly people such as my uncle, Tom Bateman, and neighbor, Dave Vincent, suggested I leave my house plenty early to arrive at Dulles very early due to the heavy traffic we would likely encounter along the way. Carla, Cody, and I decided to leave the house at 2pm on Friday, September 9, 2011, after I did a final walk around and said good-bye to our dog Hunter (Bree stayed at school and didn't want to go).
My flight wasn't departing until 10pm so we decided to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and get some dinner. We arrived at the museum with about 45 minutes to walk around before closing. We walked Cody around and looked at the space shuttle and some other aircraft. Of course, Cody was more concerned with getting something from the gift shop. How could I say no considering I was getting ready to leave him for 365 days? We bought him a model space shuttle and some moon sand. During our visit to the gift shop the museum closed and we left to find some dinner.
We found a Longhorn Steakhouse and that is where Carla wanted to eat. At about this time my stomach was doing cartwheels. I realized this would be the last time I would share a meal with my family for several months. When the waitress came to take our order I ordered a cup of french onion soup and an ice water--I took two bites of the soup. I told Carla I wasn't feeling very well. In fact, I had to get up and go to the bathroom where I promptly got sick! Unbeknownst to me, Cody had followed me into the bathroom, went into the adjacent stall, got on the floor, and climbed under and grabbed my leg. It scared the heck out of me and I'm sure I jumped 5 feet in the air. Cody thought this was hilarious. After a trip to the sink, Cody and I made our way back to the table and finished dinner with Carla. Following dinner, we made a trip to CVS to get something to settle my stomach. As an aside, I was not this physically distressed when I left for Iraq in 2007 and I was going into a team where two of our guys had been killed in the prior month to my arrival!
We made it to the airport and said a very teary and sad good-bye. I think Cody took it the hardest. Then I went inside and got checked in. Of course, when I got to security I got pulled out of line and got a "special" check of my person--lucky me. About the time I got to the gate my stomach actually felt a lot better. Unfortunately, when I got to the gate the representative from the airline said the plane was having mechanical issues and we might not depart on time. Seeing as we were flying trans-Atlantic, a properly functioning plane was pretty important I thought! After two hours of sitting at the gate and wondering if we were going or staying, the flight was cancelled and there were no further flights until the next day. Great! After a gut wrenching day this was just what I needed, and it got better because I realized I got to do it all over again the next day!
Since the flight was completely full (125 passengers) we had to return to the departure area of the airport for assistance in rebooking. It was almost 11pm at this point. Seeing as I didn't want to be last out of 125 people to see the 8-10 booking agents, I started sprinting through the airport! After 10 minutes of running, escalators, and a subway ride, I was first to the desk. Between heavy breathing from running through the airport, I told the lady helping me I didn't care when the new flight took off, but it had to be out of BWI--I wasn't doing another 2.5 hour car ride to go 60 miles. About this time I called Carla and told her my flight had been cancelled. I considered getting a hotel or getting a taxi. I decided against the hotel as I wanted to spend every minute with the family that I could. Carla was convinced no taxi would take me to Severna Park from Dulles. So, about the time she pulled in the driveway at home, and dealt with Cody having a pee-pee accident due to the stress of the good-bye, she had to turn around and drive the 60 miles to come back and get me. Yes, I know that I have the BEST wife any man could ever hope for. I got my flight all sorted out and got booked out of BWI for the next evening--thank goodness! I waited for a while at the curb and Carla eventually found me. I jumped in the driver's seat and drove the 60 miles back to the house I had left 8 hours earlier. We put 240 miles on Carla's Expedition for me to throw up, Cody to pee himself, and all of us to shed some tears.
The next day I woke up and tried to stay busy because my flight was not until the evening. Cody and I mowed the yard together, played some Wii, and just kept a low profile. I did not want to run into any neighbors and have to explain why I was still home multiple times. Fortunately, Chris Hutcheson stopped by the house to see Carla and I was able to say good-bye to her. She was tied up the day before and I did not have an opportunity to say bye. At about 4pm we loaded up in the car after I said good bye to Bree and Hunter--again--and set out for BWI. My stomach was doing some flips, but only slightly. I was too agitated about missing the prior night's flight to have as strong of a physical reaction as I did the day prior. Moreover, the guy I was replacing in Saudi Arabia was waiting for me to arrive so he could depart for home to see his family. I breezed through the check-in and security at BWI, the plane boarded on time, and I finally departed my beloved USA...
