Aloha! Getting there and back

Part of the reason for leaving my job was so we could take a belated birthday trip! For Charles' 30th birthday, we took an Alaskan cruise. For my 30th birthday, I was originally planning to go on a Caribbean cruise. But Hawaii was on our West Coast bucket list so I figured we might as well go for my birthday trip.

Let me tell you...Hawaii is amazing! It is probably one of my top 5 vacation destinations. It was so beautiful and smelled wonderful. Plus, it was just slightly humid and I have been missing humidity. Call me crazy, but I prefer it to our dry heat here in California.

I will share about my trip over several posts so I do not overwhelm you too much. We (I should say Charles) took a lot of photos.

One of the perks of being a military family is that we can take a Space A flight. This was a huge reason we wanted to travel to Hawaii...free flight! Space A involves a little planning and a lot of flexibility. But it saves you hundreds of dollars. It is totally worth it! It does not always work out in your favor. Flights are not consistent and sometimes get cancelled or filled. But we were very lucky to get on flights fairly easily.

On the way there we flew in a C-17. It is like the military planes you see in movies where everyone is sitting on a fold-down chair against the wall of the airplane. It was not the most comfortable seat, but you cannot really complain when you are on a free flight. It gave me ample time to read.

On the way back, our flight schedule was not totally what we expected. We flew on a KC-10 (refueling plane). It stopped in San Diego first. We thought it would stop, refuel and then head up to our final destination all in the same day. No, we stopped for the night. We had to spend the night at a Marine base hotel. It was actually pretty nice. And again... you cannot complain when your flight is free.

I just about finished a whole book on this flight alone.

The neat thing about flying on the KC-10 was that we were able to watch in-air refueling. How many people can say that? It was pretty neat to watch. I am thankful for that experience.