Space A Part 2 - Flying with Dick Cheney's RV

 I last left off my last post with us being delayed 43 hours for our next flight.  Yeah.  I said 43 hours.  Like almost two full days.  It stunk.

But don't stress out because it all works out in the end.  I knew you were stressing out....especially after that whole "almost ran out of gas" thing on the autobahn.  I just wanted to make sure you knew it was all fine.

We arrived back at the terminal around 5PM the next day and signed in.  They have a kid's play area and the girls made some new friends there...one in particular, Madison, is a year older than Maddie and they were trying to get to the same place as us.

The two Maddie's became instant friends...although Madison-Maddie eventually asked to be called Brianna.  Ok.....she just "likes" that name.  She was a bit of a weird duck.

So, at around 6:45 they call our name.  WHAT!!!!!!!!  I go up to the desk and they tell me that I'm on the list and can leave for Andrews Air Force Base in the next hour if I want...or I can wait until around 11PM and fly into Baltimore. 

I jumped at the chance!  All I could think of  was that if we went to Andrews...  Its closer!  We'll leave sooner!  We'll get there faster!  We're closer to Jenna and Jason's house!  We leave in an HOUR!

Here's what I didn't think about...

The type of  plane we'd be flying on...

The hard backed jump seats with parachutes that we'd sit in... (let me tell you how different the safety briefing is when they explain how to open your parachute...instead of how to buckle your seatbelt.)

The incredible amount of noise made from the lack of any insulation from plane mechanical parts at all...

The earplugs we'd have to wear to make sure we weren't deaf by the time we arrived in Andrews.  (Have you ever tried to get a 2-year old to keep in earplugs?)

That the blankets had to be moth-proofed...! (PS...I'm not complaining...at least they HAD blankets.)

What it would be like for my girls to sleep on the floor of a cargo plane... (thats Maddie and Madison-Maddie-Brianna snuggled up together on the floor of the plane.)

How cold a plane with no insulation is.  Thank goodness I brought my own warm blanket that kept Bella snuggled all night.

And last, but not least...Dick Cheney's silver bullet RV.

Thats right.  I flew from Germany to the USA with Dick Cheney's RV about 4 feet in front of me.  Apparently our *esteemed* Ex-Vice President refused to sleep in a tent while visiting soldiers in Afghanistan.  He required more comfort like one might find in a silver bullet RV.  Lucky me that I got to travel with it.

I must say its a claim to fame that only about 50 other people in the WHOLE WORLD can make.

I wish I could have gotten a good picture of it.  It took up most of the space.  It was chained to the floor with massive chains.  And left just enough room for two 9-year old girls to fit on the floor between the seats and the RV.  And it really was precious when I found Bella snuggling with the massive chains...just curled up hugging them...I thought I'd taken a photo of it, but alas...its disappeared into that place where lost photos disappear to...

And if you can't tell I'm being a little sarcastic about the RV.  It just makes me shake my head that he required the transportation of an RV to Afghanistan...

But...I won't digress into any kind of political spiel or overspendingbudget in such wasteful ways/fist shaking soapbox.  I'll just let you make your own judgement call on that one...

I'll bet you think you've heard it all from me by now...but just wait.  Tomorrow's installment of "Space A Part 3 - Walking two miles at 3AM" finishes off our adventures in getting to Washington DC.