Space-A, Hawaii 5-0 Edition
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the show Hawaii 5-0. The REAL reason we took this trip to Hawaii IS because of this show. We’ve been to Oahu before and after starting season 1, we were hooked to return. My spouse looks at me and asks, “Didn’t you sign up for Travis in early January?” I sure did! So, I guess we’re going to Hawaii.
Most times, I’ll drive from Los Angeles to Travis. I didn’t feel like driving especially after the long drive from Vancouver a few weeks before. This time we decided to take the Bolt bus. This bus is equipped with Wi-Fi, leather seats, and is really comfortable. March 1st we’re at Union Station, downtown Los Angeles, for a 2200 boarding to the West Oakland BART. We arrive in Oakland at 0530; take the BART to the Coliseum station, and onto the Amtrak to Suisun. I coordinated with Duke, from Aloha Transporter, for a ride to Travis. All is looking good.
We walk into the terminal around 0930 to mark ourselves present. There aren’t too many people but enough people. The first roll call was for 1145. I go to the bowling alley to get some food and tell the wife if anything changes, call me. I’m in the bowling alley and my phone rings. Roll call has been changed to 1300. From the time I grab our food and walk back to the terminal, the time has changed again. This time it’s 1505. I start to call Enterprise at Hickam and let them know that we won’t make it for the 1800 pick-up but I did manage to secure a reservation at the airport upon arrival. As we’re waiting the announcement comes, “In five minutes we will conduct the Space-A roll call for JBPHH.” This is at 1325. Roll call is conducted and everyone’s selected and we’re checking in our bags. I tell my wife to watch how many people will come through that door after 2:15. Sure enough, people start coming in because they didn’t know that the roll call time shifted. One lady with her kids came and sat next to us with her luggage cart. My wife asked her where she was going and we told her they conducted the roll call already. I knew there were more seats available but had this been peak travel season…. What? It’s brutal out here for us Cat VIs sometimes.
We go through security, board the bus, and well, you know the rest. We arrive at Hickam around 9PM. A week prior I went on the DOD lodging site and secured a room for 4 nights on Pearl Harbor. We stayed at Lockwood Hall and it’s very nice. There is also a mini-mart that is open 24hrs right around the corner. Spent the next couple of days running around Oahu. We love driving around the island until you get in the traffic! The weather was beautiful and we finally went to the Hale Koa. A little too crowded for me but I see why many people want to stay there! Finally got to see the fireworks and the beach in front of the Hale Koa is the perfect spot to view them. Parking tip: If you rent a car while here, park at the garage across from the Hale Koa and walk around Waikiki. Parking here is very expensive and this is the best deal going. Make sure you get the ticket validated at the front desk or you will pay the “regular” price.
It’s March 6th and time to return to the Mainland. As we all know, flights move around constantly. Flights to Travis kept rotating back and forth. We really wanted to go to North Island or Miramar, but we’ll take anything back to California. There were a couple of flights to Travis, with the first roll call at 0600. So, we headed to a semi packed terminal and marked ourselves present. There were 65 firm seats and 60 of us who wanted to go. Around 0915 we’re taxiing, and off we go! This was our fist time flying in the KC-10. The flight was so smooth and comfortable. Almost 5 hours later and we’re back at Travis.
I’d like to call this a very successful Space-A adventure. From the flights, rental car, lodging, and beautiful Hawaii, everything seemed to line up just right! I hope it’s the same in 2 weeks as we try for Yokota! Well, off to catch up on the next episodes of Hawaii 5-0. Until next time, SAFE TRAVELS!