Hello Everyone,

This past week I have been on a mission to Guam. I
left on the 1st of February and barely got out of
Milwaukee. It had snowed all morning and we had to
wait for the runways to be cleared before we could
take off. Our plane was also covered in snow and had
to be de-iced. Once off the ground, everything went
smoothly.
We spent a night in Hawaii on the way out. Just the
temperature was enough to make us all happy. Our crew
stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki right above Dukes
restaurant. My friend, Kurt, from high school had
dinner with us there.
While in Guam, we flew missions with the B-2’s
stationed there. They needed to do some training and
we flew with them every day besides Monday. We were
16 hours ahead of Milwaukee time, so it was Superbowl
Monday for us. The guys were definitely happy to have
that day off. Amanda (a boom operator) and I were not
as interested and we did a little shopping and just
watched the last quarter of the game. That was
apparently the best part anyways.
The B-2’s are really cool looking jets. I had a lot
of fun flying with them. Our missions were fairly
short each day. We went straight up to the refueling
track, gave them their gas and headed right back down.
From going in to work till heading back to the hotel
was only about 5-6 hours. We usually went to the
beach or did a little snorkeling in the morning before
work and then had time to go out to a restaurant in
the evenings. Our hotel was right in the middle of
all the action in Tumon Bay. The beach was right
behind the hotel and all the shopping and restaurants
were in front of it.
On the way back through Hawaii, we were able to stay
two nights. This time we were at the Outrigger Reef.
They have remodeled their rooms. My room was on the
2nd floor overlooking the beach. I almost didn’t have
to leave my porch, but I did take a walk down the
beach eventually. After finally dragging myself away
from my room, we went to Hanauma Bay. The view of the
Bay from above is breathtaking. The water is clear so
you can see the reef structure and white sand under
the turquoise water. This time of year the water is a
little chilly though. Even so, Matt (the other pilot
and Kings Point Alumnus) and I managed to get in and
do some snorkeling. It is lucky we did because we
spotted a sea turtle! We followed the turtle around
for 30-45 minutes while it swam around and stopped
here and there to eat some of the coral. I have never
been able to hang around a turtle for that long. I am
sure it is very used to all the other tourists. I was
in heaven.
For dinner we went to the Chart House. That place is
now on the top of my list for Hawaii restaurants. It
is a steak and seafood place right in front of a
marina to the West of Waikiki. The service was
amazing and everyone’s food was delicious. I had a
tuna steak that was just perfect.
The last leg of our flight was the most challenging.
We started to get turbulence after passing Utah. The
weather into Milwaukee was fore-casted to be gusting
winds, low visibility and blowing snow. When we were
finally in the Madison airspace, we had to hold over
Madison while the runway was being cleared in
Milwaukee. Luckily the cloud deck had lifted and the
visibility was good. Matt made a very nice crosswind
approach and landing into Milwaukee and we were all
happy that we didn’t have to divert to another
airport. Then it was time to get out the coats, hats
and gloves and face the February weather again.
Take care.

Brigitt