#4- General & Afghanistan

While on tour last month an exciting opportunity arose.  We were scheduled to go to Fort Campbell on the KY/TN border at 9:00am.

However we received word that General John Campbell, the head of troops in Afghanistan for the last year, was flying back & there would be a welcome home ceremony for him.   Having missed both welcome home ceremonies when my brother, Ray, came home from Bosnia & Iraq, I wanted to see what it was like.

I was really proud of my travelers.  I had 52 pax and all put 12 were on the motorcoach at 6:30am to see the general come in.  We arrived at the base and were taken to the hanger where the ceremony would be held.  Miss KY, Miss TN and many other dignitaries were there, as well as, Lee Greenwood singing “I’m proud to be an American”.  Not too many dry eyes for that song.

The general’s plane arrived at 8:10am only 10 min late.  He and his soldiers (25 altogether) marched off the plane.  There was a short ceremony & then the familes went wild getting to their loved ones.

What an experince!      Next week a cave in KY…….

 

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#3

Our tour day went according to plan.  Everyone was on the coach at 7:00 a.m. and we begin making our way south.  The driver and I figured we would get into the hotel at 5:30 p.m. if we had no problems.  As we changed to Eastern time, another thought hit me.  The game would not start at 5:30 p.m.  It would start at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time!  I had an extra hour to get there I had not figured into the plan. 
The timing turned out perfect.  We rolled into the hotel at 5:20 p.m. right on schedule.  There was a Cracker Barrel across the hotel parking lot the travelers could walk to on their own.  Everyone took their carry ons to their room and headed to the restaurant.  By 6:30 p.m. everyone was back to the hotel.  The rooms were suites with a couch on one side and the bedroom on the other side.  There were also large flat screen TVs in the bedrooms.
Several of the travelers went to their rooms to see the game while others stayed in the hotel lobby.  There was a large flat screen there as well as a bar which was offering half price beer, wine and appetizers.  Everyone was settled in to watch the game by 6:30 p.m. and after all the planning it felt very good to know everything had worked out the way I had hoped.  Tomorrow we had a two hour drive to Charleston, South Carolina where we would board our ship after a short city tour.

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#2

 Normally on tour, breakfast starts as early as 6:00 a.m., luggage outside your door at 7:00 a.m., followed by an 8:00 a.m. departure time.  On this tour if we followed the regular itinerary we would have to eat dinner out on the road which would delay us well over an hour. Besides that we would change from Central to Eastern time that morning so I would lose an hour.  The key was to get to Columbia, South Carolina in time for the travelers to eat dinner on their own there.  That way those that wanted to see the game could. 
Speaking to the manager of the hotel where we would spend Saturday nite in Clarksville, Tennessee, I got a lucky break.  He would have his breakfast lady come in and set up breakfast at 5:30 a.m.  Meanwhile he would stay overnight at the hotel to make sure luggage was taken care of at 6:00 a.m. instead of the usual 7::00 a.m.  
Then I needed to make sure everyone got up and was on the motorcoach at 7:00 a.m ready to roll.  Of course, I also needed no problems that day to delay our schedule.  As we took off Sunday morning, I realized another lucky break was coming my way…

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My First Blog

This is my first blog. Not sure where I am going (no pun intended) but since I am out on the road about two weeks a month, my travels seem to be the best thing to blog about.

Just got back from a cruise to the Bahamas. It wasn’t the best cruise I have ever been on. We traveled by motorcoach from Chicago, Illinois to Charleston, South Carolina. Left on Saturday but Sunday became the challenge. It was Super Bowl Sunday and we were scheduled to get into the hotel in Columbia, South Carolina at 8pm. That would not work!!!!!

Half my coach was from Wisconsin and the other half from Illinois. I knew two weeks before the trip that since the Bears and Packers were playing each other, one of those teams would be in the Super Bowl. How could I get to that hotel faster than my itinerary had scheduled? Could I make it in time so anyone who wanted to could see the game on TV?

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