Dazed and confused

I'm back in España. After a short, but important, trip to the States, we finally got to our casa yesterday around 6 o'clock (in the evening or por la tarde, depending). Both trips there and back were long and involved a seemingly endless combination of planes, trains, automobiles, buses, metro, shuttles, taxis, and even a ferry.

Taken at the third (but not the last) airport of our trip, Reagan National in DC, via my Instagram.

To top it off, on the road from North Carolina to DC on Friday, (first things first, we're totally fine) we were in a car accident. The positives are that everyone involved is okay, it wasn't our fault, and that repairs to the Jeep will be covered by the other driver's insurance.

But it definitely added an extra element of anxiety and to sum it up, I'm pretty exhausted. By the time we walked in the door yesterday I was just so (deliriously) happy to see our pups and be in my own house. I think jet lag is made worse when there is more stress involved with the travel and this trip was a tough one.

Now, I'm trying my best to get out of this 6-hour time difference induced fog. Remedies include: drinking lots of water, getting out into the sun, and attempting to go to bed at a normal time (then failing miserably and watching stupid movies until 3 in the morning). 

Have any cures for jet lag?

Space A to the States

Hola, it's Meghann. We're in the States right now and have all sorts of things going on - my lovely sorority sister's wedding, my actual little sister Catherine's wedding weekend, her bachelorette and shower (Graham didn't join in for that fun), professional training in DC for Graham (fair trade since he didn't get to go to the bachette or shower?). 

Since Graham is technically traveling on business, the Navy booked commercial flights to DC for him. I opted to also fly for free by taking advantage of Space Available flights. Space A allows military members, dependents (that's me!) and military retirees to get on military flights if there is space available. This means just about any flight that has space for passengers is up for grabs, so every time I've flown Space A (like when we traveled back to MD in February to see our new niece), I've ended up on a cargo plane. Which looks like this:

My view - one of these containers was labeled 11,000 pounds!

My seat!  

 It's definitely a different travel experience - I pack a sleeping bag, dress for warmth and comfort since it gets cold at altitude, and wear ear protection. There's no beverage cart, but it's a direct flight from Rota to the East Coast, and leg room is pretty much unlimited. Also, since Graham works in the air terminal, he can keep me updated on which flights look best to get on. And it's free! 

(Sorry for the craptastical iPhone pics, but pulling out a giant camera and lens on a military flight seems a little weird. Right up there with taking my Nikon to a spa.)

Home es...

We are home from our (belated) honeymoon! Paris and Mauritius were amazing and we will be doing a post soon (after we go through over 1500 pictures and get settled back in at the casa) but it got us thinking about something. Where is our home? It's a simple question we get asked all the time, but it's getting harder and more complicated to answer.

The longer Graham is in the Navy (almost 8 years!) and the more we move (too many times to count!), the more difficult it becomes to define where "home" is. We can go home to the States and also home to Spain. There is the place where we were born, where we're from, and where we live. And there are many clichéd ways to define home:

Home is where the heart is.

or

Home is where you hang your hat.

And of course, in this lifestyle, the ever-popular:

Home is where the Navy sends you.

The truth is we have a collection of places that are special to us. Here's a quick rundown of some of the places where we have hung our sombrero, where the Navy has sent us, and/or where our heart is.

Familia, friends, and food...

is what our trip to the States was filled with. We took separate space-A flights over (flights that military members and their dependents can get on for free, if there is extra space) and both ended up on cargo planes. This meant there were jump seats instead of regular airliner seats, ear plugs were necessary due to the noise, we had to wear layers since it was not climate controlled like a commercial plane, and we spent most of the 9 hour flight sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. On the positive side, it was free, we had plenty of leg room, and it got us where we wanted to go (well, we flew into New Jersey, but close enough) which was to Maryland to meet this little lady:  

Our niece, Abbigail! She arrived back in January, when we were in Belgium.