Departure

So far things have been going well, here's an overview of my travels on Tuesday.

I kicked off the trip from Plattsburgh, NY in a tiny plane with two propellers, and landed in Albany, NY not too long after that. For such a small airport Albany proved to be a big holdup, but nothing could prepare me for the mess that is Washington Dulles airport. It was a Tuesday and it felt like I was trying to cut through lines at a busy store on Christmas Eve. The runway proved to be similar as we sat in line for nearly an hour waiting to take off. I definatly don't envy the person who is tasked with creating those schedules. Not long after we were in the air and just as quickly the plane started to descend to my final stop in Columbia, SC.

Now I've been expecting the worst in terms of reception and my fears were nearly confirmed when I heard a Sgt. squaking at some new recruits fresh off my plane. I asked where I should head and he switched gears and politely told me to head downstairs to meet an IRR representative. No one was there but there was a sign informing me to call a shuttle service which I did. Waited for nearly 2 hours and finally caught a ride out to the training center 30 miles away.

When I first entered the shuttle I thought I had entered someones personal living space. Blankets on the seats, a TV and VCR on the center armrest and most surprisingly a random woman who was along for the ride for some reason. I never did find out if she was related to the driver, but it seemed as though they barely new each other. So we set off onto a rural road with classic rock blaring and the stench of cigarettes heavy.

Upon arrival and farewell to my driver I was met with an empty building greeting me. By this time it was nearly midnight and I was worried that I had missed anyone on duty even though a sign promised that someone would be back soon. At this point I gave in and walked to the security checkpoint I had driven by earlier. Oddly enough one regular army mp and what I think were two private security contractors were cooking a huge meal of hot dogs, chopped onions and french fries. It made for an interesting odor for sure. They radioed for someone to come meet me and I was off to the barracks for my first night. The smell of Army linens brought back first night jitters all over again but I managed to sleep well.

More on my first few days later as I've rambled on in minute detail too long...