Mahalo Oahu!!!

Reggie and Elyce in Hanauma Bay, Hawaii

Space available travel (aka Space-A) with the Air Mobility Command (AMC but pronounced "Mac"?) is one of the perks of being affiliated with the military. It allows you to travel wherever the military happens to be traveling to for free as long as there is 'space available'. Well, Elyce was scheduled to travel to Guam and Hawaii for work and I decided that I would take some time off as well so that we could mix in a little vacation in between her work assignments. The plan was for me to meet her in Hawaii and we would vacation over the weekend and then she could do her work with the USO later in the week. My plan was to try and save a few bucks by taking a Space-A flight to Hickam Air Force Base which is on Oahu, just a few miles west of Honolulu. Well, apparently I wasn't the only one. When I got to the terminal there must have been over a hundred people trying to get on this one flight that had 10 available seats!
Everyone is ranked according to when they signed up and and their level of priority. Since I've been on the island for less than six months my priority level was lower than those who have been here on Okinawa longer. But I was however, a level higher than military dependents flying without their sponsor! To make a long story short, after two attempts at getting on a Space-A flight I decided to buy a last minute ticket to Hawaii and left the next morning. However the story doesn't end there. In order for Elyce to get to Hawaii from Guam, she has to fly back to Tokyo to transfer to Honolulu. Elyce and I actually arrive in Tokyo around the same time and we both have a long layover. So I took the shuttle to her terminal and we had lunch. After about a 4 or 5 hour layover it's time for us to board our respective flights. As my flight is boarding I get a text message from Elyce, her flight has been canceled due to "mechanical problems". As bad as I felt leaving Japan and knowing that Elyce had to spend the night in some random hotel along with 200 other frustrated people, I had to board my flight. When I arrive in Hawaii I get an email from Elyce of her new itinerary. She should arrive in Honolulu early the next day. So I get the rental car, check into the hotel and get some rest after a long and very uncomfortable flight (thanks to an older Japanese lady who apparently was flying for the first time and was very excited about it). After being in the hotel for a few hours I get a memo from the front desk...Elyce's flight has been canceled again! So, Elyce just buys another ticket and arrives in Honolulu only a few hours later than she expected. So getting to Hawaii, wasn't the simplest travel we've ever done but it was a great vacation none the less. Here's a few pics...

More Pictures from Hawaii...