The best thing about blogging is that you only have to tell the story once! (this is my hope)
Many know that Space-A travel is a benefit to military families, but not much is actually known about it. Other than other's experiences, there is not much information about it out there. I guess what I was looking for was a how-to manual. Not really getting all of my questions answered, I decided that it is something that must be learned by experience.
Living in Germany is great! The hardest thing for me is being so far from family. With commercial flights being so expensive for an oversees flight, I wanted to be able to travel Space-A, which costs little to no money at all! We decided to use this Christmas break to try our experimental run.
Not really knowing how it was going to work out, we did not tell anyone we were coming. Your likeliness of catching a free flight is based on two things: your need to get where your going and the date you sign up. Basically, if there are any available seats on a flight the passenger terminal goes down the list and fills the empty seats. So you kind of have to wait in line. A free trip home to spend the holidays with family? As you can imagine, there is a pretty long line!
Day 1 began at 4:00 in the morning. Ben, the kids, and I basically rolled out of bed and into the car. We left the house as if we weren't coming back. Laundry done, trash out, heat off, ect. We drove 1 1/2 hrs to a small terminal in Spangdalem only to find out that the flight had been changed and wouldn't be accepting passengers. This is pretty typical. Since it was still early and we were packed and ready to go, we decided to go to Ramstein, a much more popular terminal, to see what the wait looked like. As suspected, it was packed. We hung out most of the day getting a feel for things. Once the flight to the states took off, we headed home for some much needed rest. The following day there were not any flights leaving from Ramstein (only 20 min away) so we drove back up to Spagdalem. To our surprise we made it out that day! We boarded a plane destined for Charleston, SC on Sunday, December 16.
We flew on a C-5. It was pretty roomy, only about half of the seats were filled. The temperature was a bit warm and we wore earplugs to block out the loudness of teh engine, but for a free flight it was nothing to complain about! We were so giggly just thinking about what everyone's reaction would be when we just showed up for Christmas! Even though we were anxious, this was just the beginning of our trip. Once we landed, grabbed our luggage, fetched the rental car, and loaded up, we were pretty beat. We thought we were going to get in the car and drive all the way to Texas, but it wasn't long before the adrenaline wore off and jet-lag set in. We drove for an hour before turning off the road and pulling into a hotel.
It was about ten by the time we were in out PJs and settled in our temporary bed. A little confused, Avree woke up at one and so we loaded up and took off. I am sure the clerk at the hotel thought we were crazy for renting our room for just three hours of sleep, especially taking off in the middle of the night! We had a little set back to our trip. We had left Avree's favorite blankie, pet-named "This" back at the hotel. Fearing a long drive with a screaming child, we went back for it (Ok, now the lady really thinks we are nuts!). This added about an hour to our already-long trip across the country, but Avree quickly fell asleep. We drove and drove and drove. With stops it took us right at 24 hrs to get to Patti & Byron's front door. When we got somewhat close Ben began to text his mom, asking if he could talk to her about something. He was able to put her off for a bit, and then requested to Skype with her (about midnight her time- oh the things a mother will do for her child!). Our plan was to call her on Skype from her front porch, but it was cold, the kids were tired, and we were anxious. So we just ran up and rang the bell. Patti was lying in bed with her Ipad waiting for Ben's call. The doorbell rang at 12:30 in the morning, and as any mother would, she began to fear that something was wrong. It wasn't long though until she heard little voices inside her house. We went to bed around three that night (and the kids rose for the day at 5:30)!
We spent the next day going to Katie's work during her conference, dropping in on Millie at the office, and driving to meet Sarah after school, surprising each of them and bringing them to tears of joy! We enjoyed a little over a week in Plainview, Texas just visiting, spending time with each other, and watching the cousins play together. Oh, how much I looked forward to those moments!
If you know Ben you now he is always prompt, early in fact. Well, not much after Christmas he starting getting anxious about returning home. He had to be at work on Monday, the 7th. We watched flights a few days and decided that Texas was just too far away. The flights are only posted 72 hrs in advance, and that just didn't give us enough notice to pack up and drive all the way to the East Coast. There hadn't been any flights out of Charleston, so we decided to drive to Baltimore. Since Indiana was along the way we made plans to stop and stay with family for the night (or however many was needed). We left for Indiana the morning of Friday, December 28th. The drive took a little longer than anticipated due to snow (18 hrs). Once we got on the other side of St. Louis the snow really began to fall. Also, we took a little "short-cut" down some back roads, and really stared getting nervous about getting stuck. We prayed a lot.
So, we made a surprise visit to Curt & Tonya's. We even were able to stay a few days to visit because there were no flights heading to Germany. We spent the first two days resting, and on the third day I was able to visit with two of my great-aunts and some cousins. We felt really blessed to be able to see so much of our family in one trip, but I must say we were getting anxious about catching a flight back. It's a good thing we had so much time to work with. Finally, we saw a flight posted leaving BWI on January 2. Wanting to be sure we were ready, we left Sullivan, Indiana and drove the remainder of the way (11 hrs). We spent the night in a hotel in Baltimore and was at the airport ready for roll call ( this is when they go down the list and call the names of the people who made the cut). We tried at BWI for two days. There were so many people needing to get back and so few flights that had gone. And the planes that had room only took 10-20 passengers. That's only like 3 families!
Feeling desperate, we decided to drive to Dover (another 2 1/2 hrs) in hopes that there would be less people there. This is a little risky financially because of the rental car. If you rent a car and return it to the same place it is only $30-40. However, if you only drive it one-way and leave it at another location, the cost goes up to about $200. If we made the flight we wouldn't know it until the last minute, and there would be no time to drop off the car. So we would have to take a gamble. If we thought there was a chance of making the flight, we would need to drop the car off. However, if we didn't end up making it, we would need to rent another car to drive back up to Baltimore (another $200). Add the expense of eating out and hotels and the bill was adding up fast. Beginning to panic, we started looking at commercial flights. The first ones we found were around $3,000. This would be just for Ben. The girls and I had made arrangements to possibly stay at a friends house until the crowd cleared (without Ben we went down much further on the list).
