David & Daniel
Let me start with the flight(s) to get over there. JJ was kind enough to give David & I a ride to the airport wed. morning. our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:45am. He picked us up bright & early ( the sun wasn't even up). We got to the airport, checked in, went through security & waited. I had been super nervous about going through security. I was afraid that there would be something we packed that they would tell us wasn't allowed or our bags were too big to take carryon or just anything really. But we breezed right through and everything was fine. I did NOT want to check any bags, with my luck if we had we would get to our destination but our bags wouldn't and I just didn't want to go there. So we packed light and all was good. So our first flight was from here to Salt Lake City. A little bumpy but I did alright. We got to SLC and of course the concourse where we landed and the gate we needed to be at for our next flight were on totally opposite ends of the airport. Not to mention the fact that when we got off the plane we had NO idea where our next flight was because the lady at the ticket counter here in Grand Junction was a little confused and wasn't sure that the information on her computer regarding our flight schedule was correct so she told us when we got off the plane in SLC to go to the customer service counter and they could print the rest of our information. Thats what we did and by the time we got that all straightened out and got to the gate they were already boarding. We flew from SLC to the twin city airport (St.Paul/Minneapolis). I didn't do so good on this flight, the pressure in my head was bad, I couldn't get my ears to pop and I was feeling pretty green with any movement of the plane. I got motion sickness, YUCK! This happens to me in the car sometimes too & on amusement park rides. So when we got to the twin city airport we had about 40min after we found where we needed to be for our next flight. We grabbed some Starbucks and McDonalds and waited. Again on the flight from the twin cities to Atlanta I didn't do so good. When we got to Atlanta we found Courtney (Daniel's wife) and waited with her. Our flight to Columbus was delayed so we just sat and waited (what else can you do?). The flight from Atlanta to Columbus is about 20min so I did ok on this one except for when I looked out the window and saw lightening, YIKES!! When we finally stepped outdoors, it was raining, I thought some fresh air would be great but it was muggy feeling and a little chilly.
Daniel
I have to say that I am not overly impressed with Columbus, I think Grand Junction(including the whole valley) is much bigger & it just seemed dirty. The area of town where we were staying was literally the ghetto (thats my word,lol). They don't recommend that you walk outside after dark and one of taxi drivers we had was telling us that several years ago, "back in the day" she says, this was the "happening" part of town. There were several clubs and "lingerie stores" (whore houses) Now most of the buildings are boarded up. There was seriously nothing near our motel, during the day David and I would walk down to where all the restaurants and little stores were, probably 2-4 miles. And we took a cab wherever else we needed to go. We wanted to rent a car & split the cost with Daniel & Courtney but that didn't happen so we ended up spending A LOT of money on cab rides. Oh well at least we didn't have to worry about getting lost!
Daniel after receiving his "blue cord"
Now once we got into Fort Benning, WOW! That is a very BIG Military base, honestly I have never been to a militay graduation or any kind of service other than graveside services. But holy cow there were a ton of people there. Lots of military personale, soldiers and such and a bunch of guests. On thurs. we went for Daniels "turning blue" ceremony, this is when the soldiers are given the Blue Infantry Cord that he will wear on all of his dress uniforms. This marks his entry into the Infantry. We got there just as the ceremony was starting (thanks to the cab driver who took over an hour to come get us after we called), after the ceremony Daniel & Courtney were supposed to go to a "couples briefing" to get some information, we made a little stop at one of the stores on the base & by the time we got to the building where the briefing was being held it was finishing up, OOPS!! After this Daniel got a pass so he got to leave the base for the afternoon, we went to eat McDonalds (I had taco bell which was right next door) and then we went back to the motel to hang out. Daniel thought had to be back to the base by 7pm so he called for a cab at 5:30, well at 6:30 there was still no cab so we all started stressing out, finally about 6:40 one showed up, we were all worried that he wasn't going to get there in time and would be in trouble. Well he called Courtney a little while later & come to find out he didn't have to report to the base until 8pm ,LOL, at least he wasn't late! On friday, we went the graduation ceremony, that was set to start @ 10am so we called for a cab at 8, it still took over an hour for the driver to pick us up but we got to the base with plenty of time to spare and boy was it chilly out! there was a little wind and we were all shivering. The ceremony was pretty cool, at the beginning the put on this little"show" with some of the soldiers shooting their weapons in the bushes and a couple of tanks roll out & open up & more soldiers climb out & they used colored smokebombs, it was neat! There were a ton of soldiers (I think they said 650) graduating that day, they didn't go through & say all of their names (thank goodness) it was too cold for that but it was a nice thing to experience!After the graduation Daniel gathered up his big ole bags and off we went. First stop the motel to drop off them "big ole bags", next we went to a buffet and ate lunch, then we walked acrossed the street to the Walmart to buy some junkfood (thats what daniel told david he wanted to do "eat lots of junkfood") then we went back to the motel. That night we ordered pizza and we just sat around and visited. Then saturday morn David & I had to leave for the airport around 9:30am (yes we called for a cab early) So we said our goodbyes & off we went, Daniel & Courtney were gonna stay one more night and fly home on sunday.
lots of soldiers
David & Daniel
Now for the flight home, I bought some drammamine, all I can say is I love those magical litle pills, lol! Oh my! We got to the airport in Columbus, checked in and went through security, they searched my purse! But they also looked through David's backpack and patted him down! I was like what the heck? Until we went to sit down and as we were waitng & watching they were doing the same thing to A LOT of people. So I didn't feel so bad, like we were suspicious characters or something. I forgot to take the pills in Columbus but thank goodness that is the fast flight! So we got to Atlanta & had a bit of a wait, we got some food (Dunkin Donuts & Krystal burgers) I cannot believe how much they can charge for food in the airport!About 30 min before we were to board our flight I took 2 drammamine by the time we took off I was floating, it was nice cuz although I could feel the movement of the plane, it didn't bother me & about 5min after we left the ground I passed out and slept until we landed in Dallas. There we had about a 3hr layover, so went and found the gate we needed to be at and the went to TGIFridays for some food. Again about 30min before we boarded I took 2 more pills and slept most of the way home. About 5-10 min before we landed in Grand Junction it got really bumpy, it was a little freaky but we landed alright. When we got off the plane JJ & Kaden were waiting for us. JJ gave us a ride home but when we got to the house and started unloading all of our stuff (including Kadens) JJ realized that he forgot to bring our keys or the garage door opener (DUH)! So went to his house to get them and he made us come in to see the "grandma sweaters" that he, Jodi & some of their friends bought that day as they were having a "sweater" party that night, crazy wierdos! We finally got home, and after we took all of our stuff in, I went to pick Ty up from work & Hailey up from her friends house. By the time we got home I was ready for bed and thats where I went. It so nice to be home & have my kids & my bed, lol!
It wasn't a vacation by any means but it was nice to go & support my brother-in-law! Congradulations Daniel, we are very proud of you!! A BIG thank you to JJ & Jodi for keeping our little man Kaden while we were gone, we owe you when you have kids of your own! & thank you to Holly for keeping Hank(our dog), we appreciate it!
Me & David
David & Daniel
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