Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Update on Younger Daughter

Whew, what a schedule our poor Younger Daughter has endured over the past couple of days.

After her flight from Denver to Norfolk was canceled, the airline put her up in a hotel. A very nice hotel.


Here are some of her messages:

"So I finally got in touch with everybody [in Europe], although I got almost NO sleep. Right now I'm waiting to hear back from the travel organization to see if they'll authorize me a commercial flight, because the next military flight isn't until June 12th. Meh, it's all part of the grand adventure, I guess."

Then later: "I will say this hotel is a much nicer place than I normally stay at!"

In the evening: "I have a flight booked now! I get to Norfolk at 1500 tomorrow, early morning flight. Hopefully it goes smooth from there. I'll get to Europe eventually - either wait until the 12th [of June] for a military flight or they'll pay to fly me commercial. I won't find out which one until tomorrow."

Then later: "I had just JUUUUST started to fall asleep when I got a call from Japan. So yeah, I'm flying early to Norfolk tomorrow morning, and they're going to try and get me on a commercial flight to [her duty station] on either the 30th or the 31st from Norfolk. I'm starting to think this is a big conspiracy to keep me from getting sleep. I have to be up by 0230. Flight is at 0530, but the shuttle times leave on the hour so the 0300 shuttle is my best option. I don't get in until 3PM though, I have a layover in Newark."

Then later: "I have a flight! It's super inefficient. But I go from Denver to Newark, to Norfolk, to JFK in NY, to Paris, to [the duty station]. The Newark to Norfolk to JFK seems stupid too, but ah well. They're all paid for by the military. Actually the Norfolk to [Europe] flight is only $600. The Navy knows how to get a good deal, especially since the flight is tomorrow. I made over 70 phone calls to figure all this out."

Early this morning she wrote: "I feel like I've been at the airport for a decade. I'm actively getting older. The precious remnants of my 20s are slipping away. Not to be dramatic or anything."

She then proceeded to update us throughout the day, hopping through various airports: Newark, JFK, and finally Norfolk. She should be boarding a commercial flight shortly to Paris, and from there will transfer to her duty station.

Yowza, that's a lot of hassle for one canceled flight!

5 comments:

  1. But you can clearly see God's Hand at work to get her to where she needs to be. Love that it all worked out! God Bless!

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  2. Oh Man Patrice. My step son had a similar experience with the Air Force when he finished tech school and then he was stationed to Lakenheath, AFB in the UK. He was supposed to go from Milwaukee (he was home for a week before leaving) to Dallas and then to London. They cancelled his flight from MKE 3 times. It all worked out in the end but what a harrowing deal...

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  3. Thank you for keeping us updated.

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  4. Glad she was able to get her flights straightened out -- 70 calls later!

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  5. Join the Navy and see the world.
    I think many, many military folks can relate
    Fair winds and following seas shipmate

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