After nearly five weeks of annual home leave it's now time to get back to my little island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But first a brief, yet detailed synopsis of my vacation.
Most of my time was spent in broiling hot Las Vegas, where 100+ degree temperatures (and one week in the low 110s) were the norm. I generally avoid traveling out in that neck of the woods in the middle of summer but since I have family there and I had to make my Nevada residency legal by obtaining a driver's license, registering my car and registering to vote, I didn't have much choice in the matter. After nearly a year cooped up in an island, it was at first difficult to get used to seeing cars and traffic all over the place. Likewise, the dizzying array of food and shopping choices were a little much at first; compared to the limited food selection on Kwaj it was a cornucopia of all kinds of chow I missed while out in the Pacific. In-n-Out Burger, Carl's Jr., Memphis Championship Bar-B-Q, and more than a few 'local' restaurants well known for their food. Never thought I'd say it, but a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonald's was pretty tasty! (All we have is Burger King on Kwaj.)
Midway through home leave we departed for Fort Lauderdale, Florida to take part in North Miami Senior High's Rockin 80's-90s class reunion. This was a multi-year class reunion that encompassed the class years from 1979 through 1992. During that weekend, we toured the new North Miami Senior High School (which opened for business in 2009) and made a farewell walk-through of our old high school building (it is scheduled to be demolished this fall after nearly 60 years serving the community) Even had lunch at one of the lunch hangouts popular when we were students. (It's still in business, and the pizza and garlic rolls were to die for!) The reunion evenings were fun and most of us got a chance to get together and reminesce about times past and what we were doing today. If they offered a prize for the one who traveled the farthest to attend the reunion, I would have won it hands down - 7200 miles from Kwajalein to Fort Lauderdale - but since I was part of the reunion staff I took myself out of the running. (There really was no prize, just bragging rights,)
The air travel between Las Vegas and Fort Lauderdale (and back) I wasn't too thrilled about; and I'm usually a big fan of air travel. We flew nonstop on ultra-low fare Spirit Airlines. Sure, the fares are cheap, but once you add all the fees for checked bags, seat selection and even a 'big front seat' there really wasn't much difference in price than flying a legacy airline like Continental or United. The former chairman of Continental, Gordon Bethune once said "You can make a pizza so cheap, no one will eat it." Sure, I may pay for checked bags and food on legacy carriers these days but I probably won't ever fly Spirit Airlines again. (And as you can see, I didn't bother with the flight details like my previous blog entry; but for those who want to know, both flights were on an Airbus A319-132, N514NK (LAS-FLL) and N524NK (FLL-LAS), both still in the older silver and blue-square color scheme of Spirit Airlines.
02 AUG 10 - UAL 567 LAS-SFO Boeing 757-222 N598UA
IFR clearance: LAS SHEAD6.OAL MOD3.SFO (Decoded: Departing LAS on the SHEAD6 standard instrument departure via the Coaldale, Nevada VOR transition, then into the Modesto 3 arrival procedure into San Francisco International.)
After an uneventful check-in (bought the Premier Line upgrade) we departed LAS on 25R on a clear, hot day. The ever-present marine layer fog in SFO caused a brief delay taking off but it began burning off by the time we got our vectors to final on SFO 28R. This particular 757 hasn't had the winglets installed yet, but it was painted in the new colors. Channel 9 (air to ground transmissions from the flight deck, a feature on most United flights) on the flight.
02 AUG 10 - UAL 297 SFO-HNL Boeing 777-222 N214UA
IFR clearance: SFO CINNY ALANN DADIE R576 DENNS MAGGI3.HNL (Decoded: Departing San Francisco via reporting points CINNY, ALANN, DADIE on airway R576, then to the DENNS transition into the MAGGI3 arrival for Honolulu International.)
Almost an hour and a half layover in SFO, so bought a one-time pass for the Red Carpet Club and kicked back until it was time for the flight to be called. Also had Premier line and paid for an Economy + upgrade ($69 SFO-HNL). Long taxi to SFO 28R, then takeoff due west over South San Francisco. Much of the city was still covered by the marine layer; only the top of the Sutro Tower was visible. Before long we were over a cloudy and empty Pacific Ocean. Five hours later, we approached O'ahu just south of Kane'ohe and passed over Waikiki as we lined up for the approach to HNL 4R. Flew right over a couple of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers leaving Pearl Harbor. Channel 9 on the flight, though mostly for the end of the flight.
I spent three full days and four nights in Hono enjoying the sights and playing malihini (Hawaiian for newcomer; synonymous with 'tourist') Climbed up the steep trail and 282 steps (both up and down) Diamond Head for a beautiful view of most of Honolulu from Koko Head to the airport. Of course, no first-time tour of Honolulu is complete without a tour of the USS Missouri and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. A very enlightening experience.
The hotel was average; it was a little old and needed a good remodeling, but I couldn't beat the price or the location - the western end of Waikiki by the Ala Moana shopping center. Didn't really need a car, though there were some areas I would have liked to have gone off the beaten path. especially some of the 'local kine grinds' places favorably reviewed on The Tasty Island food blog.
Friday/Saturday 06/07 AUG 2010
Continental Micronesia 957 HNL-MAJ-KWA (Boeing 737-824W N13227)
IFR Clearance: OPIHI2 OPIHI CHOKO R584 MANRE R584 MAZZA MAJ (HNL-MAJ) direct via OREEO (MAJ-KWA) (Decoded: depart Honolulu on the OPIHI2 standard instrument departure via the CHOKO transition, then on airway R584 via reporting points MANRE and MAZZA before arriving in Majuro, Marshall Islands. The flight from Majuro to Kwajalein was a direct routing passing through reporting point OREEO.)
Up at o-dark-thirty to check out of the hotel and get picked up by the airport shuttle to Honolulu International Airport. After check-in and the usual indignities going through the security checkpoint, I schlepped over to the Diamond Head concourse and Gate 10, where the flight was waiting.
An uneventful departure off HNL runway 8L (most times takeoffs are on the reef runway, 8R) and we made the right hand turn for the OPIHI2 departure. The Wai'anae coast of O'ahu appeared in the distance and then disappeared into the clouds; from that point on, it's featureless Pacific Ocean (though on occasion the flight path takes us by now-closed Johnston Island). Closed the window shade and tried to sleep.
Breakfast was then served (nothing to write home about, though I had some malasadas and andagi (Okinawan fried dough balls) I bought from Zippy's last night as a backup in my carry-on. Nearly five hours later, landed in Majuro. Got off the airplane and stayed in the transit lounge until the security sweep was completed, then reboarded the aircraft.
Took off on MAJ Runway 7 for the final leg to Kwajalein. Plenty of clouds and rain, since it's the high part of the rainy season there. Finally saw my island home in the distance and made a long approach into KWA Runway 6. Disembarked for the last time and proceeded into the terminal to clear the usual island entry procedures. Back into my cage until the next time I take some vacation.
After five weeks of high-speed internet, plenty of food choices, current TV with commercials instead of old TV shows with military PSAs, I was already experiencing the 'island letdown': [sarcasm]Welcome back to the world of slower-than-molasses internet, crummy TV programming and iffy mail and supply shipments. [/sarcasm] (I forgot to add the 'sarcasm' tags and got promptly rebuked by a fellow Kwaj resident on Facebook, so I had to quickly explain myself.)
In just a few days I will reach the halfway point: one more year left on my two-year contract; I still haven't decided whether to extend or PCS at the end of the tour. If I extend, it may be for one more year or continue on a rolling 90-day contract. Let's see what happens in the next few months.
0 comments:
Post a Comment