Let's start at the beginning...

As many of you know, the Robbins' family took a trip to Europe. They were bound to do it the frugal way, using military hops to get there. And so the adventure began...

Day 1: 11June2011

After waiting a few days and a few flights getting cancelled, we got on a flight from McChord AFB (Tacoma) to Dover AFB (Delaware). Our thought was that we would have better success getting a flight from Dover to Europe than we would McChord to Europe. Oh, were we wrong.

We arrived in Dover at round 11pm (est), just in time to miss the roll call for a flight heading to Ramstein, Germany. Ok, no big deal, we'll get a hotel for the night and then try again tomorrow.

Problem 1: No Hotel, the Miss Delaware pageant was taking place that night and every

hotel within a 45 min. radius of Dover was completely booked.

Problem 2: No flights to Europe the next day, until around 9pm

So we made the most of it. They had a children's room in the passenger terminal where Sydney spent the night in a crib they provided. John and I took turns trying to sleep in the chairs that all had arm rests, no hope of lying down (except on the floors, where we were told there were flees or something of the sort).

Day 2: 12June2011

In our sleep deprived state, we were able to come up with a plan to see Katy, Eli, and Xander. That morning, we called Katy to see if they might be able to meet us half way from West Virginia. We waited around until 10, when the car rental place opened up, caught a shuttle, rented the car and were on our way.

We meet in Mt. Airy, Maryland where we enjoyed a quick 3 hour visit over pizza. It was pretty great to have the cousins finally meet, as they are the only true cousins either of them have!

During this little visit, we kept calling the passenger terminal to confirm that the flight that night was still a go, and they kept saying it was.

After about 3 hours, it was time for us to hop in the car again, get back to Dover, return the car and get to the passenger terminal to catch the flight. Well, by the time we got there, the flight had been cancelled (hmm, starting to see a pattern). But at least we were able to get into the base lodging that night. We got a good night of sleep, did a load of laundry, and were back to the passenger terminal the next morning.

Day 3: 13June2011

Only, there weren't any flights for that day. However, nearby McGuire AFB (New Jersey) did have a flight leaving for Ramstein. So back to Enterprise, for another rental car. We paired up with another couple (Tom and Evelyn, our allies) who were also trying to get back to Ramstein. They are stationed there and the leave was running out.

We all hopped in the car together and headed up to McGuire. Lucky for them, they made it on the flight. We, however, did not make it on the flight. Our names were too far down the list.

Lesson 1: Sign up at any passenger terminal that you think you might go to the day you

start your leave. All flights are first come, first serve.

Again we made the most of it and went out to the coast to stay that night.

Day 4: 14June2011

The next morning we went to the beach. It was a bit cold, so we decided to get in the car and head back to Dover. That night there was a flight to Rota, Spain (which is a good location). Finally, a flight that did not get cancelled. That evening, we were called to the ticket counter, checked our bags, and given a boarding pass. A few minutes later, they called us all to go through security. Not 30 seconds passed, and they postponed the flight to the following morning due to a maintenance issue. So we all got our bags back, and were told the show time would be at 0730. We headed to a hotel for the night.

Day 5: 15June2011

At 0700, we call and find out that the flight has been delayed once again. I guess I should tell you, the plane is a C-5, a giant of a plane with a million little systems that quite frequently have problems. The C-5 is known for it's unreliability.

Making the best of it, we rented a car again and headed to the beach. We spent a little time there and Sydney had her first touch of the ocean. She cried. It was a little too cold.

As evening rolled around, we headed back to the passenger terminal.

These five days were a bit of a time warp for some reason and the night of the 15th was no exception. When we got to the passenger terminal, everyone was there again. Ready with bags and boarding passes. They checked our bags once again, called us to get through security and this time we made it.

Day 6: 16June2011

We waited in the room for the bus to come and take us to the plane. I think it was about 0200.

We hopped on the bus, went up the stairs to board the plane, got comfortable. We heard the engines start up and we heard the engines shut down. Yes, another maintenance problem. Okay, back on the bus, back to the little room where they held us until the plane was fixed. What was suppose to be 45 mins., turned into an 1 hour, then another. But eventually, we all got back on the bus, taken out the plane, boarded the plane, heard engines come on and stay on. We took off at about 0600. Finally on our way to Europe!