Of course this is a way way old story by now, but life has been trying since we evacuated from our home in Japan to Clearwater, FL and then moved to Hawaii. Note to self; never evacuate half way around the world with three kids, a big dog, no Brad and PCS (permanent change of duty station for you non-military folks) simultaneously.
On March 11th when we realized that we had made it through the day with no damage from the earthquake and no tsunami in our area, Yokosuka as a whole exhaled. Food and clothe drives were beginning to materialize and we were all fielding anxious calls and emails from friends and family around the world, but we were safe and thankful. The next day Brad left for Hawaii to take a class and to start our house hunt. Although the many aftershocks were nerve racking and we all felt sick about what was happening to the north, life went on as per usual until Tuesday the 22nd. While I was sitting in my traffic safety course that I was obliged to take for a speeding ticket, it was announced not to panic but the children had been kept inside during recess and PE and that we should go home and shut our windows due to possible plumes of radiation that could be headed our way. On Thursday Jude's field trip to Sea Paradise in Yokohama was cancelled and upon school dismissal their was announcement that school was cancelled until further notice. A collective WTF came from all of the parents. If we are safe, then why cancel school and keep everyone indoors? I promptly went home and made flight reservations for Hawaii for the four of us. Might as well get our new life started while Brad was in Hawaii. Our trusty dog sitter who made a perfect 800 on his math SAT was still in town to take care of Radar. Around this time I noticed that all of the Japanese people on base were wearing face masks and the grocery stores in town didn't have milk, eggs or bread. Rolling electrical black outs were beginning. On top of that sailors could be seen walking to the aircraft carrier with their seabags although they weren't slated to leave until the fall.
Brad calls from Hawaii to say that he had been in touch with his office and their plan was to put his entire command on a ship if things get worse. He arrives home the next day.
People were beginning to panic and leave. I had a few criteria in mind as to when I could panic: 1. if the admirals' wives left 2. when the nuclear engineers panicked 3. when the nuke doctor put his wife and kids on a plane 4. when the base said to evacuate.
Now that Radar couldn't stay at home with Brad, I had to make arrangements to get him out of the country. The next morning I got to the vet's office super early and was the 20th person on the "oh shit we need to get a health certificate now, but don't have an appointment" list. Number one on the list was an admiral's wife. Later that day I went to the hospital to pick up our health records and ran into a friend who was so scared she was practically catatonic - she is married to a nuclear engineer. The base was now talking of evacuating us, or as they called it a voluntary departure. Somewhere around this time the nuclear aircraft attached to our base had a meeting with senior officers who started sending their families away. One of the wives hysterically calls me and begs for me and the children to leave.
By now rumors are just flying wildly - being put on a ship and sent to South Korea was my favorite. And apparently there wasn't much else going on in the news because the US stations were all Japanese death, destruction and nuclear catastrophe causing many frightened relatives to call all of us.
I call Hawaiian airlines and am told that they don't transport dogs. Insert expletives here. Although I had a friends in Hawaii to help me, the thought of moving there by myself with 3 kids, a dog, , no military orders, no house and no car in the middle of the school year just became too much. I cancelled our tickets and decided to wait it out. A few days pass and finally there is word that we will be evacuated. A bus could be coming around to pick people up in as little as 24 hours and we must have mountains of paperwork done and be packed. However the information changes on a daily or sometimes hourly basis - pets can go, pets can't go, 1 bag per person weighing 50lbs or less, 2 bags per person weighing 50lbs or less, 1 bag per person weighing 70lbs or less, 2 bags per person weighing 70lbs or less. We receive a form to log the contents of our home, you know in case we never see our stuff again, and it was last updated in the 1960's. There is a list of household items including - chifforobe, davenport, mangler, black & white tv, fernery stand, steamer trunk, typewriter, record player etc. A perfectly useless piece of paper other than a much needed laugh for all us. *A mangler by the way is a clothes ringer.