The flight from BWI to Frankfurt was fairly comfortable, except the woman sitting next to me blew her nose every 10 minutes. It was not quiet or subtle, in fact it sounded like a fog horn! I tried to sleep several times only to awaken by her frequent nose blowing! Further, I was in the middle seat in a row of three and I was almost climbing into the lap of the woman sitting on the other side of me (away from nose blower) in an effort to avoid germs and contracting whatever nose blower was dispersing all over the plane (fortunately, I haven't gotten sick!). I finally made it to Frankfurt after eight hours a little jet lagged, but safe and sound nonetheless. I had a four hour lay over before the next leg from Frankfurt to Riyadh. After walking around, dosing off, and reading, the flight finally boarded. The plane was only partially full and I had a row to myself! No nose blowers.
The plane finally touched down in Riyadh at around 9pm local. I was dreading trying to navigate the immigration lines, find my luggage, and my ride! To my great surprise, two of my guys and our senior translator were waiting for me as I came up the ramp with a representative of one of the Saudi Princes (there are hundreds of Princes). They whisked me to the VIP section of the airport and I breezed through immigration in mere minutes. My guys grabbed my bags (they all made it!) and escorted me to one of our SUVs waiting curbside to head to our compound. Being the new commander in town has its perks apparently!
I travelled half way around the world and was tired, hungry, and in desperate need of a shower. However, I think I left a piece of my heart on the curb at Dulles 48 hours prior. I've been in stressful situations before, but I've never had a physical reaction like the one I had the first night I was supposed to leave. I hope this next 12 months goes fast because I already miss my family.
Keep checking in, more to come....
Travels:
In my experience the coming and going to a new assignment is always the worst part--particularly the going. Due to my lack of specificity, the travel folks arranged for me to depart from Dulles Airport rather than BWI. Dulles is about 60 miles from our home in Severna Park and it took us about 2.5 hours to drive from home to the airport around the beltway. BWI on the other hand is about 10-15 minutes away. Fortunately, some worldly people such as my uncle, Tom Bateman, and neighbor, Dave Vincent, suggested I leave my house plenty early to arrive at Dulles very early due to the heavy traffic we would likely encounter along the way. Carla, Cody, and I decided to leave the house at 2pm on Friday, September 9, 2011, after I did a final walk around and said good-bye to our dog Hunter (Bree stayed at school and didn't want to go).
My flight wasn't departing until 10pm so we decided to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and get some dinner. We arrived at the museum with about 45 minutes to walk around before closing. We walked Cody around and looked at the space shuttle and some other aircraft. Of course, Cody was more concerned with getting something from the gift shop. How could I say no considering I was getting ready to leave him for 365 days? We bought him a model space shuttle and some moon sand. During our visit to the gift shop the museum closed and we left to find some dinner.
We found a Longhorn Steakhouse and that is where Carla wanted to eat. At about this time my stomach was doing cartwheels. I realized this would be the last time I would share a meal with my family for several months. When the waitress came to take our order I ordered a cup of french onion soup and an ice water--I took two bites of the soup. I told Carla I wasn't feeling very well. In fact, I had to get up and go to the bathroom where I promptly got sick! Unbeknownst to me, Cody had followed me into the bathroom, went into the adjacent stall, got on the floor, and climbed under and grabbed my leg. It scared the heck out of me and I'm sure I jumped 5 feet in the air. Cody thought this was hilarious. After a trip to the sink, Cody and I made our way back to the table and finished dinner with Carla. Following dinner, we made a trip to CVS to get something to settle my stomach. As an aside, I was not this physically distressed when I left for Iraq in 2007 and I was going into a team where two of our guys had been killed in the prior month to my arrival!
