September 21, 2011 Bastogne, Belgium

C17

We rented a car this morning and headed to France. We stopped in Bastogne, Belgium for lunch. While in Bastogne, we received bad news from home. One of our dearest friends had a heart attack and was in grave condition. Linda and I knew there was only one decision ...go home. We turned around, drove back to Germany. Turned in the rental. Called the Air Force, checked on a flight back to US. They put us on a C-17, leaving the next morning. We had an uneventful flight to Dover AFB. Picked up our car and headed for Alabama.

This will be the last blog entry on this trip.

Sept. 20, 2011 Enroute to Germany

C5 Airplane

There were 46 passengers available for 73 seats. We had the opportunity to meet and talk with a number of interesting people. There was a group of Army Aviators and Crew Chiefs from an aviation unit headed for Afghanistan. I introduced myself to them and told them I was an Army Aviator and a Vietnam Helicopter Pilot. You would have thought I told them I flew in WW1.

There was another couple there from California. They were in their 80's and traveled the world in the military space A program. In the spring they flew to Asia and in the fall they traveled in Europe. They never made reservations, just took the first flight headed across the Atlantic. He said he wanted this chapter of his life to be as interesting as everything else.

We had a great trip over, about 8 hours. We landed in at Spangdahlen AFB, near Bitburg, Germany. We took quarters on the base and made plans to head for France the next day.

September 19, 2011 Annapolis

Our trip was altered and the post were delayed. I will finish up the "blog" now.

When we arrived in Dover, Our seats had been taken away, no Space A available. We checked into the on base quarters at Dover AFB. We had very nice accommodations. Our interest in European travel, as much as anything, is history. There is quite a bit of history in the Maryland, Delaware area. We took advantage of the next day and toured Annapolis, Maryland. We have a great time, having lunch at a circa 1750 Tavern and saw the US Naval Academy, est. 1845. Annapolis is a very nice town in a historical setting.

After spending the day in Annapolis, we returned to Dover AFB and checked in with operations. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that a C5 was scheduled to leave at 10:00pm and had 73 seats available.