As we entered the city of Dover and neared the base, the gate the GPS was taking us into was closed. When we phoned for directions we were told that the flight for that evening was not going to be taking any passengers. What to do? What to do? We had actually carpooled with another family, and so the men discussed it and they decide to go on up to the terminal to see what was up. I am so glad they did because we were filled with good news and hope. They said that there was a good chance that the flight leaving the next day would take passengers, maybe even as many as 76. We took a look at the list (it was a much smaller crowd) and it looked as if we had a chance! Exhausted, we retired for the evening.
Up the next morning, this flight was going to make us or break us. We were worn out physically and emotionally and so ready to be home. When we arrived at the airport terminal there wasn't a big crowd. We expected most people would be waiting at BWI where there were definite seats available. As it was, the screen was showing 19 tentative seats with a roll call time of 1900. Around noon we held spots 8,9,10, & 11. The anticipation was overwhelming. Each person that walked in the door was a risk to us. And we needed this flight in order for Ben to be back to work on time. About 2 hours out the loudspeaker came on and an announcement blared, "We regret to inform you that the flight to Spangdalem will have 0 seats firm." Everyone's faces grew long and their shoulders sagged. Well, that's the risk you take. Entering panic mode, we began looking at our only options: a) get Ben on a commercial flight available or b) take a later flight that day to Rota, Spain and find a way to Germany. Desperately wanting to get back we began crunching numbers to see if Rota was possible (price of train or plane tickets from Rota to Kaiserslautern). Just then the loudspeaker made another announcement, "We regret to inform you that the plane destined to Rota, Spain will not be taking any passengers." You have got to be kidding me! How is it that no flights are taking people?! There are tons of people ready to go home, you know! It took a couple of minutes for them to get things straightened out. They had made the wrong announcement. The flight to Rota would have zero passengers, but Spangdalem was back on the map! We had a good chance of getting home. Shorty after came another announcement, but this time it brought good news: "We are pleased to announce the flight destined for Spangdalem, Germany will have 76 seats. The airport erupted with a cheer and some even shed tears of joy. What an emotional day it had been, but we were ALL going home!
Just wait- They began checking bags, and then afterwards called names again to give some back their luggage. The number of seats had been reduced to 30! Whew- I felt bad for those people, but we were still safe. Oops, now it was back up to 76. At this point, no one knew what to believe! As my family waited to go through security, I was so thankful that this would all soon be behind us, as well as felt blessed for the opportunity to take this "free" ride to be able to spend some time with family. The intercom went off again. This time they were telling us that the crew had decided to take a break. I ran up to the desk with questions and found out that this "break" would be a minimum of 8 hrs. Oh well, it was another night, but we were guaranteed a seat.
For fear that something would change and we would miss it, we decided to spend the night at the airport. This wasn't as bad as it sounds; there was a small room with a few cribs in it. It wasn't the most comfortable night of sleep, but at least the kids slept well and we would soon be home in our own beds. Prior to going to sleep we found out that roll call wouldn't be until 1455. When we woke up the next morning it had changed to 1755. I think we actually boarded around 1930. As soon as we were in the air, we were fast asleep.
We woke just before landing. A flight member came on the intercom to announce that we were to prepare to land. And oh, by the way, we were in Ramstein. While this was better news for most, our car was in Sapngdalem. (It actually worked out for us too- keep reading)
We waited for a good friend to give us a lift. Once home, Ben could not locate the car keys. After rummaging through all the luggage, he concluded that he must have left them in the rental car. He made a phone call, caught a ride to Spangdalem, and ADAC came and unlocked our car (where the spare key was). Finally, at 11:30 p.m. we were all home (and so was our car)!
Would I ever do this again? Crazy, but yes. Only at a not-so-busy time of the year. I learned a few things along the way which could help make for a smoother ride. But, as the military goes, anything can change and it's always a risk!
We started of the following day at the Schonbrunn Palace and gardens, the former residence of the Habsburgs, taking a tour of the palace and walking around the gardens as long as we could stand it. . Natalie liked hearing about the Habsburgs because Empress Elizabeth was better known as Sisi, which happens to be Natalie's [imaginary] friend's name. Their Easter market was happening, so we quickly scanned the stalls. We jumped onto the subway and warmed up until we reached our next destination, the Sisi Museum and tour of the Imperial Gardens. This was also a residence of the Habsburg's, and we gained even more knowledge of their reign and influence in Austria on this tour. Putting up with the cold weather long enough, we headed to a restaurant to eat. The restaurant we dined at was an old cellar and also a hat museum. I had been so excited to take Natalie, but do too my poor navigation skills, it took us forever to find it and she slept like a rock for the entire meal. 
On our final day in Vienna we wandered around the Ringstrasse seeing seeing the key buildings and taking photos. Some places of interest on our list included: The Rathaus, Opera House, St. Stephen's Cathedral, a famous clock, and another Easter market to name a few. I must take this opportunity to note that the cathedral has a beautiful tile mosaic rooftop and there is a delicious wafer store right across the street called Manner. The weather was cold and windy, and so we welcomed the chance to hop on the subway and ride to the other part of town. This was by far the coldest day that we were there and the wind was getting through our gloves and socks, making walking outside almost miserable. Our last stop of the day was at the Wiener Prater, the oldest amusement park in the world. The kids rode a few smaller rides and then we took a family trip on the giant Ferris wheel, the Wiener Riesenrad is 65 meters high and was featured in an old film. 
