And... We're Off!

So flying has always been tons of fun to me. I love the idea of being on the way somewhere, sort of in limbo with no responsibilities that I can really tend to at the moment. I always love picking out which books and magazines to bring, drinking ginger ale, and zoning out, not really talking to anyone (I hate chatty plane neighbors!), and generally relaxing.

And then I had kids!!!! Traveling has become something entirely different since they came along, to say the least. Needless to say, planning this plane trip has been a logistical nightmare, and the thought of actually entertaining them and/or forcing them to sit in one place for 10+ hours was sending me into a frenzy of anxiety, complete with marathon nail biting and eye twitching. After debating it for about 2 seconds, I decided to bring not only drugs, but also about 9 million DVD's, books, and other toys, including small, wrapped packages given to me by a friend for them to open when things started to get really scary. I felt that I was as prepared as I could possibly be, but also that I could never actually prepare for such an undertaking.

And so, the day started at 3 AM (!) because we were flying an AMC (military flight) out of Seattle. One of the military's many annoying qualities is that they think you need to show up places about 17 hours before you actually need to be there. So we were supposed to show up at 5 AM for an 8 AM flight (with lots of warnings about not getting on the flight if you fail to get there on time, naturally). Anyway, by the time 8 AM rolled around, we had made about 12 trips to the bathroom, drank 50 cups of coffee, and dealt with Jackson's decision to sit down on the floor and not get up while we tried to get through security. We were already DONE.

Fortunately what this meant was that, with a little help from the medicine cabinet, all 4 of us slept for the first 4.5 hours of the flight. The rest was spent eating, walking back and forth to the bathroom, and entertaining the boys. But they did so much better than I could have ever hoped. They really managed well. Of course by the time we actually checked into the Navy lodge, they were about to kill themselves and each other, but at least by then we could just throw them into bed and let them sleep it off.

Today (is it really just our first full day here???) has been a flurry of exploring the base, trying to buy a car from the lemon lot (most people who get stationed here just buy very, very, very used cars and drive them till they leave, at which point they sell them to someone else just arriving), and trying to get cell phones (a whole entry in itself, to be dealt with later, after the trauma of that has worn off).

And finally, here is something new I discovered over the last 2 days: they drive on the other side of the road in Japan. WHAAAAAAAT?! I have no idea how I am going to get used to this, and also can't even begin to address it right now. For now, check it out:

OY!