Grand Adventure

The summer of 2012 was the summer of our “Grand Adventure”. The kids were 17, 14 and 12 and we wanted to do something different. We liked to travel and see new places, and had done many road trips over the years, going as far as Canada to see Niagara Falls. The kids had also been to Jamaica a few times to visit with family. Airfare for a family of 5 to go anywhere was expensive. We wanted our kids to experience the world, but had to do it on a budget. For the first time we decided to take advantage of the “military hop” as a family to go somewhere different and experience something new. My husband, Tex, was retired from the Navy, and we had the privilege to hitch a ride on a military plane if there was room (i.e. the military hop). It was like flying standby. Except you are waiting for days and there is low probability and really no guarantee you can get on; retirees and their dependents (our family status at the time) were always at the bottom of the priority list. Getting 5 seats was also a challenge. To get on the waiting list for travel each day, you had to arrive at the air terminal really early in the morning (like 4 a.m. early). Everyone had to be present. And you would sit and wait to see if you got a spot on the plane, usually not knowing until about a half an hour prior to departure. We spent all day, waiting around in the air terminal on the Norfolk base, hoping to get on a flight. The kids were on summer break, but my vacation time was limited and we had to set a time limit on how many days we could wait before calling it quits. We had 3 days to get a flight.

On the last day, things were starting to look hopeful. There was a flight to California, and it looked like there would be room. Finally! The kids had never been to the West Coast. We were so excited. But at the last minute, a group of young people showed up in the terminal, and our hopes of getting on the flight were dashed to pieces. There were maybe 20 Midshipmen in the group, all in their Naval Academy gear. The kids and I looked at Tex and asked who were these young people anyway, showing up and bumping us from our spot on the flight?!?!. He explained that they were Midshipmen and we got our first lesson on military academies. I didn’t dwell on it too much. I was focused on the fact that this was our last day to catch a flight before we had to give up on our plan for a grand adventure this summer.

Tex, the optimist, had the brilliant idea that we should drive from Norfolk to Jacksonville, FL because there was a scheduled flight leaving NAS Jax later that day. We had nothing to lose. If we got on the flight, we would be able to spend a few days in California. If we didn’t get on the flight, we would drive to South Florida and hang out with our relatives for a few days. So, at 5:30 a.m. as the flight to California with the Midshipmen took off from the Norfolk terminal without us, we took off in our minivan bound for the Navy base in Jacksonville, FL. Tex’s hunch paid off. We made it to Jacksonville and we got on the flight to California. We landed in San Diego, preparing to experience fun in the sun, West Coast style. But, as we were leaving the terminal, we learned that there was a flight leaving for Hawaii, and there were 5 seats open. We miraculously got on that flight to Hawaii and our grand adventure began.

We enjoyed the island paradise for a few days, cruising around Oahu in a rented Dodge Charger, visiting the beaches, playing tititorea at the Polynesian Cultural Center, enjoying sno-cones at Island Snow and drinking coconut water straight from the coconut. Then it was time to start working our way back to the east coast. My vacation days were almost all gone. We started the process again…showing up at the air terminal on the base early in the morning, waiting and hoping for a flight back. We didn’t have too much time to wait, so we took the first flight that we could get back to the mainland. It wasn’t a flight to San Diego. It was a flight into Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. And it wasn’t on a passenger plane, but on a C17 cargo plane, loaded with cargo. We sat in jump seats along the perimeter of the plane, with huge cargo pallets that loomed from ground to ceiling, 12 inches from our feet. But we were grateful to get on. When we got to Travis, we rented a car and drove to San Diego, passing over the Golden Gate bridge. We didn’t spend much time in California but we at least got to see the scenery in the 8 hours, 500+ miles trek on I5 south to the Navy base in San Diego where we got on the first plane that was heading to the east coast. That flight took us to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. We rented a car and drove 5 hours home to Virginia Beach. Our minivan was still in Jacksonville, FL, so Tex later took a military hop to Jacksonville to get it.

We got our grand adventure that summer. What we didn’t know at the time was that it was our last summer with all 3 kids at home because Alexia would spend the next summer in boot camp at the United States Air Force Academy.

When our plans don’t work out exactly the way we want them to we can get discouraged and give up, or we can choose to try something different. Our grand adventure of 2012 didn’t happen quite the way we thought it would. But we can look back fondly on our trip and treasure the memories. Even the long hours spent in the terminal waiting for a flight were not wasted. We binge watched shows like Downton Abbey to pass the time. The kids played video games. We found ways to bond. We were in it together. I realize in hindsight that the grand adventure was not about the destination but about spending time with my family which is a rare gift these day with all 3 kids now in the military. Wherever we ended up that summer would have been grand, because we were together.