We made it to the airport and said a very teary and sad good-bye. I think Cody took it the hardest. Then I went inside and got checked in. Of course, when I got to security I got pulled out of line and got a "special" check of my person--lucky me. About the time I got to the gate my stomach actually felt a lot better. Unfortunately, when I got to the gate the representative from the airline said the plane was having mechanical issues and we might not depart on time. Seeing as we were flying trans-Atlantic, a properly functioning plane was pretty important I thought! After two hours of sitting at the gate and wondering if we were going or staying, the flight was cancelled and there were no further flights until the next day. Great! After a gut wrenching day this was just what I needed, and it got better because I realized I got to do it all over again the next day!
Since the flight was completely full (125 passengers) we had to return to the departure area of the airport for assistance in rebooking. It was almost 11pm at this point. Seeing as I didn't want to be last out of 125 people to see the 8-10 booking agents, I started sprinting through the airport! After 10 minutes of running, escalators, and a subway ride, I was first to the desk. Between heavy breathing from running through the airport, I told the lady helping me I didn't care when the new flight took off, but it had to be out of BWI--I wasn't doing another 2.5 hour car ride to go 60 miles. About this time I called Carla and told her my flight had been cancelled. I considered getting a hotel or getting a taxi. I decided against the hotel as I wanted to spend every minute with the family that I could. Carla was convinced no taxi would take me to Severna Park from Dulles. So, about the time she pulled in the driveway at home, and dealt with Cody having a pee-pee accident due to the stress of the good-bye, she had to turn around and drive the 60 miles to come back and get me. Yes, I know that I have the BEST wife any man could ever hope for. I got my flight all sorted out and got booked out of BWI for the next evening--thank goodness! I waited for a while at the curb and Carla eventually found me. I jumped in the driver's seat and drove the 60 miles back to the house I had left 8 hours earlier. We put 240 miles on Carla's Expedition for me to throw up, Cody to pee himself, and all of us to shed some tears.
The next day I woke up and tried to stay busy because my flight was not until the evening. Cody and I mowed the yard together, played some Wii, and just kept a low profile. I did not want to run into any neighbors and have to explain why I was still home multiple times. Fortunately, Chris Hutcheson stopped by the house to see Carla and I was able to say good-bye to her. She was tied up the day before and I did not have an opportunity to say bye. At about 4pm we loaded up in the car after I said good bye to Bree and Hunter--again--and set out for BWI. My stomach was doing some flips, but only slightly. I was too agitated about missing the prior night's flight to have as strong of a physical reaction as I did the day prior. Moreover, the guy I was replacing in Saudi Arabia was waiting for me to arrive so he could depart for home to see his family. I breezed through the check-in and security at BWI, the plane boarded on time, and I finally departed my beloved USA...
The flight from BWI to Frankfurt was fairly comfortable, except the woman sitting next to me blew her nose every 10 minutes. It was not quiet or subtle, in fact it sounded like a fog horn! I tried to sleep several times only to awaken by her frequent nose blowing! Further, I was in the middle seat in a row of three and I was almost climbing into the lap of the woman sitting on the other side of me (away from nose blower) in an effort to avoid germs and contracting whatever nose blower was dispersing all over the plane (fortunately, I haven't gotten sick!). I finally made it to Frankfurt after eight hours a little jet lagged, but safe and sound nonetheless. I had a four hour lay over before the next leg from Frankfurt to Riyadh. After walking around, dosing off, and reading, the flight finally boarded. The plane was only partially full and I had a row to myself! No nose blowers.
The plane finally touched down in Riyadh at around 9pm local. I was dreading trying to navigate the immigration lines, find my luggage, and my ride! To my great surprise, two of my guys and our senior translator were waiting for me as I came up the ramp with a representative of one of the Saudi Princes (there are hundreds of Princes). They whisked me to the VIP section of the airport and I breezed through immigration in mere minutes. My guys grabbed my bags (they all made it!) and escorted me to one of our SUVs waiting curbside to head to our compound. Being the new commander in town has its perks apparently!
I travelled half way around the world and was tired, hungry, and in desperate need of a shower. However, I think I left a piece of my heart on the curb at Dulles 48 hours prior. I've been in stressful situations before, but I've never had a physical reaction like the one I had the first night I was supposed to leave. I hope this next 12 months goes fast because I already miss my family.
Keep checking in, more to come....