Days pass and no buses have left, no planes have left, no boats have left. The nuke doctor's wife and children leave, however. The final straw for Brad and I. He books us tickets on Delta for 1 adult, 3 children and 1 60 lb dog. We leave at 5am 3 days later departing with a van of other families from comsubgru7. Narita - JFK - TPA. If only it was that simple. When we get to the airport we have 6-7 hours to kill before we depart - I would never have done this to myself during a normal time, but the earthquake had damaged roads and other infrastructure making travel unpredictable and Brad was so busy now that he couldn't take off work. Thankfully we were in Japan and not the States and I can send Jude and Lucien off safely to get breakfast and go the restrooms by themselves while I stayed with Radar. Finally we can check Radar onto the flight and are able to move around freely. To conserve energy the airport is very dark and a bit creepy. We run into several other families who are leaving and the kids are able to play a bit and we get in a few goodbyes and hugs. I had been promising the boys Mc Donald's chicken nuggets for a much deserved reward for being well-behaved, so we make our way there for lunch. McDonald's is on a limited menu due to the earth quake - no nuggets! You know that it has hit the fan when McD's food supply chain is damaged.
After a long (13 hours) and uneventful flight to JFK I am told by two different Delta employees that Radar is indeed checked through to Tampa and we don't need to check him through customs. After a few hours of killing time we make our way to the boarding gate and I am promptly paged. This can't be good. The abrupt (we are in NYC) person on the other end tells me that I need to collect my dog and get him through customs. Our flight leaves in 45 minutes and we have to take a bus that runs every 15 minutes back to the international terminal, collect Radar, go through customs, and get take the bus back. I immediately go to the desk and beg for help. Maybe an employee can check him through, maybe they could put us on a golf cart, maybe a later flight out. No, no and no. I totally lose it and am a sobbing mess. 45 minutes later after walking through the bowels of JFK airport, I find Radar. I then find a Delta representative and tell her that she needs to get us to Tampa or all of us will be going home with her that evening. There are no more flights out, there are no taxis big enough to take Radar in his crate, and no I can't leave the crate at the airport. She finally finds us a hotel that will take Radar and has a transport van big enough for his crate. As soon as we get to our room Anders pukes on me. Truly the cherry on top of my long long day (or was it two days).
The next afternoon after a stop in Atlanta, we arrive in Tampa stinky, exhausted and sad. Sad to have left our home, but really more sad for Japan our beloved host country. Ganbatte Japan!
Epilogue:
The boys and I (and Radar) spend two months in Clearwater with family. They finish out the school year and then we are off to Hawaii. This time I send Radar ahead of us. Good thing too since we had an unexpected night in Denver en route. While we were in Florida Brad found a rental house in Kailua. We spend 3 crazy weeks buying cars, getting our household goods from Japan and our storage from Mississippi, getting the boys enrolled in school and setting up house. Because I'm a complete knumbskull we go back to Clearwater for our regularly scheduled 3 week Florida vacation. We start our new life in Hawaii 3 days before the boys start school on Aug. 1st. Aloha!!!!!
Our first morning at Kailua Beach we are treated to a rainbow. Note: neither of these houses are ours but you can buy the one on the right for a mere 14 million.
Finally reunited with Brad. (the dog is a loaner). We were behind our friend Katie's house looking for sea turtles who spend the night in this canal.
One deliriously happy dog.
Our beach house! Which is perfectly suited for a family of 5 on a week long vacation, but we can walk to the beach and not even cross the street.
Four days after receiving all of our shipments. Believe it or not there is a huge pile of empty boxes in our front yard. Our move was particularly rough because NONE of the furniture hardware was actually with the furniture.
Made even rougher because our loaner "aloha" furniture wasn't picked up before the movers came.
Aaaah. Much better.
The tile is dated, the vertical blinds are abominable, there is no garage, and the layout is a bit wonky, but it's ours and it really could have been much much worse. The houses here are quite expensive and qute crappy.
Last night at Kainalu Elementary's outdoor movie night - the mountains in the background are stunning and you can see them from almost every place in town.
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